I slashed my grocery bill from £100 to £10 – I have so much food I have to give it away… here’s how I do it
A WOMAN more than halved the price of her food shops by getting a team together to hunt for yellow stickers in the supermarket.
Donna Dee West is addicted to bargains and dedicatedly scans for reduced-to-clear food on her grocery shopping.
The 55-year-old nabs enough to last her up to two weeks at a time and enlists the help of family and friends to cover all bases in the shops.
She urged people to not be scared of what others think as "it's important to get what you can when food is reduced".
Donna slammed people who turn their noses up at yellow sticker buys, particularly amid the cost of living crisis.
The Middlesbrough-based bargain hunter said: "In this day and age you need to get what you can for your money.
"People tend to turn their noses up because of the dates on the items, many of which are that days date.
"When you have fridges and freezers at home, you can practically keep them fresh even longer - especially freezing them.
Cutting back to save money, Donna found she could slash some of her food shops by 90%.
She went from spending £100 a week to sometimes just £10 after rising costs saw the nation pinching their purses.
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Picking up most of her food for less than £1, Donna scours the supermarket shelves as well as using the Too Good To Go app.
The shopper said: "If I were to do a full food shop for the week without yellow stickers, it would be anything between £80 to £100 as I like to make sure the family have a variety of fresh foods."
Yellow stickers mean Donna food shop is now usually halved, but at times she's managed to nab it for up to 90% cheaper.
She continued: "I have all my meat stored which includes a meat joint, sausages, liver, chicken, beef mince and more and it cost me a grand total of £14.
"I was trying to save money where I could as inflation hit bit by bit and as the gas and electricity bills were getting higher and higher.
"I needed to to compensate and pull things back to manage the costs and I discovered yellow sticker shopping.
"Between yellow sticker shopping and Too Good To Go bags, you don't need much more to stock up."
Donna is currently out of work due to an illness so nabbing bargains is more important than ever for her.
She shares her big meals with her street to avoid food waste.
Donna said: "Living in the North East and the cost of living energy suppliers and food price hikes we all need to do our bit to help each other out.
"If you have a local Morrisons nearby, I'd recommend to try there between 4.45pm and 5.30pm and I guarantee you will find something.
"You'd be amazed at what's on offer at times, even the alcohol. I've seen wines go from £15 to £1.50 and a bunch of £20 flowers for 80p.
"My family think it's great and it means we can have some treats we couldn't normally afford things from food items to flowers.
"Many reductions are 50% off and then reduced again around 7pm to 70% off so it's great when you can get a £15 topside beef for £3.30, saving £12.
"I once got some Cadbury's Heroes cupcakes that were normally £8 for 80p and a great big chocolate gateaux style birthday cake for £1.50 it's amazing.
"I've now got my family and friends at it with me, so on occasions three or four of us will go together and see what we can find."
Donna encouraged people to "never be shy"; in asking about reductions at the supermarket.
She assured: "You're actually saving the food from being wasted at the same time.
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"One time, a member of staff was knocked over just bringing the reduced goods out to put on the shop floor by customers.
"It's a free for all and some do go mad."