Food shop: Instagram influencer mum halves weekly grocery bill by only doing the 'big shop' twice a year

• A mother of six reduced her weekly grocery bill from £130 to £62.50
• Her new shopping strategy saves her £250 a month, totalling £3,000 in annual savings
• Woracker started stockpiling during the first Covid-19 lockdown, which led to significant cost savings
• She avoids impulse buys and takes advantage of multi-buy deals by planning meals and grocery lists in advance

A content-creating mum has revealed how she halved her weekly grocery expenses by only doing her "big shop" twice a year.

Charlene Woracker, 33, used to spend £130 a week on groceries for her family of six before adopting a new strategy in March 2020.

Now, every six months, she spends £240 stockpiling canned food, dry snacks, toiletries, and household items, while shopping for fresh food once a week.

This approach has reduced her weekly grocery bill to £62.50, allowing her to save £250 a month, or £3,000 a year.

She attributes these savings to planning ahead, avoiding impulse buys, and taking advantage of multi-buy deals.

Woracker, from Sheffield, said: “I'll shop at Sainsbury's and Home Bargains every six months - buying toiletries, household items and canned goods. Uncertainty during Covid made me start stockpiling, but I’ve never looked back. It’s given me a bit more financial security.”

When lockdown hit in March 2020, Woracker took the advice of friends by stockpiling toiletries and dry food - like loo roll, shampoo, pasta, and long-life milk.

She quickly realised she was actually saving around £40 from her usual weekly shop for herself and her four children - aged 14, 13, six, and one. “There was so much insecurity and uncertainty during Covid,” she added.

“I wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to get to the shops. I realised I was saving money on my weekly shop - which is why I’ve continued. I think, because you’re not impulse-buying, it really helps in that way.”

Woracker also began planning out the family’s daily meals - so she’d know what to buy in advance. She says this helps her a lot with stockpiling, and saving money on shopping for fresh ingredients like vegetables, meat and cheese.

Her weekly food shop has now gone down to around £62.50 a week - and stockpiling has reduced her monthly overall shopping bill to £250 per month. She said: “I’ve cut my shopping bill down a significant amount.

“I meal-plan a lot, and I plan my groceries in advance. I’m finding I can just shop around for the best bargains - I try and plan my list a month before doing a big shop.”

Woracker’s latest haul saw her buying items like two boxes of fast-action yeast, four tins of coconut oil, nine packs of sanitary pads, and five tins of baking powder.

While she doesn’t have a favourite haunt, Woracker says she often finds herself going back to Sainsbury’s and Home Bargains.

“I shop around with my Nectar points,” she added. “But Home Bargains is probably the best for stockpiling. I’ll do it every six months - I’ll buy things like toilet roll, shower gels, soap, flour, pasta and canned goods.

“My £250-per-month is mostly on the fresh food I buy each week. It’s quite a drop from what I was spending before.”

Have you tried any innovative shopping strategies to save on your grocery bill? Share your tips and experiences in the comments section.