I’m a thrifty mum – the seven supermarket own-brand items I always buy and those to avoid
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SINGLE mum Jo Rourke is an expert when it comes to saving money on her grocery shop.
Her top tip is swapping out branded items for supermarket own-brand ones.
Jo, 41, has three kids - a daughter aged 14 and two sons aged 10 and 13 - so she is always looking to save her cash where she can.
An accountant by trade, she has always been good with numbers and uses her skills to find the cheapest offers.
In 2021, Jo started posting her tips on TikTok as @thismumcooks and she now has 84,000 followers.
Her content largely consists of savvy swaps, budget-friendly meals and money-saving tricks.
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Speaking to The Sun, Jo, from Manchester, has shared her go-to supermarket branded items that she prefers over the real thing.
Jo said: "The key is to just push yourself out of your comfort zone on things that are important to you.
"Coffee is really important to me, I think everyone has that one thing that they won't negotiate on, coffee was always mine.
"But give other brands a go, even if you think you've tried it before, just give it a go."
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She says that swapping out branded items for own-brand ones has become "second nature"; to her.
Jo says she always makes sure to shop around and recommends people keep an eye out for the best offers on that week.
She buys certain items, like meat and milk, from specific places she knows are the cheapest and stocks up on them and then goes to her local Tesco for her regular shop.
Here are her go-to swaps she recommends people do to save their cash.
Chicken leg portions - M&S
First up, in a bit of a shock twist, is from Marks and Spencer.
The posh shop sells 600g chicken leg portions for just £1.20 in store, which Jo says allows her to make up to two meals for her family.
Jo said: "That's my go-to bargain, I only go to M&S for specific things, but there are things you can buy in there that save you money.
"People don't believe me when I say that."
Lactose-free milk - Aldi
Another item she will only ever buy is Aldi's lactose-free milk which costs £1.05, due to her and one of her sons being lactose intolerant.
She said it can be "extortionate" at other supermarkets but by buying in bulk every two weeks she saves £5 for 10 cartons from Aldi.
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Cereal - Tesco
Jo said that something her kids eat a lot is cereal, so she always makes sure to have several boxes in the house.
Instead of Shreddies, which can cost from £3.25, she will buy Tesco's own-brand Malt Wheats for just 86p.
She will also buy Tesco Wheat Biscuits for £2.70 for a 24 pack, as opposed to Weetabix which can cost around £3.25.
Crisps - Aldi
Another staple is tortilla chips from Aldi which cost around 50p, compared to Doritos which can cost up to £2 for a bag.
Biscuits - discount stores
Jo will also always make sure to have a look in discount stores for off-brand biscuits.
For example, she'll buy packs of coconut ring biscuits for 50p from her local Quality Save store, so she'll buy lots at once.
Condiments - Tesco
Another one of Jo's go-to switches is Tesco's own-brand condiments like Ketchup, which costs just £1.25 for a big bottle, a big saving on Heinz's £3.30.
Coffee - M&S
Jo is a self-proclaimed coffee lover and had been drinking Costa's instant coffee for a long time, until she carried out a taste test on her TikTok.
Her Costa favourite had been costing up to £5.20 for 100g, so she wanted to see if she could ween herself off and save money.
She tested two of M&S's own-brand coffee offerings: its cheapest and its more premium one.
The latter won out and even though it wasn't the cheapest it was still less than Costa at £2.62 for 100g.
Own-brand products to avoid
Jo also has a number of own-brand items she makes sure to avoid.
She said: "Really cheap bread is a no-go.
"You can get 36p bread from a lot of the supermarkets and I wouldn't touch that.
"It's alright to toast but I wouldn't entertain it for making packed lunches.
"Some own-brand value beans aren't great, Tesco is our go-to but some of the others aren't nice.
"I also don't like value branded coffee, so the really cheap one."
Jo's money-saving tips
Jo also shared some of her general top tips for saving money on your grocery shop.
For example, she always buys reduced meat in bulk and freezes it to make sure it lasts.
To do this yourself, aim to use your freezer efficiently by removing excess packaging and put items in bags instead.
When shopping Jo will compare prices by 100g to make sure she's getting the best deal, as sometimes things that cost more at face value can be cheaper in terms of what you get.
She also said that taking advantage of offers and stocking up for events like Christmas can save you money in the long run.
Cooking from scratch is also one of her top tips.
She recently set her kids a £5 challenge to see if they could make their own pizza for less.
They managed to make pizzas for the family and had ingredients left over that they could use for other meals.
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Meanwhile, we tell you how you can save money by budgeting your cash.
And this savvy saver tells all about how she used Martin Lewis' tip to get £600 in time for Christmas.