SAVVY mum Shelley Ward has saved thousands of pounds a year thanks to several smart moves.
The 41-year-old from Manchester has even turned a common hobby in to a money-saver in a bid to boost her bank account.
Shelley is now studying horticulture after saving money growing her own veg
The green-fingered mum-of-one, who lives with daughter, Elisha, aged 22, started growing her own vegetables three years ago when she found herself struggling to make ends meet, and hasn’t looked back since.
Shelley told The Sun: “I now grow a large portion of my own food. I fill around 50% of my garden with seeds and veg.
“I reckon this saves me more than £600 a year.”
It was Shelley’s mum who planted the seed in her head in terms of taking up this hobby.
“Mum is a fantastic gardener,” said Shelley. “As I was particularly short of money at the time, I thought I’d give vegetables a go.”
It’s easy to get started, according to the gardening whizz.
“You just need some seeds, and somewhere to grow them,” said Shelley.
“I got hold of some boxes known as ‘pallet collars’ from eBay for £12, and used these to make raised beds. My mum then helped me out with pots and compost.”
From humble beginnings, Shelley now grows 14 different vegetables from scratch each year.
“I go for things like tomatoes and potatoes which are really useful in the kitchen,” she said
“But courgettes and cucumbers are definitely my favourite. They are easy to grow and you always have too many to eat which means you can gift items to friends and family.”
In the summer, Shelley reckons she saves around £50 a week on her food bill.
“As I’m vegan, I tend to just buy beans, pulses and rice to pair with my home-grown veg,” she said.
“My daughter is a brilliant cook, so I usually leave the recipes to her. She loves herbs and spices, so I’ve planted lots more this year.”
The tricky part, according to Shelley, is managing lots ofwork different plants as they each need particular conditions to thrive.
“As a beginner, I’d recommend starting small with your favourite veg, and then building things up from there once you’ve got the hang of it,” she said.
“I tend to focus on fast-growing high-yielding staples which don’t take up too much space.”
According to Shelley, in early spring, she spends around an hour a day on gardening.
This includes preparing beds, reading books, planning the layout, sowing, and maintaining lots of seedlings.
“It might seem like a lot, but I find it therapeutic,” she said.
“If you’re looking for something lower maintenance, you could opt for just herbs and potatoes which don’t need much more than a bit of watering.”
If you are keen to follow in Shelley’s footsteps, she recommends investing in essentials such as a compost bin, water butt, and a heated propagation kit with a UV light source.
“You can then use loads of stuff you already have – such as toilet roll tubes which work well as seed pots, along with old tyres or plastic containers,” she said.
“With just a little effort, I’ve been able to make some huge savings. This has made a big difference to the household finances.”
Shelley Ward
“Check prices to get a good deal on seeds, and don’t be afraid to ask around. People at allotments are often willing to swap seeds and young plants.”
Shelley believes that making mistakes is all part of the learning process.
“I’ve made plenty of errors over the past few years,” she said. “I once planted purple sprouting broccoli but didn’t realise I needed to cover the plants from pests – and basically created a huge caterpillar farm.
“They ate almost every one down to the stalk within a week.”
Life has been tough at times for Shelley, and there are moments where she’s found herself with very little money.
That has been a real spur for her to save cash where she can.
“I moved to Manchester in 2020, after a traumatic experience left me with complex post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Shelley.
“Just as I was feeling better, I got made redundant. As this was during lockdown, it made things really hard. And with my daughter at university, I found myself jobless and alone.”
Fortunately, things started to look up for Shelley after starting therapy, as this led to her getting out in nature a lot more. This was also the point at which she got into gardening.
“As I was really low on cash, I was happy to give veg a go,” she said. “Things have just grown from there.”
Shelley finds space in her home to grow veg in winter when it’s too cold outside
Top tips for growing your own veg
ANYONE can get started growing their own veg, and it cost from as little as £1.
GRASS ROOTS Kitchen herbs are a good start for anyone new to growing.
You can get starter kits for as little as £10 and before you know it, you will have mint, chives, parsley, thyme, and basil.
KEEN BEANS Hardy broad beans can be sown early in the year to add to tasty stews or rice dishes later on.
Pick up a pack of seeds for as little as £1, then pot them and put them into your greenhouse or keep them indoors on your windowsill.
SALAD SAVERS Microgreens are the early shoots of bigger crops and can bulk out salads and add flavour.
To save even more cash, use washed out yoghurt pots to plant them in and keep them on your windowsill.
In a few weeks, you should be able to snip the green sprouts and add to dishes.
SPICE AND EASY Chillies can be grown all year round, although it’s been suggested that the earlier you sow them, the hotter they are.
Put your seeds into seed compost in a small pot and place on a sunny windowsill.
You could also cover with a plastic bag tied with an elastic band at the pot base to increase humidity and give them the best chance.
Shelley is now in her first year studying horticulture online: the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) Level 2.
Growing her own food is just one of a number of methods the savvy mum uses to save cash.
“I’ve also taught myself to make chutney,” she said. “I often give jars to friends as gifts. This saves me the expense of having to buy presents. I reckon this saves me around £200 a year.”
Shelley’s tips to boost your bank balance
Another hack that Shelley swears by is using Topcashback before purchasing anything online.
This is one of the main cashback sites where you can earn money just by shopping with retailers via their website.
The process is simple. Once you’ve spotted a deal on something you want, you then check in with cashback sites to see if they have an offer running.
If you find one, you click through to your chosen retailer, and the kickback is paid into your account, typically within 30 days.
Shelley said: “I love voucher sites and discount sites, but Topcashback is my favourite as there are so many shops on the site.
“One of the ‘biggest’ amounts I got was £50 cashback from a big shopping spree at Sephora.
I spent almost £500 on a host of things, including a Dyson hairdryer and toiletries.”
At Christmas, she earned around £29 cashback from Superdrug after spending around £150 on presents.
Shelley added: “Overall, I think I made around £200 from Topcashback last year.”
The savvy mum tends to plough her earnings back into the garden.
“I have just bought a £200 ‘hot compost’ bin,” she said.
“This, in turn, will save me up to £200 on the cost of buying compost. As well as saving me money, it also means I’m gardening in a more sustainable way.”
How can I save on my supermarket shop?
THERE are plenty of ways to save on your grocery shop.
You can look out for yellow or red stickers on products, which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh, you’ll have to eat it quickly or freeze it for another time.
Making a list should also save you money, as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
This means ditching “finest” or “luxury” products and instead going for “own” or value” type of lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
If you’re on a low income and a parent, you may be able to get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers to use at the supermarket too.
Plus, many councils offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
When Shelley does need to buy food, she always shops online.
“That way, I don’t get tempted by extra items,” she said.
“I also do a price comparison between different stores to check I’m paying the lowest possible price for my basket of goods.”
Not only is Shelley a whizz in the garden, she’s a bit of a DIY pro, too.
“I’ve taught myself a whole host of skills so I can cut costs by not having to hire in professionals,” she said.
“I cleared a load of concrete from my garden last year using a ‘concrete breaker’ which was terrifying but fun.
“My advice to others is not to be scared of learning a new skill.
“I’m definitely a ‘jack-of-all-trades, master of none.’ But I like the challenge – and the money it saves me.”
Shelley reckons that doing DIY jobs herself saved her more than £1,000 in 2023.
In addition, she’s learned how to do her own beauty treatments.
“I dye my own hair and do my own nails,” she said.
“This is another good way to reduce spending, and probably saved me £100s last year.”
All in, Shelley reckons that by combining a host of clever hacks – growing her own veg, making her own gifts, checking for cashback, getting the lowest price for her food shopping, doing her own DIY, and carrying out her own beauty treatments – she’s saved a whopping £3,000 over the past year.
She added: “With just a little effort, I’ve been able to make some huge savings. This has made a big difference to the household finances.”
After struggling to make ends meet, Shelley’s hobby helped save on her food bill