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Where does all the money go?
When it comes to household spending, three categories dominate: housing, transport, and food. While we can’t easily dodge rent (although possible!) or car costs, food is one area where surprising savings are possible—even to the point of spending nothing at all.
Yes, you read that right: zero pounds/dollars on food.
UK household spending
It sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it? I thought so too—until I met Ruth during our UK tour. She and her partner Brett haven’t bought food in years. Instead, they’ve mastered a lifestyle that allows them to eat well, every day, without spending a penny.
Intrigued? So was I. That’s why I asked Ruth to share her secrets in this article. What follows is a practical, inspiring, and sometimes surprising guide to 11 proven ways to eat for free in the UK. Yes these ways will work in other countries too!
Let’s dive in. Over to Ruth:
11 Proven Ways to eat for FREE!
Hi All,
I just wanted to introduce myself, my name is Ruth and I have been following Alan and Katie for some years now. My Partner Brett first saw Katie’s article in 2021 about retiring early.
Alan has asked me to write an article (as I am now retired) on obtaining free food. Brett and I have not bought food for years, literally, we get it for free, as I write this article eating my free fruit pot for breakfast. Guess what, it has apples, grapes and PINEAPPLE in it, HA!
Anyway, back to the serious stuff, food for free. I must say this is a lifestyle, it’s not for the faint hearted, you need to be quite resilient. Not all that follows may work for you, but I am extreme and I follow it all religiously, daily and I find it is addictive. I speak for myself, not Brett although he reaps the benefits, i.e. more money to invest as we haven’t spent it on food (and alcohol).
Before I commence, we do have free transport (company van) which helps no end and I appreciate that petrol and time need to be considered when obtaining the free food, is it worth it? You need to ask yourself.
1. The Olio app: This is a free app for sharing (food & non-food) – there are also lots of short dated (yellow sticker) items that are collected from participating supermarkets by volunteers (Food Heroes). This is the main source of free food, (fruit, vegetables, fridge items and bakery) we not only pick up from people who list but I also have my own regular supermarket collection to which I am entitled to keep 10%. This app works worldwide!
2. The Shopmium app: reduced items, but I wait for the free ones, build-up £10 in your pot then you can withdraw.
3. The Checkout Smart app: reduced items but I wait for the free ones, build-up £20 in your pot then you can withdraw.
4. The GreenJinn app: reduced items but I wait for the free ones, build-up £1.50 in your pot then you can withdraw.
5. Starfreebies https://starfreebies.co.uk/
website where you can find links to all sorts of freebies and offers, not just food
6. Magic Freebies https://www.magicfreebiesuk.co.uk/
website where you can find links to all sorts of freebies and offers, not just food
7. FreeSamples.co.uk https://www.freesamples.co.uk/ is a website dedicated to helping users in the UK find and claim free samples and freebies.
8. Facebook often has freebies via Hashting, buy the product, upload the receipt, the money will then be credited into your account within the month
9. You can sign up to Green King Sports, Sizzling, Nicolson’s, MIXR and Brewdog, for free sign up drinks, ongoing free drinks and free drinks on your birthday.
10. There are numerous Birthday freebies too. I just pick the totally free ones, most of these work I find but not all.
11. Waitrose, when you are passing, pop in scan your Waitrose card, no purchase necessary for a free NERO coffee (take your own reusable mug).
Top tip, if there are multiple people in your house, have an app each. Some of the products require phone numbers, so again if you have multiple phone numbers you can get multiple items. Everything in our house is in two’s as there are two of us.
With the aid of freezing the excess and using when the offers are not as frequent we manage to eat all the time for free.
Please ask if you have any questions, we have always got our money back for anything we have bought up front and never had any problems. There may be more out there, so if you know of any please let me know.
Happy free food finding
Ruth
Questions
Some of you after reading the article had questions for Ruth, here are her answers!
Are you Vegetarian?
No, but we eat little meat really, me more so, Brett eats the most.
What does an average week of food look like?
What we pick up can be a lot of the same but if you freeze what you can then you can vary each week. Normal stuff cereal, fruit, toast, yoghurt. Then sandwiches for Brett and salad for me at lunch. Chicken, veg, potatoes for tea.
Are you happy and satisfied?
Yes, but there is far too much free food and it becomes addictive. I am trying to work on reversing the affects.
🥭💷 From Free Food to Financial Freedom 💷🍎
Think you can’t eat for free? Ruth just proved you wrong.
The only question now is: how far are you willing to go? Try one tip. Then another. Then all eleven. And when your grocery bill hits zero, send us a photo—we’ll be cheering you on from Rebel HQ.
But wait, there’s more!
The average UK household spends £418 per month on food. Imagine if you could invest that money instead. Using the Rule of 194, that adds up to an astonishing £81,092 in just 10 years! That’s not just saving money—that’s building wealth and buying your freedom.
So, what are you waiting for? Start your free food journey today and watch your savings grow. We’re with you every step of the way.
Happy free food finding!
Peace and Pineapple
Katie and Alan
👉 Got questions? Wins to share? Ideas to add?
Post in the Rebel Finance School Facebook group—we’d love to hear from you!
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Free pineapples, there’s a thought!
Of the above suggestions I have only tried 3.
1/ Olio, and how successful this is depends entirely on your area- my area often only has bread- it is pretty much impossible to get items like meat or fish- you also have to be willing to be be out and about at midnight to collect many items- which is not suitable for many people.
2/ magic freebies- usually very modish items like snacks-not food as such.
3/Free samples- same as 2/ really.
Love that you have tried them and I think you are right it absolutely depends on your area and what is available. I hope you got some inspiration from the other ideas… Sending happiness. Alan
How about grow your own. If you have just a little space this could really add to your food supply and crops can be gradually harvested keeping them fresh till needed.
Karen, this is an awesome idea. My mum used to grow tomatoes and rhubarb which was so delicious! LOVE THIS! Alan
Try Zero Waste via Facebook, similar to Olio in that volunteers collect excess food from local suppliers, take to cental point (church hall etc), distribute between bags which are given away on first come first served basis (requested via the Facebook page). They always keep some back and open the venue the next day for anyone to collect what they want (fruit, veg, bread, pastries, cakes, even flowers and books). I have tried both (bagging a bag and just turning up) and get more food than we can possibly get through so give away to friends and family. It was an initiative of the King. Downside is that it is popular so you will probably have to queue, but the volunteers make sure there is enough for everyone in the queue.
Helen that is an awesome one. Thank you for suggesting and sharing. I LOVE IT. Thank you.
Peace and pineapples.
Katie and Alan