A savvy mother-of-two has revealed how yellow sticker shopping has helped her save £1,000 in a year, enough to book a dream family holiday to Portugal.
Gemma Lonnon, 40, from Telford, Shropshire, works as a teaching assistant and decided to start shopping for yellow sticker produce last year, in 2021.
She heads to the shops up to three times a week, shopping in the afternoon, grabbing the best deals, and often buying produce like meat and fish to store in the freezer.
Due to Gemma’s cost-saving ideas for shopping, she’s now been able to afford to take her family Noah, eight, Darcey, six, and husband Neil, 43, on a trip to Portugal.
Gemma Lonnon, 40, pictured with husband Neil, 43, and their two children Noah, eight, and Darcey, six, has saved £1,000 by shopping for discounted ‘yellow sticker’ items
Among the lower-priced items the mother-of-two has picked up (pictured) are pastries, bagels, and cakes bars
According to Gemma, she saves around £20 a week by picking up reduced items like this garlic bread (pictured)
She said ‘I’ve been yellow sticker shopping for about a year now and I mainly use Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
‘I mainly try to get produce like sausage rolls for the kids, and meat, fish and bread which can be put in the freezer.
‘It’s always great if there are sausages on offer or chicken pieces but we also stock up on bread rolls and yoghurt too.
Gemma, pictured with her children Darcey and Noah, says shopping for her family ‘used to be quite expensive’ but her efforts to pick up reduced goods mean she’s saved a significant sum
After implementing her money saving measures, Gemma (pictured with her family) is now able to take her husband and children on a dream holiday to Portugal
Gemma says that the best time to head to the supermarket to find discount yellow sticker items is the afternoon
While the mother-of-two tries to stick to food she knows her family likes, rather than just buying items that are discounted, she says the family has tried some new options because they were cheaper, leading to some new favourites
‘Through shopping in reduced sections, I’ve cut my shopping bill by £20 per week, and used the savings to book a family holiday to Portugal!
‘Some of the best deals I’ve had include vegan sausages for just 49p. I also managed to pick up a pack of pastry’s for just 10p.
‘I normally try to just buy what we’d eat and not buy things just for the sake of it, but shopping this way means we always get to try new things.
‘Recently I went shopping and they had sea bass reduced. I bought and cooked it that night, it was our first time trying it and we loved it!
‘Shopping for my family used to be quite expensive but shopping with yellow stickers saves me over £1,000 a year.’
Gemma revealed when she likes to go shopping, as this plays a big part in how much she can actually save.
She added: ‘Between four and five is the best time to go shopping in the reduced section.
‘I’d also recommend using the ‘too good to go’ app, which is a great way to get good quality food while reducing waste.
‘Make sure not to get swept in just because it’s reduced and just buy what you actually like.’
Yellow sticker: among the items Gemma likes to pick up are meat and fish, which she says she likes to keep in the freezer
Savings: Gemma has saved a staggering £1,000 in a year by swapping full-priced items for yellow sticker goods – like this sandwich which was reduced from £4.95 to £1.75
The mother-of-two says she generally does her supermarket shopping at Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Tesco