Six Ways to Save Money at Readymoney Beach Shop

We're all feeling the pinch these days so I thought it might be helpful to explain how you can save money at Readymoney Beach Shop, both in person at the shop in gorgeous Fowey, Cornwall and online.

10% Online Discount

First things first, if you're not already signed up to my weekly newsletter "Notes from Readymoney Cove" then click this link to subscribe. The newsletter goes out once a week, on a Sunday morning and always includes new photos of the Cove, hints and tips about things which are going on in and around Fowey, anecdotes about what I've been up to as a small business owner and weekly product picks from our wide online range of gifts, souvenirs, homewares and much more. I get so much lovely feedback about my newsletters so why not join the club and get a 10% online discount as soon as you subscribe plus other discounts released as and when.

You can also benefit from a range of money-saving card schemes when visiting our lovely little shop at Readymoney beach in Fowey in person. The following discounts are all in store only, read on to find out more!

Readymoney Beach Shop Locals Card

We've been running this card scheme for many years as a thank you to our loyal local customers who visit us all year round, whatever the weather. When I opened the shop I was conscious that the days of buying a £1 ice lolly from the ice cream van were no longer so I introduced the "local's ice cream" - half a scoop of our delicious Cornish ice-cream on a wafer cone for half the regular price. This is always a popular choice for those of us lucky to live nearby and a particular hit with the local children.

These are physical cards only and they must be presented when you order your ice cream, before we scoop it! We cannot put ice cream back if you haven't mentioned the card and we've scooped you a standard single so normal price will be charged. Flakes, fudge sticks etc are charged at normal price, the locals deal just covers the ice cream and the wafer cone. You can also rent one of our "hire not buy" bodyboards for £1 for the whole day by showing your Local's Card.

Please be assured that this scheme is absolutely not about "ripping off tourists" (the accusation has been levelled in the past) and there is no secret under-the-counter pricing system. We have always been very transparent about who this scheme applies to and the reasons why we offer it.

So if you are a permanent resident in a PL23 or PL24 postcode please bring down your driving licence, bus pass or bank statement to prove your permanent residency and we'll write you out a card. We cannot accept council tax bills or other utility bills as these do not necessarily prove permanent residency and we are sorry that at present we can't extend this offer to other postcodes in Cornwall, but read on for details of another scheme that may well apply to you

Pard Card

Launched in September 2023 by the force of Cornish nature that is Jam & Meme, the Pard Card is another discount scheme to help Cornish locals save a few quid at businesses across Cornwall. We were delighted to be the first Fowey business to sign up to the scheme and several more have followed since. You can find out more information about the card here including how to purchase.

Again, this is a physical card and eligible only for Cornish locals (more detail about that here.) The discount card entitles you to 10% off in store at the time of purchase. You must show the card in order to benefit from the discount and the name on the card must match the card you are paying with (this is Pard Card rules, not ours). Checks will be made to keep the system running fairly so please be mindful of this.

The Bluetits Chill Swimmers

This discount card scheme isn't limited by postcode but relates to a discount card which can be purchased on the Bluetits website. The Bluetits Chill Swimmers are a fabulously welcoming community of open water swimmers who encourage anyone and everyone into the water, in wetsuits or not and they certainly played a significant role in introducing me to sea swimming. We regularly see "Tits on Tour", with Bluetits visiting from other "flocks" across the country.

Discounts are available from a wide range of businesses of varying sizes and varying locations, both in person and online although mostly with a swim or water related theme. At Readymoney Beach Shop, the Bluetits Chill Swimmers discount card entitles you to 10% purchases in store. Follow the link here for more information about how to obtain yours.

Borrow A Beach Toy At Readymoney Beach Shop

With our location right on the beach at Readymoney Cove, I am always keen to ensure that running as sustainable as business as possible is at the heart of Readymoney Beach Shop. We decided back in 2022 not to reorder any buckets & spades made of virgin plastic and now only offer items made from metal, wood or recycled plastic. Our suppliers are becoming more and more aware of these issues and it's great to see recycled ranges being extended.

However, it's always better to reuse than to recycle and having been alarmed by the amount of perfectly serviceable beach toys (often not purchased from us in the first place) just being left on the beach, we established our abandoned beach toy library. It has been a big hit with regular local visitors and holidaymakers alike and we're just as happy for people to donate unwanted items, just as long as they are in usable condition. Anything broken should please be disposed of responsibly.

We also no longer sell bodyboards but instead hire out unbreakable boards made by Bude based surf shop Zuma Jay. These are a really reasonable £2 per day to hire, only £1 per day if you hold one of our Local's Cards.

Bring Your Own Cup

I am very proud of our reusable cup scheme, even the cups themselves are made from recycled plastic. We estimate that during 2023 and 2022 we saved a whopping 29,000 single use disposable cups each year. Most of our customers enjoy their hot drinks on the beach or in the shelter and we get so much lovely feedback about how nice it is to drink from a cup with a proper handle. We do have single use cups available but charge 25p per cup, partly to discourage use simply through habit and partly to cover the additional cost of not using one of our own cups. If you bring your own cup to the beach with you we'll even give you a 20p discount, after all its one less cup for us to wash and that's a saving of 45p against buying a hot drink in a single use cup.

If you don't have a reusable cup then our Circular Co cups are very popular (did you know they are made from recycled disposable coffee cups?) as are our enamel mugs and if you buy one of these at the beach shop you'll get a free drink in your cup at the point of purchase. Sadly we can't extend this particular offer to cups purchased online!

I hope this has a been a useful run down of how you can save money when visiting Readymoney Cove. Times are tough for many and to steal a phrase from a well known brand, every little helps! Oh, you can also get free reading material from our stock of ex-library books, currently stored in the disabled toilet, if you fancy something to read whilst lounging on the beach with your discounted coffee!