Canada Nesties
sunnydays99
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How do you save money on groceries?
DH and I are trying to cut back our spending and pay down more debt. We currently spend about $475 / month on groceries (that's for DH, me and DS). Does that seems like an average amount or high??
I'm not typically a coupon clipper but I'm going to start. I've signed up for save.ca and came across a couple of coupons there. I also checked out smartcanucks.ca but didn't find a lot that was useful. I shop at Sobeys and always buy the "Compliments" brand (unless brand name is on sale and is cheaper). We don't buy a lot of packaged foods and I meal plan and for the most part stick to my list.
I'm just looking for some tips on how we can cut back in this area.
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Re: How do you save money on groceries?
I find there arent as many coupons available to us in Canada so it only helps here and there. Planning out our week of meals is what has really helped me to lower the grocery bill I figure out how many lunches/dinners we will have (since sometimes we arent home and whoever is just has something small like Mr noodles)
So say I have 5 dinners I plan out 5 dinners and how many lunches will be leftovers or sandwiches soup etc and then I go to the flyers and plan my grocery route. I stock up on noodles and such when they are on sale No Frills where I am has a 1/2/3 dollar sale every now and again.
I only use a coupon if its something I would normally buy.
If its not on the list I dont buy it which has also cut my wasted time in the grocery store.
We've just started shopping at Safeway and I've found that they do have some good sales sometimes, but you have to buy in bulk. We've been stocking up a lot when they have bonus air miles on items. Our last shopping trip we earned about 220 airmiles and got stuff like batteries half price, frozen fruits and veggies on sale, frozen pizzas...
Our bills are sometimes high but we also haven't had to buy crackers for a few months. lol.
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I do think what you are spending is average for the typical Albertan. That is pretty close to what DH and I spend and we don't have a LO.
I have been working pretty hard and getting my grocery budget down and I find that these things work for me best:
- Meal plan as much as I can
- Only make meat 3 or 4 times a week
- Try to only shop once a week and resist doing mini trips as I find thats where we exceed our budget.
Like the pp said there really isn't many good coupons available here in Canada but keep and eye on sales and when something you actually use is on a good sale stock up.
Like everyone else mentioned, we always do meal planning around whats on hand and whats in the sale papers, which is the biggest help to us. Real Simple magazine ran an article last month on meal planning and had a nice shopping list/chart you can download off of their site, and I think I'm going to start using that as well.
I stock up on meats when they go on sale and stick them in the freezer, and I stock up on non-perishables and pantry items when they go on sale as well. We have a Costco membership and I end up saving a ton in the long run on cleaning products, paper products, etc.
When I moved to Canada I didn't realize that coupons weren't really widely available here, and that was a big shock to me. What type of site is save.ca? I also made some changes to the types of meals I make when I moved here, as dairy/cheese and chicken are so much more expensive than in the states - I saved a ton by switching to more veggie-based dishes and cutting back on the amount of cheese we use, which also is healthier anyway. Crockpot cooking also tends to save us a few bucks and its great in the winter - we can stick an inexpensive cut of meat in with some potatoes and carrots and eat for days.
I don't know what the average shopping prices are like in Alberta, but we pay a bit more than that in Quebec so I'm guessing its probably pretty average.
I think $475 sounds good. DH and I budget $600 a month for the 4 of us, and that feeds us comfortably (we shop at Superstore for most everything).
Ways we try to save $: 1. plan a menu, shop for the menu, and stick to the menu, 2. buy items on sale or no name/PC brand, 3. we dont buy/eat meat very often at all, and 4. buy groceries only with cash. We take out $300 twice a month and can only buy groceries with cash/when we have cash on us. This helps prevent overspending and impulse shopping.
But now I'm wondering if we should work harder to get it down more. Your $475 sounds good.
Really look at what you are spending each trip to the store. Is all of it food or do you have diapers, toothpaste etc in there too. If so they take those out of the total amount and throw them into a budget item called 'household' and 'baby' or something like that. It will help you know how much you really spend on food.
$475 sounds good for Alberta. I spend just under $400/month for us and that is mostly organic foods. I buy what is on sale and I meal plan. Ask yourself 'do I really need this?'. Even if it is on sale, do you really need it? That has helped me keep the costs down. Like yes it is fantastic that diced tomatoes are on sale for 89 cents but they aren't on my list and I don't need them this week...and they will go on sale again...so I don't buy them.
We spend anywhere from $400-$500/month on groceries for DH and I. That covers dinners as well as lunches (and mid-day snacks) and most sundry items (shampoo, etc). I don't use coupons for the most part. I make monthly meals plans and buy my groceries each week so all is fresh. If I buy red meat I usually buy a less expensive cut and freeze it for a day or two (the freezing/thawing will tenderize a less expensive cut).
I used to buy in bulk and freeze stuff, but I found that alot of it ended up not getting used or going bad...big waste of money.
Honestly, most of our unecessary food costs were related to impulse buying. To avoid it (and this sounds soooooo anal retentive) I actually make my shopping list in the order of how the store is laid out. That way, we start at one end and work our way to the other end and never have to backtrack and wander.
HTH!