As the second month of the year begins, cash-strapped Brits are still looking for ways to pull themselves out of post-Christmas debt.

Buying food is an essential, but there are some easy ways you can save yourself bucket loads.

According to a study, commissioned by Iceland, replacing fresh food with frozen alternatives could help you save almost £2,000.

The research asked 20 British families to spend a week eating meals made from fresh ingredients and then replace them with frozen products.

On average, families of four saved a whopping £37.62 a week (almost £2,000 a year_ by buying frozen goods, the study found.

Many agreed that their frozen meals were as good or even tasted better than the ones they prepared using fresh ingredients.

Items such as frozen pastries, fruit, vegetables, mashed potato and fries were popular.

Alternatively, Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis revealed one easy trick that could help you save thousands off your yearly grocery bill on his website moneysavingexpert.com.

He puts food items into four categories – premium, branded, own brand and value.

He suggests shopper try the Downshift Challenge, which involves dropping one brand level on every product.

Here’s when most supermarkets reduce their prices:

Asda – 7pm

Co-op – 5pm for 50% off, 8pm for 75% off

M&S – 6.30pm for 7pm closing, 8pm for 9pm closing

Morrisons – Late morning/lunchtime

Sainsbury’s – Some stores at 1.30pm, more likely at 7pm

Tesco – May begin at 8am, with bigger discounts in the early evening

Aldi – Doesn’t discount over the course of a day