We're all looking for ways we can keep spending low amid the cost of living crisis, and one of the easiest ways to reduce your outgoings is to look at where you do your food shopping and whether you'd be able to save some cash by shopping somewhere else.
And while you might think the best places to go are the highly praised discount shops like Lidl and Aldi, one woman has claimed she actually managed to buy 16 everyday items from M&S for less than she would have spent in Aldi.
M&S is usually considered to be one of the more expensive food shops alongside the likes of Waitrose, but according to a woman named Emma, you can pick up a range of items including chicken, steak, and mince for less than £20.
Emma shared a video on her @emmalouise1981 account on TikTok in which she filmed each of the 16 items she bought from M&S along with the receipt from her shop, showing she only spent £17.48 in total.
In her 16-item shop, Emma bought two lots of of £1.20 chicken legs, five packets of £2 beef mince, and a £4 rump steak.
She also picked up tomato soup and cream of chicken soup for 65p each, as well as paying 50p for a bag of carrots, and £1 each for a bag of potatoes and a punnet of mushrooms.
Emma captioned her video: "All this cheaper than Aldi with some savings on my Sparks Card too. £17.48 for 16 items."
However, not all regular M&S shoppers who head into their local shop will be able to bag the same items for £17, as Emma made use of some little-known deals to get her shopping for cheaper than usual.
Emma has a Sparks Card, which gives M&S shoppers special deals and offers when they shop, and after saving up some of her digital vouchers, she used several of them to shave off some cash from her bill.
According to the receipt in her video, Emma's shop came to £21.80 before any discounts, but she used coupons for 15% off meat and fish, another £1.50 off fresh meat, 15% off vegetables, and 15% off fruit to bring her total down to £17.48.
When compared with the prices on Aldi's website, some items do appear to be cheaper from M&S even without the discounts, as the £1.20 chicken legs would cost you £2.09 from Aldi - although Aldi sells theirs in 1kg portions, whereas the M&S variety weighs 600g.
The 20% fat beef mince is also cheaper at M&S, with the Aldi variety costing 19p more. However, the tins of soup at Aldi cost just 57p in comparison to the 65p Emma paid at M&S, and a 1kg bag of carrots is the same price at both shops at 50p.
Commenters on Emma's video agreed that while some items may be cheaper, others can be far more expensive from M&S, so it may not be the ideal place to do a weekly shop.
One person said: "I have found some stuff cheaper... but I wouldn't be able to do a like-for-like or cheaper entire food shop. But for the odd bits, yes, some are cheaper."
While another added: "M&S are cheaper than most other supermarkets for specific items. Just remember it's better to shop around than just go to one place."
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