THERE’S a little-known shop where you can buy top brands like Walkers and Coca-Cola for as little as 10p.
Many households are looking for clever ways to save money as rising bills and the general cost of living has left many people struggling.
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And even though energy costs are set to decrease over the summer, food bills are still sky high.
But there’s a way shoppers can get food and cupboard staples at a much discounted price.
Approved Food is an online shop that gives shoppers the chance to save money on their food shop.
These products are either near or have gone past their ‘best before’ dates which means supermarkets can no longer sell them.
However, they’re still within their “use by” date and are perfectly safe to consume.
Best before signifies how long you’ve got until the product loses it’s quality whereas use by means it must be consumed by that date.
Shoppers can pick up items like Walkers crisps, Coco-Cola drinks, tinned tomatoes, pasta and other cupboard essentials for pennies.
Approved Food also sells other products such as baby food, make-up and toiletries.
For example, at the time of writing it was selling a pack of Walkers cheese and onion baked crisps for just 10p.
Morrisons was selling the same packet for 95p, saving you 85p.
It was also selling KP Hula Hoops 12 multipack for 50p.
In comparison, Waitrose was selling the exact same pack of Hula Hoops for £3.75 – that’s a massive £3.25 saving.
It was also selling a 330ml can of Diet Coke for 29p, while Tesco was selling one can of Diet Coke for £1 – buying from there would cost you 71p extra.
Pampers nappies 25 pack were going for £4 – Superdrug was selling the same pack of nappies for £4.99, on sale from £5.75.
Even with the sale price you’d still save 99p.
And it also has Sharwood’s extra creamy butter chicken sauce 420g for 20p.
Sainsbury’s was selling the Sharwood’s cause for £3, so that’s a huge £2.80 saving.
Bear in mind that stock will vary depending on what the company has picked up from supermarkets.
It’s easy to use, you’ll just need to register for an Approved Food account before adding items to your basket – like you would with any other supermarket online shop.
The cost of delivery varies depending on how big your order is but it costs £3 for boxes up to 25kg, £5 for 50kg boxes or £9 for boxes up to 75kg.
Delivery is free for orders over £55.
It’s worth considering other supermarkets before placing your order and weighing up what works out cheaper for you as other supermarkets offer free delivery on orders at a lower price.
For example, orders over £40 at Sainsbury’s will cost anywhere between £1 and £5.50 and orders under will cost you £7.
Make sure you’re up to date on any extra costs you could be charged as it could make a big difference to your bill.
Always shop around for the best deals as stores often have discounts on major brands.
We couldn’t find anything much cheaper at the time of writing but do make sure you’re of deals.
Is there anything similar out there?
Too Good to Go is an app that allows you to rescue end-of-day food from many popular cafes, restaurants, shops and supermarkets that would otherwise go in the bin.
All you need to do is download and set your location on the Too Good To Go app and you can choose from nearby stores listing their unsold food at a reduced price.
Similar to Too Good To Go, you can search for nearby food to pick up based on your location via the Karma app.
You can then purchase meals at discounted prices.
However, unlike Too Good To Go, Karma will tell you what food you are getting, so there is even less chance of it going to waste.
No Waste is an excellent way to get organized, as you can scan your food and list it by expiry date, name or category.
It makes it easier to see what you are running out of, so you don’t double up on items in your next shop.
Lists can be shared with family so you can give away unwanted food plus you can track how much you are wasting by deleting items you have eaten or that have expired.
How else can I save on my supermarket shop?
There are plenty of other ways to save on your supermarket shop.
You can try looking out for yellow or red stickers on products which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh you’ll have to eat it fast, or freeze it to have another time.
Sometimes even timing your shop to stock up just as items are discounted on the shelves can help you get the best bargains – lots of shoppers have said this is typically in the evening.
Making a list could save you some money too as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be an easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
That means going for “own” or “value” type products instead of “finest” or “luxury” lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes as well where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]