buy one, get one to throw away

EVERY month Britons waste £ 25 each on unwanted supermarket offers, with buy- one- get- one- free ( BOGOF) deals the worst money- wasters.

Half- price reductions and clearance items are also popular impulse- buy groceries.

However, rather than saving money, all too often shoppers end up wasting it instead.

Almost three quarters of us regularly buy discounted or promotional groceries, according to new research from voucher Cloud. com. But many are effectively throwing money in the bin because half the time we never use what we have bought. That means in total shoppers are wasting £ 223 million worth of impulse food purchases every month.

Matthew Wood of voucher Cloud. com said: “Shoppers get into the stores and are presented with so many brightly- coloured stickers and posters it can prove extremely hard not to be lured into the promotions, especially when they seem too good to be true. So draw up a shopping list and stick to it, rather than getting tricked into buying discount groceries that will eventually end up in the bin.”

David Black at Consumer Intelligence said supermarkets have a host of cunning ways of making us spend more. “Beware magazines and other items carefully placed by the tills, tempting us into one last impulse buy. And remember that supermarkets place the most profitable products at eye level, where they are easier to see.”

Never shop when you are hungry, as you are more likely to buy food you do not need. “And if you use the same supermarket regularly, sign up to its loyalty scheme,” added Black.