Mum cuts her shopping bill in half with one simple change | Personal Finance | Finance

A mum has cut the cost of her weekly food bill in half – by only doing her “big shop” twice a year. Charlene Woracker, 33, spent £130 per week on groceries for family of six before starting to adopt the new technique in March 2020.

Now every six months, she’ll spend £240 stockpiling on canned food, dry snacks, toiletries and household items – and shops for fresh food once a week. She’s managed to get her weekly food bill down to £62.50, and says she’s living more cheaply than ever, and now saves £250 a month – or £3k a year.

She says it saves her money because she plans ahead, avoids impulse buys and can get multi-buy deals. Charlene, a content creator from Sheffield, said: “I’ll shop at Sainsbury’s and Home Bargains every six months – buying toiletries, household items and canned goods.

“Uncertainty during Covid made me start stockpiling, but I’ve never looked back. It’s given me a bit more financial security.”

When lockdown hit in March 2020, Charlene took the advice of friends by stockpiling toiletries and dry food – like loo roll, shampoo, pasta and long-life milk. She quickly realised she was actually saving around £40 from her usual weekly shop for herself and her four children – aged 14, 13, six and one.

“There was so much insecurity and uncertainty during Covid,” she added. “I wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to get to the shops.

“I realised I was saving money on my weekly shop – which is why I’ve continued. I think, because you’re not impulse-buying, it really helps in that way.”

Charlene also began planning out the family’s daily meals – so she’d know what to buy in advance. She says this helps her a lot with stockpiling, and saving money on shopping for fresh ingredients like vegetables, meat and cheese.

Her weekly food shop has now gone down to around £62.50 a week – and stockpiling has reduced her monthly overall shopping bill to £250 per month. She said: “I’ve cut my shopping bill down a significant amount.

“I meal-plan a lot, and I plan my groceries in advance. I’m finding I can just shop around for the best bargains – I try and plan my list a month before doing a big shop.”

Charlene’s latest haul saw her buying items like two boxes of fast-action yeast, four tins of coconut oil, nine packs of sanitary pads and five tins of baking powder. While she doesn’t have a favourite haunt, Charlene says she often finds herself going back to Sainsbury’s and Home Bargains.

“I shop around with my Nectar points,” she added. “But Home Bargains is probably the best for stockpiling. I’ll do it every six months – I’ll buy things like toilet roll, shower gels, soap, flour, pasta and canned goods.

“My £250-per-month is mostly on the fresh food I buy each week. It’s quite a drop from what I was spending before.”