WHEN choosing a supermarket to pop into for the weekly essentials, we don't always think of Marks and Spencers as the place you'd go to save money.
Thanks to clever advertising and their classy reputation, M&S is often thought of as more expensive – but actually this is not always true.
Here, mums and co-founders of Dayze family calendar app George Waterhouse and Lizzie Marshall share their top swaps from big brand products to Marks and Spencer's own which can actually save you money.
In fact, with just these five simple swaps alone, you can save an impressive £9.78 every week on your shop, and in their opinion taste much better too…
Cereal swap
Cheerios are a staple in most family homes at breakfast time.
This is one product we regularly swap for own brand, and decant it in the branded boxes or cereal dispensers so the kids don’t know!
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We’ve tried several own-branded multigrain hoops, but the M&S version seems to be the go-to.
Cost comparison?: A 390g box of Cheerios is currently £3.29 at Morrisons, while a 375g box of multigrain hoops from M&S is £1.60.
Total saving: £1.69.
Bread ahead
Toast is a go-to for most families as it’s quick and easy.
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8A great parenting hack is the smiley face trick – use your fingers to press eyes and a smile on the bread and pop it in the toaster for a fun take on the morning toast!
We get through a lot of bread at home, so every saving helps.
Hovis soft white seems for be a firm favourite, but we can confirm that the M&S super soft white more than matches up in terms of softness, the price is tasty, too.
Cost comparison?: Hovis soft white medium loaf is £1.45 at Morrisons, while the M&S super soft white medium loaf is 85p.
Total saving: 60p.
Bargain baked beans
We’ll be honest; we’ve had a few fails at the own-brand beans with the kids who can taste the difference immediately.
Don’t even talk to us about the time we tried low sugar baked beans!
So, we were a bit nervous when we swapped in the M&S beans.
But we can confirm that even if we could taste the difference, the kids had NO idea of the swap!
Cost comparison?: A tin of Heinz Beanz (415g) is £1.40 at Tesco.
Meanwhile, the own-brand M&S beans (400g) is 50p.
Total saving: 90p.
Just desserts
Kids seem to love the sippy yoghurt pouches.
They’re great for packed lunches as you don’t need to include a spoon, that the little ones tend to lose.
Our kids love the Little Yeo Valley pouches so we swapped them for the M&S strawberry fromage frais version.
When we asked the kids which they preferred, two out of the three
said the M&S pouches, for the taste and apparently the packaging.
Cost comparison?: Little Yeo Valley pouches are currently £3 for 4 pouches.
M&S 4 Strawberry Fromage Frais Pouches are £1.85.
Total saving: £1.15.
Ketchup comparison
Ketchup and cheese are some of the hardest working food items in any family with young kids!
So, if you can save on the ketchup, it all adds up.
The only challenge is that many older kids are savvier to the Heinz vs. own-brand sauce, so decanting into another bottle is again a way to navigate this.
Cost comparison?: Heinz ketchup (460g) is £3.40 at Tesco.
Tomato Ketchup M&S (495g) is 90p, however this is in-store only.
Total saving: £2.50.
Taste test winner
We are big fans of a tea brand from up North, but recently made the switch to M&S own brand when we picked up a few essentials after a weekend away.
We put them in a tea jar in the kitchen, so family and friends have no idea of the brand when they pop by for a cuppa.
It’s passed the test for us both in terms of price and taste!
Cost comparison?: M&S 80 everyday tea bags are £1.10, compared to £3.30 for 80 Yorkshire teabags from Sainsbury’s.
Total saving: £2.20.
Tea break tip
Talking of tea… One of our more recent discoveries was the M&S version of the milk choccy digestive that makes playdates and tea breaks all that more enjoyable!
The chocolate to biscuit ratio is good and the quality of the chocolate is also great.
The M&S own brand is not only cheaper, but you get more for your money, too.
Cost comparison?: McVitie's Milk Chocolate Digestive Biscuits (266g) are £1.89 from Morrisons.
A pack of 300g milk chocolate digestives from M&S is £1.15.
Total saving: 74p.
Snack attack
This one doesn't cut costs, but if you have kids at nursery or school, you know that you need to be armed with snacks when you pick them up at the end of the day.
As well as fruit a pack of crisps, such as Wotsits, are great, but the M&S cheese tasters are even better both in terms of taste – and only a smidge more in terms of price.
Both are guaranteed the staple messy orange dust-covered fingers!
Cost comparison?: A pack of 6 Wotsits is £2 from Morrisons, while a bag of 6 Cheese Tasters from M&S is £2.10.
Prices may vary. All prices correct and accurate at time of publication.
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