Thrifty Mum Who HALVED Food Bill From £100 To £50 A Week Reveals Her Top Tips
- Amy Atkinson, 32, has halved her food bill from £100 to £50 a week
- She batch cooks, yellow sticker shops and never throws food away
- Amy also makes “fakeaways” instead of splurging on takeaways
If food shopping is easily your biggest expense, take a leaf out of this thrifty mum’s book.
Amy Atkinson, 32, a mum of two from Bolton, managed to half her weekly spend from £100 a week to £50.
Her tips include batch cooking, yellow sticker shopping, making “fakeaways” instead of takeaways and never throwing food away but chopping and freezing it instead.
Amy told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: “I used to spend £80 to £100 a week on food and I’ve managed to halve that to £40 or £50 a week.
“I meal plan around yellow sticker shopping and just buy what need I full price. I don't like paying full price so I always hunt for bargains first.
“On Sundays, I raid the fridge and make what I can.
"I chop carrots up that have seen better days and freeze them, make chips out of potatoes and I freeze what I can.
“Then I nip to Morrisons and I spend a few quid in the reduced bit. I’ve found Sundays the best day to go around 3pm.
“I find great deals like 5p salad, 5p blueberries and chicken pieces for 60p.
“Once home, I raid the cupboards and the freezer to think of meal plans. I use what I can in the kitchen, then I make list of what I need, always keeping my shop around £40.
“I get it delivered at the beginning of the week and then when I make meals, I batch cook what I can.
“We usually have fakeaway on a Friday such as a Chinese or and Indian, homemade pizza night on a Saturday, roast on a Sunday, then the rest of the week it's steak and chips, meatball baguettes, casseroles and so on.
“A cheap and yummy meal that you can batch cook is a bacon hotpot. You’ll need chopped bacon, thinly chopped potatoes and thinly chopped onions.
“Get a big casserole dish, slow cooker or pan and layer it with bacon, onion, seasoning (mixed herbs, salt and pepper) and potatoes.
“Repeat and repeat until it’s full to the top, then get a vegetable stock and a jug, pour 200ml of water in and mix the stock then pour into the dish.
“I usually find a gap so the liquid goes right to the bottom and doesn't stay at the top.
“Then cook it either in the oven on 180 for two hrs, on the stove on a low heat for around three hours, or in the slow cooker for as long as possible.
“Serve it with crusty bread. It costs around £3 for the ingredients and it makes us two meals for four of us.
“I buy the 60p tubs and sandwich bags in Home Bargains and white labels and I label and date everything and freeze what I can.
“I batch cook as much as possible, especially in lockdown as I was worried I wouldn't be able to buy ingredients.
“I also bump meals up with veg and I find that having a veggie meal once a week, such as a three-bean chilli, cheese and veg pasta bake or sweet potato curry, saves lots of money as there’s no meat and it's all yummy.
“I also do a top-up shop of around £5 mid-week again, raiding the reduced bit for bread and milk if needed.
“I'm always checking the fridge and vegetable cupboard to make sure nothing is close to going off.
“If it is, I chop and freeze it - I don't bin food!”
Amy says she manages to keep the weekly shop down to £50 - and still manages to buy snacks, lunch for her husband to take to work and lots of lovely home-cooked dinners.
“My average weekly shop is £40 Tesco and two £5 top-up shops at Morrisons, so a total of £50 a week for four of us,” she adds.
“That's with a three and a seven-year-old who have been home for six months.
“My husband takes pasta and salads, the kids eat loads of snacks and we have nice home-cooked meals.
“I’m a stay at home mum, but I have worked full-time and managed to do this too - it doesn't take too long if you keep up with it!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “For many families, food shopping is a stressful part of the week as it can often seem impossible to keep costs down.
“However, Amy has some fantastic and really actionable tips here!
“Batch cooking as much as possible, hunting for yellow sticker deals and being organised with the food you already have will pay dividends for your bank balance."
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buying reduced items it luck and limited choice. often very little to choose from as many people are greedy and leave very little for others
I absolutely agree. I'm infuriated when I see people taking everything of the shelves and leaving nothing for others. Very selfish people. 
Whilst it makes sense, ive noticed the yellow stickers are dated that day. Couldnt see our household getting through 2litres of milk in half a day