Jan. 24, 2022: I am passionate about saving money, and preventing food waste. I like these articles that are helpful for everybody because we all have to buy groceries:
Dec. 1, 2017 "What should you spend on groceries?": Today I found this article by Caroline Cakebread in the Edmonton Journal. Cakebread is an interesting last name.
If your family is anything like mine, food is one of the biggest line items in the monthly budget — and that doesn’t include takeout or restaurant outings for a bit of a quick respite from the daily grind of meal prep.
Day in, day out, we buy (and eat) a lot of food. According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian household spends just over $500 a month at the grocery store — depending on where you live, however, that number could be a lot higher.
One question I get asked a lot is: How much is too much to spend on groceries every month — and is there a guideline to help build a realistic budget?
The Credit Counselling Society, a non-profit debt counselling service in Vancouver, suggests people budget 10 per cent to 20 per cent of gross income at the grocery store.
So, if you’re bringing home $70,000 a year, your bill should top out between $583 and $1,166 a month. (Note: that figure doesn’t include eating out.)
Depending on how big your family is, it could be challenging to stretch that budget. But there are ways to bring down your grocery bill. All you need is a bit of extra time, a calculator and a few good recipes to pull it all together.
Make a list — and stick to it: Research from the University of Pennsylvania shows that shopping without a list can increase your grocery bill by 23 per cent due to unplanned purchases.
A list will help you stay focused and buy only the things you need.
Add generic brands to your cart: When it comes to your favourite foods, buying generic may not always make the grade. But for some items — medications, garbage bags, cleaning products and spices — going generic is a no-brainer.
While the price difference might not seem like that much, the savings really add up. By their calculation, bloggers Three Thrifty Guys saved 25 per cent in one shop just by buying generic over brand name.
Plan your meals: Canadians throw out a stunning amount of food — $31 billion every year or 4.5 kg a week for the average family, depending on which study you read. The food waste adds up to about 20 per cent of the average Canadian grocery bill.
The key to reducing food waste is not to buy too much — and that’s where meal planning comes in. If you know what you’re going to eat through the week, you can shop accordingly so food doesn’t sit in the fridge uneaten.
Tote your leftovers for lunch and pick recipes with ingredients that can be used for other meals.
Go meatless: According to Statistics Canada, the average household spends $1,194 a year on meat such as chicken and beef. Cutting out meat can shave a significant portion off your monthly food bill.
Jan. 22, 2018 "Grocery savings: here's the only list you'll need": I found this article by Gail Vax-Oxlade in the Metro on Jan. 21, 2014:
One of the questions I’m always hearing is, “How much should I be spending on groceries?” I don’t know. How many people are you feeding? Do any of them have special dietary needs? Do you make a lot of money, or are you barely putting food on the table?
There are so many variables involved. People who are determined to eat organic will pay more for their food. People who survive on pasta will pay less. If you’re a big meat or fish eater and only like the best, your grocery bill would stagger the single mom of three making her own pizza at home.
According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian family spends $9,630 a year on food, which would work out to be about $185 a week. And that’s just food. It doesn’t include personal care, household cleaning, tobacco, alcohol or lottery tickets — things we often add to our carts.
Here are ways to trim your food costs.
Buy in bulk
Know what stuff costs so that when you see a deal you can buy in bulk. When salmon hits 99¢ a tin, when coffee goes on sale, when toilet paper is a bargain, stock up. It’s not going to spoil, so buy in bulk.
Compare per unit costs
Companies use different sizes for their products, so it’s easy to get confused about which package offers the better deal. Just think of all the different versions of laundry soap out there. Whew! If you don’t calculate the per unit cost, it’s virtually impossible to tell what’s a deal and what isn’t.
Get a rain check
If you go shopping and something you’re looking for that’s been advertised is not in stock, make sure you get a rain check so you extend the sale and get what you wanted at the best possible price.
Shop in less-expensive stores
Do most of your shopping in a discount grocery store. Did you know that you can save up to 30 per cent off your grocery bill just by switching your supermarket?
Over a year, that’d be over $2,300. That sounds worthwhile, doesn’t it?
Take your own bags
Are you still paying for your grocery bags every time you shop? What’s wrong with you? Why would you build the price of shopping bags into the cost of your food? Make a habit of bringing your own bags and save on each visit.
Look for deals
Cuts of meat at 30 to 50 per cent off are a great way to save. Just take them home and throw them into the freezer.
Reward yourself
Take full advantage of the rewards programs offered by grocery stores to convert food purchases into gifts, travel savings or money off future grocery purchases.
Shop with coupons
Speaking of coupons, collect and use them. You don’t have to be rabid about this, but at least collect coupons for the products you usually buy and use them to save. Improve your odds of saving by visiting sites like
groceryalerts.ca,
simplyfrugal.ca,
websaver.ca
and save.ca
to check for coupons that match your shopping list.
Get in the groove
Most folks don’t realize that stores don’t drive sales, manufacturers do, and items typically go on sale in 12-week cycles. Smart shoppers keep track of sales cycles to stock up until the next great sale.
Take advantage of price-matching
No one wants to have to drive all over hell’s half-acre to get all the deals in the flyers that come to the door. And you don’t have to do it either. Simply shop at a store with a price-matching policy and you can show any store’s flyer to get the best deal.
Shop with a list
This is the single best way to manage your food budget and not give in to temptation because you see things you want to throw into your cart impulsively. Over and over I’ve assigned the “shop once and with a list” challenge to people on my TV shows and they are amazed by the savings.
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