A bargain hunting mum has shared some simple hacks and tips that can help you save thousands of pounds a year on your grocery shop.
With food prices increasing and the Christmas period fast approaching many shoppers will be looking for ways to save money on their shopping, and one savvy shopper has shared how.
Claire Chadwick, from Newton Aycliffe, shared her simple shopping hacks with LatestDeals.co.uk and explains how she saves hundreds of pounds each month at supermarkets by using yellow sticker deals, cashback apps and more.
She told the money saving community: "I save money on food by browsing for yellow sticker bargains, using cashback apps and keeping an eye out for vouchers, loyalty point deals and more.
"I get most of my yellow sticker items from Tesco (purely because that is where I tend to go for my main food shop) but I also find lots of bargains in Sainsburys."
The bargain-hunter, who has two stepsons, explains that shoppers will find the best deals in supermarkets yellow stickers bargains and that some of her best purchases have been tins of ‘bashed’ carrots for 8p, an ‘Indian snack collection’ box for 49p, a packet of sausages for 88p and a unicorn baking kit for just £1.
According to Claire, the best time of day for decent yellow sticker bargains is at the end of the day as "items with a close use by date are reduced throughout the day but the reduction tends to be greater the closer towards a store closing time."
She further added: "I’ve scoured the aisles at my local large supermarket and smaller express store and know exactly where the yellow sticker shelves are located within the store.
There usually tends to be an ambient area for tins/bottles/packets etc, a chilled area for meats/pasta/sandwiches etc and an area specifically for fruit/vegetables. I’ve also located the ‘flower’ section and have found some great bargains there too."
The savvy shopper has said that using these hacks have helped her to save up £100 a month - which equals over a whopping one-thousand pounds a month.
Not only does the step mum prove the simple hacks can work, she also makes sure to box up any leftovers to be reused the next day.
Yellow sticker bargains are not the only way to save money, as Claire also suggests shoppers can save money by making use of certain apps.
She said: "‘Another way I save on groceries is by making use of the Too Good To Go app.
"The other week I picked up a magic bag from my local Spar which had items worth £14.46, but I paid just £3.50 for it. It’s such a good way to save money and reduce food waste too."
Claire says that using cashback apps, loyalty cards and vouchers can help get money of their shop in exchange for the points that they have built up with certain retailers.
She explains that Nectar points can be used Caffe Nero, where 350 points can be used for the cash value of £1.75.
"So for exchanging 700 points (a cash value of £3.50) I was able to get two large speciality hot chocolates that would have cost £7.60.
"By downloading cashback apps such as CheckOutSmart , food waste apps such as Too Good To Go and making good use of your loyalty card points in combination with browsing yellow sticker bargains, you can easily reduce your food shopping spend by over £1000 a year", Claire further explained.
If you want to check out some more budget friendly shopping hacks, then Claire has also been sharing a number of shopping tips to her Instagram page ClaireSavesCash , where she posts about any offers, schemes tips that can help save your bank account.
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