With the cost of living rising dramatically everyone is feeling the pinch.
Gas and electric prices are somewhat out of our control so most families are trying to claw back where they can. One of the ways we can all try to do this is in the supermarket, and while it's not always that easy to see where savings can be made, it's well worth keeping an eye on the ever changing prices.
Last week we compared the price of eight basics in the six main supermarkets - buying the cheapest of everything available. On our shopping list was a loaf of bread, a two-pint bottle of milk, coffee, teabags, butter, beans, chicken breasts and mince.
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Aldi came out as cheapest overall, at £9.13 for the lot, although it pipped Lidl to the top spot by just one penny. We've done the comparison just a week later and there are some notable changes already.
Aldi's butter has risen from £1.48 for a 250g block to £1.55, Morrisons' milk has risen from 95p for a two-pint bottle to 99p and Lidl's chicken breasts have risen from £1.79 for 300g to £1.99.
While it's only pennies, it all adds up at a time when families are struggling to make ends meet - and it doesn't bode well when prices are rising by as much as 10p in just a week.
Aldi still came out as cheapest overall, at £9.20 for the lot. That was with 25% fat mince though, compared with 20% at all the others. In second place was Lidl at £9.34, followed by Asda's £9.44. Its budget Smart Price range helps to keep prices down, with its coffee in particular, at £1.40 for two of its 100g jars, the cheapest of all the supermarkets.
Tesco's Aldi Price Match helped keep its bill down to £9.52, while Morrisons, which has its budget Savers range, came in at £9.73 overall, followed by Sainsbury's, which was most expensive at £10.45.
The only slight difference in size was the baked beans, ranging from 400g in Sainsbury's and 410g in Asda and Morrisons, to the standard 420g in Aldi, Lidl and Tesco - which shows you to keep an eye on the size as well as the price.
And where the 300g packs of chicken differ at 330g and 350g, we've worked out the equivalent price for a fairer comparison.
Where are you finding the cheapest products at the moment? Has your shopping bill increased? Let us know in the comments here.
Here's the shopping list and total for each supermarket.
Aldi
Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p
Milk 2 pints - 95p
Coffee 200g - £1.65
Teabags 160 - 99p
Salted butter 250g - £1.48 now £1.55
Beans 420g tin - 22p
Chicken 300g - £1.79
Mince 500g 25% fat - £1.69
Total £9.20 (last week £9.13)
Lidl
Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p
Milk 2 pints - 95p
Coffee 200g - £1.49
Teabags 160 - £1.09
Salted butter 250g - £1.45
Beans 420g tin - 22p
Chicken 300g - £1.79 now £1.99
Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.79
Total £9.34 (last week £9.14)
Asda
Loaf of white bread 800g (Smart Price) - 39p
Milk 2 pints - 95p
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g Smart Price) - £1.40
Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack Smart Price) - £1.12
Salted butter 250g (Smart Price) - £1.45
Beans 410g tin (Smart Price) - 22p
Chicken (bigger 350g pack for £2.35) - equates to £2.01
Mince 500g - £1.90
Total £9.44
Tesco
Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p
Milk 2 pints - 95p
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) - £1.50
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack) - £1.10
Butter 250g - £1.55
Beans 420g tin - 22p
Chicken 300g - £2.05
Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.79
Total £9.52
Morrisons
Loaf of white bread 800g - 59p
Milk 2 pints - 95p up to 99p
Coffee (2 x 100g) - £1.50
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack Savers) - £1.10
Salted butter 250g - £1.49
Beans 410g tin - 22p
Chicken (bigger 330g pack for £2.25) - equates to £2.05
Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.79
Total £9.73 (last week £9.69)
Sainsbury's
Loaf of white bread 800g - 60p
Milk 2 pints - 95p
Coffee 200g - £1.65
Teabags 160 - £1.09
Salted butter 250g - £1.75
Beans 400g tin - 21p
Chicken 300g - £2.20
Mince 500g 20% fat - £2
Total £10.45
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