A woman who buys her food at Tesco says she was able to reduce her entire week's worth of shopping to £13 thanks to Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis.
Alexandra Bullard - a reporter from our sister site MyLondon - was intrigued to take on the Martin Lewis challenge but admitted she was sceptical at first but now says the results - which would have her monthly groceries costing just £52 - have been ‘life changing’.
Martin Lewis’ Downshift Challenge involves shoppers cutting their weekly and monthly grocery bills, according to Manchester Evening News.
The task is simple and easy to follow: go to your local supermarket, buy basic or own-brand products for your weekly shop, and later on try and tell the difference when it comes to taste.
Here’s what Alexandra said:
Tesco is my go-to supermarket, and this giant retailer separates their products into different categories, such as Tesco’s Finest. They also boast own brands such as Hearty Food Co. and The Grower’s Harvest which are presented in a similar way to manufacturers’ brands.
Armed with my food list, I made my way around the supermarket to grab some essentials - without being tempted by big name brands. In the end I managed to avoid the brand giants, and paid less than £15 for a lot of supplies.
Alexandra's £13 Tesco shop:
- 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
As I eat mostly fresh vegetables and pulses, these are some of the cheapest items on offer. Tins of tuna and coconut milk cost between 90p and £1.50 depending on the quality, and there’s virtually no difference in taste when compared to branded, more expensive, alternatives.
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.
I am a huge fan of Warburtons crumpets, so I was apprehensive about trying the Tesco own version. Once again, I was completely in shock when I couldn’t tell the difference - and I saved 70p in the process.
Uncle Ben's 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.
I will say the only product that I wasn’t too keen on was the Tesco Baked Beans. 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.
If you want to save up, I highly recommend adopting this into your weekly food shop. I will most definitely be continuing this challenge to ensure that I am not wasting money for no reason. Hooray for Martin Lewis.
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