Pound to £5k Challenge

Edition 72

This week saw the Bank of England announce an interest rate cut of 0.25% to 4.25% amongst news of lowering inflation

Whilst this cut was expected, 2 of the 9 person committee in charge of decisions wanted to cut this lower to 4.0% with another 2 not wanting to move this at all

This is good news for anyone looking to (re)mortgage as interest rates fall but may have already been priced into markets previously, but does mean that anyone with significant cash savings will likely earn less interest going forwards

We have also seen a few new good offers come to fruition over the last week, so here are the best ones that I have found…

Missed any previous emails? Check them out at the link below!

Tesco £50 Clubcard Bonus?

Tesco originally launched their “Clubcard Challenges” last year and we haven’t seen anything on this recently but they have relaunched this and it runs to 15 June 2025 for selected customers

To see if you are eligible to take part, search your emails for “Clubcard Challenges” or check your Tesco app and you should find it!

The way this works is that you can choose 10 categories from a list of pre-selected options that differ for everyone

Some of these are based on things you have historically purchased (e.g: food to go/ meal deals) and others are based on paid partnerships (e.g: Huel, Starbucks, etc.)

Between signing up and the end of the challenge, you can earn bonus points when you hit specific spend levels. As an example:

One of the ones I selected was fresh fruit and I can get the following:

• Spend £4: Get 50 bonus points

• Spend £7: Get 120 bonus points

• Spend £12 Get 270 bonus points

If you reach the next level, you don’t get the bonus points from the previous level(s) and it is vitally important not to spend just to get the points

The way that I have historically done these challenges is to pick the ones that fit in with our usual grocery spending and if we complete any challenges then it’s a bonus

How to ALWAYS save at Tesco

I’m hoping that most people reading this are already well aware of the easiest way to save money on your weekly shopping at Tesco and most other major UK supermarkets, but if not here is the best way to do so:

Tesco

1. Ensure you always scan your Clubcard for an equivalent 1% back in Clubcard points or 2% if you exchange for Clubcard partner offers

2. If you spend more than £40 per week consistently in Tesco then consider signing up for Clubcard Plus which costs £7.99 per month but gives you 10% off on two shops per month

   10% on a £40 spend twice a month would give you £8 off meaning you would break even, but spend more and you’ll save more!

   You also get discounts on F&F clothing and other own-brands

3. Use cashback apps like EverUp, Cheddar or JamDoughnut to purchase a gift card and use this to pay instead of your bank card

   These apps consistently offer cashback rates of ~4-5% and sometimes more

Nectar Bonus at Sainsbury’s?

Nectar have also introduced a “Shop for Points” challenge which is available for very selected customers but worth checking if you can see it!

Spend £1+ in-store and you can receive bonus Nectar points in increments that mean you could get quite a lot back in comparison to the minimum spend of £1

Details on this are limited as only select people can see it but if you have it on your app do let me know the details you can see!

This should run until 4 June 2025

FREE Ginsters “Pocket”

You can get a free Ginsters Sriracha Chicken Pocket (100g) or a Ginsters BBQ Beef Pocket (100g) at the link below at participating Tesco stores while stock lasts (3,000 available in total)

NEW 6.5% Savings Account

Virgin Money have just opened their new Regular Saver paying a whopping 6.5% which on the face of it seems really good, and whilst it isn’t to be ignored it’s worth noting that there are two better alternatives for regular savings accounts:

• FirstDirect - 7% on £25 - £300 per month for 12 months

• Co-Op - 7% on £0 - £250 per month for 12 months

£10 off £100 at IKEA

If you are expecting to make any purchases at IKEA over the next few weeks you might be able to get a £10 off coupon, here’s how:

1. Purchase and collect an order at a participating IKEA store using the Click & Collect service

2. You should then receive a coupon for £10 off a £100 in-store spend which I anticipate could be done on the same day as collecting the first purchase

Don’t forget that you can then couple this with cashback via EverUp (see earlier) which is currently offering 5.6% cashback

This means that you could effectively get a £100 purchase for £84.96 (Initial cost of £100 - £10 coupon - 5.6% cashback on £90)

BEST FREE MONEY OFFERS

£10 from SumUp Pay app

You have probably heard of SumUp before as the mass-market card readers used by loads of small businesses across the UK

Well, they’ve also launched a card that pays 0.5% cashback on transactions BUT they’re paying a £10 sign-up bonus through referrals

1. Message me “SUMUP” for a referral link

2. Download the app and sign up

3. Verify your ID

4. Enter a referral code (I will give to you in step 1)

5. Within 30 days, make 3+ card payments of £10+ (combined)

6. You will receive a £10 bonus for doing so!

7. You can then also refer friends and family for £10 each

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