THE cost of everyday supermarket items has soared in recent months – but there are ways to make savings.
Food inflation shot up to 17.5% in the month to March – that’s an annual increase of £837 for the average household.
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It means families are forking out an additional £16 every week to buy the same products as last year, according to research firm Kantar.
Households are taking cost-cutting measures wherever they can – the sale of own-brand value products increased by 15.8% in the month to March.
But you can save money beyond this, by opting for stickered products.
Supermarkets add the stickers to products to show they are reduced due to being faulty or close to out-of-date.
And there’s usually a best time of day to head to your nearest supermarket to pick up the best prices.
Tom Church, founder of the latestdeals.co.uk website, has revealed when you should head to your nearest favourite supermarket to pick up bargain buys.
The money-saver even lived off yellow sticker items for a year and saved £3,400 in the process, so there’s proof in the pudding.
It’s worth noting you should freeze any fresh stickered produce like and cheese that will likely go off soon after purchase.
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Plus, Tom advised always being polite to staff stickering items and to not hover around them while they apply the discounts.
Lidl
Tom said to look out for orange clearance stickers which usually give 30% off in the morning.
He added: “Sometimes there are green ‘waste not!’ stickers labelled at 20p or 70p.”
Tesco
Tom said: “Yellow stickers start in the afternoons, particularly on fresh meat, fish, fruit, veg, and bakery items.”
Waitrose
Tom said the best time to pick up stickered items varies from store-to-store.
He added: “Usually in the afternoon and reductions increase towards closing time.”
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s discounts its products incrementally across the day.
Tom said: “Discounts begin with 25% at 1pm, up to 50% at 5pm and then again by 75% at 8pm.”
Morrisons
Tom said: “The best reductions are in the evening.
“However, you’re better off getting a £3.49 Magic Box from Too Good To Go, which will contain about £10 worth of food.”
Marks & Spencer
Tom said M&S starts stickering up products with yellow tags in the mornings.
“As M&S has a higher price point, net savings can be bigger than other supermarkets,” he added.
Co-Op
Tom said: “Yellow stickers are found throughout the day and it varies by store. Final reductions are 75% off.”
Iceland
Tom said yellow-sticker discounts vary across Iceland stores.
He added: “On fresh foods yellow stickers can be found from the mornings.”
Aldi
Tom said: “Clearance stickers are red and applied in the morning from 8am with 50% off.
“This may increase to 75% as food approaches its use-by date.”
Asda
Tom said: “Reductions start in the mornings but there may be second rounds of discounts from 7pm.”
How else can I save money?
Beyond keeping an eye out for stickered products, Tom said there are some other tips you can use to save money on your grocery shopping.
There are specific websites that sell food nearing its best before date, including Best Before It’s Gone, Motatos and Discount Dragon.
Meanwhile, always use price comparison tools on websites like trolley.co.uk and latestdeals.co.uk which will trawl the internet for the best prices on thousands of products.
You can even use free AI chatbots which saved one Sun reader £1,000.
Plus, apps like Too Good To Go can help you get hold of food at massive discounts.
It might sound simple, but simply keeping an eye out for the cheapest supermarket to buy a basket of goods helps too.
Consumer group Which? usually releases information each month on where’s best to go to bag a basket for less.
In March, Aldi was crowned the winner.
And avoiding convenience stores where possible will help you save money too.
Prices at the smaller branches are often more expensive compared to the larger ones.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
