UK inflation has soared in the fastest rise in 30 years, hiking up prices for several essential items. Here are the items that still remain cheap or affordable as well as a few savvy ways to cut your costs
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Rising energy and food prices have pushed overall inflation to 6.2%in February, as the cost of living crisis continues to mount.
Many common food items like pasta, jam, milk and cheese have seen price hikes, with food price inflation hitting 4.3 % last month.
Research from Kantar has further predicted that food prices will continue to be affected by supply-chain disruption and the conflict in Ukraine.
However, despite the worsening food and goods inflation, some essential items still remain cheap or at the very least, affordable.
Experts at Cherryz have revealed some of the more afforable items, as a few ways to save money on shopping.
What are cheapest or most affordable items amid inflation?
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According to John Place, Head of Trading at Cherryz, a number of consumer products have remained affordable despite industry-wide rise in costs.
In terms of food items, long-lasting items like cupboard foods and tinned foods remain most affordable.
Mr Place noted that instant porridge pots from Oatburst and tinned mushy peas from Marrowfat – both of which are 40p- come in as the most affordable food items.
For household and cleaning, many essentials remain quite affordable including Fairy washing liquid, disinfectant sprays and cleaning pads all of which are still available under £1.
People looking to shop for health and beauty products might have to go for unbranded or discounter brand items, as these remain affordable across shampoo, conditioner, body wash and hand wash.
How to reduce your shopping costs?
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Here are four easy tips to reduce your costs when shopping for household items:
Choose discounter brands
Big brands aren’t always the best choice. There are plenty of amazing, inexpensive brands to choose from for everything from cleaning and laundry to health and beauty, which work just as well as the big name brands and are also way cheaper as well.
Top discounter brands include Astonish (cleaning), The Pink Stuff (cleaning), Fabulosa (cleaning), Elbow Grease (cleaning), Derma V10 (skincare), Alberto Balsam (haircare) and Gliss (haircare).
Invest in family sized bottles
Get the best value for your money by going big and buying family-sized bottles or packs. This tip is great for products across food and drink, health and beauty, cleaning products, laundry.
While it might seem like a bigger expense at first, it works out much better in the long run since you won’t have to buy that product for a long time.
Check out smaller or online retailers
Branch out of the supermarkets you’re used to and explore smaller, online retailers to get the best deals on everyday essentials. You’d be able to find all your favourite brands Cadbury, Dove, Cif, Persil and more at much better value for money.
If you shop online you might even find discount codes, vouchers, new customer incentives and more money-saving perks to cut costs even further.
Don’t forget about loyalty points
Collecting loyalty points every time you shop might not seem like it makes a big difference, but it can actually lead hefty discounts, rewards and free items, which then cuts your costs.
Always try to shop at places that offer loyalty points or incentives – it’s a low effort practice with potentially huge returns.
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