Bargain hunting is great at the best of times, but it’s even better when you get a good deal on the fancy stuff.
Louise, 40, has made yellow sticker finding a fine art, and has managed to shave hundreds off the price of her weekly shop.
As well as this, she and her husband Mark, 42, make the best of meal prepping and planning to make what they do find on offer go even further.
Louise, a prison officer, and Mark, 42, a police officer, are both key workers so their kids have been self-isolating with their other parents during the lockdown. This has made things hard, but they’re determined to make the most of it.
The couple, from Kent, have been making each meal last as long as possible under the lockdown, and have even managed to find yellow sticker shops during the time.
‘Lockdown is hard as we are both key workers, so we haven’t seen our four children since before the lockdown to keep them safe,’ Louise told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk.
During the extra time they’ve had during all this, their shopping hacks have certainly had time to flourish, though.
Louise managed to bag a Waitrose shop worth £157 for just £24 by being in the shop right after they put out the yellow stickered deals.
‘I managed to get a yellow sticker shop in Waitrose because I happened to be there at the right time!’ said Louise.
‘Because of the panic buying, shops had ordered more and now it’s slowed down and not so many are going to the shops, there are a lot of reduced items.’
It’s not panic buying that Louise and Mark are doing, though. They have two large freezers, so when they bag their bargains they stick the ingredients in there and then have everything they need when they make meals.
As well as that, prepping food has been a big help for them to save time in their busy lifestyles.
‘My top tips are meal planning, as it saves a fortune,’ Louise says.
‘Some weeks I don’t really have to shop at all. Make an inventory of what you have and use that to create meals.’
Louise runs a Facebook group called Slow Cooker Recipes for the Opinionated, and adds that the tips from other group members is instrumental in helping her make healthy and purse-friendly meals in batches.
‘Make a large chilli, for instance, bulked out with cheap items like baked beans and tinned tomatoes and then portion and freeze,’ Louise says.
‘It can be used for things like jacket potato topping, tacos, Mexican bake and burritos.’
They’ve managed to make myriad meals from their hauls, from prawn dishes to homemade humous and sausage rolls.
Despite all the uncertainty of the lockdown, if you can find out what time your local supermarket reduces their products and time your shop accordingly, you could be eating like kings and queens in no time.
Do you have a savings tip to share? Get in touch at MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk.
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