A RETIRED woman who had to pay all of her bills out of her pension has revealed the super easy way she managed to slash her food shop in half.
Susan Finch, 69, from Rhondda Cynon Taff in South , told how she was left with financial strain after her husband Andrew fell unwell and was forced to close his shop.
Susan Finch was forced to pay the bills out of her pension after her husband fell ill
The 69-year-old has slashed her food bill in half thanks to the Too Good To Go app
The self-confessed super scrimper soon heard about the Too Good to Go App, which works by offering shoppers the chance to nab perfectly fine to eat food that would otherwise be thrown out by supermarkets and chains at a heavily reduced cost.
And now, she’s so addicted to saving money on food, she visits the app at least 10 times a day in a bid to bag the best daily bargains – and will even get to for 6am to make sure she doesn’t miss out.
At most, Susan has visited three supermarkets in one day to pick up the deals on offer – and over the course of two years has saved a whopping £4,812 on her food bill.
Speaking exclusively to , Susan says: “I flick through the app ten times a day to see what bags are for sale – I love , and .
“If you go down there at the end of the day and no one else has had them, they give you a big bag of Danish pastries – so we then have them for breakfast the next couple of days.
“I’m addicted…I buy at least one bag a day.”
The 69-year-old, who used to work as technical support for an industrial chemist before retiring, revealed when her obsession with money-saving really started.
I flick through the app ten times a day to see what bags are for sale
Susan Finch69, from Rhondda Cynon Taff in South Wales
“Saving became a real obsession when my husband was forced to close his shop because of ill ,” she explains.
“He desperately needed a hip replacement so wasn’t able to contribute, and I was forced to pay most of our with just my pension.”
When times were tough, Susan picked up several top money-saving tips – and found an easy way to slash her £200 per week food shop in half.
Soon, she started spending just £30 a week on a Click and Collect order, with the rest of the money going on Too Good To Go bags which cost £2.99 for Greggs, £3.30 for and up to £3.50 for .
“I used to spend as much as £200 per week on my food shop, and I loved visiting posh shops like M&S,” Susan says.
“Now I bolster my weekly supermarket shop for essentials with food saving , which works out at savings of around £100 a week.”
As for her favourite store on the app, that’s easy!
“Aldi is the best ever!” says Susan. “They have the highest ratings.
“We make a game out of what we can make from what we get!
“One week we had a pack of meatballs which we broke into small pieces and made a delicious ragu sauce, and another week I transformed Turkish style kofta kebabs into a homemade chilli.”
And there’s one item in particular that Susan loves to see in her grocery box.
“I love it when we get doughnuts or brioche buns as well, they make a fantastic bread and butter pudding,” she says.
We’ve saved some but we splashed out on flights to Murcia, Spain in June to stay with family as my sister has a house out there. It was so good to know that the flights were basically free!
Susan Finch69, from Rhondda Cynon Taff in South Wales
“I always freeze things like bread, milk and butter too if we’re going away, they keep really well.
“I love food saving as well as trying I see in magazines and on shows like .”
And for anyone who may brand Susan selfish for not saving some of the food bags for others, she says: “They’re always there for anyone to have – why shouldn’t I have them?”
She continues: “I’ve always loved a bargain.
“I always used to like a bargain if I’d gone into town and they’d reduced something like a dress or a coat or a pair of shoes cheap, I was over the moon.
“This is almost the same thing but it’s better really…I get such a high from it.
“All the guys know me in Aldi and Greggs – they all speak to me and laugh and say, ‘how many have you got today?’
“I’m a familiar face in there!”
Susan goes on to say how the app doesn’t restrict how many you can buy and admits that when she goes to collect her bag at the end of the day, she’ll usually have another check to see if there’s anymore available and will snap them up too.
“It’s better than it going to waste,” she says.
“My freezer is full at the moment because I can’t fit anything in it!”
Susan continues: “I started buying Too Good To Go bags in January 2023, the same year my husband closed his shop, and have saved £4,812 since then.
“In September so far, I’ve had nine bags.
“The original value was £92 and I paid £28, which means I’ve saved £64.
“In August I bought 36 bags which roughly works out at one or two a day. But it’s never been more than 40 a month.
“The original value of those were £374 and I paid £128, which means I saved nearly £250.”
The 69-year-old goes on to say how she spent the money she’d saved on something rather exciting.
Susan buys at least one Too Good To Go bag a day
Susan receives everything from vegetables to meat that she can freeze
“We’ve saved some but we splashed out on flights to Murcia, in June to stay with family as my sister has a house out there,” she says.
“It was so good to know that the flights were basically free!”
Over the last few years, Susan has also had no choice but to change her clothes shopping habit – something which she’s found particularly tough.
“I have a shopping and clothes habit,” she admits.
“I am a compulsive shopper so it was hard not buying things I love – but you find other ways.
“Now I use – you can buy things that are brand spanking new with the labels still on so I tend to buy a few of them if I want something special.”
Susan also says that like a lot of other companies, have a policy where if you use a lot more electric during certain hours, you get it a bit cheaper, so she looks for those.
She also explains why she opts to do a Click and Collect rather than just popping into the store.
Fridge or cupboard? The essential food storage guide
Foods must be stored correctly to keep them fresh and prevent the spread of bacteria.
Nutrition expert Birgit Brendel said will last longer when stored in the fridge or freezer.
However, this can compromise the flavour.
Storing in ceramic or pottery containers is an alternative that allows for air to flow easily and slow the growth of mould.
Robert Morris, managing director of food safety consultants, Complete Food Safety, revealed the best place to store and vegetables.
He said salad foods should be stored in the fridge drawer, but away from anything grown in the soil such as carrots, parsnips and beetroot.
Tomatoes are an exception to the rule as fridges can alter the natural ripening process and diminish their taste.
He also advised against putting avocados and bananas in the fridge as this will cause them to blacken quicker.
“I know you can buy it in Aldi but once I get in the store with a trolley I compulsively put things in it – and the same in Tesco,” explains Susan, who pays for the £2.79 a month saver plan so she can have as many click and collects as she’d like, any time of the day.
“So what I do now is buy what I want on the app and once it comes to about £30-£35, sometimes it’s less, I go to Tesco and pick it up.
“Then I’m not in the shop thinking, ‘that’s nice I’ll have that.’
“It takes the temptation away.”
Susan has saved a whopping £4,812 since joining the app
Susan’s husband Andrew was forced to close his shop because of ill health
The couple saved money and were able to splash out on flights to Murcia, Spain 
