Columnist Alun Newman: 'Long live the tight wads'
I’ve just spent the morning recording some radio with the Coupon Kid - I wanted a selection of features from one of the UK’s most 'obsessed tightwads', his words.
You never quite know how life’s going to turn out. The Coupon Kid, Jordan Cox, was a young teenager when his parents divorced.
He noticed his mum was struggling financially and, rather than be a bystander, turned his attention to the world of coupons. He once managed to buy £600 of shopping for 4p. Yes, that’s right.
The story made the national newspapers and from then on his career path was sealed.
His mum, in fairness, thought it would be a fad and he’d move onto a “proper” career.
However, he’s still going at 28 years old and is now a regular guest on the This Morning sofa with Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard.
He also has tens of thousands of followers across his social feeds. In reality, paper coupons are now rare, however, as we walked and talked, it’s clear the concept still exists, it's just moved online.
There’s an almost endless stream of apps and websites vying for your personal details in exchange for money off or cash back. Some even let you photograph receipts and, if qualifying products are listed, you get instant cashback.
I realised quite early on that it’s better to follow an expert - they’ve done the research and made the mistakes. In return, they benefit when you sign up to their weekly newsletter.
I confess, I don’t really get all of it. How does this cashback work? Where are my details going? Should I care or just punch the air as I beat the system?
‘The Kid’ has some brilliant stories to prove the savings. He’s just returned from France, where he got return flights for £4 - that's the total, both ways. This never happens to me.
He’s also been somewhere like Spain, completed a weekly shop, and still beaten UK prices even factoring in the airfare. How is that even possible?
I appreciate that to achieve this consistently, it would have to be a full-time job. It’s a niche, you don’t meet many career advisors telling children they can travel Europe by mastering coupons.
However, he has done exactly that, and born out of hardship, something joyful and fun has followed.
I’m not sure I’ve got the discipline to use apps for a 30p saving on a coffee or shop smart across multiple stores, but the savings are out there.
I tend to get overwhelmed by what an app is asking me to do, or I forget about the discount until I get home.
I was impressed by Josh, and others clearly are too. The Coupon Kid was being stopped in the street by all kinds of people who’ve benefited from his thrift.
Long live the tight wads holding the guiding light to saving.