A savvy supermarket shopper says he saves almost £1,000 each year by hunting out reduced food.
Father-of-one Gary Bramhall, 46, who lives in Cheshire, says the cash he has saved is enough to pay for a holiday to Florida next year for his family.
To make his money stretch further, Gary looks out for yellow sticker deals and uses food-waste apps such as Too Good to Go and Olio.
Some of his best deals include supermarket mashed potato reduced from £1 to just 5p, and chicken breast fillets down from £3.75 to 19p.
Gary, who works in IT Support for the NHS, told LatestDeals.co.uk that he tends to find the best yellow sticker deals about an hour before stores close.
However, keep in mind this can vary shop to shop - your best bet is to familiarise yourself with the working pattern of your favourite grocer.
Gary said: "I go to shops at certain times, such as 3pm on a Sunday or 8pm on a weekday, about an hour before store closes to get the best yellow sticker deals.
"Anything I don’t eat that day or the next I freeze. You can freeze a lot more than you think, like herbs, which are always reduced to 10p.
"Don’t be afraid to ask supermarket staff what time they bring out the yellow stickers. It’s in their interest to tell you. They want to reduce food waste as well, and also love a bargain.”
Do you love to hunt out yellow stickers and want to share your bargain tips? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
Gary is also a big fan of free food waste websites Too Good To Go and Olio.
Too Good To Go is run through an app that lets you pick up reduced food that would otherwise be binned - for example, if the grub is approaching its sell-by date.
The only slight downfall is you can’t choose what you get in your bag, as it depends on what stock the store has that day.
Too Good To Go partners with brands such as Greggs, Costa, M&S, Pret and more.
Olio, meanwhile, is a community platform that lets you see if your neighbours are giving away food for free.
Supermarkets like Tesco have also teamed up with Olio to help get food into hands of people in need.
Gary said: “Too Good To Go is a good website where people can go to get food cheap that will otherwise go to waste.
"I have saved hundreds many of pounds this year and I’m using it for a holiday to Florida next year.
"I estimate that I save around £20 a week, £80 a month and almost £1,000 a year by being careful with my food shopping.”
To help others grab a bargain, Gary has also started his own Facebook page called Yellow Sticker Picker where he shares his best finds to inspire other money-savers.
He said: “I wanted people to share their bargains and ideas, and to encourage people to buy more coming to end of life produce thus reducing food waste.
“I also wanted to stop people becoming obsessed with best before dates.”
Other ways to save in the supermarket
- Look for discounts and voucher codes online through websites like LatestDeals, HotUKDeals and get on mailing lists of brands and retailers you use.
- Pick up free supermarket magazines - they'll often have vouchers inside.
- Try the Downshift challenge; this is where you swap branded goods for supermarket-own labels
- Meal prep to reduce impulse buys and spending on what you've already got in the cupboard
- Freeze any leftovers that can be eaten at a later date to avoid food waste
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: “I always love to hear about innovative ways to save money on food, and Gary certainly has some good ideas here.
“Keeping your eyes peeled for when your local supermarkets start to discount food is a great idea, and as Gary says, each supermarket will vary so don’t be shy to ask staff when they typically begin to bring out the yellow stickers.
“Sharing food with neighbours is a great plan - it doesn't just save money and stop food waste, but as Gary says, it also brings communities together too.”
