Many households are tightening their belts and looking for ways they can save money as the cost of living continues to rise.
Despite some bills decreasing in the summer months, food bills are still high and many families are continuing to struggle.
In a bid to save on the weekly shop, many people have switched from branded goods to supermarket own-label.
If you have made the change but are missing your Heinz baked beans or Cadbury chocolate there is a way you can still get them for less.
Motatos is an online budget supermarket that sells surplus or short-dated stock that would otherwise be thrown away.
This could be due to overproduction, faulty packaging, seasonal trends resulting in surplus or short or sometimes past best-before dates.
Shoppers can pick up items like Heinz mayo, Doritos crisps, Coca-cola and Orignal Source shower gel much cheaper than in the supermarket.
Motatos also sells other ranges such as pet food, health food supplements and homewares all at significantly discounted pricing.
It also has two for one deals which make for an even bigger saving.
For example at the time of writing it was selling two tins of Heinz macaroni cheese (200g) for just £1.30.
Asda was selling the same item, but cost £1.40 per tin, so buying from Motatos gives a saving of £1.50.
Also on offer was Heinz original salad cream (435g) for £1.40, and Asda’s price was £3.40 for the same size, giving a saving of £2.
Schweppes slimline tonic (1L) was on a three for £1.95 deal.
Asda had a three for £3 deal, giving a saving of £1.05 if purchased online at Motatos.
Delivery charges do apply, and when we checked standard delivery (3-5 working days) from Motatos was an additional £2.99, and premium delivery (2-3 working days) £3.99.
There is also a minimum order value of £25, delivery is free on orders over £40.
It’s worth considering other supermarkets before placing your order and weighing up what works best for you.
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.
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 through 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 organised, 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 in the evening typically.
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.
As we previously mentioned going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills.
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.