THIA SAVVY mum had to rethink her shopping budget when she was left with only £27 due to the rise in the cost in living.

Stacey Victoria pays close to £300 in gas and electric bills, leaving her with next to nothing to feed her family.

After her electric bill rose from £102 to £152 per month as well as her gas bill shooting up from £91 to £144 she began shopping on a strict budget.

She explained: "Having around £27 a week left over is a struggle, but I make it work and try to save what I have," the mum-of-two said.

"The best haul I've done to date was a £81 shop that came to £21 because everything was reduced.

"The rising costs of everything have affected me massively and have given me more of a drive to cut costs even more than I already have.

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"Both my gas and electricity bills have gone up by £50 each, but I'm not using any extra energy.

"By living on reduced and free grocery items, I'm able to have that little extra saved on the side for any surprise extortionate bills."

The savvy mum, from Huddersfield, scrimps and saves, spending around £40 each week on a food shop.

She said: "I can make my family meals from as little as £1.33 per head a day.

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"A pack of reduced mince costs around £1.88, a big bag of Jersey potatoes cost 90 pence, other reduced vegetables like carrots can cost 20 pence a bag, or even less than that if you get a single carrot.

"Adding the ingredients all together with some leftover gravy from a slow cooker pork roast, and it costs about £3 altogether, and can go quite far if you bulk it up with vegetables.

Stacey revealed that she's also a fan of Tesco's reduced sandwiches, which she's able to grab for as little as 50p and make a good lunch for her and her daughters.

She said: "I have four freezers, so love it when I can bulk buy things like bread and milk, as they can last quite a while when frozen.

"I find freezing meals works out quite well if I've made too much of something or have made a variety of meals from one item, like with mince beef, I can make a chilli con carne, spaghetti bolognese and stew out of a big pack.

"I like to shop around for yellow sticker items, and I've managed to get everything from a turkey crown reduced from £40 for £1.99, to milk for 13 pence and fresh chicken for £1.12."

The money saving whizz manages to bulk up meals with a variety of healthy vegetables.

She explained: "I tend to bulk up a lot of the fresh meals I make with vegetables so that it will go further, and I find that lots of fruits and vegetables get reduced before they are thrown.

"I got an aubergine from a petrol station for just two pence which was I able to make a chunky vegetable curry with."

Stacey is also a Olio volunteer, meaning the mum can keep 10 percent of the goods she picks up.

She said: "I collect quite a few bits from Tesco on the Olio app and have received some really good items like a pork joint, potatoes, and pasta.

"I ended up making some pulled pork sandwiches and pulled pork pasta with my Olio haul recently, and put it back on the app, they got snatched up immediately."

Stacey's also a fan of loyalty schemes like Tesco Clubcard and often uses sites like Groupon to bag a bargain.

She said: "I'm always on the hunt for vouchers and freebies, like when you see vouchers for theme parks on cereal boxes.

"With Tesco Clubcard, you can exchange your points for theme park tickets as well, which is really useful for days out with the girls.

"If I see an advert for a freebie, I'll usually do the survey for it, and have actually just got a free £10 voucher for filling in a survey that came through the post.

"I bought my daughter an iPad through Groupon which cost me £37, you have to wait a little longer for the items to be posted, and sometimes they're not in the best condition.

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The budgeting pro shares are helpful hacks in a bid to help out other struggling families on her account @eating_fresh_on_a_budget

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