Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Can you cut your supermarket spend by £100s?

18 ways to take a bite out of food price hikes

Including FREE Nescafé, hidden bargains, 25% cashback, up to £80 off newbie grocery codes & a trolley-load more

UK inflation has hit a 40-year high of over 10%, driven in part by soaring food prices. But shopping more efficiently and arming yourself with a few tricks can help cut down your bills at the checkout. We've 30 supermarket shopping tips in our guide, but here's our pick of the crop:

1. Updated. Collect coupons & cashback to max supermarket savings, including FREE Lindt choc, FREE Nescafé coffee, £2 off Cornetto ice cream. Clipping coupons is largely a thing of the past - these days it's about being clever with digital coupons & cashback apps to nab free or cheap food. Check our 40+ coupons guide for our round-up of the best ones and full info on how to raise your couponing game.
   
   
2. Speedily find the cheapest supermarket for your items. Handy comparison tool Trolley lets you benchmark the cost of products at the major supermarkets. You can also get alerts when the prices of your favourite goodies drop.
   
   
3. New. Switch banks to Virgin Money and get 25% cashback for two months on supermarket and fuel spends. Newbies switching to the Virgin Money M Plus* account can get 25% cashback (max £160) on all purchases at every UK supermarket - just spend using its debit card within your 60-day qualifying period.
   
   It's also a great account for savers, as it pays the top easy-access interest rate of 2.02% on up to £1,000, plus its linked savings account pays a decent 1.71% on a further £25,000.
   
   To qualify for the 25% cashback for two months: Apply online, then within 45 days: switch, pay in £1,000+ to its linked savings account, sign up to cashback in the app and have 2+ direct debits. Once done, you'll receive an email within 14 days confirming you're eligible for cashback - so then you need to make qualifying spends.
   
   You can't have a Virgin Money current account (or have closed one since 30 April 2022) and can't have ever had a switch bonus from the bank. Our Best bank accounts guide has full info, plus more options which pay up to £175 FREE switch cash.
   
   
4. Play online grocery run-around to bag £80 off - including £15 off Sainsbury's, £5 off Iceland. The best supermarket discount codes come for first-time online orders, and it pays to use 'em all. Simply shop at all the places you've not used before as a one-off to save. These include £15 off Sainsbury's, £15 off Amazon Fresh and £5 off Iceland.
   
   
5. New. Asda shopper? It's just launched its first-ever loyalty scheme offering discounts on groceries. Buy selected products or reach certain spend thresholds and you'll get rewards you can convert into vouchers to spend on your shopping (though don't use it as an excuse to overspend). See how the new Asda rewards app works.
   
   
6. Find the food aisles where supermarkets hide top bargains (and always remember to look down). We've uncovered where to find the best price - for example, cotton buds can be 27% cheaper in the baby aisle, plus spices are 70% cheaper per gram in world foods. And don't fall for supermarket psychology - ensure you don't miss out on hidden bottom-shelf bargains which can give up to 50%+ better value, including big brands.
   
   
7. If you're debt-free, make the most of your plastic at your supermarket of choice. If you're in a position to pay them off IN FULL every month, there are supermarket credit cards out there that can offer decent returns on your everyday spending - usually in the form of loyalty points, which you can convert into vouchers off your shopping. We've full info in Top reward credit cards, but here's a flavour of what you can get:
   
   - Sainsbury's Bank: £40 Nectar bonus + 2 Nectar per £1 at Sainsbury's
   - M&S Bank: 2 M&S points per £1 at M&S
   - Asda Money: 2% cashback for 60 days at Asda, then 1%
   - Tesco Bank: 5 Clubcard points per £4 at Tesco 
   
   
8. Try Martin's Downshift Challenge - can you slash 30% off your grocery bill? For those who've not done this yet, in the noughties Martin launched the Downshift Challenge, where you drop brand levels on groceries. If you can't tell the difference - with your mouth, not your eyes, so ignore the packaging - stick with the lower level (and even if you can, if you need to cut back, do it anyway). It can cut up to 30% off bills, so even if you only switched on half of it, you'd save 15%.
   
   
9. Are you keeping the RIGHT food in the fridge? Check where you should keep bread, fruit, veg and more to prolong their lifespan and stop you throwing food away.
   
   
10. Use free loyalty schemes to unlock special discounts which could save you £100s a year. These days it's not just points you can earn, as supermarkets have introduced hidden deals just for their loyalty scheme members.
    
    - Tesco's 'Clubcard Prices' give up to 50% off various items (which vary by store) just by using your Clubcard - this week we've seen £1.50 McCain fries (normally £3) and £1 Kellogg's Rice Krispie Squares (normally £2).
    
    - Sainsbury's says you can save £200 a year with personalised up to 30% discounts via its SmartShop app.
    
    - Morrisons gives money-off regularly bought items via its My Morrisons app - for example we've seen 20% off fruit and veg, as well as occasional discounts off your entire shop, such as £5 off £40.
    
    - Lidl offers up to 30% discounts on items via its Plus app - we've seen 30% off bakery items, 20% off crackers and 15% off coffee.
    
    For other ways to max Clubcard or Nectar, see Loyalty points boosting.
    
    
11. Grab free food from Tesco, bakeries, neighbours and more. A 'Freecycle for food' app offers grub for nowt. The idea is that instead of binning surplus food, people or stores offer it to their local community.
    
    
12. Oh crumbs! Do supermarkets take the biscuit (from a nearly identical big brand recipe)? Our 'insiders' spill the beans. Factory workers and others shared their secret work-learnt insider tips with us including 'One massive block of cheese, but five wrapping stations for different brands... including Tesco Value' and 'The brands make the own-brand stuff too... and it's nearly the same'.
    
    
13. Check if you can get money off nutritious food via the Healthy Start scheme. If you're on certain benefits and are pregnant or have a child under 4 (or 3 in Scotland), you can get between £17 and £36 a month to spend on healthy foods in 30,000 shops nationwide.
    
    
14. Buy beyond-best-before items at huge discounts. Waste is bad for the planet and your pocket. Best-before dates are just a manufacturer's optimum quality view, though 'use by' is a health warning. So if you understand the difference between best-before and use-by dates, you won't chuck stuff away unnecessarily. There's even an online beyond-best-before store, currently selling 4 Asahi beer for £4, Bulls-Eye BBQ sauce for £1, Danny's Easter eggs for £1 and more.
    
    
15. Know the best times to get the biggest 'yellow sticker' reductions. We've craftily gathered insider info from supermarket staff and shoppers on when stores want to offload stock, to help you time your trip right. For example, MoneySaver Freddy tweeted: "@MSE_Deals At Asda I got a turkey crown reduced to 20p (from over £20)."
    
    
16. Is it an Aldi but a goodie? Does a Lidl go a long way? Our Forumites suss out weekly bargains. They often make up the top two in cheapest supermarket lists, and the MSE Forum helps with spotting the good and bad buys at these stores. Join in the Aldi and Lidl deals discussion.
    
    
17. Check if you live near a social supermarket or community shop. These are social enterprises that are generally, but not always, aimed at those on low incomes, selling surplus from major supermarkets at heavily discounted prices. While not widespread, they're growing in number - see where to find social supermarkets.
    
    
18. More quick ways to get your trolley for less lolly. For more tips to cut costs, including meal planning, not shopping when hungry, and nifty tools to use up larder leftovers, see 30 ways to cut supermarket costs.

PS: Struggling to afford food? Foodbanks are there to help. Don't go hungry. See our foodbank info for how to find one near you and how to donate if you can afford to help.