A SUPER saver mum has revealed how she is able to make some packed lunches for around £5 a day when sticking to a tight budget with clever meal planning and online shopping.
Charlotte, 29, a cleaner and mum-of-two, has shared her secrets for savvy shopping so that you can do it too.
The mum is known for her saving tips, food hauls and cleaning motivation which she shares on her YouTube channel where she boasts nearly 2,000 subscribers.
She said when shopping on a budget, the cheapest she can feed her whole family of four is for just £4 a day.
But on average – in a normal week – the mum, from Swindon likes to add variety to her kids, four-year-old Mila and three-year-old Jack’s packed lunches.
She said: “I try to prepare packed lunches the night before as it’s too much of a rush in the morning.
“I try to stick to a budget by buying own brand food and look for food and deals that are on offer.
“Also instead of buying individually packaged food, I save money by buying a bigger pack which will last longer so it’s more cost effective.
“I also try to choose one type of lunch to make for the week.
“So one week could be sandwiches, breadsticks, fruit, veg and yoghurt and then I choose something different for the next week so I’m not using too much of my weekly food budget on lunches.”
The savvy food shopping mum said she also likes to look online for ideas to make her kids’ lunches creative so they are excited to eat them.
Sometimes her kids have the same thing – while sometimes they have different lunches – and she usually shops in supermarkets like Aldi or Tesco to get the best prices.
It’s another cheap way to make lunchtime more interesting and fun for kids.
Charlotte said: “My son is very fussy but at the moment he enjoys crackers, breadsticks, crisps, dried fruit and yoghurt. While my daughter loves her fresh fruit and veg!
She explained that alternatives to crisps – crackers or breadsticks – can be bought in a bigger box, last longer and can be divided out into multiple lunches as a snack.
“They both love having these bento lunch boxes with the different sections and they like it when I use the cutters to make their food into fun shapes.
“To make packed lunches cheaper, I like to shop in Aldi. Tesco also has some really good Clubcard deals.
“I’m always searching for what offers are on and I try to choose own brand products when I can.”
The mum-of-two said parents should steer clear of buying individual packets of items such as crisps, chocolates, fruit from supermarkets as it works out more expensive.
Plus, she encouraged those sticking to a tight budget to make the most of the own brands available.
While shopping around for the best prices, reductions, deals and bargains is also super important.
The savvy bargain hunter added another way to cut back costs is to theme lunches so there’s a type of lunch for each week – this way food goes further and for longer.
Charlotte, who also shares her tips and tricks on Instagram, came up with a number of packed lunch ideas for cheap.
LUNCH 1:
TOTAL – £8.14 but would have enough for more than a week with leftover crackers, breadsticks and fruit.
LUNCH 2:
TOTAL – £5.99 and there would still be lots of cereal and raisins left over.
LUNCH 3:
TOTAL – £7.18 with lots of leftovers to use in other lunches.
Previously, as the kids head back to school we reveal the best ‘me-time’ treats for under a tenner.
And a budgeting expert reveals the four things she stopped buying in order to meet her financial goals.