YOUR freezer could help slash your food bill claims one expert, as a cost of living crisis pushes prices on the supermarket shelves to eye watering highs.
Especially, if some of the items in your fridge or in the cupboards are nearing their use-by date, the freezer can be your closest ally in saving money.
You can pop everything you want to save from the bin in the frozen space, and give your food bits a longer lease of life.
That way you're not throwing away perfectly good meals that are costly to replace.
Tesco estimates the average family throws away £800 worth of food a year, which is taking a big hit on your weekly grocery bills.
Kate Hall, at My Full Freezer, said: “For many families, the freezer was previously seen as a place for ‘back-up food’.
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"It would be crammed full, but they were never quite sure what was in there – but the freezer can be powerful at saving money.
"By organising the space, and using more frozen products (and freezing leftover fresh food, where possible!) we can reduce our food waste, save money and enjoy a far wider variety of meals."
There's more ways the un-sung kitchen appliance can help you keep your household spends down.
We reveal.
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Back in the freezer it goes
Kate said: "Buying frozen is a brilliant way to help reduce your food waste and save yourself some money.
"By using frozen foods, we can just cook as much as we need, putting the rest back in the freezer for another day, allowing us to stretch our food further, and of course, it will last far longer than it would in the fridge."
You can pop things like your yellow sticker bargains straight into the freezer to make them last longer, but sometimes it's just as cheap to buy frozen from the get go too.
For example, frozen chicken kievs from Tesco cost just £2.50 for a pack of four found in the freezer aisle.
At the other end of the supermarket, in the fridge, a fresh pack of just two chicken kievs costs 10p less at £2.40.
If you're feeding a family of four though you'd have to buy double to match the amount of products in the freezer pack, instead spending £4.80.
That makes the freezer goods (which are almost exactly the same product) £2.30 cheaper than their fresh counterpart.
Waste not, Want not
It all starts before you head out the door to embark on the daunting supermarket sweep.
By planning your meals and taking into account what you already have hidden in the freezer, you can avoid impulse buying.
It's easy for things to get lost under the sheets of freezer burn but, if you keep your freezer organised you'll know exactly what you have.
And that way you can keep your eye out for the specific ingredients you need at the best price.
Kate said: "First, make sure the foods in your freezer are grouped by what type of food they are – meat, fish, veg etc. and use boxes, tubs, or sturdy bags to carve up the space.
"If possible, label each area so it’s clear what lives where. This way, everyone in the family knows where to look."
It'll better help you write your next shopping list – which if you stick to, will help you keep costs to a minimum.
All stocked up
It's not only your food bills that you have to worry about as the cost of living crisis rages on.
Energy bills are also sky high, but the food you stock up your freezer with can help lower the costs of running it.
Experts at Energyhelpline told The Sun: "Unclutter your fridge, so make sure your fridge isn’t packed to the brim.
"Especially near the ventilating outlets as keeping space at the top and sides of your fridge helps the cool air move around easier."
But if you're all stocked up on freezable goodies, you don't want them to go to waste.
Kate explained how you can organise your goods so you can still pack just as much in, while keeping track of everything you've got.
"I recommend repacking bulky foods into reusable freezer bags" she said; "squeezing the air out and sealing.
"You can cut any cooking instructions off the packaging and place them with the bag, then write the date and contents across the top of the bag.
"These can then be arranged like a ‘filing cabinet’ so that you can easily access everything."
How else can I slash my bills?
Shopping around is a great first step – other supermarkets may have cheaper offers available.
It doesn't have to be another supermarket either, as one savvy shopper managed to save over £200 on her food shop by taking a trip to the wholesalers instead.
And take a minute when you're in the store to navigate the aisles, as some hold better discounts than others.
It's also worth bending down to hunt down the cheapest products stashed out of sight on the bottom shelf.
You might even want to swap out that big trolley for a smaller basket once you enter the store too – that way you're limited to how much you can buy.
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You can also try planning your meals, or taking advantage of supermarket loyalty schemes.
And some supermarkets even have their own discount codes that you can snap up too.
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