A woman who was homeless and 14 years old when she had her first child has shared the budgeting tips that allow her to save thousands on her food shop.
Mum-of-three Kimberley Kinghorn, from Edinburgh, was a teenager and sleeping rough when she gave birth to her first son.
Because of her age she was unable to claim public funds, and found herself relying on support workers and the tips they shared.
Kimberley, now 27, says through hard times she learned vital skills which have helped her save money while shopping for her three kids, Manchester Evening News reports.
For Kimberley and her little ones, bargain hunting has become a family game. She says her kids now have a set of money-management skills which will help them in the future.
"At the time [at 14] I depended on help from my support workers so from then I began to learn about shops reducing items and making my own budget meals," said Kimberley.
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She said: "We are a low-income family but I am able to provide decent quality meals to my children because of yellow sticker shopping."
One of Kimberley's favourite places to shop is Marks and Spencer as they slash prices after 9pm.
She recalled grabbing a full beef roast from the fancy food shop for just 20p, and froze them to eat later.
She said: "I invested in a chest freezer so I either just freeze items as they are until we use them or I batch cook meals and then freeze them in tubs.
“They are like homemade ready meals for my children but I have cooked them!
“I've been doing this ever since I was young. I also watch a lot of yellow sticker hauls and budget meal ideas on YouTube and get loads of tips from there.
“That was how I found out about M&S reducing food after 9pm. The most common meats I find reduced are mince and steak or beef chunks."
The mum-of-three says she normally goes to big superstores at the weekend when her kids are off school for a late-night yellow sticker haul shop.
She said: "Big superstores usually have fruit and veg reduced later on in the evening, so I normally go at the weekends when the kids are off school for a late-night yellow sticker haul shop.
"Most items are great for the slow cooker too. I make things like a beef stew, which was £3.89 from Asda, but reduced to 90p.
“I bought a bag of carrots which was £1.20 down to 20p, and the potatoes were £2 down to 48p. The meal fed four of us twice over!"
Kimberley also uses the yellow sticker mince to make burgers, Spaghetti Bolognese and cottage pies.
“Another meal I made was steak with mash and veggies," added Kimberley.
"The steak was 70p down from £3.40, the veggies were all between 20 and 40p each and the mash was £1 down to 40p."
Christmas dinners have also been bought on a budget.
The meat the family have is a stuffed roast in a tray, which has been reduced in October and frozen, Kimberley then goes looking for vegetables and other Christmas food treats a few days before the big day.
She said: "I’ve managed to pay under £5 for the main Christmas meal for five people when it could have easily cost £30 or more."
Kimberley says her thrifty approach to food shopping is now a family activity that teaches her kids valuable budgeting life lessons.
"I’d say we have saved thousands over the years on food,” Kimberley adds.
"It's not just reduced food I look out for - I often find discounted household items or clothing too.
"The best time for yellow stickers in supermarkets is to go after 7pm."
