Savvy mum exposes supermarket tricks for TV

Sasha Paice, 31, along with her husband Richard, 45, and their four children Risa-Lilac, 11, twins Ronnie and Richie, nine, and Remi-Ann, six, let Channel 4 film cameras follow them food shopping.

‘Supermarkets: Brexit and Your Shrinking Shop’, which aired on February 20, saw Sasha tell journalist, Harry Wallop, her secrets to buying the best bargains now the pound’s value has slumped 15% since the referendum.

Sasha said: “One trick I’ve noticed is that after an item has been on promotion, once it comes off they change its original price so its higher and we forget what it used to be.

“Another trick I spotted was along the bread aisle. There might be a brightly advertised offer to buy two loaves for £1.50, but then along the shelves there will be a different brand on sale, for example, at 70p - and buying two of those loaves would be cheaper.

“It’s important to read product labels and look at ‘grammage’. When the children were babies we got used to looking at product labels for the ‘price per nappy’.”

The eagle-eyed mum also noticed that many of our favourite products - from sausages to cakes - were advertised at the same price, yet the number of food items inside the packets had decreased.

She added: “Fruit juice companies have offers such as ‘3 for 2’, but if you buy a larger bottle that’s not on offer you will get more for your money.”

Sasha was first involved with Channel 4 when she featured in ‘Supermarket Wars’ two years ago, after receiving a promotional email looking for “savvy shoppers” and applying to be on the Dispatches show.

The team invited her back for their Brexit investigation, visiting Sainsbury’s, Milton Keynes, Asda, Bletchley, and Tesco, Leighton Buzzard, and even their kitten, Edward, was filmed in the kitchen!

They family also have another kitten, Claude, but he must have been feeling camera shy on the day.

Sasha said: “It was fun filming in our local supermarkets - the Sainsbury’s security guard was excited! I kept thinking ‘we’ve got to keep shopping here!’

“Since the twins, everything is double, so we got more savvy! People blame Brexit but I think tricks is always something stores have done.”

Sasha enjoys fundraising and helping people to save money.

Her oldest children go to Leighton Middle School and her youngest daughter attends Stanbridge Lower School.

Sasha is chair of the Stanbridge Lower School PTA and helped the team put on fundraising activities to raise £8,000 for a new school mini bus.

She said: “It is really important to get the most for your money.

“I like to help people out with spotting things - I helped two ladies price match a Fur Real toy in a big department store, because price match wasn’t advertised and the ladies didn’t know about it.

“They toy was for their granddaughter and it saved them about £25.”

Sasha works at Perfect Parties, Leighton Buzzard, whilst Richard works for TNT.

The couple have been married for eleven years and first met at a fundraising event for Keech Hospice Care.