Thrifty dad who has saved £10,000 on yellow sticker items shares tips for eating premium food on tight budget

A thrifty dad who saved over £10,000 has shared his top tips for eating well without paying premium prices.

Al Baker, 49, is no stranger to sniffing out yellow sticker bargains and spotting top deals in the supermarket, but uses several other methods to ensure he and his family can enjoy good food without forking out for it.

The dad-of-two, from Aldershot, was plunged into £300,000 business debt in 2017 and was forced to declare bankruptcy.

Ever since, the dad-of-two has been on a mission to cut costs – notably living on yellow sticker bargain foods to help him save £10,000 over the course of two years.

Al previously shared a series of extreme cost-cutting tips, including reusing toilet roll and drying tea bags on the washing line for a second brew.

Now, he’s sharing how to eat well no matter your budget, with a series of useful tips.

“Feeding your family is getting awfully expensive in the UK at the moment,” Al, who shares money saving tips on his blog The Penny Pincher, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.

“Keeping an eye out for deals on food is becoming the norm, and a lot of parents struggle with keeping the freezer full.

“The cost of living is just too high to go for those weekly stock-ups like we used to.

“But it’s quite possible to eat well without paying those premium prices.”

EMBRACE YOUR GREEN FINGERS

One tip for ensuring you eat good, whole foods without breaking the bank is creating your own ‘window sill garden’.

Al said: “As a family, times are tough, especially so at the moment, not helped by cost of food right now, and so by growing some of our staple fruit and veggies it can really help lower food costs later in the year when everything is ready to eat.

“What we don’t eat immediately will be frozen, and things like tomatoes will be made into pasta sauces that I jar up and keep them in the cupboard until needed.

“This keeps up fed with homemade sauce for a good few months if we get a good tomato crop, and homemade always tastes better, and is all-natural, so no nasty preservatives – just old fashioned food preservation!

“I tend to start planting seeds in April and will let the colder weather move away and then plant them mostly outside part from herbs which I keep on the kitchen window sill to grow, and they are a bit more protected and also makes the kitchen smell nice.

“I tend to have my little one help me to plant the seeds as I think it’s important for him to experience the grow-your-own journey, and enjoy the finished product.”

To get started, Al said: “Buy a seed packet, get some plant pots to fit on the window sills around your house, and then find instructions online to sow them the right way.

“If you’re going to buy seeds, you don’t have to buy the top-of-the-range, branded ones; cheaper brands work just as well!

“Lots of shops sell this time of the year – Aldi and Lidl had them from just 49p this week.

“Of course, you don’t even need to buy seeds; use the ones that come in your veggies, or even your food scraps.

“In a couple of weeks, you should have some seeds sprouting – keep watering your plant babies, and you’ll have green beans, peas, carrots, tomatoes, or any number of herbs and spices ready to go by summer.”

FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT

Al also recommends trying your hand at fakeaways and ditching pricey dinners at restaurants or take out.

He said: “The expense is common in the spending diary every month, and many people love to just grab something on the way home so they don’t have to cook.

“But whilst eating at the Best Indian Restaurant near you is a lovely treat, the prices can add up if you go too frequently.

“However, if you find out what goes into your favourite dishes, you can make them from home and usually for at least half the price.

“It’s even something many restaurants encourage, and provide a recipe book for customers to buy and use in their own time.

“If not, have a look around on the web and social media sites – you’ll find a ton of inspiration there for making a fakeaway!

“There are so many recipes online these days to for you to make takeaway quality at home.

“The cost is massively cheaper, and you can shop about for the best prices.

“I go to an Asian supermarket locally and pick up authentic ingredients cheaper than at the supermarket and that really helps.

“Why spend £30 on a takeaway when you can make it for a third of the price or probably less?

“Plus, you can make it in advance, or batch cook your favourite recipe and you’ll have it ready to go, just take it out the freezer the night before and reheat!

“It’s normally time or tiredness that makes you order takeout; avoid that by being prepared, that’s what I do!”

ONE MAN’S TRASH…

Finally, he says it’s well worth scouting out your local supermarket’s reduced items, and taking advantage apps like Too Good To Go or Olio to buy or swap leftover foods.

He said: “Every supermarket marks items down day by day. Things that are near their ‘use by’ dates, as well as items with damaged packaging or missing elements, all get reduced down to prices that are much more healthy on the wallet.

“All you need to do is get to the supermarket at the right time to get the best selection from what’s put out.

“You can also use apps, such as Too Good to Go or Olio, to buy and/or swap leftover foods for only a fraction of their usual cost.

“Of course, you’ll be unable to choose what items you actually get (and how much of them), but it does mean a few extra things in the fridge that you can throw into meals to pad them out.”