A THRIFTY shopper has shared how he slashes the cost of his groceries every month with a few easy cost-cutting tips.
Gary Bramhall, 46, a dad of one from Cheshire, is a dedicated yellow-sticker shopper who never pays full price, which has completely covered the cost of a fancy trip to Florida.
On average he saves a huge £1000 a year just by making smart supermarket choices,
Gary, who runs the Facebook page Yellow Sticker Picker, hunts down discounted food items and absolutely nothing goes to waste.
Some of his recent finds include mashed potato reduced from £1 to just 5p, and chicken breast fillets down from £3.75 to 19p.
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Gary, who works in IT Support for the NHS, shared his top tips with the money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk.
Firstly, he said: “I go to shops at certain times, such as 3pm on a Sunday or 8pm on a weekday, about an hour before the store closes to get the best yellow sticker deals.
“Anything I don’t eat that day or the next I freeze. You can freeze a lot more than you think, like herbs, which are always reduced to 10p.”
He also noted that veg and salad bags are often fine to eat even if it’s past their best before date, “as long as you visually check it and smell it.”
Gary isn’t afraid to get creative in the kitchen either and said: “If there are any ingredients very cheap, I google recipes using that ingredient whilst I am in store to see what it comes up with.
“For example, I googled beetroot and figs the other week as I had never cooked with them but after googling the recipes, they sounded easy so I bought them. The beetroot was 20p and a pack of figs was 15p.”
And finally, he added: “Ask the staff in your local supermarket when they reduce the stock and time your trips accordingly to maximise the bargains.
“Don’t be afraid to ask supermarket staff what time they bring out the yellow stickers. It’s in their interest to tell you.
I go to shops at certain times, such as 3pm on a Sunday or 8pm on a weekday, about an hour before the store closes to get the best yellow sticker deals.
Gary Bramhall
“They want to reduce food waste as well, and also love a bargain.”
Gary said he’s saved hundreds of pounds already this year and is using it to fund a trip to Florida next year.
On average he shaves around £20 a week, £80 a month and £1,000 a year just by “being careful with my food shopping”.
Gary said that yellow sticker shopping can not just save money and reduce food waste, but bring neighbours and friends closer together.
“If you make too much food then put it in old plastic takeaway boxes and freeze it,” Gary adds.
“If you make too much of something – for example, I got a load of Bramley apples the other week which were too many for me – I made lots of apple crumbles and gave them to neighbours.
“Saving money can bring communities together.
“In return, someone gave me some courgettes they had grown but had too many.
“I decided to start my own yellow sticker page as I wanted people to share their bargains and ideas, and to encourage people to buy more coming to end of life produce thus reducing food waste.
“Don’t be afraid to ask supermarket staff what time they bring out the yellow stickers. It’s in their interest to tell you.
Gary Bramhall
“I also wanted to stop people from becoming obsessed with best before dates.
“TooGoodToGo.co.uk is a good website where people can go to get food cheap that will otherwise go to waste.”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “I always love to hear about innovative ways to save money on food, and Gary certainly has some good ideas here.
“Keeping your eyes peeled for when your local supermarkets start to discount food is a great idea, and as Gary says, each supermarket will vary so don’t be shy to ask staff when they typically begin to bring out the yellow stickers.
“Sharing food with neighbours is a great plan – it doesn’t just save money and stop food waste, but as Gary says, it also brings communities together too.
“Remember that many supermarkets also offer vouchers or promotions: keep an eye on LatestDeals.co.uk before you do your shop, as we share news about offers, deals and discounts daily!”
Meanwhile, this woman rummaged through bins & nabbed £725 worth of fancy food – she got nearly 100 loaves of bread & nothing was out of date.
And this woman has saved £700 in two months by bin diving – ALL her food comes from the trash and she shares it with homeless people.
We also revealed the supermarket secrets YOU need to know to save money and time – and why you should always weigh your veg.
