A SAVVY mum has revealed how she saves more than £500 per month thanks to money-saving hacks.
Ellie Thomas (28 years old) knows all the tricks when it comes saving money on food shopping.
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The business owner shop daily for lower prices and claims more that 100 freebies each month through cashback apps.
The mum-of-three, from Shrewsbury, Shrops, also earns up to £250 per month by completing online surveys.
She said: “If someone saw me in the supermarket with a trolley full of branded items – they would never know I am going to pay next to nothing for them.
“Sometimes nothing at all!
“There’s even been occasions where I’ve been paid to shop, eat and drink as a mystery shopper.
“But most of the time, I complete online surveys which pay £1-2 for a couple of minutes.
“So instead of browsing social media or watching TV, I complete a survey and earn money which covers my food shopping bill.”
Ellie shared how she made £220 this month from her surveys, which covers £195 cost of food.
Ellie admits being ‘judged’ for her ‘extreme’These are some of the ways.
She said: “People judge me because of how extreme I am, I can use ten different ways to get the bill as cheap as possible.
“I don’t think there should be any shame or embarrassment around bargain hunting.
“To get a lower food cost, I shop daily at 3pm-6pm. This really helps to reduce our food costs.
“Kids are expensive so it is important to cut the costs when we can.
“I am a normal person but often think, why should we work hard for a lot of our money to get spent on food when there are so many ways out there to get things cheaper, or even free!
“It just takes a bit of time, research and planning.”
I shop daily at 3pm or 6pm to get reduced food which really helps bring our food bill down.
Ellie Thomas
Ellie has received £280 worth of freebies this month.
She said: “I save every month as I buy reduced items and haven’t paid for alcohol or snacks for a very long time.
“I also get some food, perfume and beauty samples for free.
“I have had 102 freebies worth £280 this month alone.”
Ellie has been leading a frugal lifestyle since June 2018 as she wanted to wipe her £3,000 debt.
She lives debt-free now and has plenty of cash for the kids.
FABULOUS BINGO: GET A £5 FREE BONUS WITH NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED
She said: “I buy all year round for birthdays, Christmas and other holidays.
“At the end of every season or event like Halloween, I buy clothes for the following year to save money.
“I have already got my kids Liam, 12, Poppy, eight, Vinnie, five, their wardrobe for summer 2022, which was £50.”
ELLIE’S TOP TIPS TO SAVE WHILE MAKING EXTRA MONETARY
1. Attapoll Survey Sites, Prolific Academy and Influence. Citizen Me.
Ellie stated: “Some pay really good and all those pennies soon add-up!
“Some surveys pay in points that you can exchange for money or vouchers and others pay in money that you can cash out to your PayPal or bank account!”
2. Use free selling websites such as Vinted or Facebook Marketplace to declutter your home.
3. You can participate in “out of home” studies that are available on the ‘Field Agent App.
Ellie said: “All you have to do is take photos whilst in a supermarket or other places! Previously, I have taken photos of a car wash and got £7.50 for doing it.”
4. Cashback apps are a great way to save money on food shopping.
Ellie said: “Apps such as Shopmium offer free or highly discounted branded products so it is worth swapping something you may usually buy for a better price.”
5. Shop daily if possible.
Ellie said: “Doing this means you can plan better and not overbuy food so you’ll be wasting less.
“Never be afraid of an empty-looking fridge as buying little and often means you can take advantage of reductions or deals and save some pennies along the way!”
6. Set goals.
Ellie said, “Know what you are saving for – after we have paid our debts.”
“We bought our Ford car outright for £4,500.”
7. Keep track of all your outgoings and incomings.
She said: “At the end of the month you will be able to see where your income is going. Is it mainly food? Takeaway coffee? And once you’ve figured that out, you can start cutting back or making some little changes and saving a few pennies that way.”
8. You can shop for the next season in the sales, such as Christmas shopping at the Boxing Day Sales. When they are on sale, start shopping for Halloween and world book day clothes.
9. Take clothes to ‘Cash 4 Clothes’ – one can earn up to £4 per 10kg.
10. Apps for food waste management such as Olio and Too Good To Go
She said: “Instead of food going straight to landfill, you can ‘rescue’ it. I love using our local food waste rescue as we can get a few days worth of shopping, for nothing!”
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