I really couldn't do without our freezer for saving money.

I am always on the look out for bargains. We haven't got a car and I buy a weekly bus ticket for getting to work that I can also use at weekends on any buses in the City. I can get to the Tesco Metro in town, Waitrose and Asda on my way home from work and Sainsbury is about 15 mins walk away. I rarely buy branded (apart from Coffee). However some items work out better from one supermarket than from another. Some are better on price and others are better on quality. Some items rarely differ between shops (eg milk) unless one is running a special offer. Sometimes a big pack is better value than a small pack and sometimes smaller packs are better value. I will often stock up on an item that we use if it is on special offer but only if it won't go off before we can use it up (freezer is ideal here for fish and meat).

Asda used to reduce produce drastically at the end of it's sell by date but they don't anymore - it gets reduced a bit and then gets cleared from the shelf (I HOPE it is going to a charitable cause and not just into the bin!). Sainsbury's rarely reduce things a lot to clear BUT today I got some fish: Megrim (sole) and mackerel which had both been reduced to £1.99 as a manager's special on the fresh fish counter - that's six meals for me for £2.40 total as I'll be freezing them down individually to cook whilst OH is away. Waitrose occasionally has good bargains (e.g. four perfectly ripe nectarines at 10p total and they fine over the next 2 days whilst I ate them up). At the moment Tesco has come up trumps - last week got some 3 cheese pizzas reduced down to 30p each and they were fine for a couple of days kept in the fridge and I added some fresh sliced peppers, tomatoes, olives and mushrooms when I baked them. If they had had meat on then I would have frozen them down immediately. One day I got a lovely bit of steak for 80p! Whilst I like steak it is usually out of my price range ... and I only cook steak for myself when I'm on my own as hubby cooks it to death which is a total waste. Our local Tesco does a final reduction at about 6pm and as that is when I am on my way home I can check it out on my way. Another day I was in there at the right time (about 3pm on a Saturday) and got a leg of lamb for £5.00. I cooked that the next day and then carved it up and froze the cooked meat .... cooked it through in gravy on the stove and it made several meals for us both. Otherwise lamb is a real treat for high days and holidays.

So, suss out your local shops and find out when they do price reductions. Think in terms of how many meals you can make. Don't buy more perishables than you can use (or freeze). Take a notebook, pen and calculator with you when you go shopping and make notes. If you're on your own ... do you know someone in the same boat with whom you can share bogof offers/bulk buy and the like and maybe actually share meals (and cooking) between you?

Also, do make sure that if you are elderly, disabled, or have children that you know what you might be entitled to in possible benefits. AgeUK will advise over 50s, contact DIAL (Disability Information Action Line) if you are disabled or Citizens Advice Bureau to see how you stand. Some areas now have organisations that put together food parcels for those who are really struggling (usually put in touch by social services or similar). Anglian Water used to have grants available to apply for to pay water rates for those struggling on low income (I am not sure if they still do) and I saw posters about special tariffs for energy in AGE UK charity shop the other day.

Make sure that if you are eligible for free bus travel you apply for your pass. Even if you don't use it regularly it may well come in useful. At the worst if the weather gets really cold you could pop into town and sit in the library, read all the newspapers for free and maybe even get to surf the internet at little cost.

Stephanie