A bargain-hunting Leeds shopper has revealed the tricks she used to cut her weekly food shop from £90 to just £20.
Cerys Phillips says it’s all about timing when it comes to snapping up the best deals.
The 20-year-old times her supermarket shops and also uses zero food waste apps to both save cash and reduce food waste.
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Cerys shares her discount shops on Instagram via @GrilledSheeze, bagging bargains for as little as 8p and managing to make entire meals for under a quid a head, Wales Online reports.
Speaking to money-saving site LatestDeals.co.uk, she said she loved spending her days off searching all the supermarkets in town to find the best yellow sticker deals.
(Image: Latestdeals.co.uk)
And she added that yellow sticker times – when prices are slashed on items – can be different for every store.
She said it’s worth asking at supermarkets for their timings, as she has spotted a pattern emerging.
Cerys continued: “As a general rule of thumb I go to a supermarket at either around 7.30pm or an hour before closing time, you learn which stores will put out their reduced bits at certain times.
“When in a supermarket you’ll usually be able to find a specific reduced area, usually the chilled items will be at the bottom of a fridge and the ambient items will be on the end of an aisle, they’re great at marking them with red ‘reduced’ signs and once you’ve got a knack for finding them you’ll start seeing them from across the store!”
(Image: Latestdeals.co.uk)
Her food bills used to be more than £90 for two people – now she’s slashed it to around £20.
Cerys also uses apps, like Too Good to Go and Olio.
She explained: “Recently I picked up a TooGoodToGo vegan box which cost me just £10. I got apples, oranges, kiwi fruits, pears, a melon, peaches, plums, blueberries, grapes, tomatoes, cucumber, aubergine, broccoli, leeks, pak choi, spring onions, potatoes, soya milk, flour and more!”
“I also buy bags of reduced foods from ‘TooGoodToGo’ and collect freebies from ‘Olio’,” she added.
While we have been spending more time at home, it’s important to check you are getting the best deals from your providers.
Save on energy bills – Sign up for LookAfterMyBills. The free services automatically switches you to the cheapest energy company, potentially saving you up to £290. You can also use MoneySupermarket to compare switching services.
Cut TV costs – Check your TV and broadband bills. Sky usually offers deals and discounts when you renew your contact and it can potentially cut your bills. If you are on BT or Virgin you can do the same.
Switch and save – Uswitch offers simple, hassle-free switching and saving to often exclusive tariffs. It takes moments and can save you up to £216 a year.
Cerys is also careful to use up everything she buys, making sure nothing goes to waste. She uses extra vegetables in curries, pies and stews and freezes as much as she can, or shares with friends and family.
She said: “As a vegan I was particularly excited to find a stack of Galaxy vegan chocolate reduced from £3 to 75p! I have also been able to pick up plant-based no-pepperoni pizza for 25p reduced from £2.50 and no moo-zarella sticks for £1.75 instead of £2.20.
“On other occasions I have picked up vegan burgers for 15p instead of £1.50, ice cream cones reduced to 30p from £2 and vanilla ice cream for 8p instead of 80p! Simply by browsing the reduced aisles at the right times and using apps like Olio and TooGoodToGo can result in some massive gold mines.”
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