Flash sales at Homebase and Tesco vouchers
Free medicines for coughs and colds, flash sales at Homebase and Laura Ashley, reclaim and boost Tesco vouchers and free tennis coaching sessions in June.These are our Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis’ 90 Second Savers.
Remember, deals can change quickly, even while I’m on the programme. So always double-check the terms and conditions before spending. Plus, while I hope these deals will save you cash, don’t spend if you can’t afford it, don’t need it, or won’t use it.
Free medicines for coughs, cold and more
If you or your child has a minor health complaint and you're already entitled to a free prescription, you may also be able to get free non-prescription medicines and treatments such as to treat coughs, diarrhoea, eczema and headlice through the little-known NHS Minor Ailments Service. It's unlikely you'll be given branded drugs like Calpol or Nurofen, but you can get generic, unbranded equivalents, plus things like eye-drops.
In Scotland all community pharmacies run the scheme, but in England, Wales and Northern Ireland it's run by the NHS locally - some areas will offer it, but others won't. You'll find it in selected Boots, Sainsbury's, Lloyds and Tesco pharmacies, plus other chains and independents. In England, see if your local health service body offers it via the NHS website.There are different criteria all over the country - though they may be inundated with requests at present due to lots of recent publicity around the service, so be careful.
Flash sales: Homebase 15% off and Laura Ashley 30% off
- Homebase 15% off almost everything: From Saturday 23 May, go online to Homebase or to your nearest store where you’ll get an automatic 15% off almost everything until Monday 25 May. It applies to most full-price and reduced items so check the item you want is included before you pay. Delivery starts from £3.95 and varies depending on the item’s size, but with most items, you can order online and collect instore for free.
- Laura Ashley 30% off: Go online to Laura Ashleyor in-store and you’ll get an automatic 30% off almost all items until Sunday 7 June. Delivery’s £4.50 if you order online (free delivery on furniture and upholstery), but you can collect from a store for free. There are some exclusions, so again, check before you pay.
New Tesco double-up
If you’re a Tesco shopper, you’re due your latest batch of vouchers in the post this week. Don’t just spend them on the weekly grocery shop though. Until 28 June, online and instore, each £5 of Clubcard vouchers you swap gets a £10 Boost voucher spendable in gardens, toys, cosmetics, games, electricals and its equivalent of the Argos catalogue, Tesco Direct. See its full Tesco Boost info.
You don’t have to pay solely in Boost vouchers, you can make the rest up in cash. My top picks are a Kindle Fire HD 6 for £40 (usually £79) or a 16GB iPad Mini 2 for £100 in vouchers (usually £199), though do a price comparison first for other items.
Before that though, check if you can quadruple rewards. Redeem vouchers via Tesco Clubcard partners and you can get 3x or 4x points’ value, eg, £10 voucher becomes £40 at Café Rouge, £30 at Goldsmiths jewellers and more.
Free tennis sessions and coaching
Adults or children can net free tennis sessions and coaching (usually up to £15) as part of the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) Great British Tennis Weekend. It has hundreds of venues across England, Scotland and Wales and the best bit is you can go to as many sessions as you like. Events are taking place across the weekend of Saturday 13 June and Saturday 1 August.The LTA suggests you book online in advance, but in some case it's fine to turn up on the day as long as there's room. You’ll be asked to create an account if you book online, but you can opt out of receiving marketing material.