With the rising prices of commodities - including fuel, electricity, and food - many people will be budgeting or planning their finances to ensure they don't go without necessities.

Food is certainly a necessity, but with the financial pressures faced recently, people may want to save pennies where and when possible.

My Newsdesk asked me to buy £10 worth of groceries from M&S Food Hall and £10 worth of groceries from Iceland and compare (admittedly I went less than a pound over budget in both shops).

Read more: Our campaign to save you money through the cost of living crisid

Generally I shop at Aldi or Iceland (for convenience along with expense) so I predicted I'd get a lot more for my money at Iceland, but there were obvious differences in what kind of produce one could buy with £10.

I'm a bargain hunter at the best of times and this trip was no exception.

I managed to buy 11 items in M&S and 10 items in Iceland, but the Iceland shop was more substantial in terms of "meals" whereas my M&S shop was somewhat more healthy, with more fresh produce included.

M&S Food Hall:

Just over £10 spent at M&S Food Hall

• Porridge oats – 65p
• Two pints of milk - £1
• Pasta (500g) – 75p
• Pasta sauce - £2
• Bread – 65p
• Ham (eight slices) - £1.15
• Spread (500g) - £1.70
• Whole iceberg lettuce – 50p
• Whole cucumber – 49p
• Carrots (1kg) – 45p
• Oranges (x5) - £1.50

Total = £10.84

Iceland:

Just over £10 spent at Iceland

• Bread – 95p
• Spread (500g) - £1.50
• Ham - £1
• Sweet n sour chicken ready meal - £1
• Lasagne ready meal - £1
• Mixed vegetables (frozen) - £1
• French fries (1.2kg) - £1
• Bananas (x5) - £1
• Pasta - £1.25
• Pasta sauce - £1.25

Total cost = £10.95

I tried to keep both shops similar - including items to make sandwiches, pasta, and fruit and vegetables.

Although M&S had some reasonsably priced fresh vegetables Iceland fared better - in terms of cost - with frozen food and ready meals, whereas the selection of ready meals in M&S were generally a bit more pricey.

At M&S I bought salad items - lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots (totalling £1.44) – while at Iceland it would have cost more to buy these individually so I opted for frozen vegetables at £1. These would withstand the test of time more than fresh vegetables (although I am limited by a small freezer space).

Although my M&S shop would enable me to make porridge, pasta with sauce, and ham sandwiches (plus oranges as a snack) it lacked cheap and easy to make ready meals.

My Iceland shop would allow two ready meals, pasta with sauce, ham sandwiches (plus optional sides of fries and/or mixed vegtables and bananas as a snack). Frozen goods would also keep longer than the fresh vegetables I purchased in M&S.

Hypothetically I could have spent £10 on 10 frozen ready meals at Iceland, but I wanted to also consider nutritional value.

Although M&S Food Hall had an array of ready meals on offer these were more pricey and would have limited other items I could buy.

Ultimately it comes down to personal preference. In terms of Newport these shops are close enough together that one could visit both - stocking up on fresh and frozen goods.