We all know that when it comes to food shopping, costs can quickly add up.
So we’re always keen to hear people’s tips on how to stick to a budget.
Jemma Green, from New Forest, Hampshire, has shared her wisdom, revealing how she manages to feed her family of five for under £40 a week, with each meal costing around £1.90 on average.
Jemma, who’s mum to Ryan, 17, Sidney, 10, and Casper, five months, credits her scrimping skills to hunting out yellow sticker deals, venturing to supermarkets every day to get her hands on reduced-price items.
She started to be more budget-conscious when she and her partner Craig welcomed their first child – and she hasn’t looked back.
‘I spend around £40 each week on our food shopping, which includes milk, nappies and wipes for the baby, which is the biggest expense,’ said Jemma, 36.
‘I have always been good at budgeting because I have been in various financial difficulties and have had to make sure that we had enough food that was healthy and nutritious without overspending.
‘I’ve been yellow sticker shopping since I had my first child to make sure that we get the bargains.
‘It takes time because you need to be going to the shops every day, but it is worth it in the end.
‘Some of my friends who have children can spend up to £200 a week on food shops and it’s unnecessary.
‘I find it a fun activity to go to the shops and see what I can find. I also get the kids involved and they love to spot the bargains too.
‘I don’t have a list that I stick to because I never know what I’m going to find.’
A key part of Jemma’s approach to cutting costs is staying flexible.
Rather than planning out a menu in advance, she decides what the family will eat day to day, depending on what she can find in the reduced section.
The mum also has a large freezer where she can store ingredients to use at a later date.
Jemma, a makeup artist, said: ‘I don’t let anything go to waste and we incorporate everything into our meals.
‘With the cost of gas and electricity also increasing, I mainly used the slow cooker to make our meals because it uses less gas and electricity.
‘I use it to make curries, spaghetti bolognese, soups and it can even be used to make jacket potatoes.
‘If I have a surplus of a specific item, I use the internet to help me find recipes to turn the ingredient into a substantial meal for the family.
‘I don’t overfill the plates and we use any leftovers of the meal at a later date. We either freeze batches or it is eaten the next day for lunch.
‘I also use apps such as Too Good To Go, where I get a big selection of items for as little as £3.
‘I bulk buy cereal too for our breakfast and we also buy reduced bread because we can freeze it to keep it good.’
Jemma’s top tip for picking up the bargains is to try to go to the shops every day to see what is on offer.
She added: ‘The items that I most regularly find in the reduced section are potatoes, which are really good for bulking out meals and adding to curries to make them more filling, then bread, which is great to freeze and I can also use it to make bread sauce to go with our dinner and salad items, which we have with our meals.
‘I have found that mince and gammon are quite regularly in the reduced section too recently.
‘These are great items for meals, especially mince because I can use to it make a variety of dishes such as spaghetti bolognese, shepherd’s pie and chilli con carne.
‘I couldn’t imagine shopping any other way.
‘The best way to stick to it is making sure that everyone in the house is involved because it makes it fun and exciting.’
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