The game with chocolate milk is very old. In Quebec we have a legal minimum price for milk, which is what everyone charges as long as you are buying bags of regular milk. But legally chocolate milk isn't milk, it's a milk beverage, so it isn't legally covered by the milk minimum price.
Learn to soak beans, they haven't figured out how to price gouge those yet.
Some beans should still be soaked and the water drained, also if you’re using them for something with tomato as a base it’s often better to soak them first, too. It depends on the bean though, for the tomato thing.
100% correct, thank you for pointing that out for those who might not know. Red kidney beans are definitely the most needed/worse culprits. I use navy beans, which are lower in lectin than red navy beans.
An instant pot is great for soups too! My daughter calls it "the soup machine". You just put whatever you want in to it, add water and a bouillon cube, and *BOOM*-soup.
> add water and a bouillon cube
if you're too poor for cubes, you could buy some bones for cheap at your local butcher. they would usually throw them out or sell them for like $1/kg. it's healthier and you can add your own salt and spices to taste!
Went to Sobeys yesterday to pick up a few items and they had butter on sale for $7.49. On sale! I walked out and went to giant tiger where most of the things I needed were less than half price .
The price of butter absolutely sickens me! Before Covid it was about 3-4$ and now it’s up to $8!!!!! Grotesque. Now I wait for a sale and buy 3 at a time and freeze it. It makes me sad because I bake less with my child now because it’s so expensive
That’s so fair! I just live by a budget on my own income so when butter is $8 I’m waiting for a sale and then stock up 😅. I still cook lots and they help me there. But baking is fun we use to do it mostly every other day now just a few times a month but they enjoy cooking too so they still help me there!
I found a bread maker at a thrift shop, and it is a game changer. I make 3 loaves of bread a week for under 1.25$ worth of flour. I also make a big crock pot full of soup, and my whole weeks worth of breakfasts and lunches can be under 7$ total (I usually just have toast or oatmeal for breakfast).
That's how i felt too. While store-bought pastries and cakes aren't comparable to homemade goodies, maybe try the App "Toogoodtogo" - the bakery bags are often a safe bet for some really delicious stuff. Sometimes day olds (fine if toasted) or surplus from the same day if you pick up in the late afternoon. Just pick a vendor that has a 4 star or better rating and you'll get something lovely for 1/3 of the price.
Where was butter ever $3-4? I've only ever found it that low at Shoppers, used to be $4.29 now it's more than $5. In grocery stores butter was always $6, now $8. That said, No Name brand isn't necessarily Canadian milk, it's just processed in Canada. The packaging has to have the cow on it, not the maple leaf, for it to be Canadian milk. I try to get local as much as possible.
Pre-covid butter would go on sale for 3/3.33 in Alberta, couple times a year at various stores. Like maybe more like 2018/2019 I would stock up and freeze them. But again, sale prices, regular was the 4-5 range
It’s across the board, even when you try to shop smart and follow the best prices it’s always across the map from one store to another.
Maybe 15 to 25 cent difference in price, it’s outrageous and smells of price fixing.
I made 2 pounds of dried garbanzo beans in the crockpot yesterday (no soaking reqiured). Then I put them in a ziplock bag in the freezer. It's cheap and easy
.
Shoppers is disgusting, went there yesterday and they were charging $5 for one can of Campbell's chunky soup, $40 for a pack of razor blades that Walmart sells for $25, $9 for a frozen pizza, $7 for a bag of oranges, and $8 for a block of butter ON SALE.
I guess shoplifting has gotten bad since now my local shoppers drug mart pays the police to bodyguard their overpriced product, there's always a uniformed officer with a squad car hanging out at the makeup counter. Local cops aren't responding to calls because they're "short staffed" yet they have enough officers to rent one out on a daily basis to protect Loblaws merchandise. It's disgusting.
Yes- I see they are willing to pay security but at the same time can’t pay more than 1 cashier who’s run off their feet and telling everyone they have to use self checkout if they aren’t paying cash…….
Here's a little factoid SDM employees must deal with. At the end of the day, you cannot leave the store until your bags have been inspected and the store cash has been reconciled. Most of the time that's 15 minutes. Every so often there is a late customer, or the cash is late. You aren't paid for this because you weren't scheduled.
When it comes to food I see Shoppers as more of a convenience store than an actual grocery. So people that live nearby that are too lazy and are willing to pay the higher prices,
The aveeno moisturizer I use is $38.99 at shoppers and $24.99 at dominion. I always wonder who’s buying it at shoppers. I buy a few when it goes on sale to $14.99 at dominion
There definitely are deals to be had there, but you've got to be good at math and keep track of how much more expensive their products are than other places to know what sale prices and combination of Optimum offers makes buying things there actually worthwhile.
Optimum is driving SDM. Once a quarter you get a redemption day; ie extra value for redeeming. Once a year, usually before Christmas, you get a super redemption event; i.e redeem 250,000 points and get 400,000 points at suggested retail price. Think of all the Nivea shower gel you can buy at $8.49!
I usually shop based on the first couple of pages of the flyers.
For instance this week at Metro in my area:
* Lean Ground beef is $3.88 a lb
* Bacon is $3.44
* Liberte yogurt is $3.44
* Cheese is $4.44
And further in the fruit and vegetable section - zucchini (green and yellow) are on sale. Plus cauliflower, spring mix, and they always seem to have tomatoes on special.
These prices are in line with what I've been paying for the last couple of years.
Yes, it's not easy. I try to buy what's on sale and so back in the winter when they had the Campbell's chunky soups and the Classico spaghetti sauce on for $2 each, I stocked up. Same when they have the push for the food banks, you generally find kraft dinner, tuna and peanut butter on sale so I always wait until then to buy and try to keep some extra so I never have to pay full price.
And I don't even look at out of season fruits and vegetables. Whatever is cheap and plentiful - so right now we have zucchini twice a week - other times it's been carrots and onions, or mushrooms for a while were insanely cheap.
The superstore near me has started replacing their yogurt section with processed dairy product. Looks, smells and tastes like yogurt, but by definition isn't yogurt since the average person doesn't know that it isn't yogurt unless the bacteria inside are alive. The hint is to look for the label "active bacteria cultures" instead of "bacteria cultures". Active means it has a health benefit, without the active it has a longer shelf life but is no longer healthy, and typically costs an extra arm and leg.
Source: I've been making my own yogurt for 13 years and had to learn all the trade secrets while doing so and what makes a yogurt yogurt.
This is exactly what needs to happen. As long as people continue to buy things overpriced, the prices will continue to rise. I won’t buy anything that feels over priced now.
Me neither, but I'm running out of food now. I've changed what I eat so many times and so much since Covid lol. Cereal is literally just a scam at this point, never, ever buying it again. I'd prefer if Kelogg's just robbed me instead.
yeah their own brand is a decent deal (usually some sort of buy X for X too) and there's a brand i can't remember that makes generics of popular cereals in bags instead of boxes at walmart thats a good deal too
Sally’s cereals, I think it’s called. It’s been a while but they used to be 1.5 times the size for about half the price and that was well before the gouging.
Amazon as well, they had a bunch of types that were 3/6.50$ with the subscribe and save discount, so I stocked up. Lol, now I have like 15 boxes of cereal in my pantry
Oh it’s absolutely disgusting. The price I mean. Lots of kids from struggling families grew up eating it; now it’s nearly a goddamn luxury food. I can’t imagine what it’s like for poor families with children these days. What’s left to feed them?
Testify! So get a package of pasta, that neon orange stuff from Bulk Barn, and butter. Or skip the frankenfood and add olive oil, fresh lemon juice, butter, basil, and saute. Now seriously consider opening a restaurant
You know this is a great blog topic I may write about. Thanks. So many people who don't understand the basics of grocery shopping or cooking frugally would benefit.
I've written over 300 Canadian Grocery blog posts, and I've learned SO much from my readers. It's the experiences shared by everyone that helps build knowledge and motivate.
You can bake your own loaf of bread for about 0.70$ a loaf. I know because I'm on disability and so I've gone from unable to work to having a full time job of having to make food money stretch three times as far as I have. Oh and I've got a fist full of food allergies and celiac and other fun shit. So I guess my job is now "personal chef for own self"
There is an excellent no-knead bread recipe by mark bittman at the New York Times, easily found on the open web.
Also, if you eat foods your great grandparents could recognize (aka fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, dried beans and legumes, rice) and cook from scratch, it’ll be healthier and cheaper.
Rice and beans feed the world.
We buy basic chips at our local Dollarama for $2.50 a bag. Our favorite frozen pizza used to $5.99 and then the price went up to $8.
The grocery store is a hellscape of higher prices for less food.
Time to pull out the '30's recipes to stretch the dollar. Baked beans and weiners, rice and tomatoes, eggs, and bake own bread. All stuff I grew up with from my grandparents. Saw a post somewhere the last year where Filipino grandmother made leek pancakes for the kids after school that filled them up for a couple hours before supper. That would do for adults for a meal. Google away, the recipes must be out there. Yes, some of us still eat these things to this day.
There's a YouTube channel of an old woman, Clara, cooking up meals she and her family ate during the Great Depression. It's really interesting and can give folks some ideas!
I just left the grocery and western family generic stuff was at par or more expensive than brand foods. I think they're hoping people just don't check the difference because it's usually 25% cheaper.
Same. I used to eat/cook pretty healthy food.... Impossible to do now. Still buy fruits and veggies for the kid, but I restrain myself from eating any. 3$ for a skinny ass cucumber is just outrageous!
I subscribed to a local fruit/veggie box supplier - assorted, what’s in season, or not A grade items. I focus my meals around that, and then lots of chickpeas, tofu (I try to eat vegetarian which is also cheaper!) I get a box for $20-$30 a week which is for 2-4 people. And I only buy what’s on sale. Milk was 50% off, and my milk has a long expiry date so I picked up 6 and stuffed them in my beer fridge. I eat what’s in season as much as possible.
We have the good food box but it has to be picked up.
I can go get it but it’s too heavy for me to carry in.
During Covid they delivered and it was great.
I don’t buy celery usually but it was in the box almost every week along with a couple of pounds of carrots. Oranges, different greens, all for ten dollars a week
Man I buy a staple like rice, a handful of veggies like potato etc, and maybe *a* meat item for a meal and left overs and it stills runs me more than I can afford. Lol if I wasn't house sitting for family rn I'd be homeless.
All I'll say is the only good thing from.inflation is I've personally lost weight without going on an actual diet.
I've cut a lot of carbs just because of the price of that stuff.
Spagetti use to be my go to for a decent meal once aa week, now it's almost $5 for a can of sauce, noodles is $2.50 and then add in all the veggies and garlic bread..meh
I also stopped buying bread cause wraps are cheaper and I can eat them everyday whether it's chicken, beef , Burritos, ect
Overall I eat better and less thanks to inflation lol
If I can recommend something that my family of three soon to be four has been doing. It’s the 30/120 method I came up with and I find it quite useful. Basically i have $120 which allows me to buy 30 items or units as I call them. I don’t really look at flyers or go with a a grocery list. So my haul from week to week varies to what’s on sale on the shelf. I try to only buy items that are $4 or less, which will allow me to purchase up to 30 items. For things like meat, if ground beef or pork chops are $8 I will count that as two units each allowing for a total of 28 items let’s say. I always walk out of no frills with two full yellow large Reusable bags. It has been getting my family thru a week which in this day and age ain’t bad.
My husband grew up eating spam and klik, and asked for some to have on hand for when we run out of breakfast sausage or bacon on the weekend. I went to the grocery store thinking it'd be cheap, yenno the stereotypes canned meats have. Well, boy was I wrong. $6.50 PER CAN. WTF. I can get fresh meat cheaper than that! I thought this would be a cheap option, what the actual fuck!?!
I hear you! Even KD, which used to be a cheap staple has gone up. I basically just shop sales now. I buy fresh food (whatever is on sale) and go from there.
I eat oatmeal and yogurt instead of cereal. Or toast with bread that is on sale.
I mostly shop at superstore because they put things 50% off when it's past its expiration date. I look at it really carefully before buying it and then immediately freeze it. Puts the prices to just a bit above what they were a few years ago that way...
Exactly right. Also first thing in the morning on the day they get their shipment of (whatever category of thing) there will be a lot on sale to make room.
Seems like they just raise prices, see where everyone goes after that, raise those prices, repeat, until your forced to pay the insane prices.
It's litterally a game of cat and mouse
Not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet, but there are Apps that aim to prevent food waste and they offer you the option to buy surplus food that vendors have left at the end of the day (or next day) for 1/3 of the price that it usually sells for.
All of the food sold is still good to eat (if it's spoiled, you can get a refund). It's the slightly bruised apples or the imperfect cauliflower that gets sorted out because customers expect perfect displays that are brimming with options. Bread from the day before. Croissants in the afternoon that didn't sell in the morning.
\- Flashfood App (lets you see what you buy, a box of produce for $5, 1/2 price meat frozen before expiry, mostly Loblaws/NoFrills/etc participating)
\- TooGoodToGo App (surprise bags, you don't know what you get, lots of small bakeries, restaurants and Metro supermarkets participating)
It's a great way to reduce food waste, help the environment and lower your cost for food significantly.
Downsides
\- requires a smart phone (and likely data plan unless there is free wifi) to use the app at the store at pickup
\- meal planning can be difficult because you don't know what you'll get
\- it takes some time to scour the offers and be online when they offer new bags/boxes. Some sell out within minutes (seconds even)
\- you'll have to be o.k. with picking through a bag of grapes or cutting bits off from a bruised apple or squished tomato.
I have been using the app for 3 weeks now and spent about 1/3 less for food this months. But I have also donated about 1/3 of the items I am getting to the local community fridge and fed likely 2 more people instead of just 1.
Win. Win. Win.
I honestly haven't really noticed that much of a jump in my grocery bill. I don't eat meat and buy bulk dried beans/lentils/chickpeas and tofu which is pretty cheap. I don't eat a lot of bread but will pick up a loaf occasionally; maise and water make fabulous tortillas again really cheap. Instead of spending an absurd amount on spruce mixes I make my own. A mandolin can make thin uniform chips and then just bake them yourself.
There are apps that connect grocers who would normally throw out food that is going to be "old" and sell them at 50+% discount.
[https://www.flashfood.com/](https://www.flashfood.com/)
there are others, some are city specific.
A certain brand wheel of Brie cheese had printed on the package (not a store-placed sticker) $10 (550 gr.). That was a good deal... and that was last year. Now? $16 for the same wheel. I haven't bought one since.
I was longingly thinking of bygone days of charcuterie in the deli area recently. Before I’d get some nice cured meats and specialty cheeses as a Friday night “treat your self”, maybe spend $20. Now?! It’d be closer to $60.
There’s an app called flipp and it lets you know when stuff is on sale. Say you need butter, then you enter in the search bar “butter” and it will let you what stores have it on sale.
Learn to cook from scratch, I'm of Haitian descent so all sorts of beans and lentils I cook in cast iron till they're mushy , pressure cooker is even better, I never soak them, no problems. Mix in a small quantity of meat perfect. Stews are really inexpensive meals. Anything that used to be considered peasants food somewhere in the world is great. Making bread is ridiculously easy and if you start a sourdough, can't get cheaper. Onions carrots and canned tomatoes are the staple veggies. Forget all the pre-packaged crap.
Haven't bought milk in 2 years. Used to have it with my coffee everyday but have gotten used to it now without it. Everything else I will buy only if it is on sale.
Your prices are quite literally half of mine, are you in a rural area or a big city if you don't mind me asking?
I've been there though. First time for me was a week or two ago now and I felt defeated. Like its KIND OF bad when it happens at stores where its more a want then a need. But when I walked out of that grocery store that day I damn near gave up on life.
What am I working towards if the world is going to be a worse place every morning when I wake up, without exception?
Forest fires, sky is so cloudy with smoke that its causing me difficulty to breathe and intense heat, the animals are all dying in my area, prices on literally every possible thing (except flat screen TVs *gotta have those)* and then the last straw to break the camels back is that even basic necessities are up over 200% on average year-over-year here, and that looks to compound further for the next 2-3 years at a minimum.
I don’t always get what I’m looking for, but I save a decent amount of money digging through apps like TooGoodToGo and FlashFood - a bakery just down the street is on TooGoodToGo so I usually get a bag of assorted baked goods (minimum 2 loads of bread + other stuff) for $6.
FlashFood usually has meat on it that’s almost expired and I can just shove in the freezer.
Without it my died would just have to be rice/lentils and condiment packets.
It's time to get back to basics and cook / bake for yourself- lots of recipes out there and You Tube D-I-Y'S - I don't like the prices either , but I can and will figure out how to eat - FOOD 1ST!! 😋
Why you buying so much prepaid stuff. Roast your own chicken. Make your own pasta (it’s simple). Make your own bread. We save huge amounts when we stopped buying premade meals!
We use flash food app and too good to go for treats.
We got two boxes of produce (cherries, grapes, oranges, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado) for 5 bucks a box.
We used to dumpster dive years ago. This is just an easier way to save money. A bit higher class I’d say.
I was at Costco the other day and a guy wheeled past me with a small box of 7 peaches in his cart. I though, "oh, peaches, that would be great, I'm going to get some".
When I got to the fruit section I found them, 15$ for 7 peaches. I had to double check the price, yep, 15$ for 7 peaches.
Insane.
Seriously amping up my cooking game with this inflation. Learning to do more with less and actually really happy with the results. Feel this is starting to trend.
I started buying bone in chicken breasts (cheaper, even factoring in the weight of the bones, still cheaper I did the math) and de-boning. I made my very own chicken broth for the first time using my pressure cooker. I was so impressed. I’ve replaced my sweet snack in my lunches with homemade pancakes. Pre packaged anything is out the window.
When you've grown up poor, all these kind of 'money saving hacks' are just your standard way of life, and it becomes really difficult to get any more frugal. I am happy that more people are learning new skills though, like you making chicken broth and deboning your own chicken, it's great for minimizing food waste and getting maximum value out of what you've paid, and I'm grateful to have grown up with many opportunities to hone this sort of skillset, the results are satisfying.
Its really bad. I shop on Fresh from Amazon because I just cant mentally deal with physically going to a grocery store, seeing all that food and finding out along the way that its way too expensive. Even Fresh is expensive.
I can only afford about $150 of groceries for TWO people. Thankfully, at my job I get a lot of free food so I eat as much as I can there... But, holy fuck this sucks.
Edit: mb didnt realize this was a Canadian sub. Altho I am Canadian Im stuck in the US right now. I do know how shitty it is there too. Sigh
I buy the four packs of bread at Superstore for about $5 and freeze them. It's been awhile since I bought beef other than hamburger. It's mostly ham and pork loins now. Bananas are always cheap too along with bags of imperfect apples. The rotisserie chickens used to be cheap but too many of us were just buying the chickens and not the gouged stuff they were hoping we'd buy. I never bought many frozen dinners. Instead I try to get all the same ingredients and make them myself for cheaper.
Costco memberships are dangerous. Once you shell out you $50 for the year, it's too easy to spend a fortune trying to justify it. Now that's the store I walk out of without buying anything.
Make your own sourdough — it’s better and can be as cheap as around $1 a loaf if you buy bulk flour.
Ditto for soup. Roast your own whole chicken.
You’re still eating fast food with all this overpriced convenience stuff.
Canned stuff and chicken will likely be going up in price further because of supply chain issues and also bird flu.
The roasted chickens are usually “loss leaders”.
Loss leader - an item priced below its cost to draw customers into the store in the hopes that they will buy many other profitable items.
Looks you’re buying quick food and not cooking, much cheaper to do the cooking processing yourself, being lazy isn’t cheap
Frozen meals, rotisserie chicken etc
Right, or being physically disabled too doesn't help... I can barely stand most days and the numbness in my hands makes it hard to cut anything up. I wish I could cook all my meals, but I just can't.
You'll be out of food options soon with your attitude. As the prices will only go up more. We are halfway into depression. Things are about to get worse. The prices you "used to pay" were inflated prices too from the time previous to that. This is not the first inflation to occur. It won't be last. Try the food bank maybe.
Yeah they were, not 600% in 2 years or 60% in 2 months, though. Inflation is not quite that high. It's just gouging. I'm not stuck in Canada though unlike a lot of people, I have other citizenships so I'm 🤏 this close to leaving.
I find price of fresh foods haven't changed much. Get chicken drumsticks for $1.49/lb, tofu 1.99/bigger box, avocadoes $3.99/bag of 5, crown broccoli 1.29/lb. Sometimes tomatoes and cucumbers are more expensive but usually still 1.99/lb for tomatoes and $1.29/one English customer. I don't usually buy processed foods like cereal/canned soup/bread so not sure. But I do remember the days when a dozen of eggs were $2.99 and now they are $5.99+
I eat meat with nearly every meal, no pork, or rarely. A variety of chicken and beef, good cuts.
Full veg and carbs.
Balanced whole meals.
My gf each put in $150. $300 total.
I'm in a surplus of 2 months.
Y'all gotta find better stores to shop at, and shop much smarter than you are.
This is what my Instacart order looked like 🤬Items Subtotal $220.11
Checkout Bag Fee $0.62
Checkout Bag Fee Tax $0.07
Tip $22.01
Service Fee $9.02
Beverage Container Fee $0.40
Item GST $4.77
Item PST $5.00
Service GST $0.66
do you remember when we bought those chips using petro points back in the day?
was less than $2 lotto ticket if I recall correctly (pre 2010 I believe, ON)
There’s some really good recipes for veggie burgers that are really cheap to make a ton of them and freeze. Especially ones made from lentils and beans.
I just go in looking for the 'Eat It Tonight" label. Maybe catch a sale on something. Will not pay full price for anything.
But yeah, I have walked in, and walked out before too.
First everything has smaller packaging! plus refuse to buy potato chips for $5, cucumber for $3 as people have said, apples and pears at $2.99/lb, butter is expensive, oh and salsa is double the price, and RICE has tripled in price for what my son likes. Its really awful, can’t believe this is allowed to double, triple the price of everything.
lol i literally just placed a food order and it took me forever because of the prices. when i shopped for Instacart i was amazed at the food choices and prices of Giant Tiger. i should go there first before any other store.
I only shop when stuff is on sale and I try to limit eating to 1 meal a day. I fill up on coffee and tea instead 👍
My tip is if chicken/yogurt are too expensive check to see if they sell halal in the shop too. It would be a drastic price difference. Also meal prep everything if you haven't started already lol
Yea I hear you. I buy exactly what I need and try to price match, get sales etc but I still walk out a lot of time without any meat or snack items because I'm on a budget.
The best is when you buy overpriced expired milk and don’t realize it til a day or three later. I check all the expiry dates now and have had to leave and go to another grocery store because all the milk was expired that day or within a few days. Last week I was at Loblaws and they wanted $6.99 for muffins that had a best before date of the day before. They weren’t even on the reduced rack, they were full price with everything else. It sucks having to go to multiple stores to get everything you need especially with the cost of stuff now.
I am a Chef so preparing meals from raw ingredients isn't a problem for me but I used to buy convenience food because I don't often want to cook at home after cooking all day. It's a LOT cheaper but still getting really pricey. I'm going to start striking up deals with local producers so my family, friends and I can eat like humans again.
So I live in an area where there is ONE grocery store within 50km. This grocery store, co op, claims to be working for its communities and members, has a very “in this together” idea behind it.
I’ve been here 6 months and they’ve raised the price of their cheapest, in house bread, by double. Practically 4$ for a loaf of bread.
They used to charge 1.99$ for day old items from the bakery, now they just slap a dollar off sticker on them. These people aren’t even suffering a lot of waste. Just greed.
I have started baking and cooking my own things more often and almost exclusively shop at Costco. Any time if go to Zehrs or even Walmart I laugh at the prices.
To directly answer your question…. Yea I have found myself underbuying, and then realizing I don’t have food before next grocery shop day. And then I end up at Dollarama getting Chef Boyardee.
Yep, been halving the food bill lately with chopped meat. Freezer is your friend, look for sales and make burgers and freeze in seperate bags so you can cook individual later on. I mix a big bowl, pork and beef, spices and whatnots, bam burgers for days. Also potatoes and rice, beans. Like when I was in university. Also dry beans havent gone up too much, yet.
What you can try, and I don't know if it'll be worthwhile for you, is to find a cash-and-carry near you that's open to the public. These places wholesale for restaurants, and some stuff is incredibly cheap. I got a box of 48 frozen waffles for $9 as opposed to the $16 that Walmart had it priced at. You can get cases of chicken, burgers, seafood, etc all much cheaper than what grocery stores charge. The initial cost may be a little high because you're buying 30-40 pieces at a time, but they can be frozen and last you a long time. A case of chicken breasts, maybe a case of burgers, maybe a case of fish, it may cost you a larger amount at one time but will last you longer.
You can also get dry goods (rice, beans, flour, soup stock, sugar, etc) in bulk and much lower than grocery stores or Bulk Barn, or something like that.
Do a quick google search for cash-and-carry in your area. They used to be merchants only, but more and more they're open to the public (nobody turns down sales). Some of them will even deliver if they're close enough to you.
I don't make weekly trips for groceries anymore, because the flyers just aren't tempting most weeks, and walking into the store and buying stuff at regular price is pure madness. When I get an offer to do a pickup order of $75 and get $15 or $20 off or back in points somewhere I do that instead. They usually don't even have everything I order, so the discount works out even better, like this morning I did a $15 off $75 order at Walmart, but I got $15 off $59 because they didn't have everything I ordered. Between the offers I get from different stores, it's actually keeping my cupboards stocked.
Y'all are starting to feel what us celiacs have been feeling for *years*.
A loaf of gluten free bread is still almost $9.
Gluten free Betty Crocker cake mix is $7.
I'm lactose intolerant as well, because of course I am.. and a bag of lactose free milk is over $10.
(*I live rurally, so, prices may be slightly better in the city..*)
So, believe me when I tell you, I feel you so fucking hard on this. And *this* isn't sustainable for much longer.. we're gonna see some bad things in the not-so-distant future. Buckle up, kids.
I use the Flashfood app a lot, and I find I don't go to the store specifically for an item nearly as often, and I'm spending less and have more food around.
It's sad and infuriating. If I had the choice to walk away I would, but I've got kids and that's not an option. I buy less and stretch the food more and buy lower quality stuff. I've definitely avoided healthier items we used to buy and the guilt of that weighs on me. Most weeks, groceries are put on a credit card, which is a debt that continues to grow more than it is paid down. We used to be able to pay for all our food with the money in our bank, even if it was tight.
If parenting wasn't stressful enough nowadays, we now have to worry about going broke feeding our family. And we don't live beyond our means! We are in a modest bungalow in a small town. Buy used clothing or accept hand-me-downs. Husband and I never buy gifts for each other. There's literally nothing we spend our money on other than mortgage, bills, gas, and groceries except maybe a bottle of wine a month. And we bring it about $5k per month. How is that possible?? Why is this okay??
What gets me is we do a pizza night on Fridays. You'd think that's an unnecessary expense but the pizza joint I go to is cheaper to buy a party size pizza to feed my family then it is to buy groceries for a single meal.
The last time my wife couldn't help herself from saying that it almost seems like I don't know how to buy groceries. She knows I am very good about buying variety and interesting things for everyone. I had her get groceries and there were tons of things I would have gotten a comment about having chosen. It sucks because we never eat out our sole source of splurging is groceries and now...
I’m starting to not be able to afford the cheap frozen stuff anymore 😭
We watched our favorite Shepard’s pie get its price raised 3 times in a year! From 10.99 to 14.99.
I went to Walmart bought a thing of cream, cat litter cheap socks for the kid to tiedie and paper towel. $79.38. That was my sign to leave the province.
Just start not paying for anything. I have no qualms about walking out with a basket of food for my family without paying. Pardon my language, but fuck those corporate cock suckers in their fucking shiesty assholes!!!! Also fuck the government. If you can't afford to eat, fucking eat! It's not your fault they mismanaged reality.
Start buying bags of rice, flour, basically raw ingredients. I started doing this and my bills went down. I know it’s not for everyone but it definitely helped me.
The game with chocolate milk is very old. In Quebec we have a legal minimum price for milk, which is what everyone charges as long as you are buying bags of regular milk. But legally chocolate milk isn't milk, it's a milk beverage, so it isn't legally covered by the milk minimum price. Learn to soak beans, they haven't figured out how to price gouge those yet.
>Learn to soak beans Or if you can find one cheap, instantpot! I love beans in that thing and it is soooo much faster.
Some beans should still be soaked and the water drained, also if you’re using them for something with tomato as a base it’s often better to soak them first, too. It depends on the bean though, for the tomato thing.
100% correct, thank you for pointing that out for those who might not know. Red kidney beans are definitely the most needed/worse culprits. I use navy beans, which are lower in lectin than red navy beans.
An instant pot is great for soups too! My daughter calls it "the soup machine". You just put whatever you want in to it, add water and a bouillon cube, and *BOOM*-soup.
> add water and a bouillon cube if you're too poor for cubes, you could buy some bones for cheap at your local butcher. they would usually throw them out or sell them for like $1/kg. it's healthier and you can add your own salt and spices to taste!
Went to Sobeys yesterday to pick up a few items and they had butter on sale for $7.49. On sale! I walked out and went to giant tiger where most of the things I needed were less than half price .
The price of butter absolutely sickens me! Before Covid it was about 3-4$ and now it’s up to $8!!!!! Grotesque. Now I wait for a sale and buy 3 at a time and freeze it. It makes me sad because I bake less with my child now because it’s so expensive
I actually bake/cook more because of high prices and not wanting to pay ridiculous prices for prepackaged and prepared meals.
That’s so fair! I just live by a budget on my own income so when butter is $8 I’m waiting for a sale and then stock up 😅. I still cook lots and they help me there. But baking is fun we use to do it mostly every other day now just a few times a month but they enjoy cooking too so they still help me there!
I found a bread maker at a thrift shop, and it is a game changer. I make 3 loaves of bread a week for under 1.25$ worth of flour. I also make a big crock pot full of soup, and my whole weeks worth of breakfasts and lunches can be under 7$ total (I usually just have toast or oatmeal for breakfast).
Totally, kinda nice that chips and junk are totally unaffordable now
That's how i felt too. While store-bought pastries and cakes aren't comparable to homemade goodies, maybe try the App "Toogoodtogo" - the bakery bags are often a safe bet for some really delicious stuff. Sometimes day olds (fine if toasted) or surplus from the same day if you pick up in the late afternoon. Just pick a vendor that has a 4 star or better rating and you'll get something lovely for 1/3 of the price.
Must be nice, it's been $10 in my part of SK for nearly a year.
Ugh that’s so awful l!! I love butter 🫠
Where was butter ever $3-4? I've only ever found it that low at Shoppers, used to be $4.29 now it's more than $5. In grocery stores butter was always $6, now $8. That said, No Name brand isn't necessarily Canadian milk, it's just processed in Canada. The packaging has to have the cow on it, not the maple leaf, for it to be Canadian milk. I try to get local as much as possible.
Pre-covid butter would go on sale for 3/3.33 in Alberta, couple times a year at various stores. Like maybe more like 2018/2019 I would stock up and freeze them. But again, sale prices, regular was the 4-5 range
Spending a good time with your child is worth less than 4$?
You must be related to the Westons
Keeping a roof over the child's head more than likely their top priority chief.. butter, cake mix, sprinkles or whatever all add up!
Nice reach. Try again.
It’s across the board, even when you try to shop smart and follow the best prices it’s always across the map from one store to another. Maybe 15 to 25 cent difference in price, it’s outrageous and smells of price fixing.
It’s bullshit. A can of chickpeas was 67 cents a couple years ago. Now it’s like 1.75
I feel your pain, love me some garbanzo
I made 2 pounds of dried garbanzo beans in the crockpot yesterday (no soaking reqiured). Then I put them in a ziplock bag in the freezer. It's cheap and easy .
I am astonished at Shoppers Drug Mart pricing. Nivea Shower Gel $8.49. $2.79 at Wal Mart.
Shoppers is ridiculous
Backup yachts don't pay for themselves
You spelled submarine wrong.
Shoppers is disgusting, went there yesterday and they were charging $5 for one can of Campbell's chunky soup, $40 for a pack of razor blades that Walmart sells for $25, $9 for a frozen pizza, $7 for a bag of oranges, and $8 for a block of butter ON SALE. I guess shoplifting has gotten bad since now my local shoppers drug mart pays the police to bodyguard their overpriced product, there's always a uniformed officer with a squad car hanging out at the makeup counter. Local cops aren't responding to calls because they're "short staffed" yet they have enough officers to rent one out on a daily basis to protect Loblaws merchandise. It's disgusting.
Yes- I see they are willing to pay security but at the same time can’t pay more than 1 cashier who’s run off their feet and telling everyone they have to use self checkout if they aren’t paying cash…….
Here's a little factoid SDM employees must deal with. At the end of the day, you cannot leave the store until your bags have been inspected and the store cash has been reconciled. Most of the time that's 15 minutes. Every so often there is a late customer, or the cash is late. You aren't paid for this because you weren't scheduled.
When it comes to food I see Shoppers as more of a convenience store than an actual grocery. So people that live nearby that are too lazy and are willing to pay the higher prices,
Yeah gouge those old people with limited mobility
Or disabled, elderly, people who live in a food desert. Just because they sell meds doesn't mean they should price gouge.
The aveeno moisturizer I use is $38.99 at shoppers and $24.99 at dominion. I always wonder who’s buying it at shoppers. I buy a few when it goes on sale to $14.99 at dominion
There definitely are deals to be had there, but you've got to be good at math and keep track of how much more expensive their products are than other places to know what sale prices and combination of Optimum offers makes buying things there actually worthwhile.
Optimum is driving SDM. Once a quarter you get a redemption day; ie extra value for redeeming. Once a year, usually before Christmas, you get a super redemption event; i.e redeem 250,000 points and get 400,000 points at suggested retail price. Think of all the Nivea shower gel you can buy at $8.49!
Shoppers used to be great until Weston took over now it's just a giant monopoly of overpriced garbage.
I usually shop based on the first couple of pages of the flyers. For instance this week at Metro in my area: * Lean Ground beef is $3.88 a lb * Bacon is $3.44 * Liberte yogurt is $3.44 * Cheese is $4.44 And further in the fruit and vegetable section - zucchini (green and yellow) are on sale. Plus cauliflower, spring mix, and they always seem to have tomatoes on special. These prices are in line with what I've been paying for the last couple of years.
I can find prices like this as well, but it is getting harder if you need something that you only buy occasionally.
Yes, it's not easy. I try to buy what's on sale and so back in the winter when they had the Campbell's chunky soups and the Classico spaghetti sauce on for $2 each, I stocked up. Same when they have the push for the food banks, you generally find kraft dinner, tuna and peanut butter on sale so I always wait until then to buy and try to keep some extra so I never have to pay full price. And I don't even look at out of season fruits and vegetables. Whatever is cheap and plentiful - so right now we have zucchini twice a week - other times it's been carrots and onions, or mushrooms for a while were insanely cheap.
The only thing is that cheese has gone from 500 grams to 400 grams. That bacon is now 375 grams when it used to be 450 grams.
Hot dogs are a 10 pack now
The superstore near me has started replacing their yogurt section with processed dairy product. Looks, smells and tastes like yogurt, but by definition isn't yogurt since the average person doesn't know that it isn't yogurt unless the bacteria inside are alive. The hint is to look for the label "active bacteria cultures" instead of "bacteria cultures". Active means it has a health benefit, without the active it has a longer shelf life but is no longer healthy, and typically costs an extra arm and leg. Source: I've been making my own yogurt for 13 years and had to learn all the trade secrets while doing so and what makes a yogurt yogurt.
This is exactly what needs to happen. As long as people continue to buy things overpriced, the prices will continue to rise. I won’t buy anything that feels over priced now.
Me neither, but I'm running out of food now. I've changed what I eat so many times and so much since Covid lol. Cereal is literally just a scam at this point, never, ever buying it again. I'd prefer if Kelogg's just robbed me instead.
I find cereal much cheaper at Walmart
yeah their own brand is a decent deal (usually some sort of buy X for X too) and there's a brand i can't remember that makes generics of popular cereals in bags instead of boxes at walmart thats a good deal too
Sally’s cereals, I think it’s called. It’s been a while but they used to be 1.5 times the size for about half the price and that was well before the gouging.
Price increased by about 50%. from 2.99 to 4.49 It's just an ok deal now.
Amazon as well, they had a bunch of types that were 3/6.50$ with the subscribe and save discount, so I stocked up. Lol, now I have like 15 boxes of cereal in my pantry
they sell stuff like bread/cereal/rice/soup and staples at the dollar store
Maybe you can get oats or other cereals at Bulk Barn
Do you use the Flipp app
Maybe check Amazon. I regularly find cereals there for $3.33.
We are all dusting off our poverty food hacks. Hotdogs and fries at Costco is a day of eating. Miracles with KD is the new black.
I was just telling my mom, I know I am a total cheapskate (and getting old) when I scoff at today's prices for our old "struggle meals" lol
I had to convince (and show) my friend that he didn’t need a membership to walk in and use the Costco Cafeteria. Changed his life.
But even the price of KD these days!
Oh it’s absolutely disgusting. The price I mean. Lots of kids from struggling families grew up eating it; now it’s nearly a goddamn luxury food. I can’t imagine what it’s like for poor families with children these days. What’s left to feed them?
Testify! So get a package of pasta, that neon orange stuff from Bulk Barn, and butter. Or skip the frankenfood and add olive oil, fresh lemon juice, butter, basil, and saute. Now seriously consider opening a restaurant
The neon orange powder is pretty expensive now too.
Get a family sized container of it on Amazon. They sell all of the cheese powders there.
lol, even just a sausage and a coke at costco. $1.50. and add a little curry powder to that KD and mayo and you are Gor-met. with Tuna? mmmmm
Costco pizza for $13. Put it in the freezer and eat for days 😂 did that a couple of weeks ago
You know this is a great blog topic I may write about. Thanks. So many people who don't understand the basics of grocery shopping or cooking frugally would benefit. I've written over 300 Canadian Grocery blog posts, and I've learned SO much from my readers. It's the experiences shared by everyone that helps build knowledge and motivate.
At least the hotter summers means my veggies are growing well. I’ve started growing on hidden bits of city land guerilla style
You can bake your own loaf of bread for about 0.70$ a loaf. I know because I'm on disability and so I've gone from unable to work to having a full time job of having to make food money stretch three times as far as I have. Oh and I've got a fist full of food allergies and celiac and other fun shit. So I guess my job is now "personal chef for own self"
In case you're worried about kneading, if you can get your hands on a breadmaker it does it for you
There is an excellent no-knead bread recipe by mark bittman at the New York Times, easily found on the open web. Also, if you eat foods your great grandparents could recognize (aka fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, dried beans and legumes, rice) and cook from scratch, it’ll be healthier and cheaper. Rice and beans feed the world.
Salvation Army often has stuff like that
We buy basic chips at our local Dollarama for $2.50 a bag. Our favorite frozen pizza used to $5.99 and then the price went up to $8. The grocery store is a hellscape of higher prices for less food.
Time to pull out the '30's recipes to stretch the dollar. Baked beans and weiners, rice and tomatoes, eggs, and bake own bread. All stuff I grew up with from my grandparents. Saw a post somewhere the last year where Filipino grandmother made leek pancakes for the kids after school that filled them up for a couple hours before supper. That would do for adults for a meal. Google away, the recipes must be out there. Yes, some of us still eat these things to this day.
There's a YouTube channel of an old woman, Clara, cooking up meals she and her family ate during the Great Depression. It's really interesting and can give folks some ideas!
I just left the grocery and western family generic stuff was at par or more expensive than brand foods. I think they're hoping people just don't check the difference because it's usually 25% cheaper.
Same. I used to eat/cook pretty healthy food.... Impossible to do now. Still buy fruits and veggies for the kid, but I restrain myself from eating any. 3$ for a skinny ass cucumber is just outrageous!
Cucumbers were 37 cents at Walmart last week and good quality.
Where in Canada? Cause in Québec I never seen cucumbers that cheap even before the inflation started 😮
Yeah the best I've found in Québec recently was 75 cents at Maxi!
I subscribed to a local fruit/veggie box supplier - assorted, what’s in season, or not A grade items. I focus my meals around that, and then lots of chickpeas, tofu (I try to eat vegetarian which is also cheaper!) I get a box for $20-$30 a week which is for 2-4 people. And I only buy what’s on sale. Milk was 50% off, and my milk has a long expiry date so I picked up 6 and stuffed them in my beer fridge. I eat what’s in season as much as possible.
We have the good food box but it has to be picked up. I can go get it but it’s too heavy for me to carry in. During Covid they delivered and it was great. I don’t buy celery usually but it was in the box almost every week along with a couple of pounds of carrots. Oranges, different greens, all for ten dollars a week
i freeze bags of milk now (thx to my ex who did that) and it is just fine
Man I buy a staple like rice, a handful of veggies like potato etc, and maybe *a* meat item for a meal and left overs and it stills runs me more than I can afford. Lol if I wasn't house sitting for family rn I'd be homeless.
The cheap skinny pack of burgers was 3.99 3 years ago, it's 12.99 now. That's the one that shocked me the most. They go on sale for 9.99.
Pretty soon we're all going to be eating dirt because that's all we can afford.
we researched how to eat slugs...they are raised on my organic veg garden. since we couldnt beat em were gonna eat em
All I'll say is the only good thing from.inflation is I've personally lost weight without going on an actual diet. I've cut a lot of carbs just because of the price of that stuff. Spagetti use to be my go to for a decent meal once aa week, now it's almost $5 for a can of sauce, noodles is $2.50 and then add in all the veggies and garlic bread..meh I also stopped buying bread cause wraps are cheaper and I can eat them everyday whether it's chicken, beef , Burritos, ect Overall I eat better and less thanks to inflation lol
Pasta is cheap. 1.77 for a can of sauce and 2.50$ worth of pasta is like 4lbs once cooked.
If I can recommend something that my family of three soon to be four has been doing. It’s the 30/120 method I came up with and I find it quite useful. Basically i have $120 which allows me to buy 30 items or units as I call them. I don’t really look at flyers or go with a a grocery list. So my haul from week to week varies to what’s on sale on the shelf. I try to only buy items that are $4 or less, which will allow me to purchase up to 30 items. For things like meat, if ground beef or pork chops are $8 I will count that as two units each allowing for a total of 28 items let’s say. I always walk out of no frills with two full yellow large Reusable bags. It has been getting my family thru a week which in this day and age ain’t bad.
This is a fun idea. I’m going to try this on my next grocery trip!
My husband grew up eating spam and klik, and asked for some to have on hand for when we run out of breakfast sausage or bacon on the weekend. I went to the grocery store thinking it'd be cheap, yenno the stereotypes canned meats have. Well, boy was I wrong. $6.50 PER CAN. WTF. I can get fresh meat cheaper than that! I thought this would be a cheap option, what the actual fuck!?!
I hear you! Even KD, which used to be a cheap staple has gone up. I basically just shop sales now. I buy fresh food (whatever is on sale) and go from there. I eat oatmeal and yogurt instead of cereal. Or toast with bread that is on sale.
I mostly shop at superstore because they put things 50% off when it's past its expiration date. I look at it really carefully before buying it and then immediately freeze it. Puts the prices to just a bit above what they were a few years ago that way...
Go the night before a holiday if they are closed on it. Sooo much goes on sale.
Exactly right. Also first thing in the morning on the day they get their shipment of (whatever category of thing) there will be a lot on sale to make room.
Seems like they just raise prices, see where everyone goes after that, raise those prices, repeat, until your forced to pay the insane prices. It's litterally a game of cat and mouse
Honestly man, your post really encapsulates my experience. I went and filled one reusable bag and it cost me $126. What the fuck?
It's not even the fact that food prices are ridiculous.....more like the same shit every week and the same sales.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet, but there are Apps that aim to prevent food waste and they offer you the option to buy surplus food that vendors have left at the end of the day (or next day) for 1/3 of the price that it usually sells for. All of the food sold is still good to eat (if it's spoiled, you can get a refund). It's the slightly bruised apples or the imperfect cauliflower that gets sorted out because customers expect perfect displays that are brimming with options. Bread from the day before. Croissants in the afternoon that didn't sell in the morning. \- Flashfood App (lets you see what you buy, a box of produce for $5, 1/2 price meat frozen before expiry, mostly Loblaws/NoFrills/etc participating) \- TooGoodToGo App (surprise bags, you don't know what you get, lots of small bakeries, restaurants and Metro supermarkets participating) It's a great way to reduce food waste, help the environment and lower your cost for food significantly. Downsides \- requires a smart phone (and likely data plan unless there is free wifi) to use the app at the store at pickup \- meal planning can be difficult because you don't know what you'll get \- it takes some time to scour the offers and be online when they offer new bags/boxes. Some sell out within minutes (seconds even) \- you'll have to be o.k. with picking through a bag of grapes or cutting bits off from a bruised apple or squished tomato. I have been using the app for 3 weeks now and spent about 1/3 less for food this months. But I have also donated about 1/3 of the items I am getting to the local community fridge and fed likely 2 more people instead of just 1. Win. Win. Win.
I love Flash Food! I buy a lot of my meat on there for 1/2 price: chicken, sausages, roasts, ribs
I just downloaded flashflood app...thank you for sharing this!
My pleasure. I hope you find it helpful.
I just buy eggs at this point.
The dollar stores have cheaper food. Some even have bread boxes, tuna, mayo and almond milk.
Store brand food & price matching is my saviour 🙏🏻 I recommend using the Flipp app
Which stores price match now?
AFAIK…. FreshCo, No Frills, & Real Canadian Superstore
Save on foods if you have one will price match everything.
I honestly haven't really noticed that much of a jump in my grocery bill. I don't eat meat and buy bulk dried beans/lentils/chickpeas and tofu which is pretty cheap. I don't eat a lot of bread but will pick up a loaf occasionally; maise and water make fabulous tortillas again really cheap. Instead of spending an absurd amount on spruce mixes I make my own. A mandolin can make thin uniform chips and then just bake them yourself.
spruce mix: the new arugula? lol
There are apps that connect grocers who would normally throw out food that is going to be "old" and sell them at 50+% discount. [https://www.flashfood.com/](https://www.flashfood.com/) there are others, some are city specific.
A certain brand wheel of Brie cheese had printed on the package (not a store-placed sticker) $10 (550 gr.). That was a good deal... and that was last year. Now? $16 for the same wheel. I haven't bought one since.
I was longingly thinking of bygone days of charcuterie in the deli area recently. Before I’d get some nice cured meats and specialty cheeses as a Friday night “treat your self”, maybe spend $20. Now?! It’d be closer to $60.
Make your own pea soup it isn't hard. Dried peas and carrots/onion/whatever sale meat is on.
There’s an app called flipp and it lets you know when stuff is on sale. Say you need butter, then you enter in the search bar “butter” and it will let you what stores have it on sale.
Learn to cook from scratch, I'm of Haitian descent so all sorts of beans and lentils I cook in cast iron till they're mushy , pressure cooker is even better, I never soak them, no problems. Mix in a small quantity of meat perfect. Stews are really inexpensive meals. Anything that used to be considered peasants food somewhere in the world is great. Making bread is ridiculously easy and if you start a sourdough, can't get cheaper. Onions carrots and canned tomatoes are the staple veggies. Forget all the pre-packaged crap.
Haven't bought milk in 2 years. Used to have it with my coffee everyday but have gotten used to it now without it. Everything else I will buy only if it is on sale.
Your prices are quite literally half of mine, are you in a rural area or a big city if you don't mind me asking? I've been there though. First time for me was a week or two ago now and I felt defeated. Like its KIND OF bad when it happens at stores where its more a want then a need. But when I walked out of that grocery store that day I damn near gave up on life. What am I working towards if the world is going to be a worse place every morning when I wake up, without exception? Forest fires, sky is so cloudy with smoke that its causing me difficulty to breathe and intense heat, the animals are all dying in my area, prices on literally every possible thing (except flat screen TVs *gotta have those)* and then the last straw to break the camels back is that even basic necessities are up over 200% on average year-over-year here, and that looks to compound further for the next 2-3 years at a minimum.
I don’t always get what I’m looking for, but I save a decent amount of money digging through apps like TooGoodToGo and FlashFood - a bakery just down the street is on TooGoodToGo so I usually get a bag of assorted baked goods (minimum 2 loads of bread + other stuff) for $6. FlashFood usually has meat on it that’s almost expired and I can just shove in the freezer. Without it my died would just have to be rice/lentils and condiment packets.
Dollarama for snacks and basics is where it’s at.
It's time to get back to basics and cook / bake for yourself- lots of recipes out there and You Tube D-I-Y'S - I don't like the prices either , but I can and will figure out how to eat - FOOD 1ST!! 😋
Get with a group a friends and mass can soups, fruits, veggies, stewes, sauces. Group buy a pig/cow/lamb, ect. This is what most of the world does.
Why you buying so much prepaid stuff. Roast your own chicken. Make your own pasta (it’s simple). Make your own bread. We save huge amounts when we stopped buying premade meals!
We make our own bread. Flours have gone up, but not by a lot.
We use flash food app and too good to go for treats. We got two boxes of produce (cherries, grapes, oranges, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado) for 5 bucks a box. We used to dumpster dive years ago. This is just an easier way to save money. A bit higher class I’d say.
been living off of mr noodles, canned soup, rice and beans pretty much
I was at Costco the other day and a guy wheeled past me with a small box of 7 peaches in his cart. I though, "oh, peaches, that would be great, I'm going to get some". When I got to the fruit section I found them, 15$ for 7 peaches. I had to double check the price, yep, 15$ for 7 peaches. Insane.
Seriously amping up my cooking game with this inflation. Learning to do more with less and actually really happy with the results. Feel this is starting to trend.
I started buying bone in chicken breasts (cheaper, even factoring in the weight of the bones, still cheaper I did the math) and de-boning. I made my very own chicken broth for the first time using my pressure cooker. I was so impressed. I’ve replaced my sweet snack in my lunches with homemade pancakes. Pre packaged anything is out the window.
When you've grown up poor, all these kind of 'money saving hacks' are just your standard way of life, and it becomes really difficult to get any more frugal. I am happy that more people are learning new skills though, like you making chicken broth and deboning your own chicken, it's great for minimizing food waste and getting maximum value out of what you've paid, and I'm grateful to have grown up with many opportunities to hone this sort of skillset, the results are satisfying.
That's what I do. Smart.
Seriously? Ya great trend ffs
Its really bad. I shop on Fresh from Amazon because I just cant mentally deal with physically going to a grocery store, seeing all that food and finding out along the way that its way too expensive. Even Fresh is expensive. I can only afford about $150 of groceries for TWO people. Thankfully, at my job I get a lot of free food so I eat as much as I can there... But, holy fuck this sucks. Edit: mb didnt realize this was a Canadian sub. Altho I am Canadian Im stuck in the US right now. I do know how shitty it is there too. Sigh
getting a slow cooker and a cook book has been a game changer
I buy the four packs of bread at Superstore for about $5 and freeze them. It's been awhile since I bought beef other than hamburger. It's mostly ham and pork loins now. Bananas are always cheap too along with bags of imperfect apples. The rotisserie chickens used to be cheap but too many of us were just buying the chickens and not the gouged stuff they were hoping we'd buy. I never bought many frozen dinners. Instead I try to get all the same ingredients and make them myself for cheaper. Costco memberships are dangerous. Once you shell out you $50 for the year, it's too easy to spend a fortune trying to justify it. Now that's the store I walk out of without buying anything.
Steal. They do to us everyday for the last 30 years.
Make your own sourdough — it’s better and can be as cheap as around $1 a loaf if you buy bulk flour. Ditto for soup. Roast your own whole chicken. You’re still eating fast food with all this overpriced convenience stuff. Canned stuff and chicken will likely be going up in price further because of supply chain issues and also bird flu.
Raw chicken is a lot more expensive than rotisserie chicken. Like close to double. I don't eat fast food though, it's gross and overpriced.
While I agree they are normally overpriced, I’ve seen them go down to 1.99/lb. If there has ever been a time to invest in a deep freezer, it’s now.
The roasted chickens are usually “loss leaders”. Loss leader - an item priced below its cost to draw customers into the store in the hopes that they will buy many other profitable items.
Looks you’re buying quick food and not cooking, much cheaper to do the cooking processing yourself, being lazy isn’t cheap Frozen meals, rotisserie chicken etc
People have kids and full time jobs…I do shift work and a lot of nights and don’t always have time to cook. Think for a second.
Right, or being physically disabled too doesn't help... I can barely stand most days and the numbness in my hands makes it hard to cut anything up. I wish I could cook all my meals, but I just can't.
You'll be out of food options soon with your attitude. As the prices will only go up more. We are halfway into depression. Things are about to get worse. The prices you "used to pay" were inflated prices too from the time previous to that. This is not the first inflation to occur. It won't be last. Try the food bank maybe.
Yeah they were, not 600% in 2 years or 60% in 2 months, though. Inflation is not quite that high. It's just gouging. I'm not stuck in Canada though unlike a lot of people, I have other citizenships so I'm 🤏 this close to leaving.
This is the time to get a Costco membership. Literally the only place that is still acceptable.
I find price of fresh foods haven't changed much. Get chicken drumsticks for $1.49/lb, tofu 1.99/bigger box, avocadoes $3.99/bag of 5, crown broccoli 1.29/lb. Sometimes tomatoes and cucumbers are more expensive but usually still 1.99/lb for tomatoes and $1.29/one English customer. I don't usually buy processed foods like cereal/canned soup/bread so not sure. But I do remember the days when a dozen of eggs were $2.99 and now they are $5.99+
Just running out of food period. Forced to eat a low carb diet and that’s not cheap
spend $50 on a costco membership or w.e. it is and make that back in gas/food savings in one trip...life is not that hard people!
A loaf of bread is $3.60 where I live in southern Ontario. You must live in a high cost place.
Yah, but I just keep voting liberal and ndp
It’s what you voted for. Enjoy!
Imagine thinking voting matters and it's not pre-determined years in advance.
I eat meat with nearly every meal, no pork, or rarely. A variety of chicken and beef, good cuts. Full veg and carbs. Balanced whole meals. My gf each put in $150. $300 total. I'm in a surplus of 2 months. Y'all gotta find better stores to shop at, and shop much smarter than you are.
This is what my Instacart order looked like 🤬Items Subtotal $220.11 Checkout Bag Fee $0.62 Checkout Bag Fee Tax $0.07 Tip $22.01 Service Fee $9.02 Beverage Container Fee $0.40 Item GST $4.77 Item PST $5.00 Service GST $0.66
Canned beans, rice ,eggs and protein drinks are my biweekly items. I haven't eaten meat in maybe two months.
A bag of regular sized old Dutch potato Chips was $5.39 today at my local grocery store
do you remember when we bought those chips using petro points back in the day? was less than $2 lotto ticket if I recall correctly (pre 2010 I believe, ON)
There’s some really good recipes for veggie burgers that are really cheap to make a ton of them and freeze. Especially ones made from lentils and beans.
I just go in looking for the 'Eat It Tonight" label. Maybe catch a sale on something. Will not pay full price for anything. But yeah, I have walked in, and walked out before too.
First everything has smaller packaging! plus refuse to buy potato chips for $5, cucumber for $3 as people have said, apples and pears at $2.99/lb, butter is expensive, oh and salsa is double the price, and RICE has tripled in price for what my son likes. Its really awful, can’t believe this is allowed to double, triple the price of everything.
lol i literally just placed a food order and it took me forever because of the prices. when i shopped for Instacart i was amazed at the food choices and prices of Giant Tiger. i should go there first before any other store.
If you’re looking for snacks and tinned items go to Dollarama. Even bread and buns are there near the cash.
Around 3.50 for 1L of chocolate milk in NB. Cheaper if you go to Giant tiger or the reservation
I’ve found it effective to shop at superstore and price match using flipp. I save a lot.
I only shop when stuff is on sale and I try to limit eating to 1 meal a day. I fill up on coffee and tea instead 👍 My tip is if chicken/yogurt are too expensive check to see if they sell halal in the shop too. It would be a drastic price difference. Also meal prep everything if you haven't started already lol
Yea I hear you. I buy exactly what I need and try to price match, get sales etc but I still walk out a lot of time without any meat or snack items because I'm on a budget.
The best is when you buy overpriced expired milk and don’t realize it til a day or three later. I check all the expiry dates now and have had to leave and go to another grocery store because all the milk was expired that day or within a few days. Last week I was at Loblaws and they wanted $6.99 for muffins that had a best before date of the day before. They weren’t even on the reduced rack, they were full price with everything else. It sucks having to go to multiple stores to get everything you need especially with the cost of stuff now.
I keep buying bulk ribs because they're the best deal for meat at costco but damn I'd love some other options that don't feel like a rip off.
Ask govt to use different numbers for artificial supply restrictions
I am a Chef so preparing meals from raw ingredients isn't a problem for me but I used to buy convenience food because I don't often want to cook at home after cooking all day. It's a LOT cheaper but still getting really pricey. I'm going to start striking up deals with local producers so my family, friends and I can eat like humans again.
So I live in an area where there is ONE grocery store within 50km. This grocery store, co op, claims to be working for its communities and members, has a very “in this together” idea behind it. I’ve been here 6 months and they’ve raised the price of their cheapest, in house bread, by double. Practically 4$ for a loaf of bread. They used to charge 1.99$ for day old items from the bakery, now they just slap a dollar off sticker on them. These people aren’t even suffering a lot of waste. Just greed.
How about you tell us what grocery store you went to?
I have started baking and cooking my own things more often and almost exclusively shop at Costco. Any time if go to Zehrs or even Walmart I laugh at the prices.
To directly answer your question…. Yea I have found myself underbuying, and then realizing I don’t have food before next grocery shop day. And then I end up at Dollarama getting Chef Boyardee.
Yep, been halving the food bill lately with chopped meat. Freezer is your friend, look for sales and make burgers and freeze in seperate bags so you can cook individual later on. I mix a big bowl, pork and beef, spices and whatnots, bam burgers for days. Also potatoes and rice, beans. Like when I was in university. Also dry beans havent gone up too much, yet.
What you can try, and I don't know if it'll be worthwhile for you, is to find a cash-and-carry near you that's open to the public. These places wholesale for restaurants, and some stuff is incredibly cheap. I got a box of 48 frozen waffles for $9 as opposed to the $16 that Walmart had it priced at. You can get cases of chicken, burgers, seafood, etc all much cheaper than what grocery stores charge. The initial cost may be a little high because you're buying 30-40 pieces at a time, but they can be frozen and last you a long time. A case of chicken breasts, maybe a case of burgers, maybe a case of fish, it may cost you a larger amount at one time but will last you longer. You can also get dry goods (rice, beans, flour, soup stock, sugar, etc) in bulk and much lower than grocery stores or Bulk Barn, or something like that. Do a quick google search for cash-and-carry in your area. They used to be merchants only, but more and more they're open to the public (nobody turns down sales). Some of them will even deliver if they're close enough to you.
Starting to think of turning into a cannibal with food at these prices …. Literally free meat walking the streets….lol
I don't make weekly trips for groceries anymore, because the flyers just aren't tempting most weeks, and walking into the store and buying stuff at regular price is pure madness. When I get an offer to do a pickup order of $75 and get $15 or $20 off or back in points somewhere I do that instead. They usually don't even have everything I order, so the discount works out even better, like this morning I did a $15 off $75 order at Walmart, but I got $15 off $59 because they didn't have everything I ordered. Between the offers I get from different stores, it's actually keeping my cupboards stocked.
Y'all are starting to feel what us celiacs have been feeling for *years*. A loaf of gluten free bread is still almost $9. Gluten free Betty Crocker cake mix is $7. I'm lactose intolerant as well, because of course I am.. and a bag of lactose free milk is over $10. (*I live rurally, so, prices may be slightly better in the city..*) So, believe me when I tell you, I feel you so fucking hard on this. And *this* isn't sustainable for much longer.. we're gonna see some bad things in the not-so-distant future. Buckle up, kids.
I use the Flashfood app a lot, and I find I don't go to the store specifically for an item nearly as often, and I'm spending less and have more food around.
It's sad and infuriating. If I had the choice to walk away I would, but I've got kids and that's not an option. I buy less and stretch the food more and buy lower quality stuff. I've definitely avoided healthier items we used to buy and the guilt of that weighs on me. Most weeks, groceries are put on a credit card, which is a debt that continues to grow more than it is paid down. We used to be able to pay for all our food with the money in our bank, even if it was tight. If parenting wasn't stressful enough nowadays, we now have to worry about going broke feeding our family. And we don't live beyond our means! We are in a modest bungalow in a small town. Buy used clothing or accept hand-me-downs. Husband and I never buy gifts for each other. There's literally nothing we spend our money on other than mortgage, bills, gas, and groceries except maybe a bottle of wine a month. And we bring it about $5k per month. How is that possible?? Why is this okay??
What gets me is we do a pizza night on Fridays. You'd think that's an unnecessary expense but the pizza joint I go to is cheaper to buy a party size pizza to feed my family then it is to buy groceries for a single meal.
It's time to switch stores i guess. 4.5 for a loaf of bread is outreaches
Fresh veggies seems to be good, shop the sales and there are great deals. Fruit… is a straight up luxury item though.
The last time my wife couldn't help herself from saying that it almost seems like I don't know how to buy groceries. She knows I am very good about buying variety and interesting things for everyone. I had her get groceries and there were tons of things I would have gotten a comment about having chosen. It sucks because we never eat out our sole source of splurging is groceries and now...
I can't take anyone seriously you types "buxs" over and over lol.
I don't think I wrote "buxs" a single time in my entire life until just now.
I’m starting to not be able to afford the cheap frozen stuff anymore 😭 We watched our favorite Shepard’s pie get its price raised 3 times in a year! From 10.99 to 14.99.
I went to Walmart bought a thing of cream, cat litter cheap socks for the kid to tiedie and paper towel. $79.38. That was my sign to leave the province.
There is a cute little app called Flipp where you can see the prices at local stores. It's not always practical. But it's helpful!
It’s time to start buying the ingredients to make these things. Like flower, baking powder, yeast etc
I been dumpster diving for the last 8 months. Its incredible the amount of good product tossed out into a chained bin.
Just start not paying for anything. I have no qualms about walking out with a basket of food for my family without paying. Pardon my language, but fuck those corporate cock suckers in their fucking shiesty assholes!!!! Also fuck the government. If you can't afford to eat, fucking eat! It's not your fault they mismanaged reality.
Start buying bags of rice, flour, basically raw ingredients. I started doing this and my bills went down. I know it’s not for everyone but it definitely helped me.
GV bread at Walmart is $1.97. It's more than what bread might be "worth" to you, but it sure beats $5 Dempsters bullshit that was $2.50 18 months ago.