BARGAIN hunter Gary Bramhall is a Tesco super shopper.
The 46-year-old from Cheshire has started his own Facebook page The Yellow Sticker Picker in October 2020 to try and help struggling households find the best deals.
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“It started of many years ago, it was just something I enjoyed – but then my family caught wind of it, and my wife is very good at social media, so she set me up with a Facebook page.
“Before I knew it, people began following me,” he said.
Inflation has already hit a 30-year high of 5.4% and is expected to hit 7% by spring, pushing up the price of everything from petrol to energy bills.
These costs are set to cripple millions of households, meaning it’s more important than ever to be a savvy shopper.
Gary, who works for the NHS, saves around £1,200 by shopping smart.
He spends £80 a week on his Tesco food shop and estimates his bargain-hunting saves him around £25 each week.
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Like many other people across the UK, he is feeling the pinch from the cost of living crisis, which is seeing everything from energy bills to groceries go up.
Last week, energy regulator Ofgem announced the price cap will rise by 54% to £1,917 in April, putting families under even more pressure.
While Gary has seen his own energy bill go up £40 a month, he still tries to tuck away some of his savings.
Over the past year he’s managed to set aside £1,200, and is using that to take his wife, Rachael Bramhall, and 11-year-old son, Connor Bramhall, on holiday to Florida this year.
Here are his top tips for bagging a bargain.
Visit Tesco at the right time
There’s a time and a place to go to the supermarket – and at Tesco it’s after 7pm weekdays and 2pm Sundays, says Gary.
As a rule of thumb, he recommends shoppers visit Tesco during these hours, typically when the mark-down magic happens.
Products are more likely to be reduced at the end of the day when expiry date countdowns begin.
But each supermarket branch slashes prices at different times, so you should check with staff before changing your routine.
Don’t just do one shop
While doing one big shop a week might be easier, Gary says it’s not the way to bag the best bargains.
Reductions appear every day, so you’re missing out on six days’ worth of potential deals if you only visit the store once a week.
The more times you visit, the more yellow stickers you’ll see.
Frequent trips help reduce food waste, says Gary.
However, shopping more frequently can also encourage you to spend more and can mean you end up succumbing to temptation and picking up things you don’t need.
Ditch the meal plan
Controversially, Gary suggests scrapping meal plans too – something many households swear by, especially if they’re looking to cut costs.
Instead, he says going to the shop with an open mind means you’ll pick up things you might not usually.
“More often than not, I’ll change the menu according to the stickers,” Gary said.
“So if there’s pork on offer, we’ll have pork for Sunday dinner. If beef is on offer, we’ll have beef for Sunday dinner, instead – it’s a right lottery”.
And if you see something unusual, it can still be worth taking a punt.
Gary says: “I was presented with figs the other week. I’ve never cooked figs before, but I just googled recipes on BBC Good Food so I can actually plan what I’m having in the supermarket when I’m faced with yellow stickers.”
Thanks to this tactic, Gary says his family are eating a more diverse range of fruits and vegetables than ever before.
Know where to find the yellow stickers
Gary says the best place to start is the fresh food aisles, including the bakeries and deli counters (if your store has them).
He said: “Tesco stores usually have a dedicated area for yellow stickers in the chiller aisle.
“This is where you’ll find ham, meats, and ready meals.”
There’s also one in the dry food aisles, where you’ll find everything from tins of beans to soap powder.
He said: “In my local store, they recently had stationary on offer and damaged packets of batteries.”
Spot an item before it becomes a yellow sticker
Knowing where to look for items that have already been stickered is one thing, but spotting them before they get the yellow sticker is even better.
Gary says the bakery and the deli are the first places in store to cut prices, so it’s worth keeping an eye out in these areas at the end of the day.
Other things to look out for are fresh produce with today’s date on.
“If there’s a lot of it, the chances are it will be reduced at the end of the day,” he says.
Don’t forget fruit and veg
Anyone who’s a regular in Tesco knows its fruit and veg packaging isn’t stamped with expiry dates.
Or so we thought. Gary said there are alphabetical and numerical codes on the products that can help you work out if it’s about to be reduced.
On each packet is a code, which may look something like L31.
The letter in the code represents the month, and the number represents the day of that month.
For example, A is January, B is February, and so on – meaning L31 stands for December 31.
Knowing this could add a couple days to your fruit and veg life, or maybe you’ll be able to spot a bag that’s due to be discounted that evening.
Earlier this month, Tesco announced job cuts that could put 1,400 shelf stacker roles at risk.
Elsewhere, an Aldi store manager shares five tips to cut costs further when shopping in the budget-friendly supermarket.
For Morrisons fans, checkout these helpful tricks from a store worker to find the best yellow sticker deals.
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