One woman who tried Martin Lewis' downshifting challenge managed to get her weekly shop at Tesco down to just £56.
With the cost of living increasing, Alexandra Bullard from MyLondon decided to take on the money saving expert's task to help keep her food shop bill low, just £13 a week. There are 4.3 weeks in a month, so 4.3x13 is £56 per month.
Rules for the challenge are simple, all you have to do is head to your local supermarket and buy own-branded or basic products when doing your weekly shop.
Read more: Look at this food school chef Tracy Healey cooked up for just £1.30 a head
Although Alexandra admitted to loving her branded products such as Heinz and Kellogg's she was intrigued to see if paying more for branded goods would mean they would be of a better quality in taste.
She decided to pick her local Tesco as it was her closest store and the supermarket separates its products into different categories, such as Tesco's Finest.
Along with that, they have their own brands such as Hearty Food Co. and The Grower's Harvest.
Here was her shopping list for the week:
- Stockwell & Co 24 Wheat Biscuits 432G (74p)
- Tesco 6 Crumpets (25p)
- The Growers Harvest Long Grain Rice 1KG (45p)
- Tesco Oat Drink 1L (£1.00)
- Tesco Squeezy Honey 340G (£1.80)
- Tesco Coconut Milk 400ml (90p)
- Tesco Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce 420G (35p)
- Tesco Clementine Or Sweet Easy Peeler Pack 600G (£1.35)
- Tesco Vegetable Soup 400G (50p)
- Growers Harvest Pure Apple Juice 1 Litre (69p)
- Hearty Food Co. Tomato & Herb Pasta Sauce 440G (39p)
- Tesco Tuna Chunks In Brine 3X80g (£2.00)
- Hearty Food Co. Spaghetti Pasta 500G (20p)
- Tesco Smoked Salmon 120 G (£3.00 Clubcard price)
Total Cost: £13.62 or £55.90 per month (averaged)
When speaking about some of the own-brand products she tried versus the well-known labels, Alexandra said that the tins of tuna and coconut milk, which cost between 90p to £1.50, had 'virtually no difference'.
Discussing the challenge, she said: "For breakfast items, I always make sure I have my cupboard stocked with cereal such as Weetabix. The Stockwell & Co version looked very depressing in appearance, with their biscuit sizes tiny in comparison. However, they tasted exactly the same as Weetabix. I couldn't believe I had been paying more for years."
She stated that another product she was shocked by was Tesco's own version of Warburtons crumpets. Alexandra said: "I was completely in shock when I couldn't tell the difference - and I saved 70p in the process".
Alexandra continued: "Uncle Bens is arguably the King of Rice so I knew dropping one brand level lower would save me some pennies. The same goes for honey, where Rowse would charge customers £2.99 for their runny products. Tesco's own brands tasted exactly the same in these departments."
However, there were some items where the taste was noticeably different. It looks as though Tesco's Baked Beans weren't up to scratch when it comes to Heinz.
She said: "I noticed a huge difference when I ate this over my toast for breakfast, and I was horrified at how bland and watery it was. Next time I'll probably stick to Heinz."
On conclusion, Alexandra said that she'd 'highly recommend' the challenge for those who are wanting to save up in their weekly food shop.
She said: "I will most definitely be continuing this challenge to ensure that I am not wasting money for no reason. Hooray for Martin Lewis".
