Shopping all done and dusted

Hello. I went to work last night, clocked on at 7.30pm, clocked off at 9pm. My job? Foraging for reduced food, generally know as Yellow Stickers. My place of work, Tesco. Every so often I invest some of my time on searching out the best bargains, usually once a month at the big supermarket, and times in between at the discount stores, the Cash and Carry, the market, and other smaller supermarkets I happen to be passing. Ten minutes here and there can give me 75% of my total spend on food. With 90% off on most of these items, it is a significant saving, and well worth the effort. This is where I manage to save the most money on my day to day living expenses. 

Thursday night is usually quite busy, but I was pleasantly surprised last night, only me and one other person was waiting for the final reductions to be applied, and there was lots on offer. Someone must have misjudged how much stock to order, not good for the supermarket but very good for my purse. Fair do's though, my Tesco has a policy of passing on the cheap food to the shoppers, instead of binning it, so I thank them for that. It helps my budget enormously, and makes my shopping experience a fun activity rather than a boring mundane task. I am always looking for ways to beat the system, and to come out of the shop with a big grin on my face gives me a buzz.

A few more happy shoppers joined us, but there was more than enough for everyone, so no fighting. The mood was quite relaxed as everyone went away happy with their haul. Carol did a good job of scanning the items and stickering up, we waited patiently and got what we wanted.

This morning I have given some of my veg to Barry up the road, he helps me so I help him. This was gratefully received as I know he likes to do all his meals from scratch. I have a few items for my neighbour across the road, she has three hungry men to feed and is good enough to give me the excess apples from her tree that they can't manage to eat.

I'll do you a run down of my shopping list, I also had £5.20 off in vouchers, some of them on the reduced items, so that took the price below what I paid for them. I went for the yellow stickers first, and as I needed to reach £30 to use a £4 off voucher I put some full price items in the trolley, but they are what I normally buy and have a long shelf life. I had two treats, a bottle of wine for £5, and a pack of five donuts for 33p.

2 boxes Value Bran Flakes, 750grm 88p each
4 packets Tesco Cream Crackers 27p each
1 large tub Value yogurt 45p
1 bottle chardonnay £4.99
1 packet wholewheat pasta 75p
1 Pack of 6 FR eggs 89p
2 packs soft cheese with garlic 60p each
1 pack of 6 small flavoured yogurts £1
1 bag Value prunes £1.19
1 small fresh single cream 55p
7 loose bananas 75p
2 jars pickled onions 30p each
1 pack chicken slices for Bugsy £1.35
3 jars Value lemon curd 22p each
Various cat food and treats for 3 fussy cats £10.54

3 packs baby brussel sprouts 10p each
4 bags loose brussel sprouts 36p total
1 swede 10p
1 bag carrots 10p
1 bag 3 large leeks 10p
1 punnet organic mushrooms 10p
4 bags cauliflower/broccoli 10p each
1 large pot coleslaw/potato salad 16p
2 packs prepared white onions 9p each
2 packs prepared red onions 10p each
1 bag prepared carrots and peas mix 13p
1 pack of red and green grapes 20p
1 shredded iceberg lettuce 13p
2 packs of crispy sliced potatoes 15p each
1 pack tomatoes 15p
1 pack carrots 9p
1 bag potatoes 18p
2 packs baby courgettes 14p each
1 Value macaroni cheese 24p
1 pack 5 donuts 33p
1 pack square wraps 40p
3 packs prepared fruit 20p each
1 pack of 4 peach yogurts 28p

Total £32.85, with vouchers off £27.65. I also saved 32p with a 3 for 2 offer.

Now I am fully stocked up, don't need to go shopping for a while. Pet food is fully stocked as well, so we are all happy bunnies. Now I can have a nice weekend knowing that job is done. I shall be hanging around here, no plans to go anywhere. I hope your weekend is good.

Toodle pip