A saving superstar has shared his tips on how to slash food bills - and he estimates it saves him £1,300 a year.
The tips are more important than ever as annual food bills are rising by around £180 and the typical household will pay a record extra £693 in energy costs this year.
Gary Bramhall, 46, set up a Facebook page called The Yellow Sticker Picker to help struggling households save cash on food, the Sun reports .
He believes he has saved around £25 a week on his groceries, or £1,300 a year, and specialises in bagging bargains at Tesco.
He said: "It started of many years ago, it was just something I enjoyed - but then my family caught wind of it, and my wife is very good at social media, so she set me up with a Facebook page.
"Before I knew it, people began following me."
Here is his advice for saving cash on your big Tesco food shop.
1) Go at the best time
Gary says going to Tesco after 7pm on weekdays and 2pm on Sundays pays off, as this is when the supermarket puts out most of its reduced 'yellow sticker' items.
2) Avoid doing one 'big shop'
Gary says doing one huge shopping trip a week doesn't help get all the bargains.
This is because items are reduced every day, so going once a week means only one set of discounts.
However, doing this is only possible if you have the time. Plus, if you have to drive or pay for public transport, repeated trips to a supermarket cost money too.
3) Keep an open mind
Gary said many households keep meal plans to help control the cost of meals, but that ditching these can help save cash too.
He said: "More often than not, I’ll change the menu according to the stickers.
“So if there’s pork on offer, we’ll have pork for Sunday dinner. If beef is on offer, we’ll have beef for Sunday dinner, instead - it’s a right lottery.
“I was presented with figs the other week. I’ve never cooked figs before, but I just googled recipes on BBC Good Food so I can actually plan what I’m having in the supermarket when I’m faced with yellow stickers.”
4) Know where to look for the discounts
Supermarkets put out discounted items across several aisles, such as the bakery, vegetable and chiller areas.
Gary said: “Tesco stores usually have a dedicated area for yellow stickers in the chiller aisle.
"This is where you'll find ham, meats, and ready meals."
5) Crack the supermarket codes to get fresher food
Many supermarkets, including Tesco, have stopped putting best-before dates on their fruit and vegetables.
But these items can have codes that help you work out when they are likely to go off.
For example, something with the code A20 means the item is best eaten before January 20 - because 'A' is January, 'B' is February and so on.
