One mum has shared the tricks she uses to feed her family on the cheap - including the best time for yellow sticker reductions and how to find coupons.
Stacey Wilsoncrof, a 36-year-old mum of three from Derby, says some of her best bargains include pepperoni pizza for around 6p and birthday cake that only cost £1.
The pizzas should’ve cost 59p each in her local Co-op, and she spotted three reduced to 40p, which would’ve been a total of £1.77.
But she managed to save even more cash by checking her Co-op members app, where she was able to claim a coupon for £1 off chilled pizzas.
This meant instead of paying a reduced price of £1.20 for all three pizzas, she only paid 20p - which works out between 6p and 7p each.
To help keep costs down, the money-conscious mum hunts out reduced food that she can freeze, meaning nothing goes to waste.
One of the tricks is to find out when your local supermarket starts reducing items.
This can typically be toward the end of the day as stores try to shift stock, but Ms Wilsoncrof says her Co-op can begin reducing goods from 3pm.
She told LatestDeals.co.uk : “I like to stock up the freezer when I get some really good reductions.
“I went into the Co-op after collecting my eldest son Leo from school which was around 4pm.
“I know this isn't the greatest time of day to pick up some reduced bargains but the good thing about our local Co-op is they do start to reduce foods around 3pm onwards.
“This is ideal for a mum of three like me as I cannot get to the shops later in the evening as my children are in bed by 7pm.
“The reduced items were in the sliding door fridge with all the fresh yogurts/dairy products.
“The Co-op tends to put reduced foods on the bottom shelf and they are highlighted on the shelf in red.”
Ms Wilsoncrof says you’re more likely to find heavily reduced food bargains later in the evening - but there is a risk that not much stock will be left.
She also cites late Sunday afternoon before the shops close as being “brilliant” for getting reductions.
The mum, who has three children aged 5, 17 months and 3 months, added: “I once went to Asda and at 3.30pm on a Sunday they were selling loaves of bread, bagels, hotdog rolls and fresh packs of cobs for only 5p. So I stocked up my freezer.
“I even got a huge Batman birthday cake for my son for only £1.”
The frugal parent says she also looks out for coupons on supermarket apps, products in store, or in free supermarket magazines you get at the supermarkets.
For example, Ms Wilsoncrof recently slashed the price of some Pampers nappies from £4.50 to £2 by using a coupon, and a pack of Ariel pods from £2 to £1.
Posting regularly on Instagram as stacey.savvy.shopper , she says one her best coupon shops was at Asda where she reduced her spend from £13.50 to £6.50.
Ms Wilsoncrof also uses three different cashback apps to look for free foods or to get some money back on foods too.
Popular cashback sites - which is where you buy a product from a link on a website, upload a receipt, then get reimbursed for the cost - include Topcashback and Quidco.
Receiving free products in the post is also a thrill for Ms Wilsoncrof, which she finds on freebie websites.
She said: “I got a number of nice products this week without paying anything. I got a set of four Blistex lip balms from Free4You, and some Equinox drinks from a Facebook advert.
“I also got some non-bio laundry capsules which I claimed through Love Rewards.”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk , said: “Stacey has certainly got a knack for picking up bargains and freebies - her Instagram is full of tips and tricks for people looking to do similar.
“It’s always worth checking out when your local stores tend to put out discounted items, and keeping an eye out for the latest deals on money-saving apps or websites.”
