People all over the country are continuing to grapple with rising prices, as the entire nation struggles amid the cost of living crisis. Official figures showed that inflation hit a "worrying" 9% in April - an increase from 7% in March and the highest level for 40 years.
While the UK Government insists it is "providing significant support where we can, and stand ready to take further action", sadly more and more stories are hitting the headlines about how those hit the hardest are forced to make sacrifices. Last week, we reported on Sandra, a pensioner in Rhyl, who only cooks once a week and uses solar lights to save money.
As it was revealed a quarter of us are dipping into our savings to tide ourselves over, many of us are also turning to money-saving hacks from the likes of Martin Lewis and other experts. Among some of the recommendations are to buy items from Asda's lower shelves or purchase yellow-sticker reduced foods. You can read all our stories on the cost of living crisis here.
We spent a day speaking to a range of shoppers outside a Tesco store in Cardiff about how their shopping habits had been affected by the cost of living and asked if they had stopped buying any item because it was now too expensive. Reginald Stone, 72, said his shopping had gone up "too much".
"I know the difference, because when I spend money in Tesco my wallet is empty," he said, and compared the situation to the 1930s. While there wasn't anything he'd stopped buying just yet, he admitted he was worried about prices increasing "every day of the week".
"I'm very disappointed in the government, and the way they're handling things," he said. "A crisis today - crises should be over, shouldn't they? They should work things out for everybody, not just themselves."
Stavros Constantinou, who owns his eponymous hairdressers on Cowbridge Road East, said he often heard customers complaining about rising costs. "They're worried about gas, electric, food," he said. As a pensioner himself, he's particularly concerned for the elderly generation and thinks it's "ridiculous" they should have to choose "between eating or heating".
"It's not fair, because if you worked all your life and you're a pensioner, and you find you can't even have the basics, that can't be right," he said. "I'm lucky - I'm 71, I'm a pensioner, but I'm lucky I've got good health and can keep working. I'm hoping to keep working forever - I'm never going to stop because I enjoy my work anyway. But if you can't get a job at 71, it's impossible to keep going."
As for how it had affected his own shopping, he said "you've got to cut your cloth" and said he and his wife make sure to use up what was at home first. "My wife's always complaining this, this and that [has gone up]," he said. "You cut back on expensive joints - you have cheaper joints.
"Before while you didn't care and would just fill up a trolley, now you look at things and think, 'Oh we don't need that,' he said, adding: "Now, we think, 'Hang on, we don't need anymore, let's use up what we've got in the freezer.'"
Mum-of-three Minna Rossi estimated her grocery shop had increased "at least £20 to £30 a week", and said she had started to buy more value brands, like Asda's Smart Price, and forgone non-essentials.
"I've had to stop buying luxury items, like smoked salmon or some cakes or something you wouldn't buy every time," said the 39-year-old, adding that she now "shops around" for the best prices. She added: "I have three children so they keep asking to buy some biscuits and sweets and I'm not sure if we [can] - we have to cut down somewhere."
As for whether she was concerned about the prices continuing to increase, she said: "Absolutely, because everything goes up - like electricity and gas, and food. You cannot be without food. So, of course, yes, it is worrying."
Jay Ganm, a chef in Chapter Arts Centre, said he had felt the price increase "for about two months now" and it was only getting "higher and higher". He said he's noticed "everything" in shops increasing in price.
"The fruit went really up, and the veg went really up. The meat is really expensive now," said the 36-year-old. He added that his family had "just about enough to survive the whole month".
"Sometimes the money won't last until the end of the month, especially when you have two kids," he said. "Our weekly shopping used to cost, I would say, £50. Now at the moment it would cost like £80. So it's a big gap - it's not like a little gap. If you count it every week, that will end up another £200 extra, which is what we've got left from the wages anyway."
In terms of what he'd stopped buying, he said he'd cut non-essentials in general. "You just get whatever you need," he said. He counts himself lucky that he doesn't have to spend money on petrol as he doesn't drive, but suggested wages should be increased to match the inflation and that more should be done to combat the cost of electricity and gas.
If things get worse, he said: "I don't know how we're going to survive - it's going to be a bit of a struggle." David Crowe also noticed items had gone up "tremendously".
"Bread, milk, essential things what you need. It's not gone up like 2p, it's gone up like 20p, 30p. I tend to shop in Tesco, but I'm looking at other shops like Home Bargains, Aldi, places like that. You're just shopping round now - you're looking for the cheapest things."
In terms of what he's stopped buying, he's now having to give up "chocolate" and other luxuries - instead sticking to essentials like potatoes and butter. "I feel sorry for these single parents with children who are trying to survive. I'm lucky we've got two wages coming in," he said.
The final shopper, Ffion Davies, said: "In the past month or so, I've noticed the fruit and veg [go up] a lot. I always go in and get the same things, and I've noticed they've gone up by about 10p or 20p. Strawberries were like £1.50 and now they're £2."
The 25-year-old said she usually treated herself to a bottle of wine on a Friday night, but now she doesn't do that as much anymore. "I want to treat myself to things that I want to spend my money on, as well as just affording to live. You have to compromise something," she said.
"It's hard because my wages are staying the same, but then the cost of my bills and food are going up, so it makes you consider things more than I did before. I would just buy stuff and not really think about it, but now I've noticed a price increase so it makes me be more considerate when I buy everyday things."
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