'I save £50 a month on my food shop - here's my secret anyone can copy'

Many of us dread the weekly shop, where more often than not the bill at the till can be a hair-raising amount.

One money-savvy woman has revealed how she's managed to slash her bills in half, however - from around £100 a week to £50. And it's a secret anyone can copy - yellow sticker shopping. Anna Lykova, 42, says getting to know which shops reduce products at what time is key to grabbing the best on offer.

Anna says she's bagged everything from duck for £3 to a prime rib joint for around £7, and now makes yellow sticker shopping part of her routine to ensure consistent savings. "I started yellow stickers when I was a poor young professional back in London about 20 years ago," she explained.

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"There was a on my way home that did reduced food and that’s what fed me," Anna told money-saving community . "A lot of getting good bargains is luck and also knowing when shops do it. I freeze everything we buy and using veg is a great way to make a meal last longer. If I get a reduced chicken it will do us a meal and the rest will go into soup with whatever veg we have - sometimes it will last three days and if you add reduced noodles it’s great and healthy."

She continued: "I’ve had some great bargains from last , including a duck for around £3 and I’ve had prime rib joint for about £7, one is still in the freezer. I never clear a shelf but see a lot of people doing it."

Anna added that she "never judges" - particularly after once being "knocked down" over her bargain hunting by another shopper. "I once got knocked down by a woman in Tesco during a Sunday reduction," she said. "This was before they introduced queues and restriction on items."

She's quick to praise discount chains too, meanwhile, highlighting Poundland and B&M as prime examples. "I find Poundland fantastic for sandwiches - most mornings there is a selection of sandwiches for about 50p," Anna revealed. "I’ve always asked staff at the store when they reduce so I know when to go."

She also said: "Places like B&M and Home Bargains are great for cleaning stuff - I use Zoflora and Air Wick plug ins and they are so much cheaper. Tesco with a Clubcard is brilliant but I use the Latest Deals app to make sure I compare prices.

Anna closed: "We save about £50 a week on average thanks to yellow sticker shopping. My biggest tip is being polite to the staff who reduce as they will remember it. Don’t be greedy and if you’re nice to staff they will tell you when the reduction is. I feel so happy saving so much money as bills keep rising so any saving is amazing. Grabbing a bargain makes everyone happy!"

Anna regularly shares her shopping successes to her account, meanwhile. One notable meat haul saw her ask her followers: "Anyone else love a yellow sticker shop? Should have been £85 paid £23." The accompanying snap showed the fruits of her labour, which included four fresh chickens, three packets of tandoori chicken thighs, pork chops, beef mince and much more.