Savvy Mum Reveals Her Secret To Saving £200 A Month On Her Food Shopping
- Claudine Starkie, 48, does small, daily shops rather than one weekly shop
- She goes to multiple supermarkets to find the best yellow sticker bargains
- Claudine cooks 'SOON Dinner’, which stands for Something Out Of Nothing
Keeping food shopping costs down is an ongoing battle for most families in the UK - and one savvy mum has revealed how she shaves hundreds off her food bill every month.
Claudine Starkie, 48, a single mum of two from Oldham, saves £200 a month by doing small, daily shops, and searching for yellow sticker bargains, rather than doing one large weekly shop.
Claudine, who has just celebrated her 30th year working in the NHS, regularly checks what she has in the fridge and freezer, and is highly organised about meal-planning.
She is strict about only buying food she will use, no matter how appealing the bargain is, and she also stocks up on reduced veg, and blanches and freezes them for future use.
Claudine told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: “My main reasons for starting yellow label shopping is purely the cost of living crisis we're all going through and trying to keep food on the table and making ends meet every month.
"I split from my husband in 2010, so I had no choice but to be strong.
"My kids are used to economic meals I've created, which we call 'SOON Dinner' - this stands for Something Out Of Nothing.
"As a single mum, I've always gone shopping after work, and during lockdown, I found that items were reduced around this time of day.
"I used to primarily shop at Asda but I'm unable to shop in just one supermarket now, so I trawl all supermarkets on my route home and try others if I'm out and about.
"As a rule, I try and meal plan with what ingredients I have in the fridge, freezer and cupboards, and if I find any bargains, I mentally plan meals before I buy bargains.
"My son is a very very big lad who has mild Prader-Willi syndrome, so he's constantly hungry.
“He’s also autistic, so he likes routine and to know exactly what he's going to be eating each day.
"Yellow label shopping has allowed me to be able to get treats that just aren't normally in my budget, like different cuts of meat, different vegetables, and desserts.
"To make a saving, I actually purchased an upright freezer from Facebook marketplace to store more bargains.
"I can now buy more prawns, chicken, fish, mince, and burgers.
"We stock up on reduced veg and prepare them by blanching and freezing for future use.
"If we see any butter on offer, we buy and freeze that, too.
"That's the main thing for me, making sure most items are suitable for freezing, and only buying items I'm going to use.
“Around payday, I look at what's low in my freezer and look for the things I know we'll need, like chicken, fish, mince, prawns and steaks and bulk up on those, so I can concentrate on the other bargains to go with them, so I can meal plan.
"On average, one bag of shopping costs around £20 to £30.
"I try and budget for a week full shop to cost around £50 to 60 and this must include staples like bread, milk and cheese.
"My daughter is now a mini me and will trawl the reduced aisle before starting her shopping.
"The only time I take a break from reduced shopping is when my freezer is full, or when I'm ill!
"My top tip is to make sure you take what your needs require.
"Reduced items can include non-food items too.
"I bulk buy washing products and other things.
“Be kind to others searching for a bargain, and don't judge others, as we are all one pay check away from homelessness.
"There's no shame in grabbing a bargain, which includes ripped cereal boxes, dented tins and so on. The contents are still good.
“Always think about the variety of meals you can cook with the bargains you purchase and have fun exploring new ingredients and making new dishes.
"My son is a very big lad, and constantly hungry and literally eats everything in sight.
"As a single mum, I have no choice but to rely on the bargains I've acquired over previous months, especially in the run up to Christmas.
“I save around £200 a month by shopping this way!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “Most of us can only dream of saving £200 a month on our food shop, but Claudine shows how everyone can do it with perseverance and creativity.
“It can take discipline and time to build up a freezer stash of reduced food, but the savings are so worth it.
“Another top tip when it comes to saving money on food is to hunt for voucher codes - for example, at the moment, at Sainsbury’s, you can get £15 off your first £80 online shop."
What to read next?
I've been doing this for years. It used to be good buying reduced food in M&S before lockdown, it was so cheap. Now some of the supermarkets only reduce twice instead of three times, due to cutting costs because of shoplifting.