I only spent £163 on food shopping the whole of last YEAR – here are my savviest tips so you can cut your bills too
A WOMAN has revealed how she spent just £163 last year on her food shopping thanks to yellow sticker reductions on food that should have cost £1,223.
Sharon Adams, 48, has spent the past 10 years living as frugally as possible after becoming unemployed.
Sharon, from Pontypridd, South Wales, snags huge discounts on food items in her local supermarkets as well as collecting free foods through Olio.
Her incredible bargain hunting skills have seen her buy £40 worth of shopping for £2.40 that had everything included from beef mince, vegetables, turkey and even some mince pies.
She even manages to pick up other reduced items including medicine for 90p and hair conditioner for 10p.
Her chest freezer and fridge freezer are currently packed to the brim with meats, vegetables, bread, and other perishable items that she managed to stock up on during the Christmas Eve yellow sticker reductions at her local supermarkets.
Sharon said: “Yellow sticker shopping has really helped me to stretch the pennies and the pounds.
“If I can sniff a yellow sticker reduction out, I will.
“I budget £10 a week on food shopping, and often find that I can spread that amount further.
“I tend to go to Morrisons and Asda in the evening as they always have the best reductions.
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“I’ve barely had to buy any food this month, except for a shop that was down to £7.49 from almost £40 at Asda where I picked up various vegetables like chillies and tomatoes for 10p each and a big pack of mince for 62p.
“Other supermarkets like Aldi, I don’t go to that often as its further away, but I actually went there once and managed to get £40 worth of meat for £11 as everything was 75 per cent off in the reduced section.
"I go to my local McColls a lot too, and they have a lot of reductions that are usually around 10 pence each.
"I can pick up Activia yoghurts, Lurpak spreads, pies, dessert items, fresh meats and pates, and vegetables for 10p."
In the last six months, Sharon has received over 429 free items from Olio including sandwiches, an assortment of berries, yoghurts, bread, milk, desserts, and even a pizza or two.
She said: “My local Tesco will donate to the Olio representative every evening with stock that hasn’t been sold, including a lot of reduced, going out of date items.
Yellow sticker shopping has really helped me to stretch the pennies and the pounds.
Sharon Adams
“I get a lot of bread off of there, and if I’ve already got a loaf at home, I freeze it so it doesn’t go off.
“They always have lots of sandwiches from the meal deal section which I use for my lunches, as despite the date on the front, they tend not to go off straight away.
“I’ve probably had 100's of sandwiches at this point.
Sharon’s yellow sticker hauls and freebies also mean that all of her three daily meals usually amount to less than £1 per day.
She said: “Meals are always really cheap, because the items I put together have either been free from Olio, or just massively reduced with yellow stickers.
I budget £10 a week on food shopping, and often find that I can spread that amount further.
Sharon Adams
“I got sea bass and potatoes from Olio recently and added some tender stem broccoli which I got for 20p and that was the only cost for my evening meal.
"One of my favourite meals recently was a plain pizza from Olio that I added some 10p hotdogs onto, and it made for a really tasty tea.
“I find that most of my meals are pretty much free from all of the freebies I get from Olio, so there are times when I’m able to treat myself to a meal out if I can, with the budget I’ve got for that week.
“Sometimes I even have more food than I can store, so I am always happy to share it with friends who may need it.”
Sharon’s frugal methods have also seen her get a discounted washing machine thanks to discount sites, as well as a few samples from sites she’s signed up too.
PRICE BREAKDOWN 2021 (ALL ESTIMATES – NOT EXACT FIGURES)
•2020 -Christmas Eve Yellow Sticker reduction haul (Including mince, turkey, vegetables, party foods) - £2.40 (Freezing everything for future use)
•January - £14.90 (Soups, orange juice, yoghurts, ready meals, garlic bread and pizza)
•February – £13 (Lidl Vegetable box, pate, tea bags, salads, potatoes, and yoghurts)
•March - £15 (Restocking on meats, cheese, garlic bread)
•April – £15 (Yoghurts, vegetables, pate, pastries and sausages)
•May - £11.30 (potatoes, tomatoes, bread, mushrooms, pate, butter, cakes)
•June - £12.30 (Lidl Vegetable box, pies, mash, mince, hair conditioner, sausage rolls)
•July - £14.75 (Free Olio items including bread rolls, vegetables, cooked chicken, and fresh noodles, paid for fresh fruits from M&S and splurged on steaks and meats)
•August – £13.30 (Pastries, cooked meat, bread, fruit and pizzas from Olio)
•September - £12 (Bought reduced mince, yoghurts, naan breads, butter, and pasta – but got lots of free food from Olio such as milk, sausage rolls and sandwiches.
•October - £15 (Lots of free food from Olio again, paid for chocolate, butter, onions, and tomatoes, as well as a big meat haul from Aldi for £11)
•November - £12.10 (Lots of freebies from Olio – also got some reduced mince, pork pies, grapes)
•December - £11.95 (Another Christmas eve reduction haul to fill my freezer with meats, vegetables, and bread, with a few fridge bits like Scotch eggs and salad as well as Olio collections of yoghurts, bread and a Jamie Oliver pasta dish)
Here are five ways to lower your food shopping bill as families waste £730 a year.
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