Eight things you should never pay full price for

From your home to your households gadgets, Christmas cards to cinema tickets, here's why you shouldn't pay full price for these things.

It's often worth trying to get a discount, whether by haggling or being armed with a voucher or code. Here are eight things we think you should never pay full price for.

Your home

It’s the biggest purchase you’ll ever make but that doesn’t mean you should pay full price. 

Nearly three quarters (73%) of homes sold go for less than the asking price according to the latest figures from the National Association of Estate Agents. 

Eating out

It’s not exactly hard work finding discount vouchers for restaurant chains like Pizza Express, Bella Italia, La Tasca and Pizza Hut. They regularly seem to have deals, whether it's two meals for the price of one, 25% off, or kids eat free with a paying adult.

It's always worth checking with sites like VoucherCodes.co.uk and MyVoucherCodes.co.uk to see what discounts you can pick up.

Similarly, we can’t even remember the last time we set foot in Pizza Express without an offer in our pockets. Even its own website has an ‘offers’ section including a current one for 25% off food.  Just click on the deal, type in the restaurant you’re visiting and your email details to get the voucher code.  

Signing up for free restaurant loyalty cards is another route to instant savings – for example, with a La Tasca card you get 20% off. Signing up for free emails from your favourite restaurants is another surefire way to save with regular offers direct to your inbox.

[Related story: Five ways to find cheaper petrol and diesel and buy less fuel]

Christmas cards

There’s heaps of stores offering ‘three for two’ deals on Christmas cards at this time of year. For example, Marks & Spencer currently has a ‘three for two’ offer on everything from cards and wrapping to diaries, calendars, decorations and gifts. 

Meanwhile over at Next you can get ‘three for two’ on cards and wrapping.

With these sorts of deals it is worth remembering that it’s usually the cheapest item that’s free. 

And don't forget that come January, Christmas cards and wrapping paper will be significantly discounted so be sure to stock up ahead of next year!

Groceries

You don’t have to hunt far in the aisles of any supermarket to find price cutting deals. But if you don’t want to do it yourself, make use of handy online tools like MySupermarket.co.uk that check the best deals across all the supermarkets and reckon to save you around 30% on your trolley load.  

Furniture

DFS and Bathstore are just two stores that seem to have year round promotions going on.

Watching the DFS website recently we spotted a half price deal on its ‘new season collection’ which was set to end at midnight last Monday. But the half price offer was still sitting on its website the following day. 

On checking we were told DFS still has a number of products on sale until the end of November, with most items going "in and out of sale" throughout the year. 

So if you know that you are going to be buying a new sofa or bedroom units in the near future, be sure to visit your favourite retailers' websites regularly to ensure you pick up a bargain on your favourite bit of furniture.

Washing machines and household gadgets

Some of the big high street stores like Tesco and Argos have lesser known online ‘outlet’ stores where you can find deals on both brand new or refurbished items including washing machines, ovens, TV’s and laptops. 

We spotted an Indesit Washing machine on Argos’s outlet store on eBay for £199; a saving of £90 compared with the £289 price tag at Debenhams.

Cinema tickets  

There's a host of different ways to save at the cinema. If you can go during the week rather than at weekends, then you can usually enjoy discounts. For example some Cineworld cinemas operate Bargain Tuesdays, while Odeon offers Supersaver tickets Monday to Thursday before 5pm. 

Many chains offer their own membership schemes, which allow you to cut the cost of your ticket too, from Showcase's Insider Club to Cineworld's Unlimited card, which drastically cut the cost of going to the cinema.

You can also bag tickets to free preview screenings through the likes of Show Film First.

Enjoy money back on your everyday spending: compare cashback credit cards