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Frugal spender says she got week's worth of shopping for £3.50

Emma Guinness

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Frugal spender says she got week's worth of shopping for £3.50

Featured Image Credit: Mercury Press

Unless you're extremely fortunate, chances are that you're currently feeling the pinch from the cost of living crisis and trying to cut back.

As we all know, one of the biggest expenses we face is food, but one frugal lady has seemingly done the impossible and managed to get one of her food shops down to just £3.58.

Yes, you read that right - she got a weekly shop for two for just £3.58 and it was all thanks to some seriously clever shopping.

The food would have otherwise come in at £48.58, which is likely what most of us would expect to spend on a weekly shop for two, if not more.

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Leia got a weekly shop for a remarkable £3.58. Credit: Mercury Press & Media
Leia got a weekly shop for a remarkable £3.58. Credit: Mercury Press & Media

Leia Winch, 38, from Telford, explained that she's saved £22,000 and counting thanks to her frugal ways, but she wasn't always such a savvy spender.

Leia said: "I went through a long phase of living beyond my means, and ended up maxing out my credit card, and found myself constantly stuck in my overdraft.

"I ended up taking out a £4,000 loan to try to pay off the debts but carried on living and spending the same way so just ended up being in more debt with a loan that needed paying off.

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"In 2017, I decided to try to turn my life around and began shopping exclusively for yellow sticker items.

"I cut my monthly costs massively and managed to clear my debts incredibly quickly.

Leia loves meat and is able to get a lot of it in the yellow sticker section. Credit: Mercury Press & Media
Leia loves meat and is able to get a lot of it in the yellow sticker section. Credit: Mercury Press & Media

"After clearing my debts, I carried on buying yellow sticker items, and carried on with the cash back apps and surveys in order to save money to buy my first home."

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Leia, who documents were frugal spending on her Instagram account @leiasbargains, explained that while she and her partner, Greg, 39, have an average weekly food bill of £35, it can often be a lot less than this - and they sometimes get freebies too.

She said that her remarkable £3.58 weekly shop was from Sainsbury's, and she achieved the feat using a combination of Nectar points, as well as reduced meat, vegetables and ready meals.

She said: "Greg and I are both big meat eaters, so I always love finding meats in the reduced section.

"After Christmas is always a great time to grab some bargains, as I've just managed to snag a few beef joints for 80 pence each, and ten sausages for just 23 pence.

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She freezes her bargains and uses them to bulk cook. Credit: Mercury Press & Media
She freezes her bargains and uses them to bulk cook. Credit: Mercury Press & Media

"I tend to freeze the meat if I bulk buy, or I'll batch cook meals packing them full of reduced vegetables like 10 pence bags of potatoes and carrots."

On the subject of meat, Leia said she's got her savvy cooking down to a tee and can make four portions of one of her favourite meals, cottage pie, for just £2.

As we all know, butter is rapidly rising in cost, but not for Leia, who saves in this area by making her own using double cream.

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Leia said that one of her biggest tips alongside yellow sticker items is shopping around for the best deals.

"I treated myself to a cake from M&S for £4.05 down from £15, and at the Co-Op, I managed to do a small shop for £4.28 instead of £22.40," she said.

Leia makes her own butter using reduced double cream. Credit: Mercury Press & Media
Leia makes her own butter using reduced double cream. Credit: Mercury Press & Media

"With the cashback apps and survey sites, I tend to get a lot of free items, like four bottles of shampoo from Boots, or big bags of dog food which I gave to friends and family.

"I've also managed to get four free jars of coffee, which actually costs £5.50 per tin in store."

It just goes to show that with a little forward planning, there are some serious savings to be made.

You can keep up with Leia on Instagram here.

Topics: Food and Drink

Emma Guinness
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