I compared my family Aldi shop from last year with prices today - here's what I found

The cost of living crisis makes itself clear in many different ways. Sometimes it jumps out at you, such as increases in energy bills or rising petrol prices at the pumps.

Other times, the gradual increase in the price of essentials and life's little luxuries is harder to spot. And when it comes to food shopping, those extra pennies we are spending can soon add up almost without us noticing.

After finding an Aldi receipt from a weekly family shop last June, it was hard to tell at first what had gone up in the past 11 months. A quick scan down the list showed that milk seemed a bit cheaper than now, as did butter, cheese and salmon slices.

But it was only after going online and comparing prices now with the prices in store last year, that the increases started to mount up. A few items were actually cheaper, but the vast majority had gone up.

And with inflation set to hit 10 per cent this year, not to mention that national insurance tax rise and the huge increase in gas and electricity bills, the nation's finances are under enormous strain.

The table below shows the items bought at Aldi on June 6, 2021 at the branch in Tewkesbury Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, compared with the website price listed at Aldi.co.uk on May 5, 2022. The order, including duplicates, is based on the original receipt from last year.

Last year there were some items bought that could not be compared like-for-like, including items listed as French cheese, white potatoes because of different weights, part-baked rolls and vanilla Oreos.

The overall difference in price between June 2021 and May 2022 is £7.54, or more than 11 per cent. Of course, the overall amount we spend in a week can vary - are we stocking up on alcohol, meat, catering for visitors?

So while £7.54 may not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things, add that extra up over a month, a year, and it soon becomes a more substantial sum.

Item	June 2021	May 2022
Four Seasons Hash Browns	69p	85p
Omega Fish Fingers	£1.39	£1.49
Frozen Broccoli/Green Bean	59p	59p
Vegetable medley	79p	95p
Fish burger	£1.49	£1.65
Fish burger	£1.49	£1.65
Butter unsalted	£1.48	£1.75
Butter unsalted	£1.48	£1.75
Clotted cream	£1.39	£1.49
Cod/haddock/smoked haddock	£2.89	£2.89
Edam/Gouda cheese	£1.89	£2.39
Deli filler	£1.15	£1.35
Parmesan bag	£1.19	£1.29
Orange Juice	£1.55	£1.69
Mini roule cheese	89p	£1.05
Olives	£1.59	£1.79
Cheese selection	£2.29	£2.49
Parma Ham	£1.99	£1.99
Mature cheddar cheese	£1.79	£1.89
Smoked salmon slice	£2.99	£3.99
Smoked salmon slice	£2.99	£3.99
Whole Milk 4pt	£1.09	£1.25
Bagels plain	69p	79p
Carrots 1kg	40p	40p
Red grapes	£1.39	£1.49
Red grapes	£1.39	£1.49
Pains au chocolate	95p	95p
Baguettes white	42p	49p
Brioche buns	89p	89p
Brioche buns	89p	89p
Strawberries	£1.75	£1.53
Strawberries	£1.75	£1.53
Handwash anti-bacterial	69p	65p
Handwash anti-bacterial	69p	65p
Croissants	95p	99p
Pineapple	75p	79p
Courgettes	£1.15	£1.15
Tomato mixed	£1.39	£1.65
Chopped iceberg let	47p	57p
Pork fillet	£3.26	£3.26
Cucumber	43p	45p
Avocado	59p	89p
Avocado	59p	89p
Loose red pepper	42p	43p
Salad tomatoes	68p	69p
Peaches	95p	£1.79
Brown onions	55p	75p
Tunnocks teacakes	95p	99p
Coca-Cola 10 pack	£3.99	£4.19
TOTAL	£63.91	£71.45

The increases at the till are, of course, affecting all supermarkets and other retailers. Data released last month showed that the price of groceries is increasing at its fastest rate in 11 years, adding an extra £271 to the amount average households will pay at the till this year.

Data from Kantar showed that grocery price inflation hit 5.9% in April, as the number of items on promotion decreased. It is the fastest rise since December 2011.

“The average household will now be exposed to a potential price increase of £271 per year,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar. “A lot of this is going on non-discretionary, everyday essentials, which will prove difficult to cut back on as budgets are squeezed.

“We’re seeing a clear flight to value as shoppers watch their pennies. The level of products bought on promotion, currently at 27.3%, has decreased 2.7 percentage points as everyday low price strategies come to the fore.”

Campaigner Jack Monroe recently criticised supermarkets for taking their cheapest everyday items off shelves.

She argued that inflation – which tracks the cost of the same items over time – is an imperfect way of measuring how much prices are increasing because the cheapest products are no longer available.

Mr McKevitt said supermarkets have been listening, with Asda, Morrisons and Tesco all taking steps to offer cheaper food to customers. Kantar found that supermarket sales dropped 5.9% over the 12 weeks to April 17.

Sales are also, for the first time since the pandemic started, 0.6% below where they were two years ago. This period now takes into account the early days of the first lockdown.

Aldi is the fastest growing retailer, with its sales increasing 4.2%, while Lidl saw a 4% rise. Mr McKevitt said: “Over one million extra shoppers visited Aldi and Lidl respectively over the past 12 weeks compared with this time last year.

“Both retailers achieved record-breaking market shares, with Aldi now holding 8.8% while Lidl stands at 6.6%. Collectively, the two discounters account for 15.4% of the market – up from just 5.5% a decade ago.”

Tesco was the only other retailer whose market share grew over the period – by 0.3 percentage points to 27.3%. Mr McKevitt said some customers are stocking up on goods that might become scarce because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “The combination of rising prices and increased demand saw the cooking oil market grow by 17% over April. Sunflower oil, Britain’s most popular choice for frying, and vegetable oil grew even faster – up by 27% and 40% respectively.”

And last week, Conservatives were branded “out of touch” after a Cabinet minister suggested consumers should swap to value brands as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite. Environment Secretary George Eustice has been rounded on by political rivals and social commentators after saying that shoppers could “contain and manage their household budget” by changing the brands they buy in supermarkets and elsewhere.