Many households are looking for clever ways to save money this winter 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.

Christmas shoppers can pick up Lindt Milk and White Chocolate Christmas Selection Gift Boxes for £5.99 instead of £7 in stores.

And Love Cocoa Chocolate Advent Calendars are just £10, rather than £15.

Meanwhile, Kingsbridge Chocolate Marshmallow Milk Hot Chocolate Spoons are just £1 instead of £2 – a whopping 50% off.

And 144 Bars of Cadbury Flakes are on offer for £10.99, instead of the usual £13.99.

Cadbury Dark Milk Hazelnut Bar are £1 instead of £1.50 and Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruitier and Nuttier Trail Mix is £1.49 instead of £2.

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.

Going own brand can be one 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.