Anyone with a fridge urged to stop making costly mistake | Personal Finance | Finance

A kitchen appliance expert has shared tips on using your fridge best to save money. Andrew Wright, founder of family-owned kitchen appliance brand Cookology, has shared his insight on common everyday mistakes which could be costing you money.

With budgets stretched and energy bills still high in 2025, many people are looking for smarter ways to cut costs and boost efficiency at home. Yet with households responsible for 60% of the UK’s food waste, a lot of money is still ending up in the bin – quite literally. Andrew says over or underfilling your fridge could reduce its operating efficiency.

He says this is due to blocked airflow, meaning the fridge needs to work harder to cool produce down, costing you more in electricity bills.

Overfilling can also lead to blocked vents which can damage your fridge.

However, underfilling your fridge can also cause problems. Food naturally absorbs cold air, so when your fridge is underfilled, the excess space causes your fridge to work harder to stop food from going off.

For optimum fridge performance, it’s best to keep it around three-quarters full. This allows air to circulate freely and there’s enough food to cool other produce down.

But this isn’t the only tip he shared, he also said it’s important to optimise storage space.

In addition to storing the right amount in your fridge, it’s important to store food in the right way.

Raw meats and seafood should always be stored on the lowest shelf, which helps avoid cross-contamination in the event of a leak.

The middle shelf is perfect for yoghurts and cheeses – even butter which, despite some debate, should always be kept in the fridge – even if it is more easily spreadable when kept at room temperature.

Use the top shelf for anything that is ready to eat straight out of the fridge, for example, cooked meats, or leftovers.

You should load your fridge so the food with the longest use-by date is stored towards the back to ensure food waste is kept to a minimum.

By following these simple tips, you can save money without making any drastic changes to your life.