Woman reveals how she spent £163 on £1223 worth of food in 2021

Frugal shopper reveals how she spent just £163 on food in a YEAR by getting most of her produce free from an anti-food waste app and only buying reduced yellow sticker items from the supermarket

  • Sharon Adams from Pontypridd, lives as frugally as possible since losing her job 
  • Bargain hunting skills have seen her buy £40 worth of shopping for £2.40 
  • Manages to pick up other reduced items including medicine for 90p and hair conditioner for 10p

A frugal shopper has revealed how she spent just £163 last year on £1223 worth of food shopping in 2021 by only picking up items that were reduced. 

Sharon Adams, 48, from Pontypridd, south Wales, has spent 10 years living as frugally as possible after losing her job. 

Now she snags huge discounts on food items in her local supermarkets as well as collecting free foods through Olio – an app where people give away food to reduce waste.

Her incredible bargain hunting skills have seen her buy £40 worth of shopping for £2.40 that had everything included from beef mince, vegetables, turkey and even mince pies.   

She even manages to pick up other reduced items including medicine for 90p and hair conditioner for 10p.

Sharon Adams, 48, from Pontypridd, south Wales, has spent the past 10 years living as frugally as possible after losing her job

The frugal shopper has revealed how she spent just £163 last year on £1223 worth of food shopping in 2021 by only picking up items that were reduced. Pictured is her haul of shopping where she picked up bargains for just 20p

Sharon always buys things with a discount – picking up pizza, beef roulade, chicken goujons and pork schnitzel for 75% off

What Sharon spent on food in 2021

Christmas Eve 2020- £2.40

Including mince, turkey, vegetables, party foods. (Freezing everything for future use)

January – £14.90 

Soups, orange juice, yoghurts, ready meals, garlic bread and pizza

February – £13

Lidl Vegetable box (£1.50 for 5kg) pate, tea bags, salads, potatoes, and yoghurts

March – £15  

Meats, cheese, garlic bread

April – £15 

Yoghurts, vegetables, pate, pastries and sausages

May – £11.30 

Potatoes, tomatoes, bread, mushrooms, pate, butter, cakes

June – £12.30 

Lidl Vegetable box, pies, mash, mince, hair conditioner, sausage rolls

July – £14.75 

Free Olio items including bread rolls, vegetables, cooked chicken, and fresh noodles, paid for fresh fruits from M&S and splurged on steaks and meats

 August – £13.30 

Pastries, cooked meat, bread, fruit and pizzas from Olio

September – £12 

Bought reduced mince, yoghurts, naan, butter, and pasta.

Lots of free food from Olio such as milk, sausage rolls and sandwiches.

October – £15 

Lots of free food from Olio again, paid for chocolate, butter, onions, and tomatoes.

Big meat haul from Aldi 

November – £12.10 

Lots of freebies from Olio.

Reduced mince, pork pies, grapes

December – £11.95 

Another Christmas eve reduction haul to fill with meats, vegetables, and bread.

Scotch eggs and salad as well as Olio collections of yoghurts, bread and a Jamie Oliver pasta dish

 

TOTAL SPEND FOR 2021

 £163 

 

Her chest freezer and fridge freezer are currently packed to the brim with meats, vegetables, bread, and other perishable items that she managed to stock up on during the Christmas Eve yellow sticker reductions at her local supermarkets.

‘Yellow sticker shopping has really helped me to stretch the pennies and the pounds,’ she explained.

‘If I can sniff a yellow sticker reduction out, I will.

‘I budget £10 a week on food shopping, and often find that I can spread that amount further.

‘I tend to go to Morrisons and Asda in the evening as they always have the best reductions.

‘I’ve barely had to buy any food this month, except for a shop that was down to £7.49 from almost £40 at Asda where I picked up various vegetables like chillies and tomatoes for 10p each and a big pack of mince for 62p.

‘Other supermarkets like Aldi, I don’t go to that often as its further away, but I actually went there once and managed to get £40 worth of meat for £11 as everything was 75 per cent off in the reduced section.

Sharon’s chest freezer and fridge freezer are currently packed to the brim with meats, vegetables, bread, and other perishable items that she managed to stock up on during the Christmas Eve yellow sticker reductions at her local supermarkets. Pictured are items including mushrooms she bought for just 10p

Sharon snags huge discounts on food items in her local supermarkets (pictured) as well as collecting free foods through Olio – an app where people give away food to reduce waste 

Her incredible bargain hunting skills have seen her buy £40 worth of shopping for £2.40 that had everything included from beef mince, vegetables, turkey and even mince pies. Pictured brioche buns, carrots and mushrooms that are reduced

Sharon recently picked up three packs of sausages for just 70p each (pictured) from her local Morrisons

In the last six months, Sharon has received more than 429 free items from Olio including sandwiches, an assortment of berries, yoghurts, bread, milk, desserts, and even a pizza or two. Pictured are reduced items R

‘I go to my local McColls a lot too, and they have a lot of reductions that are usually around 10 pence each.

‘I can pick up Activia yoghurts, Lurpak spreads, pies, dessert items, fresh meats and pates, and vegetables for 10p.’

In the last six months, Sharon has received more than 429 free items from Olio including sandwiches, an assortment of berries, yoghurts, bread, milk, desserts, and even a pizza or two.

Sharon recently picked up free sea bass and potatoes from Olio recently and added some tender stem broccoli which she got for 20p – meaning she had an evening dinner for just 20p

In March, Sharon’s food bill was just £15. She bought meats, cheese (pictured for just 80p) and garlic bread

Her finds have also included fresh croissants (pictured), Quorn sausages and tasty desserts

In January, she bought soups, orange juice, yoghurts, ready meals, garlic bread and pizza for just £14.90. Pictured, 20p soup

Sharon regularly gets vegetable boxes from Lidl for just £1.50 for a 5kg box that includes a mix of fresh fruit and veg

Sharon’s yellow sticker hauls and freebies also mean that all of her three daily meals usually amount to less than £1 per day.

She said: ‘My local Tesco will donate to the Olio representative every evening with stock that hasn’t been sold, including a lot of reduced, going out of date items.

‘I get a lot of bread from there, and if I’ve already got a loaf at home, I freeze it so it doesn’t go off.

‘They always have lots of sandwiches from the meal deal section which I use for my lunches, as despite the date on the front, they tend not to go off straight away.

‘I’ve probably had hundreds of sandwiches at this point.

She even manages to pick up other reduced items including medicine for 90p and hair conditioner for 10p

Sharon explained that  her meals cost less than £1 because the items she puts together have either been free from Olio, or just massively reduced with yellow stickers

Sharon also puts meals together like plain pizza (pictured) and hot dogs  – which she said was a ‘really tasty tea’

Sharon has also picked up conditioner for 25p (pictured) and canned drinks for just 49p 

Sharon often gets bread and other baked goods (pictured) and freezes them to be used later

Sharon also gives food away. She said: ”Sometimes I even have more food than I can store, so I am always happy to share it with friends who may need it.’

Sharon’s yellow sticker hauls and freebies also mean that all of her three daily meals usually amount to less than £1 per day.

She said: ‘Meals are always really cheap, because the items I put together have either been free from Olio, or just massively reduced with yellow stickers.

‘I got sea bass and potatoes from Olio recently and added some tender stem broccoli which I got for 20p and that was the only cost for my evening meal.

‘One of my favourite meals recently was a plain pizza from Olio that I added some 10p hotdogs onto, and it made for a really tasty tea.

‘I find that most of my meals are pretty much free from all of the freebies I get from Olio, so there are times when I’m able to treat myself to a meal out if I can, with the budget I’ve got for that week.

‘Sometimes I even have more food than I can store, so I am always happy to share it with friends who may need it.’

Sharon’s frugal methods have also seen her get a discounted washing machine thanks to discount sites, as well as a few samples from sites she’s signed up too.

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