Here is an example of a cheap grocery day shopping trip (May 6,2008)
Key
Red = sale price
Blue = my comments
First Stop: Save-On Foods
Alfa Sprouts $1.28
Asparagus ($3.70/kg) $1.59
Betty Crocker Fruit by the Foot $3.59
(Note: I would normally never purchase the above but I had a coupon to get it free)
Baby Carrots (bag of) $2.98 x2
Bakipan Yeast (pkg of 3) $1.99
(for Cinnamon Buns I plan to make this month)
Bassilis Lasagna (frozen 2.27 kg) $9.99
Breakfast Sausage (bulk) $5.99
(This is 24 sausages in total, which I split up into 8s for 3 family suppers)
Canada Corn Starch $2.89
Christie Ritz Chips $1.69
Classico Alfredo Sauce $2.99 x2
Cream Cheese $3.59
(for the cinnamon buns again)
Dare Cookies $2.00 x2
(Note: Again I would not normally buy cookies, but dd missed an opportunity to have cookies of this certain type at a church thing, and so I told her I would get some on cheap grocery day – they turned out to be on sale 2 for $4- yay!)
Dairyland Whipping Cream $2.79
(again for the cinnamon buns)
Dairyland Sourcream 500ml $1.99 (store coupon)
Dairyland 4L 2% milk $3.29 + 0.02 recycle fee (store coupon)
Five Alive frozen juice concentrate $0.80 x10
Garlic x2 ($2.82/kg) $0.30
Golden Delicious Apples ($2.60/kg) $1.85
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal (bulk) $7.69
(the girls have “sugar cereal day” on Saturdays and the family fave is cinnamon toast crunch :0) )
Gold Seal Flaked Tuna $0.79 (store coupon)
Green Pepper (x1) ($4.39/kg) $1.12
Lean Ground Beef (bulk, approx. 4.5 lbs) $9.16
(This was my best deal, although it wasn’t on sale, so maybe I’ve discovered something that I can use all the time! Regular packages were priced more than twice as much. I took this home and split it into 5 pieces and froze it in sandwich bags for use during the month. )
Hamburger Helper $2.00 x4
(We don’t eat this very often, but it was on sale and this is how I got that free Fruit by the Foot above – buy 3 Hamburger Helper, get a free Fruit by the Foot)
Honey Ham (from the deli, 150 grams for sandwiches) $2.78
Strawberries (907g) $2.99
Lily White Corn Syrup (35 bonus points) $3.69
(normally I would buy this at Superstore for a better price, and stock up because it is the favourite of 3 out of 5 house members, but I was surprised by an outage and needed to get 1 “emergency” bottle. :0) )
Caribbean Chicken (from the deli, 150 grams for sandwiches) $2.65
Maple Sausage (375 g, 14 sausages)$3.99
Onions (x2) ($1.30/kg) $0.49
Minute Rice (bulk) $9.99 x2
Olafson Whole Wheat Pitas (pkg of 6) $3.99
(for homemade mini-pizzas)
Parsley $0.59
Cheemo Perogies $2.49 x3
Sliced Pepperoni for Pizza Making (from deli, 100 g) $1.32
Red Pepper (x1) ($6.57/kg) $1.68
Scott Paper Towels (pkg of 6) $4.99
(I also used a $1 coupon on the paper towels)
Shredded Mozzarella (400g)$7.49
Shreddies (620 g) $2.49
Sugar Peas (200g) $1.68
V8 Splash $2.46 + 0.20 deposit +0.02 recycle fee (store coupon) x2
(I buy V8 splash for my 2 younger, but mostly my middle who don’t like most fruit, it is hard to get their servings in)
Capellini pasta (450g) $1.99
( normally I won’t pay more than $1, but I needed it for a recipe)
Western Family Bathroom tissue (24 rolls) $9.99 (store coupon)
Western Family Creamed Corn $1.19 x2
Western Family granola bars $1.50 x2
Western Family sliced mushrooms (fresh, bulk pack) $3.99
Western Family Jungle Pals pasta $0.99 x2
(think Zoodles, we have this for lunch about once a month)
Eggs, large (12) $2.29
Western Family Linguine 900g $2.89
Western Family low salt bacon $3.99 x2
Western Family Peaches and Cream Corn, Frozen 1 kg $2.99 x2
Western Family Petit Peas, Frozen 1 kg $2.99 x3
Western Family Pineapple chunks, canned $1.09 x2
Western Family Rice Cereal (Rice Crispies) (700g)$3.49
Western Family Sierra Mix (trail mix,1 Kg) $7.69
Western Family tuna, canned $0.99 x2
Western Family white mushrooms, fresh $1.99
White Potatoes (5) ($2.16/kg) $3.05
Subtotal $239.01
Minus 4.59 coupons (fruit by the foot and scott paper towels)
Minus $35.16 (15% off Tuesday)
Balance Due $200.79
Second Stop: Safeway
Safeway soda crackers (900g) $3.67
Generic Frosted Flakes (bulk, in bag, 1 Kg) $4.99
Pecan Pieces (75g) $2.92
(once again for those cinnamon buns)
Trophy Munchie Mix (bag of dried fruit, I Kg) $4.99
Canada Dry Club Soda 2L bottle 3/$5.00 + 0.60 deposit +0.09 recycle fee
(this is hubby’s thing, I usually buy him 2 or 3 bottles at cheap grocery day for the month. Normally I get them at Save-On for $0.80 per 2L (no-name), but they were out this month)
Dare Bear Paws (banana bread) 2/$5.00
Dream Whip ( box with 4 envelopes)$3.69
Lean Cuisine frozen dinners 2/$7.00
(I stock up on these when they are on sale. I use them for the times when I am home alone and in a hurry and there are no leftovers – about once a month. Ie. When the kids sleepover at Grandma’s)
Snow White Large Eggs (12) $2.11
Lucerne Skim Milk 4L $4.23 +0.02 recycle fee
Lucerne 2% milk 4L x2 $4.23 +0.02 recycle fee
Imperial Soft Margarine $6.98 x2 (1.36 Kg each)Buy One Get one Free = 2/$6.98
Fantastik Brush $6.69
(Again not something I would normally get, but I had a coupon to get a free one)
60% whole wheat bread $1.69 x4
Olafsons Bagels $3.29
(I wouldn’t normally get bagels either but I needed something to use up the extra cream cheese from making the cinnamon buns! :0) )
Maple Leaf Country Kitchen Ham 800g $10.99
Imitation Crabmeat (454 g)$3.99
Bananas ($1.48/kg) $1.04
Red Seedless Grapes ($2.84/kg) $1.12
Seedless Watermelon($1.08/kg) $6.46
Romaine Lettuce 69 cents each x3
Minus $6.29 fantastik brush coupon
Minus $10.08 (10% off Tuesday)
Tax $0.45
Balance Due = $85.59
This month was kind of a “splurge” month for me somewhat. I am trying some new recipes this month and I find that that always makes the bill a little higher because until you have decided to use it as a “regular”, you don’t know how much to buy, how often, what the good prices are for those ingredients and you haven’t stocked up on them at best prices. I also haven’t spent very much in the last three months because I was too busy and therefore my stores of food at home were depleted so I had to spend a little extra this month. I won’t be able to keep it under $300 this month, because these two bills total $286.38. I will still need to buy about $64 more dollars on milk for the month and there will probably be another $30-40 in other items that are on sale when I make my milk trips
What I will likely feed my family this month:
Breakfast: we almost always eat cereal for breakfast. My mom comes for about one weekend a month and she makes pancakes or cream of wheat for breakfast while she is here. My oldest dd makes crepes about once a month.
Lunch: We often have leftovers for lunch. About 5-10 days we have sandwiches. Once a month we have Zoodles. Once or twice a month we have soup. About 3-6 times a month we have a “snacky lunch” (ie. Trail mix, crackers, fruit and veggies, etc.). My oldest and I will sometimes eat fried mushrooms on toast or make a crab-melt (artificial crab and cheese on toast) for lunch.
Suppers: Ham will last for three suppers. Hamburger Helper for one supper. Sweet and Sour Meatballs with rice for two. Meatloaf for two suppers. Sausage with Perogies or other for 3 suppers. Spaghetti with tomato sauce (no meat) for 2-3 suppers. Mini- pizzas for one supper. Fettucine Alfredo (no meat) for 2-3 suppers. Chicken Fingers for 2 suppers. Lasagna for 2-3 suppers. My mom comes once a month and puts all of my odds and ends together and makes fried rice which lasts us about 3 suppers. She also usually makes a Stir Fry that lasts us for 2-3 suppers. One supper is usually at my in-laws house. One supper the girls are gone and I will eat my Lean Cuisine.
I have mainly listed the meat above. With the meat, I usually serve rice, noodles, or perogies for the starch. For veggies, I serve whatever there is fresh, salad, or frozen or canned veggies. We have milk with every meal (my daughter would like to add, “This is probably why none of us have ever broken a bone”. :0) )
( I don’t have it on this month but most months we also have salmon for one night
New Recipes I am trying this month: This month I am making grilled potato fans as a side dish for one meal. I am making Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns as an extra. Mushroom Bacon Bites as a side/appetizer. Mushroom corn Casserole as a main dish. Oven Parmesan (potato) chips as a side.
How to save money on food:
1. Eat out rarely to never (you get used to it and then you don’t miss it)
2. We only order out about 2-3 times a year
3. Buy the majority of your groceries on customer appreciation/ discount day
4. Know your prices!
5. Shop around- when making my lists for cheap grocery day, I go through the flyers of all 4 grocery stores near me and make lists. I go to the 2 grocery stores that have the best deals for that week.
6. Also as cheap grocery day prep – clip coupons and go through them before you go ( I spend about 3-4 hours on cheap grocery day prep and the actual shopping part in total. The rest of the month is just short 20-30 minutes each time (about 5-6 times- every time we need more milk).
7. When there is a good bargain, stock up!
8. Always keep your eyes peeled for things that you will need, even if it is down the road (ie. sometimes I plan birthday parties for the kids for the weekend after cheap grocery day so I can get all the supplies at a discount or if you know there is a pot-luck or special occasion coming up, remember to include needed items on your cheap grocery day list.
9. Eat meatless suppers a couple times a week
10. Limit portions of meat on other nights. No-one truly needs to eat 9 oz. of meat or more in one sitting- blech!
