A student nicknamed the ‘coupon kid’ has shared his easy ways for saving money on your shopping bill.
Jordon Cox says shoppers can bring down their “sky high” food prices by finding yellow sticker items – products that are approaching their use-by date.
Including the obvious, such as looking for damaged products, he also shared some helpful advice for anyone looking to bring down the cost of their food shop.
Jordon said:“Buying groceries is an essential weekly shop for us all – so it’s not like we can cut it out to save money.
“According to data from the Office of National Statistics, the average UK household spends £3,312 each year. There are however ways to drop that sky high food price down a little bit.
“Finding yellow stickers in the supermarket is one really useful way to save the pennies and can save you a lot of money. I’ve managed to save money over the years just by being a bit more savvy with my food shop.
“Some people have saved hundreds, even thousands of pounds a year just by picking up yellow stickered items at the end of the day”.
From the exact times to visit stores to get deals to ‘gold mines’, here are Jordon’s tips to help reduce your supermarket bill.
Know the right times
Jordon told beansfortea: “It’s important to realise that food items are red and can be reduced throughout the day however if you want the cheapest prices you’re going to want to go in the evening.
“That’s when supermarkets really start to slash the prices and you can really make some big savings.
“It’s said the highest reductions of food in most supermarkets are after 8 pm where you can make savings of up to 90% off the retail price. The only issue is that stock may be low the longer you leave it so really make an effort to get there at the right times.”
Get the best food price reductions at these times:
Asda – 7-8pm
Coop – 50% during the day, and 75% after 8pm
M&S Food – 1 hour before closing
Morrisons – 7-8pm (but varies per store)
Sainsbury’s – 8pm (varies per store)
Tesco – 7-8pm
Check the chilled aisle
(Image: Jordon Cox)
Jordon says the best place to find expiring food is the chilled food aisle – making it a place where big savings can be made.
He added: “Ready meals, fresh meat and fish are all up for grabs, as they are the most likely things to expire quickly.
“Check around all the chilled aisles in your supermarket – and you should find a section of reduced items like this. I managed to save almost £2 on this rump joint.”
Look for damaged goods
(Image: Jordon Cox)
Jordon said: “In some supermarkets, you can find these shelves of items that are damaged and cannot be sold for full price. Some items have a drink missing or two less eggs, so sell the rest to you for a discount.
“These can be great, as the item that’s left is usually fine, and sometimes food items are discounted just for having a battered box. I managed to save £2 off this box of cider simply because the packaging had been damaged.”
Patisseries and bakeries can be gold mines
(Image: Jordon Cox)
He added: “Do make sure you head over to the bakery section. Fresh bread, cookies, cake are all on offer if they’re soon to expire – so it’s a good way to get a sweet treat for a discount.
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“Quite often you can get whole loaves of bread for dirt cheap that can be frozen.”
Don’t forget the sandwiches
Jordon said: “If it’s after lunchtime, it’s worth heading over to the meal deal fridges to see if any sandwiches, wraps or rolls are reduced.
If you’re lucky, you can pick up sandwiches that need to be used by the end of the day. They make a perfect quick snack or dinner if you manage to find one.
“By using these tips, and a bit of luck on the day, you could find food for a big reduction with yellow stickers – and it could add up to £100s or even £1,000s over the course of a year.”
