Martin Lewis reminds shoppers of the discount supermarkets apply ahead of Christmas Day

Personal finance wiz issues consumer rights advice for festive season

Money-saving guru Martin Lewis has provided invaluable advice to British consumers struggling with the cost of living crisis throughout the year and is fast becoming the king of the Christmas discount.

Sharing proactive and positive financial advice on his ITV programme The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, via his BBC podcast, his website and newsletter and through his regular media interviews, Lewis is a one-man public service dedicated to cutting costs for ordinary working people, unstinting in his zeal.

No concern is too small to warrant his attention and, on the latest episode of The Martin Lewis Podcast – his last before breaking for Christmas – the finance wiz advised his listeners to refrain from buying key grocery items before the festive season gets underway in earnest in order to make the most of supermarkets’ loss-leader days.

Mass grocery retailers actually lose money on certain goods sold on these occasions, hence the name, but they help to encourage footfall and thus the prospect of customers spending more on bit ticket items while they are in stores.

“The Christmas vegetable price war – it’s on,” he said.

“Fifteen pence carrots, potatoes, sprouts and more. Lidl has got them from Thursday 15 December. Aldi from Sunday 18 December to Saturday 24 December. Sainsbury’s from Sunday 18 December.

“It’s at this point of the year these loss-leaders are put on sale in the supermarkets to help people with their Christmas dinners to get you in store.

“Pretty much all of them do it, those are the ones that are announced so far but I expect many of the other supermarkets to pick them up soon too.”

Lewis said he expects Tesco, Asda and Morrisons to announce their own loss-leader days imminently.

We may not have heard the last of Martin Lewis this year as he is currently challenging for the Christmas number one spot with serial winners LadBaby, their cover of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” intended to raise money for food banks.

You can read Lewis’s tips on drying laundry on the cheap here, his thoughts on the protection offered by 1p credit card payments here and the expense of Christmas tree lights here.