You’ve been doing your supermarket shop all wrong – simple change that could slash your food bill
A SHOPPER has managed to cut the cost of their trolley dash by switching up one major thing as soon as they enter the store.
If you've been doing your own supermarket sweep all wrong this whole time you might benefit from making the change too - in order to cut back on some costs.
Shoppers are being whacked with rising prices on their food bill, after all.
Sky-high inflation is to blame as a cost of living crisis clobbers households' finances.
The average family is thought to be forking out around £271 more a year on their food bill.
At the same time, plenty of other utilities like rising energy bills and more are stacking up on the front door step, causing a major blow on Brits' wallets.
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Consumer champion Amber-Louise Large took her "granny trolley" out for a spin on her last shop, in order to cut back on some costs, reports .
The smaller holdall meant she could load up on everything she needed at her local grocery store, without over-spending.
Experts have said the trick "makes you focus in on the essential purchases".
If you've got less room to put items in, you're less likely to pick up anything you don't need.
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You don't necessarily have to Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) like this savvy saver did, but simply downgrading the size of your trolley could help slash some of the cash from your bill.
If you're just after a couple of essentials for the week, try taking a shallower trolley round the aisles instead, checking out once it's full and won't hold anymore.
And if you want to take it a step further, you could even limit yourself to a basket shop.
That way you'll only spend as much as your arms can carry - a fraction of what you might have been tempted to load into the bigger trolley.
It could save your hundreds of pounds over the year, forcing you to leave costly treats behind on the shelf.
How else can I slash my grocery bill?
With prices on the rise, the trolley hack might not be enough to cut down your costs.
It's important to be clever with exactly what's going through at the checkout too.
So to make sure you pick up the cheapest bits on your next visit, here's some other ways to beat the hikes and pay less for your shopping.
Yellow stickers
When food is nearing its use by date, supermarkets often slash prices to shift stock.
These discounted goods usually have yellow stickers on them.
Sometimes you can get up to 75% off - a big saving on your weekly shop.
The food is still good to eat and you may even be able to freeze it to make it last EVEN longer.
Food waste apps
In a similar move, picking up your foodie bits from food waste apps can help you save money.
Families can waste hundreds of pounds per year chucking away food that has gone out of date.
Apps like Too Good To Go, or Olio, mean you can buy food and treats from shops including Morrisons, Greggs and Pret at a big discount.
And another example is Kitche, which keeps track of the food you've already bought, letting you know when items are getting close to their sell by date - and stops you wasting cash on more food next visit.
Bend down
Supermarkets tends to put more expensive brands at eye-level, so one way to slash your spends is to bend down.
On the lower shelves you'll find cheaper items like own-brand goods that are just a fraction of the cost.
The supermarkets try on this layout trick so that consumers spot the top dollar products first and, particularly if they're in a rush, will add them straight to their basket without a second thought.
Meanwhile, all the budget bits are on the bottom shelf where they're less visible, and likely to go quietly unnoticed.
Loyalty schemes
To keep customers coming back, supermarkets often launch loyalty schemes.
For example, you can get vouchers, exclusive money-saving deals and lower prices on grub by signing up.
They're usually free to join too, so you have nothing to loose by scanning your loyalty card next time you shop.
You might even find your bill automatically lowers at the checkout when you do this, as can be the case with Tesco's exclusive Clubcard prices.
Shop around
Shopping at cheaper supermarkets can help shave money off your bill.
Research from consumer website Which? for example, revealed that shoppers were spending £10.15 more on their shopping at Waitrose compared to budget supermarket Aldi.
You could try mix and matching your shop too - don't feel like you have to buy everything from one shop as some items might be cheaper elsewhere.
The only downside to this is travel costs - you might use up a bit of petrol shipping around to different stores on the hunt for the best bargain.
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Exactly which aisle you pick up items from could determine how expensive your shop is by the time you reach the checkout, too.
And even the way you end up unpacking the shopping once you get home could be adding hundreds to your bill.
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