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October 1, 2025   |   Deals

The best student discounts, offers and deals

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Students can save at Apple, Boots, Amazon and more

Here are the pick of the best student discounts – and you don’t need to be a student for some!

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

Wording saying 'student discounts' and the Be clever with your cash logo on an orange background

Whether you’re a full-time student or just someone with an NUS card (sadly, our loophole where anyone could get one has been closed – though previous Totum cardholders can get an alumni card), there are some fantastic deals to be had! The key is to ask – you never know!

Sadly there are a few discounts only available via MyUniDays or Student Beans, and you can only get those if you have a .ac.uk email address.

We’ve not listed all the different retailers, but you can also save at the likes of ASOS, Office and Foyles. The usual rate is around 10%, but is sometimes boosted to 20% at the start of term.

Here are our favourite discounts – there will be more!

For all students, staff and school children

Some discounts are available for staff working at universities and schools (and you don’t need to be a teacher), as well as for students at schools and colleges.

Apple: 10% off and free accessories with Mac or iPad purchase

If you’re heading to University, you can get a freebie with a purchase of an iPad or Macbook and 10% off from 10 July to 21 October 2025.

To be eligible, you need to verify your student status with UNiDAYS or go via Totum and you’ll save up to 10% on a new Mac and be able to choose a freebie to go with it. You don’t have to be in your first year either. Plus, teachers or employees of educational institutions in the UK and parents of uni students can get the offer.

The freebies depend on what you purchase, but you could get Apple AirPods, a free mouse, a free keyboard, or an Apple Pencil.

There are ways to get a Totum card even if you’re not a student, too, so most people can benefit from the offer.

Get Apple student deals

For anyone with a student ID

These discounts work with your Uni or college ID or an NUS/Totum card (which includes some non-students).

Boots: 10% off

You can save 10% on your purchases at Boots. You’ll need to have a Boots Advantage card as well as an NUS/Totum card, and you need to connect these at a Boots checkout till.

Since you only need the Advantage card to get the discount, you could share your card with other family members so they also get the money off – though it does mean they won’t earn their own Boots points.

The discount is valid until 31 August each year so you’ll need to reactivate it at the till from 1 September onwards.

This is sometimes boosted to 20%, including at the start of the academic year.

You can also stack it with other deals and offers on the Boots site.

Shop at Boots

Superdrug: 10% off

You’ll need to sign up to the Health & Beautycard scheme (it’s free), then link your NUS/Totum card or student ID to the account in-store. It’ll then work for the academic year online and in person.

Sign up for Superdrug’s Beautycard

Tickets to theatre, galleries, festivals & other live events

You can also often get reduced rates for everything from theatre to opera. The Royal Exchange in Manchester and the ENO are among those that do.

Many galleries will have a reduced student price, often 50% less. And the Art Pass offers discounted student membership at the start of each academic year.

Not many festivals do, but it’s worth checking when you buy tickets to anything.

Sport

Football fan? I’ve used my NUS card to get concession tickets to see my team Crystal Palace in the past (sadly it no longer offers a student price), and it’s saved me hundreds of pounds. Many clubs and other sports have similar deals.

English Heritage: £12 annual membership (ended)

There are a number of routes that students can save £30 on the normal discounted price for membership, but this offer works for those ex-students who also have an NUS Totum card.

You’ll need to enter the code EHYP24TOT when paying via direct debit on the English Heritage website. You will have to show your student ID when using your pass to visit attractions.

Ends 1 November 2024.

Join English Heritage
See if you can get an alumni Totum card

Eating out

You can also save on food with your Totum or other student card. This includes:

  • Tastecard – three months free
  • Leon – 15% off
  • Itsu – 15% off
  • Greggs – freebie with lunch deal
  • McDonalds – freebie with meal deal

Shopping

Though some retailers now ask for a Unidays ID or code, it’s worth trying every shop you go to. Online you might have to click through from the NUS website.

For anyone with a student email address

Ikea: £10 or £20 coupon

Verify yourself as a student at Ikea and get a coupon for £10 off when you spend £75. If you spend £150, you’ll get a £20 coupon. You’ll need to login or sign up for Ikea’s Family account and fill out the form using your student credentials. You’ll need a student email address but if you don’t have one yet you can use alternative documents.

The offer runs until 19 October 2025 and you can only use the discount once.

Sign up for an Ikea Family account

For students with MyUniDays

Spotify: 46% off

You can save 46% on Spotify Premium. That’s £5.99 a month rather than £11.99. This version gets rid of adverts and lets you take songs offline to your phone or tablet, meaning you don’t need wifi or your data. Here are the best Spotify deals.

Apple Music: 50% off

You can get Apple Music for £5.99 per month and get Apple TV thrown in. You’ll also get this for 48 months once you’ve been validated via MyUniDays.

Software

I got my Adobe suite (things like Photoshop) at a massive discount. We’re talking hundreds of pounds! You can also save on Microsoft Office – though free alternatives like Google Docs might do the job instead.

Our podcast

Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb and Deputy Editor Amelia Murray.

Episodes every Tuesday.

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Andy and Amelia with the text "Cash Chats Personal finance podcast"

For students with official student ID

Amazon Prime: six months free then 50% off

You can get Amazon’s delivery and streaming service free for six months as a student (or 18-22 year old). Then after that you can get a full annual Amazon Prime subscription for £4.49 a month, for three years.

Or you can pay annually £47.49, saving a little extra.

The easiest way to get this is using an academic email, though there are other ways to verify student status. Sadly Totum cards are no longer accepted.

Watch out for other Amazon Student offers throughout the year, such as money off codes at Black Friday or Prime Day.

Sign up for Amazon Prime Student

Train and tube travel

The 16-25 Railcard or 26-30 Railcard is a great way to cut the cost of train travel. Mature students outside this age range need proof they are studying with a form completed by their Uni or college. There are often deals to get discounts on these and other railcards.

If you travel by tube and live in London during term time you can get an 18+ Student Oyster card. This saves 30% on travel in the capital.

There are also bus and coach student passes.

International travel

Check to see if you have an ISIC (International Student Identification Card) included with your Totum student card. If not, it’s worth looking at separately.

When we went on a big trip to South America in 2013, our ISICs saved us over £200 on internal flights, excursions such as the Inca Trail and admission to museums and galleries, and we did it again on our honeymoon a few years later.

Read next

September 17, 2025   |   Deals

Travel deals

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From flights to trains to taxis, here are some great travel deals, discounts, voucher codes and offers we’ve uncovered.

I’ll update with any special sales and codes when they happen. Also do read my guide to getting the best value when booking hotels.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

Bike and cycling deals

Santander Cycles: 50% off a month pass

Santander Cycles is offering 50% off a month pass between 16 and 23 September 2025. This means you’ll pay £11.50 rather than £23 for unlimited 60 minute rides.

To get it, just use the promo code CFD25

You can rent a bike with the Santander Cycles app or just use the machine next to a docking station.

Rides lasting 60 minutes are free, but you’ll have to pay if you go over — on a pedal bike, this is an additional £1.65 for another hour, while an e-bike is £3 for another hour. However you can avoid this by docking your bike and renting it again within the hour.

Find your nearest bikes

Bus, tube and tram deals

£3 bus fare cap – extended to December 2025

Bus fares will be capped at £3 one way in England from January to the end of December 2025. Not all bus companies are taking part – you can see a detailed list of the companies and routes here.

Find out if your local bus company is participating

Train deals and discounts

Train & railcard discounts

From £5 off through to flash sales, we’ve listed the best train ticket savings in a separate deals page here.

Our top train offers and deals

Flight deals and discounts

We’ll update here with any decent sales when they happen. Also, read our guide to saving money when booking flights.

Wizz Air: All You Can Fly subscription (expired)

If you travel a lot, then this new membership from Wizz might appeal. You’ll pay £599 a year for unlimited flights.

In sounds good, but there are a number of catches:

  • Booking only starts in September 2024
  • There’s an extra 9.99 Euro fee on each flight
  • You can only book seats on flights that depart in the next three days, making return trips a little risky
  • It doesn’t include handheld or checked bags (so they’re extra)
  • Only one personal item is included (max. size 40 x 30 x 20 cm)
  • If you miss three flights your membership will be cancelled without a refund
  • It’ll automatically renew each year unless you cancel

Overall it sounds like more hassle than it’s worth, especially when you consider there are cheap tickets available in advance from Wizz and other airlines.

However, if you’re retired or have the flexibility to travel regularly and at the drop of a hat, it could be worth a look.

Get Wizz Air’s subscription

Petrol and motoring deals

Halfords: free 5-point winter car check and bike check

Halfords is offering motorists a 5-point winter car check, which includes:

  • Headlight and brake light check
  • Wiper blade condition check
  • Battery health check
  • Windscreen chip check
  • MOT due date reminder (UK only)

If you’ve got a bike, you can also get a free bike safety check. Halfords says there’s no obligation to get an estimate for repairs or servicing, if any issues do come up.

You’ll need to book in advance on the Halfords website.

Get free car and bike check

Halfords: Free 10-point car check and £5 voucher

If you join the Halfords Motoring Club for free, you can get a free £5 voucher to spend online or in-store at Halfords and a free 10-point car check, worth £15. 

There’s a Premium tier for £49 per year that gets you your MOT (worth £44.99), 2 10-point car checks, a free fitting of wiper blades or headlights and 5% off at the autocentres and in-store. 

This is generally a pretty good deal, but definitely worthwhile if you’re having enough work on your car to make the most of the 5% off, don’t know how to change your headlights or windscreen wipers and would usually do your MOT at Halfords. 

Sign up for Halfords Motoring Club

Taxi and minicab deals

Money off your first Uber journey

Use the code 5ngkw on the Uber app to get a discount on your first ride. This is for first-time users only.

Get Uber

Bus, tube and tram deals

Loyalty travel deals

Uber Member Days: 20% back on car hire, flights and trains (and more deals) (ended)

Subscribers to Uber’s ‘Uber One’ membership can get additional benefits from 16 May to 23 May as part of its new promotion ‘Uber Member Days’. 

Plus, you can get a month trial for free until 23 May, even if you’ve tried it before. Although after this, it’ll renew at £4.99 per month or £49.99 per year. We have a full guide on the membership, but it’s worth noting that this gets you Disney+ if you get the annual membership, so it’s worthwhile if you pay for Disney+ anyway. 

Offers for Uber Member Days include:

  • 20% back in Uber credits for car hire (max £250 back)
  • 20% Back in Uber Credits on Trains
  • 20% Back in Uber Credits on Flights
  • 25% off selected alcohol at Waitrose
  • 50% off snacks from selected supermarkets
  • 50% off Pizza Express items
  • Free Courier Trip (up to £10 off)
More about Uber One

September 15, 2025   |   Deals

Takeaway deals and money saving tips

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Pay less for your takeaways when you order in, including special codes for Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats

Getting a takeaway isn’t money-saving by any means, but if you are going to order one then it pays to find ways to bring down the total cost.

Below we’ve got a few tips to help you cut the price and some top deals.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

Ways to save money on takeaways

Go direct to the takeaway

You can often avoid the fees that come with Deliveroo and Uber Eats by ordering direct from the restaurant. You might even find items are cheaper too!

Collect your order

If that fails and you are happy to pop out you can often save on delivery charges by picking up your order yourself.

Obviously you can do this when you order direct, but you might also be able to combine it with discount codes via the main takeaway apps.

Look for discount codes

It’s often possible to get codes to bring down the cost of your order – especially if you’re a new customer.

Keep an eye on your emails and app notifications as you often get send special offers by the big takeaway brands.

I’ll list the best special offers I spot below.

Use cashback sites

A few of the big takeaway brands are on Quidco and TopCashback. You can earn money back on purchases from Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat, Dominos and Pizza Hut.

If you’ve not used those sites before you can also nab up to £17 back as a welcome bonus, on top of the cashback you’ll earn for your takeaway purchase. Here’s more on getting those bonuses.

Delete the apps

If you tend to regret ordering a takeaway, adding a bit of friction can help you buy them less often. The easiest way is to delete the apps. Doing this doesn’t stop you from ordering but it can take away temptation.

Just Eat discounts

Just Eat: £5 off

Get £5 off a minimum order of £25 with Just Eat this month giving you a 20% saving.

Depending on when you order, you’ll need a specific code. These are:

  • JUSTEAT8 (18-21 September)
  • SAVEME8 (25-28 September)
Get Just Eat

JustEat+: 3 months free delivery for £5.99

Just Eat has launched a brand new service to rival Uber One and Deliveroo Plus. The service, called JustEat+, gets you 90 days of free delivery for £5.99 for orders over £15, as well as additional freebies and extra deals, some of which are listed below.

You can use it as much as you want during that period. It’s not a subscription, so it won’t auto-renew when it ends – brilliant if you have a takeaway hiatus, as you won’t then be endlessly paying for a service you’re not using.

If you want to continue it once it’s finished, you can just add it to your next order.

That’s not all you get, though. There are also some restaurant-specific extra deals you can get, including:

  • A free sausage roll from Greggs on orders for £15
  • Free everyday essentials from the Co-op on orders over £20
  • Free snacks on orders over £15 at One Stop
  • Freebies on orders over £25 at Asda Express
  • Buy one, get one free starters at Pizza Express on orders over £15
  • Up to 30% off with minimum spends between £20-£25 at Leon, Island Poke, The Breakfast Club, and Busaba
  • 15% off German Doner Kebab orders when spending £15+
  • Free footlong cookie on orders over £15 at Subway
  • Buy one, get one free on selected items from Patty & Bun when spending over £20
  • 40% off total orders from Butchies when spending over £20
  • Free chicken dippers from Hop on orders over £15
  • Free chicken bites from Shake Shack on orders over £20

Is it worth it?

When ordering from Just Eat, it usually costs at least £2 for delivery, sometimes as much as £4.50. So you could easily start to save money on your second or third order, and the extra freebies might be nice if you tend to order from any of the places above.

If you have three takeaways a month, paying £3.50 for delivery each time, you’d spend about £31.50 on delivery alone. With JustEat+, you’d only spend £5.99 (assuming your chosen restaurant isn’t excluded).

However, be careful not to spend more money on takeaways because you’ve got this membership. And it’s still worth seeing if it’s cheaper to go directly to the restaurant or via another delivery company.

To get it, you just add it to your order when you check out. It expires after 90 days and won’t auto-renew.

See the T&Cs

Just Eat: 20% off on Tuesdays

Every Tuesday selected restaurants are part of a 20% off deal with Just Eat. There’s a minimum spend of £15 and the discount will be automatically applied.

Your choices can be limited, but it all depends on where you live. It’s well worth checking.

More on Cheeky Tuesdays

Just Eat: £8 off (ended)

Until 30 June 2025, Just Eat is offering £8 off orders with the code JUNE8.

You need to spend £25 or more to use the code. There are thousands of participating restaurants, from locals to national chains like Five Guys and Pizza Express.

It can only be used once per person.

See the full T&Cs

Deliveroo promo codes

Deliveroo: Delivery pass

You can pay either £3.49 or £7.99 a month to get free delivery, depending on the size of your order. If you’re tempted by this Deliveroo Plus subscription, make sure you check out this review to see if it’s worth it for you.

Deliveroo Plus review

Deliveroo: free delivery with Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime members can add on a free year of Deliveroo Plus – but only the tier that gives free delivery on orders over £15. We’d definitely get this if you have Prime, but don’t be tempted to order more often, or spend more on orders, just to get free delivery.

Not got Amazon Prime? You can sign up here for a 30-day free trial, then £95 a year. If you cancel Prime you’ll lose your Deliveroo Plus membership.

Sign up for Amazon Prime

Deliveroo: £10 cashback from Amex each month

Anyone with an American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card can now add an offer to their card to get money back at Deliveroo every month.

You’ll get £5 back on the first two transactions each month. There’s a £5 minimum spend.

Here’s more on the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold card.

More on the Amex Gold card

Featured bank switch deal
Our top pick
Santander £200 switch offer + £25 Amazon Gift Card
Customer rating 3.7/5
  • Switch bonus
    £200
  • Offer ends
    Unknown
  • Extra bonus
    £25 Amazon Gift Card
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Switch bonus requirements Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close your old account within 60 days of starting the switch
  • Deposit requirements Deposit £1,500 in the first 60 days from opening the account
  • Direct debits transferred over Set up two Direct Debits before or after the switch from a selected list of household bills
  • Existing customers? Can't have held any Santander current account on 1 January 2025
  • Restrictions Can't have received a switching bonus from Santander already, offer limited to once per person
  • Eligible accounts Open a new or hold an existing Everyday, Edge, Edge Up or Edge Explorer current account
  • £25 Amazon Gift Card requirements To qualify for the gift card, you need to complete a full switch using CASS and make five debit card transactions by 31 December 2025
View Deal

Uber Eats promo codes

Check the app and your email for user specific codes that happen fairly regularly.

Uber One: free delivery via subscription

Uber also has it’s own scheme – Uber One – which offers discounts on takeaways, as well as rides.

Our Uber One review

Uber Eats: £3 off first order

Use the code eats-5ngkw and you’ll save £3 when you spend at least £20.

Uber Eats: 20% off with Three

Three customers can download the Three+ app to save 20% every week. Minimum order of £15 excluding delivery. More on the Three+ app here.

Free Uber Eats credit for NHS workers (ended)

Link your NHS/HSC email address to your Uber Eats account by 11.59pm on 20 December and get sent promo codes for free food and Uber rides on 23 December to be used over Christmas.

You’ll be able to claim £10 to spend on a meal or groceries via Uber Eats on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

And if you link your Uber account to your NHS/HSC email you can also claim two £10 Uber rides to or from work on the same days.

Link Uber Eats account

Pizza Hut offers

Pizza Hut: 50% off via Tastecard

There’s a trick with Tastecard to get half-price pizza every day of the week at Pizza Hut. You simply need to get a Tastecard and there’s usually a three-month free trial. 

Dominos offers

Dominos: 50% off via Tastecard

Tastecard will also give you 50% off pizza every day of the week at most Dominos. Get a three-month free Tastecard here. 

September 14, 2025   |   Articles

How to save money at Marks and Spencer Food

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Can you save money on your groceries at one of Britain’s pricier food shops?

M&S have a reputation for pricey yet high quality produce in their Simply Food and Foodhall stores – but how do their prices compare to other supermarkets and can you get a reasonably priced grocery shop from there? Here are our top tips to bring down the cost of your trolley.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

M&S signage

Sign up to Sparks

Sparks is the M&S loyalty scheme. Though you won’t earn points or get exclusive prices for scanning your card at the till, it’s still worthwhile joining. 

The Sparks offers are loaded onto your app and you have to activate them first. Most last a few weeks so you have plenty of time to use them.

Here’s what you can expect to get, even if you’re just an occasional M&S shopper:

Free gifts

Although the free gifts are not frequent, I’ve received a few bags of Percy Pigs, a couple of loaves of bread and even a large chocolate bar. Keep an eye out on your birthday too, to see if a treat has been added to help you celebrate.

You can also get a freebie by recycling old clothes in-store as part of their Schwopping scheme. You can learn more about clothes recycling in our article.

Personalised coupons

You’ll also see personalised offers covering both groceries and clothes in the app. The best ones tend to be a set percentage off meat or fish, though sometimes it’s specific products. Again you’ll need to activate them before shopping.

Win your shopping

Another reason to use Sparks is the chance to get your shopping for free. Each store gives away one shop to someone who scans their Sparks card every week. 

I’ve not seen anyone who has bagged this, but the staff see it every week, so it definitely does happen and the amount of shopping given away varies as it’s completely random. I will just keep wishing for it every time I scan my Sparks card and maybe one day it might just happen!

Buy value products

M&S offer many everyday products at ‘remarksable’ prices such as half a dozen free range eggs for £1.45 or four pints of milk for £1.65. That’s comparable to most supermarkets, including the budget ones. 

You also find some really good prices on fruit and vegetables such as 70p for a head of broccoli or 55p for a bag of carrots, prices comparable to the cheaper supermarkets.

Look out for shelf edge barkers to identify price-locked products and if you want to find the fruit and veg on offer, it’s usually right at the entrance.

Shop M&S Meal Deals

Meal for two, pizza night, stir fry, family chicken dinner and fresh pasta dine-in offers are just a few examples of the meal deals available at M&S. 

They offer great value for money and my particular favourite, the chicken feast dine-in deal, could get you all you need for a chicken dinner (one main including a whole chicken and three sides), for £10.

These meal deals offer great value and you can stretch them further by picking the pricier options, such as the whole chickens or steaks. And you don’t have to eat it all at once, so make use of the family meal deals even if you cook for just one. You can use up different components for different meals or even freeze some bits and use them at a later date.

You’ll find these great value meal deals on the end of the aisles and there always seems to be one or two available every time I shop at M&S.

Purchase multi-buy offers such as the ‘3 for £12’ meat and fish

You can buy top quality meat and fish at M&S – but you pay for it. So this is a really good ongoing offer to pay less.

To get the most value out of the multi-buy offers, pick the products which are expensive at full-price such as salmon. The discount then brings the price down, sometimes to less than at other supermarkets. You can get this in-store and at Ocado.

Shop in the evening for yellow stickers

Although M&S reduces groceries in the morning, it is usually only by a nominal amount, but the final reductions from an hour before closing, is when you can pick up amazing bargains. 

Don’t forget you can freeze so much and many of their ready meals can be cooked from frozen. Read our guide to freezing food.

Check cashback apps

Cashback apps like Checkout Smart, Shopmium and Green Jin have cashback offers on products for most supermarkets and although M&S is listed on these apps, at the time of writing, only Green Jin had cashback offers available for M&S.

Pay with discounted gift cards

You can purchase M&S gift cards from sites like JamDoughnut, HyperJar and Cheddar and receive cashback. Here’s how to purchase discounted gift cards . At the time of writing you could get 5% cashback with both JamDoughnut and Cheddar and 4.5% cashback with HyperJar. 

Consider the Marks and Spencer credit card

The M&S credit card gives you one point per £1 spent in M&S but it only offers one point per £5 spent elsewhere. Each point is worth a penny so it pays 1% on purchases at M&S but only 0.2% on purchases elsewhere. So in short, it could be decent if you regularly shop at Marks, but not a great return as a credit card on other spending.

If there is a welcome offer, we’ll share it in the the latest credit card deals.

Alternatively you could use a card that pays 1% at all supermarkets or even all retailers, not just M&S. Find out more about the best reward credit cards.

The M&S Club Rewards scheme is a paid add on to their credit card, but it’s best avoided for all but the most ardent M&S shopper. Here’s our guide to how the M&S Club Rewards work.

The best reward credit cards

Check out my list of the best paying cards that earn points rather than cash

Use Too Good to Go

Many M&S outlets at stations, hospitals and petrol station forecourts are on the food waste app TooGoodToGo. You could grab yourself a bag of surplus goodies worth more than £15 for less than £5. 

Next time you’re rushing to catch a train, take a second to see if M&S is on the app and you could bag yourself a lovely M&S sarnie and more for a bargain price. Though you could also end up with some ready meals which you can’t really eat on a train! 

Buy from Ocado

You can get lots of your M&S favourites delivered to your door from Ocado and if you combine your M&S groceries with other cheaper brands available on Ocado, such as their own-label, you could get a full grocery shop for a more reasonable price.

Most of the M&S offers are available on Ocado too like the meal deals and the multi-buys so you don’t have to go in-store to take advantage of these promotions. Find out how to save money at Ocado here.

Shop via a cashback site

You may not be able to shop with M&S directly for groceries using cashback apps, but Ocado shoppers can. Currently on Quidco, you can get 25% off your first shop with Ocado, free delivery and 7.5% cashback, and up to 7% cashback at TopCashback. 

The cashback on both these sites is limited to a number of transactions, but it’s a great way to get M&S groceries and earn yourself some much appreciated cashback in the process. Here’s how to get up to £20 when you sign up to a cashback site.

So is M&S competitively priced compared to the UK’s other supermarkets?

Marks and Spencer made a bold statement back in 2020, that they were reducing many of their prices in their M&S Foodhalls to attract more family shoppers, as well as joining with Ocado to offer online shopping. The idea was to attract mainstream shoppers, rather than just being known for luxury products.

They still sell those higher end food and drink items, and of course you can expect to pay more for them – though for many that quality is worth the extra cost. 

They are also competitively priced with lots of everyday products such as milk which is priced the same as all the other supermarkets and bread which is 75p and comes with the added benefit of being a source of vitamin D, as well as being the same price as Tesco standard sliced bread.  

Other products like biscuits, crackers, eggs and breakfast cereals are all competitively priced and many identically priced to other UK supermarkets and it goes without saying, that the quality of M&S products is top notch.

But not everything is on par pricewise with other UK supermarkets and don’t forget M&S doesn’t have a big value range, so you won’t find staple products like rice and pasta as cheap. 

So when it comes to shopping at M&S, you will have to check the prices before putting things in your basket, as although some prices are competitively matched, there are some areas where prices are still a lot higher than other supermarkets.

Read next

September 8, 2025   |   Deals

Home and garden deals

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Save on your home essentials from furniture to paint

If you fancy spending the weekend putting up shelves or sorting out the garden, here are the best home, garden and DIY sales and offers.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

Here’s what’s currently on offer.

Current deals

Ikea: up to £50 off your shop

If you’re a member of Ikea’s loyalty scheme, Ikea Family, you can get 20% off kitchen and dining items, in store and online. If you spend £50, you’ll save £10, spend £100 and get £20 off and if your shop costs £250 you’ll save £50.

You’ll need to enter the code SECRETSAUCE50 at checkout to get the discount.

The deal ends 28 September. 

Sign up for Ikea Family

Argos: £5 off £40 spend

Until 17 June 2026, if you’re not currently receiving Argos marketing emails and you sign up for them, you’ll get an email with a unique code that’ll get you £5 off a £40 spend.

Sign up for Argos emails

Decathalon: return used tent for gift card refund

As part of its ‘No Tent Left Behind’ campaign Decathlon is letting customers buy tents, use them for a few months, and return eligible them for a refund on a gift card.

It says some 250,000 tents are left at festivals each year, which mostly go into landfill. And in a bid to reduce waste it’s promising to accept the return of its M100 range of tents bought between 9 June and 14 September 2025.

It encourages customers to enjoy the tent at their summer festivals but for it to accept a return, the tent mustn’t be damaged, stained, torn, contaminated, altered or in poor condition.

You must bring the tent back to a store, with proof of purchase, by 14 September 2025, to be eligible for the offer.

Get free tent

Ikea: Family Card extra savings

If you sign up for the Ikea Family card you’ll be able to get exclusive discounts at your local store including 10% extra off sale items.

More on the Ikea Family Card

B&Q: £5 off £30 spend

Sign up for the B&Q Club online (it’s free) and you’ll get a voucher to save £5 off a £30 spend.

Sign up to the B&Q Club

Emma Bridgewater: Free mug with £40 spend

If you’ve not used the Emma Bridgewater site before and want to spend at least £40 then follow this referral link to claim a free 1/2 pint mug, worth £19.95.

Get a free mug

Expired deals

Hobbycraft: £5 off £15 spend (expired)

If you have the Hobbycraft loyalty app then you can get £5 off a £15 spend until the end of October. You’ll find the voucher in your app or if you’re shopping online, you can use the code HC515 to get the discount.

It can’t be used to sign up for workshops or subscriptions or to buy gift cards

Download the Hobbycraft app

Ikea: £15 off £50 spend and free breakfast (ended)

Wear your pyjamas to Ikea this Saturday 7 September and you’ll get a £15 off voucher to be used against a £50 spend and a free breakfast. There are also other activities running, but they’re store-dependent.

The breakfast available includes one of: a small cooked breakfast, a small vegetarian breakfast, a children’s breakfast, a breakfast bacon roll, a breakfast sausage roll or a breakfast vegetarian roll. You can’t get the cooked breakfasts at the Hammersmith store.

You can only get the breakfast between 9:30am and 11am on 7 September 2024 and you’ll need one of the vouchers that will be distributed at the store on the day and an Ikea Family Card, which is free to sign up for.

See events at your local Ikea

Etsy: £5 off £30 spend (ended)

You can currently get £5 off a £30 spend at Etsy when you use the code SMALL5 until 30 April 2024.

The £30 excludes tax and shipping and you can only buy from shops that accept Etsy payments.

Shop at Etsy

September 8, 2025   |   Articles

Ways to manage your money and mental health

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Reduce the impact money and your mental health have on one another to keep both under control.

Often, people think of mental health as serious conditions such as bipolar or depression, but it’s something we should all consider – not just for ourselves but for friends and family. Mental health is pretty much how you’re feeling and functioning. It can be good, it can be just ok.

But all of us will have moments where it’s bad – even if it’s not a condition that might require longer-term management or medication. Whenever we’re feeling down, feeling stressed or feeling lonely we’re experiencing poor mental health.

And there’s a good chance any of these can impact our finances. Here are a few tips to help you keep on top of things.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

How mental health impacts your money

On a more severe end of the scale, poor mental health could mean you need to miss work, causing you to lose money. It’s common for people to get anxious when dealing with any kind of admin, but when that’s bills or bank statements it can be a larger issue.

Motivation can be a problem, leading to important money matters being ignored. Or perhaps moments of depression or mania could prompt people to spend more money (or money they don’t have.)

The worst-case scenario is that these scenarios lead to unmanageable debts – but it can work the other way too. The two are linked. Money problems can feed depression and anxiety, and that in turn can impact relationships, work and family. Big life changes can make a difference to both finances and mental health too, such as having a baby or losing a loved one.

So it’s not something we should dismiss or hide from. It’s important to take some action before anything happens.

What you can do

Here are some things you can do to manage your finances if you’re likely to experience poor mental health

Automate as much as possible – this means having standing orders and Direct Debits set up so you don’t miss payments when it gets too much to deal with your finances. You can also automate your savings.

Keep on top – When you’re feeling good, build a budget so you know exactly how much have and spend. Then use apps such as Snoop or Plum to keep track of balance and spending, or use a digital bank like Chase, Revolut or Monzo. Find out if your bank will send text or app notifications when you spend or to let you know about upcoming payments.

Use webchats – If you don’t want to pick up the phone, look for a webchat option when getting customer service from your bank.

Give access to a family member or friend – They can deal with banks and bills when you can’t – but you have to absolutely trust them with your money.

Make it harder to spend – Don’t take cards out with you and don’t let browsers remember card details. Or you can just make sure you don’t have credit cards at all. You can also look into ways to stop impulse spending.

Talk to your bank – Many banks will have a dedicated support team who can work through different options to help you manage your account.

Get help with your finances

Get free debt help – It’s important to deal with money problems before they become a crisis, but it’s never too late to seek help. And importantly, you shouldn’t pay for this. Places like StepChange and NationalDebtline are good options.  MoneyHelper (formerly the Money Advice Service) has a free tool to find free advice near you, whether that’s face-to-face, over the phone or via online chat.

Elsewhere, MoneySavingExpert has created a great guide on mental health and debt , and the Mental Health & Money Advice website has information about benefits and support you can get.

Get help with your mental health

Talk to someone – Samaritans, Rethink, Relate and Mind will all provide you with someone to chat with about what’s going on.

Visit your GP – Your doctor can help you find treatment and direct you to other services available.

Read next

August 27, 2025   |   Articles

16 tricks for cheaper train tickets

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Our top ways to save on rail tickets.

As much as I’d like to use trains over cars and planes (and I do when I can), tickets aren’t cheap. Regulated rail fares increases were capped at a 4.6% in March last year in England and Wales, while Scotland capped price rises at 3.8% in April.

However, official figures from the Office of Rail and Road show train tickets in Great Britain have risen by 5.1% during the financial year to March 2025, with cheaper advance fares for south-east England trains going up by almost 10%.

And come March next year, we could expect further hikes! The size of any annual rise is limited to the Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation figure – but only on regulated fares. Non-regulated ones, such as advance singles and day off-peak are set by the rail companies so could go up by more.

You’ll pay these highest prices if you buy your ticket at the station moments before your train is due to leave, but it is possible to significantly lower the cost. Here are my top tricks to bring down the price.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

flexible train travel

Book in advance

An old tip, but still the best. Train companies generally release tickets 12 weeks in advance, and this is when they’ll be cheapest.

Even if you don’t get the advanced fares as soon as they go on sale, it’s still worth booking as soon as you know when you are going to travel. However, these tickets won’t be changeable or refundable.

Though the best fares often go quick, you can still get reduced fares the day before on many routes, and some even offer an advanced discount up until 15 minutes before departure.

It’s worth noting that some rail companies do sell tickets more than 12 weeks ahead of a journey, but watch out as journeys could be changed once engineering works have been confirmed, and they might also be more expensive.

Useful alerts for finding when tickets go on sale

As much as I hate Trainline (you’ll pay a fee for all tickets other on the day of travel), it does have a useful alert system where you can get email notifications for when advanced tickets are on sale. Simply enter the dates you’ll travel and your route.

Trainline also has a feature where it predicts when prices will change.

Travel off-peak

You’ll want to avoid peak travel. Hours vary by train company but think of peak as the the rush hour in the morning, usually until 9am for local journeys or 9.30am in bigger towns and cities. It’s also sometimes in the early evening too, around 4pm to 7pm, though that might just be leaving those big cities rather other trips.

But departures outside of these hours and at weekends, known as off-peak, and you’ll pay less. So if you can move your departure a little later to fit these times you’ll save money.

You may even be able to hack this on long journeys which start in peak hours but splitting your ticket to cover the peak period, and then another to cover the off peak part of the journey. Check too if Friday evening has been deemed off-peak.

Split your ticket

In the wisdom of the train companies, they’ve decided that it’s sometimes cheaper to get two or more separate tickets and split your journey along the way.

You might even be able to stay on the same train! We’ve written more here about how split tickets work.

There are a few different companies offering this now and I find they often come up with different routes. A few websites to look at:

Check if two singles are cheaper than a return

Defying logic, it can sometimes cost less to NOT buy a return ticket. Hopefully the website will show you those options when booking.

Get a season ticket

Travelling a lot? A season ticket might be cheaper. Most train companies will sell weekly, monthly and annual ones.

It’s worth seeing if your employer will provide an interest-free loan to buy the season ticket. You’ll pay it back over the year straight from your salary, so it’s a bit like getting the discount each month. If not, look at 0% purchase credit cards.

There are also now flexible season tickets for those commuting part of the week. When I analysed these they were a mixed bag with some cheaper and some more expensive than buying daily tickets.

Get a railcard

These have just increased in price from £30 to £35, but they’re well worth exploring – especially on an expensive ticket where the discount could cover the railcard’s cost immediately.

The terms & conditions for who and when you can travel vary for each type of card, but you can broadly save a third on travel, sometimes also the for people travelling with you.

For the 16-25 and 26-30 railcards, you can buy this up until the day before your birthday. So buy one the day before you turn 31, and it’ll last until you are almost 32.

If you live in London or the South East and already have an annual season ticket (including TFL) then you also have a Gold Card, which is pretty much the same as the Network Card.

From time to time there are discounts on railcards which we feature on our train deals page.

Look for sales and offers

Also on our train deals page you’ll find details of flash sales that happen throughout the year from providers such as Northern and Transpennine, or the network wide Great British Rail sale which usually occurs in January.

Travel as a group

Different providers might also offer special fares, for example three or more travelling at the same time could benefit from a GroupSave ticket. For groups larger than 10 people, it’s best checking with the rail company to see if there are other discounts.

Find a Weekender ticket

Some providers might also have special weekend return offers for departures Friday or Saturday and returning by Monday.

Earn cashback or points

Use the right booking app or payment card and you could be looking at 5% to 10% back on your ticket price, perhaps even more at times. And you can stack this with other offers or railcards.

We’ve covered this in detail in our guide to earning cashback on train bookings.

Don’t pay a booking fee

Use popular companies such as the Trainline and you’ll be hit with booking fees and delivery charges. It’s better to direct with the train operator and you’ll likely save yourself cash – even if they don’t operate the route. I tend to use the LNER site, though there are other decent train booking apps and sites.

You’ll need to pick up at the station or have digital tickets to avoid delivery charges with many booking websites.

Go First Class for less

It can sometimes cost less to travel in First Class if you leave it late and the advance fares are all gone, so don’t discount them completely.

Or on the day of travel the app Seat Frog will let you bid for a reduced upgrade to First. If you factor in the free food and drink on longer journeys this can be a bargain.

Claim a refund for any train delays

Each company has slightly different rules, but essentially if you are delayed more than 30 minutes once the journey has started there is a good chance you’ll be able to claim something, possibly 50%. If it’s over an hour you might get the whole lot back. A handful have cut the time to a 15-minute delay.

Ask at the ticket office or look on the train operator’s website for more information. If your journey is split between two different companies and a delay on the first one makes you miss the connection, it’s less likely you’ll get something. Here’s how to get a train refund.

Book a surprise fare

If you’re travelling via Avanti, then their Superfare gets you a discounted ticket, you just won’t know what time you’re travelling straight away. You’ll pick morning, afternoon or evening for your trip, and 24 hours before you leave you’ll be told which train you’re on. You can book between seven and 56 days in advance.

Buy a travelcard with your ticket

If you pick a train ticket to London and plan to use the tube or buses during the day, then adding in a railcard at purchase might work out cheaper -e specially if you’re using the overground or other trains within zones one to six. Plus you’ll be able to benefit from the cashback savings detailed above.

Combine with a day out

Technically this final tip won’t reduce the cost of a train ticket, but you can use that ticket to get you reduced entry to attractions like London Bridge and Legoland. Check out the National Rail Days Out guide to see who’s taking part in the promotion.

Read next

August 16, 2025   |   Articles

The Marriage Allowance tax break explained

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You could pay £252 less tax this year – and possibly backdate it for another four years.

The Marriage Allowance is a way to shift some of your tax-free allowance to your husband or wife if they are a low earner.

If you’ve been eligible for the current and past four years, you could claim back tax worth £1,260.

There are various conditions so it won’t be for everyone (including me), but it’s certainly worth taking a look at the criteria to see if you can claim.

Here’s how it works and what you need to know.

Who is eligible for the Marriage Allowance?

You need to be either married or in a civil partnership. 

The higher earner in the couple must earn less than £50,270 but more than £12,570 in the tax year you’re applying for. So right now, that’s 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.

In Scotland it’s a little different and income below £43,662 for the higher earner.

The lower earner in the couple must earn less than £12,570 in the same year. This is the basic rate threshold where you start paying income tax, though if you have a lower limit (for example because you underpaid tax a previous year) then that amount will apply.

You’re able to make a claim if you get a pension, as my parents did. But, if you or your partner were born before 6th April 1935 (anyone currently 90 years old and above), then you can choose instead to get the Married Couples Allowance.

How much money can you get?

The scheme allows the lower earner to transfer 10% of their tax-free allowance to the higher earner. So for this tax year, with the threshold at £12,570, you can move £1,257 of the allowance over. 

So let’s say the lower earner’s total income for the year is £10,000. By transferring 10% of their personal allowance to their spouse, their personal allowance drops to £11,313. But since they earn less than this, it doesn’t change the fact that they don’t pay any tax that year,

However, the higher earner now has an increased personal allowance of £13,827 before any tax is due. Since the basic rate of tax is 20% this will work out as paying £251.40 less tax in the year (20% of £1,257).

Of course, if one of you earns between £11,313 and £12,570, you won’t get the full benefit. That’s because the lower earner will now have to pay 20% on anything above £11,313.

You won’t be paid back any saved cash. Instead, the tax code of the higher earner will change, and they’ll just pay less tax throughout the year or on their own tax return if they’re self-employed.

Claiming Marriage Allowance for previous years

You can backdate your claim by four years alongside the current year. Usually the amount per year changes, though, since the tax thresholds have been frozen since 2021/22, the amount hasn’t actually changed since then. That means your claim is potentially worth up to £1,260 over the five years.

Any money from previous years will be sent to you via cheque so you’ll see the savings (almost) straight away.

You can also claim for a deceased partner if they’ve they were alive and you were both eligible during one or more of those tax years.

Here’s how to see if you were eligible and how much you could potentially claim for these previous years.

2024/25 Marriage Tax Allowance totals

The basic rate upper threshold was £50,270 in 2024/25 (£43,663 in Scotland), while the personal allowance was £12,570.

So the amount you could claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be £252.

2023/24 Marriage Tax Allowance totals

The basic rate upper threshold was £50,270 in 2023/24 (£43,663 in Scotland), while the personal allowance was £12,570.

So the amount you could claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be £252.

2022/23 Marriage Tax Allowance totals

The basic rate upper threshold was £50,270 in 2022/23 (£43,662 in Scotland), while the personal allowance was £12,570.

So the amount you could claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be £252.

2021/22 Marriage Tax Allowance totals

The basic rate upper threshold was £50,270 in 2021/22 (£43,662 in Scotland), while the personal allowance was £12,570.

So the amount you could claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be £252.

How to claim the Marriage Tax Allowance

It’s really simple. You head to the HMRC website or phone them on 0300 200 3300.

The lowest earner needs to be the one who applies, as it’s their allowance which will transfer over.

You’ll need both your National Insurance numbers, as well as one of the following ways to prove your identity:

  • the last 4 digits of the account that your child benefit, tax credits or pension is paid into
  • the last 4 digits of an account that pays you interest
  • details from your P60
  • details from any of your 3 most recent payslips
  • your passport number and expiry date

Once you’d made the initial claim, it’ll keep going each new financial year.

What if your situation changes?

If you or your partner’s income changes during the current year you are claiming for and you’re no longer eligible then you need to let HMRC know. You’ll still get the tax break for the rest of the year.

You also need to do this if your relationship ends through a divorce, dissolution or if you become legally separated. The claim could be backdated in this scenario which means you could owe tax.

Read next

August 5, 2025   |   Articles

Check your credit score & report for free

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You can also get complete access to your credit report at the same time.

Credit reports and scores are essential tools you need to be aware of – and continue to monitor. A few years ago you’d have needed to pay to access your full report on a regular basis, and even see your score.

But now there are third party websites and apps you can use which won’t charge you a penny.

Here’s why they are important, and how to sign up.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

The three credit scores and reports

You’d think there’s just one credit score but actually three core ones (let’s ignore for now the fact that lenders might have their own scores too!). Each one is different, and they are based on the date in the credit reports managed by the UK’s three credit reference agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Frustratingly they all have different methods of compiling and presenting their scores. There are totally different ranges, so it’s impossible to compare them.

Now you might think, that doesn’t really matter as you’ll only focus on one report. Well sadly no. You need to check all three reports.

That’s because they potentially hold different details about your financial history. Not every company reports to all three. So you might find your bank or credit card appears on one or two, but not all three.

And that matters because when a lender checks a report to consider your application, they’ll probably just go to one.

And if that one is one with missing accounts or errors it could end up with a rejection.

Credit report vs credit score

A credit report is a collection of information about your finances. From all the bank accounts, loans and other credit you have, through to a record of missed payments, financial connections and address history.

It’s frequently used to confirm your identity, but more commonly it’s a way for lenders to work out if they will give you that mortgage or credit card.

So it’s really, really important – though it isn’t the only thing that’ll be taken into account when you apply.

The score is far less important. It’s simply a representation of the health of your credit report. In itself it won’t make any difference to any applications.

Still, it’s handy for us as punters to get a quick idea of things. And it’s easier to track a score than regularly go through the report.

If there’s a sudden drop in the figure it’s a good idea to try to find out if it’s anything significant that you need to deal with.

But if it carries on relatively steady then you know you’ll only need to take action if you want to bring it up – a sign you’re getting rid of errors and adding depth to your underlying credit report.

Here’s more about how credit reports work, and why they’re important.

How to check your credit score & report

You can sign up to each credit agency’s own service to access your score for free. Some banks even bundle this in with your current account. So that’s pretty easy.

But if you want to see your full report (which is the important thing to check), then with both Equifax and Experian you’ll have to pay a monthly fee of around £11 to £15.

Though you can also request a Statutory Credit Report to view online, it’s generally not as detailed, and won’t have your score. So you’re better off using a third party service that’ll give you full online access in a few clicks for free.

They don’t all update in real time (often it’s a monthly refresh), and might not go back more than a year, but you’ll get everything you need right now to check for errors and find areas you might be able to improve. You can also use these sites for additional services, such card and loan eligibility and tracking.

These services will all also email you monthly or when things change. It’s worth clicking through to check when you receive them. This can be an early warning sign of any fraud or applications not in your name. If you ignore these (it’s easy to do when your inbox is full) at least check them before any you make any applications.

Free Experian credit score and report

Experian app

Since July 2025 you’ve been able to get digital access to your Experian report via the Experian app.

There’s also an eligibility checker. This is vital when you are looking to apply for a new credit card or loan. Here’s more on how they work.

You get an update to your report once a month which should be fine for most people. Since Experian is the biggest credit reference agency it’s probably the most important one to keep an eye on.

Free Equifax report and score

ClearScore

ClearScore is a free way to monitor your Equifax score for life. It’s simple to find your way around it and it explains what you’re seeing.

You can access on desktop or via an app. I like the timeline feature which lets you see how your score, as well as things like mortgage debt change month by month.

Again it updates monthly, but for most that’ll be fine.

A warning – ClearsScore will email you regularly trying to get you to open a new credit card or loan. Just ignore the products they try to sell you!

Free TransUnion report and score

Credit Karma

It’s completely free to check your full report direct with TransUnion. You can do this via their own Credit Karma website. Your score is updated weekly.

Check all three credit reports

If you’ve been a victim of fraud and you’re worried about applications going out in your name then you can also sign up to CheckMyFile.

This is free for 30-days, but it will give you full access to all three reports including those instant notifications of changes. If you don’t want to keep the service you’ll need to cancel to you don’t pay the full £14.99 a month.

Earn cashback to check your score

Cashback sites TopCashback and Quidco will pay you to sign up to Experian’s free site.

Rates can change so it’s worth checking both, but at the time of writing the amounts are listed below.

Dont’ forget that if you’ve never used either cashback site you should nab a new member bonus of up to £20.

QuidcoTopCashback
Experian free account£2£9
Experian Boost£5

Read more on credit reports