I did a Tesco shop using the little-known rule and saved a fortune on my groceries

Most shoppers are doing as much as they can to keep costs down right now and that includes cutting back at the supermarket.

But there is one simple trick to finding the lowest prices that many customers seem to be missing - and that's heading to the bottom shelf.

It's something previously highlighted by food budget expert Lorna Cooper, who said that often, shoppers are too focused on what's displayed at eye level, or part of a promotion, that they fail to find the cheapest products low down.

She said followers of her Facebook page Feed your family for about £20 a week often ask where she's found something so cheap - and it's because they're not looking in the right places.

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I decided to follow the 'down low' rule for a big shop at Tesco this week, to see how much can be saved compared with big brand products at eye level.

I was surprised by just how many shelves were laid out in this way and for a lot of people, especially those in a rush or shopping with children and getting distracted, it would be easy to miss the cheaper items.

There's obviously a quality difference between some of the products - and not everyone is as happy to buy the own brand or budget goods - but with the cost of living crisis still hitting hard, a lot of shoppers are having to make different choices, or are at least willing to give cheaper products a try.

Some of the price differences are huge too. A 1kg pack of Tesco's long grain rice for example is £1.25, whereas its cheaper Grower's Harvest brand is just 52p for the same size pack. A litre of Tesco orange or apple juice from the shelf is £1.25, while again the Grower's Harvest brand, on the bottom, is 85p.

The big brand curry sauces are more than £2, or £1.50 with the Clubcard offer that shouts out at eye level, yet its cheaper ones are on the bottom for just 99p - and really tasty too.

It was the same story with the soup, with Heinz tins costing £2 each, or 3 for £4, but Tesco's own, on the bottom shelf, costing £1.10.

While the 'low shelf, low price' rule seemed to apply mostly to tins and cupboard items, it was also the case in some of the fridges too.

A pack of eight Richmond sausages for £2.60 at eye level, with the Tesco £1.79 version lower down; mature cheddar for £3 for 400g, with the cheaper £2.49 Creamfields blocks on the bottom shelf; and its cheaper Willow Farms chicken breasts, £6.49 a kg and price matched to Aldi, on the bottom shelf too.

It's still worth keeping an eye out elsewhere though, as the top shelf had a Clubcard offer on chicken breasts, working out even cheaper, at £5.79 a kg.

While the loaves were generally mixed, the 'low down' rule worked with other 'bakery' items, like Tesco's eight-pack of tortilla wraps for £1.20, compared with a six-pack of Mission Deli branded ones for £1.60. And Tesco's eight-pack of chocolate brioche rolls for £1.60 on the bottom shelf, compared with a six-pack of Pitch ones for £1.75.

It was obvious with the eggs that shoppers had found where to find the cheapest boxes as the whole bottom shelf of the 15-pack of mixed weight eggs for £1.99 was completely empty.

The freezers on the other hand generally have branded and non branded side by side, but while it's easy to be distracted by the Clubcard offers, like the one for McCain Skin on Fries costing £3 for 800g, next to it was a 900g bag of Tesco's own for £2.50.

Likewise with the £4 Clubcard offer for 38 Birds Eye chicken dippers (50% chicken breast), whereas Tesco's pack (53% chicken) contains 44 dippers and is £3.45.

The swaps I made meant an overall saving of more than £20, so it's not small change.

When budgeting expert Lorna shared her advice, she said: "I know I have mentioned supermarket psychology before but I wanted to mention it again. Often when I put the prices of items I buy on here people immediately say ‘where do you buy that so cheap? We don’t get

"This is a my local Tesco which is fairly small but the cheaper ranges are still available. But they are out of eye level. Hidden low down on the shelf out the way where, unless you are specifically looking for them, you are unlikely to notice them. Check the whole shelf!"

We approached Tesco to ask about the cheaper lower shelf products and a spokesperson said: “We offer a wide range of products in our stores, with a variety of branded and own-brand products to suit customers’ needs, and thanks to our combination of Aldi Price Match, Low Everyday Prices and Clubcard Prices, shoppers can be sure they will get great value at Tesco, however they decide to shop."

Bottom shelf wins (Tesco or main brand product / budget bottom shelf / saving)

• McVitie's Jaffa Cakes 220g £2 / Tesco Jaffa Cakes 282g £1.35 / 65p
• Tesco shelf orange or apple juice £1.25 / Grower's Harvest shelf orange or apple juice 85p / 40p
• Tesco fridge orange juice £2 / Grower's Harvest fridge orange juice £1.19 / 81p
• Tesco fridge apple juice £2 / Grower's Harvest fridge apple juice 99p / £1.01
• Cadbury Brunch bars £1.35 / Tesco Raisin Munch Bars £1.15 / 20p
• Heinz Beanz and Sausages £2 / Tesco Beans and Sausages 56p / £1.44
• Heinz Ravioli £2 / Tesco Beef Ravioli £1 / £1
• Heinz Big Soup £2 / Tesco Chunky Soup £1.10 / 90p
• Tesco Tuna Chunks 72p / Stockwell Tuna Chunks 55p / 17p
• Ambrosia Custard £1.60 / Tesco Custard £1 / 60p
• KP Dry Roasted Peanuts 250g £3.25 / Tesco Dry Roasted Peanuts 200g £1.20 / £2.05
• McVitie's Chocolate Digestives 266g £1.30 Clubcard / Ms Molly's Chocolate Digestives 300g 65p / 65p

• Tesco Long Grain Rice £1.25 / Grower's Harvest Long Grain Rice 52p / 73p
• Patak's Naans £1.50 Clubcard / Tesco Naans 80p / 70p
• Patak's curry sauce £1.50 Clubcard / Tesco curry sauce 99p / 51p
• Hellman's Light Mayonnaise 430ml £2 Clubcard / Tesco Light Mayonnaise 450ml 86p / £1.14
• Sarsons Malt Vinegar 250ml £1.15 / Tesco Malt Vinegar 568ml 35p / 80p
• Richmond sausages £2.60 / Tesco sausages £1.79 / 81p
• Mature cheddar £3 / Creamfields Mature Cheddar £2.49 / 51p
• Country Life Salted Butter £2.75 / Tesco Salted Butter £1.79 / 96p
• Sun-Pat Peanut Butter 300g £2.25 Clubcard / Tesco Peanut Butter 340g £1.09 / £1.16
• Mission Deli Tortilla Wraps six-pack £1.60 / Tesco's eight-pack £1.20 / 40p
• Pitch Brioche Rolls six-pack £1.75 / Tesco's eight-pack of chocolate brioche rolls £1.60 / 15p
• St Pierre Brioche Burger Buns £2.50 / Tesco Brioche Burger Buns 99p / £1.51
• Fairy Washing Up Liquid 320ml £1 / Tesco Washing Up Liquid 500ml 69p / 31p
• Doritos 180g £1.75 Clubcard / Tesco Tortilla Chips 200g £1.10 / 65p

Total bottom shelf savings = £20.22