In April, I took the for children’s charity Unicef, with only a fiver to spend on food for 5 days.
The campaign is designed to raise funds and awareness about global poverty, but it also redesigned my shopping list.
I had already cut our family food bills down to under £3 each a day, but feeding myself on just £1 a day was tough.
I like food and love cooking, so chose to buy raw ingredients and cook from scratch, rather than relying on low-cost processed food.
Here are the 5 top tips I learnt from shopping on a tiny budget:
Supermarket value ranges are the best bet for getting more food for your money, whether it’s , , , or .
You can buy staples like a loaf of bread for 40p to 45p, a bag of rice for 40p and baked beans for 24p.
The only problem is that you might get a bad back from stretching down to reach the bottom shelves.
Even within the value ranges, prices can vary.
I used to add items to my basket, then clicked on “switch & save” to see if I could buy things for less elsewhere.
also includes info on , which doesn’t put all its prices on its website, unlike the other big supermarkets.
Don’t assume that a single shop will be cheapest for everything. I bought a lot from Morrisons because it’s my nearest supermarket and good value, but I know that stock cubes are much cheaper in Sainsbury’s (25p for 10 from but 75p for 12 at ), so I stocked up when I was nearby.
With a tiny budget, I couldn’t afford to make mistakes or I’d go hungry.
I wrote and rewrote meal plans and shopping lists to cut costs. I focused on foods that would fill me up, like wholemeal bread, oats and rice.
I also opted for vegetarian food like eggs and kidney beans because meat cost too much.
With money so tight, my meals were repetitive. Breakfast was something with porridge, lunch was soup or eggs with bread, and dinner was something with rice. I carved out enough for a 27p jar of marmalade so I could eat toast and marmalade every day.
Despite the planning, be ready to adapt if you find any yellow-stickered bargains.
I expected to spend 45p on a pint of milk, but found a short-dated bottle in the Co-op for only 25p.
The extra savings from reductions on a tin of tomatoes, a small loaf and a box of eggs were small, but meant I could squeeze a 45p tub of yogurt onto my list.
However, check whether food on the reduced section still costs more than other brands at full price.
Also, it’s a waste of money buying short-dated food that goes off before you eat it. I’m lucky enough to have a freezer, . I ended up freezing milk in an ice cube tray so I could get out a bit at a time before it went sour.
When counting the pennies, always check the price per kilo rather than the pack price. Shrink-wrapped vegetables on a plastic tray may look pretty, but the same quantity may well cost less from the loose display.
I searched for the cheapest fruit and vegetables per kilo, and selected the smallest single banana, onion and carrot. I also bought a little piece of root ginger, so I could add flavour for 3p rather than spending 30p on a lemon or bulb of garlic.
Luckily my local supermarket had scales in the veg section, so I could check the weight and work out the cost before reaching the till.
Similarly, if you can’t afford a whole pack of ham or cheese, ask the deli counter to cut you a small amount.
If you have more cash, buying bags with bigger quantities can be cheaper per kilo.
For example, , currently 59p a pack, tend to be great value.
Also, if piles of fresh fruit and veg are too pricey, consider tinned and frozen options. I spent 27p on a tin of pineapple and 89p on a kilo of frozen mixed vegetables.
Total: £4.97, leaving 3p to account for small amounts of salt, pepper, chilli and cumin from my storecupboard.
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Faith Archer is an award-winning money journalist, who also writes the blog about moving to the country, living with less and making the most of it. She is still fundraising for Unicef - .