Cost of living crisis - cheapest places to buy bread and milk

Energy bills are set to soar, VAT is on the rise and the whole situation is worsened by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

People are being forced to make a choice between heating their homes, or feeding themselves and their families.

In recent weeks both Morrisons and Asda have announced price cuts.

Back in 2014 we did an article looking at the cost of living and how much items cost at supermarkets.

Given the situation people across the county find themselves facing in 2022, we thought it was time to revisit it.

To ensure there was no food waste we used prices from all the leading brands’ websites.

The only ones we were not able to verify were Lidl and the East of England Co-op.

In recent years some of the big names have axed or changed their super saver ranges.

Back in 2014 both Tesco and Morrisons had saver brands.

Armed with a list of what we compared prices of eight years ago, we went in search of the latest prices.

For the article we looked at a pint of milk, baked beans, cornflakes and a loaf of bread.

*Prices accurate as of Wednesday, May 4.

First off we revisited Tesco.

In 2014 the bill came to £1.51 and in 2022 it was £2.02.

This time only the baked beans fell into Tesco’s new saver range known as Stockwell and were 2p cheaper than in 2014.

Everything else had seen an increase with cornflakes seeing the biggest leap of 29p.

At Asda we had to substitute one pint of milk for two but overall it was still cheaper than in 2014.

The total sat at £2.09 for 2022, down from £3.04 eight years ago.

The biggest change was with bread which was 40p cheaper.

At Sainsbury’s the products added up to £1.90 up from £1.55 back in 2014.

The cost of both cornflakes and milk had jumped with only bread seeing a slight fall.

At Morrisons our 2022 haul would have cost us £2.67. If we bought the same products in 2014 it would have cost £1.83.

This was in part down to the fact we were not able to find any of our products in Morrisons’ savers range.

Eight years ago we were able to purchase beans and cornflakes in the savers range.

The article we ran back in 2014

For 2022 we have also added Aldi to our list.

The German brand has budget supermarkets across the county.

The four products on the list came to £1.73.

It means overall it would be cheaper to buy the products at Aldi compared to the other supermarkets.

Our receipts

Tesco

Milk one pint 60p

Baked beans (Stockwell) 22p

Cornflakes 500g 60p

Sliced white bread 800g 60p

Asda

Milk two pints 95p

Baked beans Asda Smart Price 25p

Cornflakes 450g 50p

Sliced white bread Smart Price 800g 39p

Sainsbury’s

Milk one pint 60p

Baked beans 35p

Cornflakes (Daily’s brand) 500g 60p

Sliced white bread (Daily’s brand) 800g 35p

Morrisons

Milk one pint 69p

Baked beans 39p

Cornflakes 500g £1

Sliced white bread 800g 59p

Aldi

Milk one pint 60p

Baked beans Everyday Essentials 22p

Cornflakes 500g 55p

Sliced white bread Everyday Essentials 800g 36p

The receipt from the shops back in 2014

We asked you where your favourite place to shop is

Mary Adams said: “They all have their own benefits so I like to alternate but have favoured Tesco lately and saved a few bob.”

Gwendoline Brown said: “Morrisons the one that delivered all throughout lockdown, and the they don't keep substituting goods.”

Kerry Baggaley said: “Aldi for value for money and choice but we really need a Morrisons in Colchester.”

Stevan Slodzik said: “Lidl no nonsense good value for money.”

Marion Fowler said: “I will stick with the Co-op. Local and friendly staff. Quality fruit and vegetables.”

Sophie Jane Buck said: “Sainsbury’s for clothing but if I am in the area of a Morrisons I do find their food is better quality and better price.”