Laura and Max Ansbro lived a comfortable life.
Laura worked in marketing and Max was an engineer, and their combined salary allowed the self-confessed foodies to enjoy indulgences like the juiciest cuts of steak and decadent cheeses.
Then, when their son Wilf was born in 2016, Laura stopped working and the couple quickly realised that halving their income meant cutting costs too.
They began purchasing foods from the ‘reduced’ section of the supermarket.
Most nights, they went to five stores in their area and bought only what’s discounted, slashing their spending from $500 to just $35 a month.
They bought, cooked and froze in bulk, meaning that some weeks they spent nothing on food at all.
Laura and Max even kept an eye open for road kill they could take home and cook up, saying that first thing in the morning it’s usually fresh.
‘The heat of the sun hasn’t been on it,’ Laura explained to TV show This Morning. ‘I’ve made some lovely things with road kill deer – lasagne, steak, curry.’
Laura’s top tips for spending less are to cook soups and casseroles in batches and freeze, buy what’s available at a reduced price and not what you want, don’t be afraid to eat what’s out of date and don’t buy what you can make or grow yourself.
Laura and Max say even they can’t believe how their lives have changed.
‘If someone had said that we would live like this a decade ago, I would have thought that they were mad!’ Laura says.
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