Mother-of-two reveals how she manages to feed her family for £1.40 per head each day after the energy crisis and rise in cost of living left her with just £40 per week for groceries

  • Stacey Victoria, 35, from Huddersfield, said cost of living impacted her family
  • Mother-of-two revealed her energy bills have gone up by £100 per month 
  • She explained how she feeds her family on just £40 per week and shared advice
  • Said she always buys from the reduced section and freezes essentials like milk
  • Meanwhile she also batch cooks and bulks meals out with cheap vegetables  

A mother-of-two has revealed she manages to feed her family for just £40 per week after paying her bills as a result of the high cost of living crisis.

Stacey Victoria, 35, from Huddersfield, forks out almost £300 per month on gas and electric bills - leaving her with no choice but to shop in the reduced section in supermarkets.

The savvy stay-at-home mother has managed to cook meals costing no more than £1.40 per head by picking up food from the reduced section and bulk buying essentials like milk and bread to freeze.

Stacey, who has seen her electric bill rise from £102 to £152 per month, and gas rising from £91 to £144, said: 'The rising costs of everything have affected me massively and have given me more of a drive to cut costs even more than I already have.

Stacey Victoria, 35, from Huddersfield, forks out almost £300 per month on gas and electric bills - leaving her with no choice but to shop in the reduced section in supermarkets

Stacey Victoria, 35, from Huddersfield, forks out almost £300 per month on gas and electric bills - leaving her with no choice but to shop in the reduced section in supermarkets

'Both my gas and electricity bills have gone up by £50 each, but I'm not using any extra energy.

'By living on reduced and free grocery items, I'm able to have that little extra saved on the side for any surprise extortionate bills.'

Meanwhile she revealed after paying her household bills and grocery shop, she has less than £30 for any additional costs.

She explained: 'Having around £27 a week left over is a struggle, but I make it work, and try to save what I have.'

Stacey shops around weekly to find the best bargains possible; she spends roughly £40 per week on a food shop

Stacey shops around weekly to find the best bargains possible; she spends roughly £40 per week on a food shop

Among her tips for feeding a family on a small budget include bulk-buying essentials like milk and bread to freeze
Among her tips for feeding a family on a small budget include bulk-buying essentials like milk and bread to freeze  as well as making meals larger with added vegetables (pictured)

Among her tips for feeding a family on a small budget include bulk-buying essentials like milk and bread to freeze (left)  as well as making meals larger with added vegetables (right) 

Stacey shops around weekly to find the best bargains possible; she spends roughly £40 per week on a food shop. 

She said: 'I can make my family meals from as little as £1.33 per head a day.

Stacey's top tips for saving money on your weekly shop  

  • Bulk out meals with vegetables 
  • Batch cook and freeze meals, bread and milk to 
  • Bulk buy reduced items from supermarkets 
  • Use sites like Groupon and a Tesco clubcard to get further  benefits  
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'A pack of reduced mince costs around £1.88, a big bag of Jersey potatoes cost 90 pence, other reduced vegetables like carrots can cost 20 pence a bag, or even less than that if you get a single carrot.

'Adding the ingredients all together with some leftover gravy from a slow cooker pork roast, and it costs about £3 altogether, and can go quite far if you bulk it up with vegetables.

'Tesco reduced sandwiches cost about 50 pence each and make for a great lunch when out and about, especially if they are the three tier ones which me and my daughters, who I do not wish to name, can share.'

Stacey loves to bulk buys reduced items, as well as batch cooking and bulking up meals to make them stretch much further.

She said: 'I have four freezers, so love it when I can bulk buy things like bread and milk, as they can last quite a while when frozen.

'I find freezing meals works out quite well if I've made too much of something or have made a variety of meals from one item, like with mince beef, I can make a chilli con carne, spaghetti bolognaise and stew out of a big pack.

The mother-of-two, who has four freezers, bulk buys items like juice (pictured), milk and bread because they can last for longer

The mother-of-two, who has four freezers, bulk buys items like juice (pictured), milk and bread because they can last for longer 

Meanwhile Stacey also revealed how she always buys reduced yellow sticker items, and will often 'shop around' for the best deals
Meanwhile Stacey also revealed how she always buys reduced yellow sticker items, and will often 'shop around' for the best deals

Meanwhile Stacey also revealed how she always buys reduced yellow sticker items, and will often 'shop around' for the best deals (left and right)

EXAMPLES OF REDUCED ITEMS STACEY HAS PICKED UP 

  • Organic Milk: 17p
  • Turkey Crown: £1.99
  • Gluten Free Bread: 30p
  • Large chicken: £1.12
  • Large butter: 31p
  • BBQ food selection: £1
  • Chicken salad sandwiches: 95p
  • Mushrooms: 55p
  • Chicken tikka thighs: £1
  • Six pack of chocolate mousse: 57p
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'I like to shop around for yellow sticker items, and I've managed to get everything from a turkey crown reduced from £40 for £1.99, to milk for 13 pence and fresh chicken for £1.12.

'The best haul I've done to date was a £81 shop that came to £21 because everything was reduced.'

Stacey's secret to making the pound stretch is bulking meals with vegetables to make the meals bigger and healthier.

She adds: 'I tend to bulk up a lot of the fresh meals I make with vegetables so that it will go further, and I find that lots of fruits and vegetables get reduced before they are thrown.

'I got an aubergine from a petrol station for just two pence which was I able to make a chunky vegetable curry with.'

As an Olio volunteer, Stacey gets to keep 10 percent of the items she picks up from shops and local eateries but loves to share meals with the wider community.

She added: 'I collect quite a few bits from Tesco on the Olio app and have received some really good items like a pork joint, potatoes, and pasta.

'I ended up making some pulled pork sandwiches and pulled pork pasta with my Olio haul recently, and put it back on the app, they got snatched up immediately.'

Stacey's frugal habits extend further than her grocery shop, from using sites such as Groupon and loyalty schemes like Tesco Clubcard.

Among her top tips was buying reduced sandwiches from supermarkets for family lunches (pictured, chicken sandwiches reduced to just 55p in Tesco)

Among her top tips was buying reduced sandwiches from supermarkets for family lunches (pictured, chicken sandwiches reduced to just 55p in Tesco)

Stacey's secret to making the pound stretch is bulking meals with vegetables to make the meals bigger and healthier
Stacey's secret to making the pound stretch is bulking meals with vegetables to make the meals bigger and healthier

Stacey's secret to making the pound stretch is bulking meals with vegetables to make the meals bigger and healthier (left, her ingredients for cottage pie, and right, fajitas)

Meanwhile the mother-of-two will often stock up her freezers with reduced loaves of bread to make her budget work for the family

Meanwhile the mother-of-two will often stock up her freezers with reduced loaves of bread to make her budget work for the family 

Stacey revealed that freezing meals works out 'quite well' for the family, including if she has made too much of something or has made a variety of meals from one item, like with mince beef
Stacey revealed that freezing meals works out 'quite well' for the family, including if she has made too much of something or has made a variety of meals from one item, like with mince beef or chicken meat (pictured)

Stacey revealed that freezing meals works out 'quite well' for the family, including if she has made too much of something or has made a variety of meals from one item, like with mince beef (left) or chicken meat (right) 

The mother-of-two said she can often find reduced vegetables and fruit packets (pictured) which would otherwise be thrown away

The mother-of-two said she can often find reduced vegetables and fruit packets (pictured) which would otherwise be thrown away 

She said: 'I'm always on the hunt for vouchers and freebies, like when you see vouchers for theme parks on cereal boxes.

'With Tesco Clubcard, you can exchange your points for theme park tickets as well, which is really useful for days out with the girls.

'If I see an advert for a freebie, I'll usually do the survey for it, and have actually just got a free £10 voucher for filling in a survey that came through the post.

'I bought my daughter an iPad through Groupon which cost me £37, you have to wait a little longer for the items to be posted, and sometimes they're not in the best condition.

'But it was the perfect gift, as it didn't cost an extortionate amount, and my girl loved it.'

She now tries to share her budget tips and tricks via social media via @eating-fresh-on-a-budget to help other struggling families.

The mother-of-two revealed how the best haul she has had to date was a £81 shop that came to £21 because everything was reduced (pictured, one of her shops)

The mother-of-two revealed how the best haul she has had to date was a £81 shop that came to £21 because everything was reduced (pictured, one of her shops) 

And it's not just the family's meals! Stacey also saves pennies by stocking up on reduced cleaning products (pictured)

And it's not just the family's meals! Stacey also saves pennies by stocking up on reduced cleaning products (pictured) 

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