Way before air fryers became a trend, there was one kitchen appliance people were already swearing by to keep costs down.
The slow cooker is a tried and tested way of making meals for a fraction of the price of a traditional oven.
And the beauty is you can chuck in all your ingredients and leave it cooking all day long, without fearing that it's sending your energy bill into the red.
Read more: AO slashes price of Ninja Multi-Cooker that roasts a chicken for 26p
Lakeland's products in particular have been a big hit with households - for their cost, quality and energy efficiency.
And with its Black Friday offers having already launched on a number of products, I decided to try out its six-litre slow cooker, to see exactly what it cost to make a meal.
I kept it simple with a chilli con carne, probably one of the most common dishes made at this time of year.
Having browned the mince off for a few minutes on the stove, which cost very little, I added everything else straight to the slow cooker.
I've used one in the past, but the beauty of this one is its size. I used more than 1kg of mince overall and four tins of chopped tomatoes and there was still loads of room left inside.
It was enough for at least two family meals as I could freeze half of it for another day.
As for the electric, it used less than 10p an hour, totalling just 59p for the six hours I had it on - and that was on the high setting.
The cooker itself is usually £59.99 but currently reduced to £29.99 for Black Friday.
Lakeland's offers are running November 17 to 29 so you might want to get in early to get your hands on one.
Its other offers include the SodaStream Terra Megapack down from £119.99 to £89.99 and the Lakeland Coffee Pod Machine, reduced from £79.99 to £59.99.
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