Shopping Ninja mum’s secret to feeding family of four on £20/week

Part-time flight attendant, Kelly Eroglu, has revealed that she can feed her entire family of four on £20/week by 'shopping like a ninja' at her local supermarkets.
Eroglu claims she’s saved £18,000 in 5 years – when she cut her work hours so she could spend more time with the fam – revealing that by just being a bit more savvy with her food shopping, she realised she could save as much as £70 a week.

But how does she do it? By knowing the local supermarkets inside out – and becoming particularly familiar with the reduced shelves!

Become a ‘Whoops warrior’

Credit: Kelly ErogluKelly calls herself a ‘whoops warrior’ referring to the reduced labels slapped on in-store produce that supermarkets are trying to get shot of before they reach their sell-by date (after which they will often just get binned).

‘Shopping like a ninja’ Kelly claims involves getting to know your surrounding supermarkets well and taking note of when the label guns come out and items get reduced. And what’s the easiest way to find these details out?

The best way to find out when your local supermarket reduces produce is to find the nicest, friendliest looking shop assistant and ask them.

Another great tip she has is to find a newly-opened supermarket and get on the prowl. In the first few weeks of opening, supermarkets are still establishing how much stock they need, which often results in a lot of surpluses – aka reduced-produce goldmine!

We suggest grabbing what you can and stocking up your freezer, but make sure you read up on what you can and can't freeze first.

The research

Credit: Kelly ErogluKelly's researched the big brand supermarkets in her home town of Cwmbran, Wales and found that these are generally the times that items are reduced (although be aware that these times can vary from place to place and store to store):

• Asda – 6-10am and then again at 7.30pm
• Co-op – around 4pm
• Tesco – 7pm
• Sainsbury's – starts at 1pm but for the big reductions, go at 7pm
• Marks & Spencer – three time bands, the first at 9am, second at 2pm and then again at 5pm

Kelly has been so successful with her quest as a whoops warrior that she’s even started a blog where she shares recipes that work out at around 50p per portion.

She also emphasises that her recipes are for anyone who is looking to save a bit of cash, not just families. She states:

You don't need to be a genius cook. Anyone can do it.

Have a look through Kelly's money-saving recipes on her blog, Reduced Grub.

Check out our guide to making your reduced food last even longer once you get it home, or even bringing food back from the dead!

Did you know there's a company that only sells food that's close to or past its sell-by date? Check out this deal and save up to 70% on your food shop.