5 Ways to Budget for Groceries and Save Money For Canadians

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In the last year, food prices in Canada have gone up 10% and in the previous two years almost 15%. We are constantly hearing on the news about inflation and reading online about the constant rise of prices for gas, food, and becoming a homeowner.

And a person might ask themself, how in the world am I supposed to afford to live in this economy? How can I continue to work and provide for my family when my money disappears into the black hole of inflation?

Well, you might be surprised but there is one way you can save hundreds of dollars each month and that is budgeting for your groceries. And not only will you save hundreds of dollars by following the tips written below but you will also lessen the stress you feel when shopping for food for your family.

5 Ways to Budget and Save Money on Groceries

1. Set a Weekly Limit to Spend Each Week on Groceries

First, begin by finding out how much you spend on groceries each month. You can do that by tracking your spending. Once you know on average what you spend at the grocery store decide on an amount you want to stick to each month. Then divide that amount per week.

Ask yourself a few questions before you set your weekly grocery limit. Am I overspending on groceries? Am I living outside of my means to pay for groceries? If you answer yes to these questions then you need to lower your grocery limit to an amount that you can afford with your income.

Do not drastically lower your grocery spending limit and slash it in half. Instead, set a challenging but realistic amount that keeps you within your means but won’t burn you out.

Once you know how much you can spend on groceries per week you will automatically become more mindful of how you shop at the grocery store because you know the set amount of money you have to work with.

2. Put A System into Place to Stick to Your Weekly Grocery Budget

Photo by Arina Krasnikova

I know there are some who prefer to do a monthly grocery shop or a “bigger” grocery shop but if you are struggling to control your spending at the grocery store and you constantly find yourself overspending dividing your monthly grocery budget into a weekly one is the best way to stay true to your limit.

Because I don’t know about you but I’d spend that monthly limit within the first 2-3 weeks and have nothing left for the remainder of the month and then be tempted to overspend. But if I divide it weekly and stay within that weekly limit I will always have enough for every week of the month.

Let’s say you budget $1000 per month. You now have $250 dollars per week to spend on groceries. So how do you stick to this amount and not overspend?

The best budgeting system you can use is the Envelope System. You have one envelope just for your grocery budget. Within the envelope, you can keep the cash allotted for your grocery shop for the week. If you don’t want to do cash then you can use the envelope to keep your receipts.

On the envelope, you write your allotted amount for the week, and every time you go to the grocery store you subtract what you spent from that amount. I highly encourage you to try and go to the grocery store only on your allotted grocery day. It keeps you from going back and spending way more than you intended for the week.

At the end of the month, I have an envelope with all of my spending recorded and all of my receipts in one place. I keep this envelope tucked away in my little planner which stays in my purse.

Every single time I make a purchase I religiously record it and tuck away my receipt. Every week I know exactly what I have left to spend or not to spend.

It’s just a simple step in your budgeting journey that can help you visually see your spending and physically track it. It has helped me stay true to my grocery limit week by week and month by month without fail and I know it will do the same for you!

3. Meal Plan to Save Money On Groceries

Photo by Yaroslav Shuraev

Once you have set a budget limit on groceries per week you need to put into practice the habit of meal planning. I don’t know about you but if I don’t meal plan I spend a ton of money on food and still stare into my fridge and pantry wondering what to make for dinner each night.

And I’m tempted to eat out or go to the grocery store before grocery day to buy more food. And that’s where I go over my weekly grocery limit. Meal planning not only saves you money but also helps you feel organized and on top of cooking for your family.

I know exactly what meals I can make for my family each day and that all of the ingredients are in my home. It really lifts a burden off of my shoulders each evening.

So what is the best way to meal plan to save money? The best way is to first before you make your grocery list, take an inventory of all the food you currently have in your fridge, pantry, and freezer. Once you know what food is currently in your home and what needs to be used up create some meals from your inventory list.

Second, search the store flyers for any sales and make the remainder of your meal plans based on the store sales. For example, if chicken is on sale then look up a recipe that contains chicken and include that meal for your week. Or, spaghetti sauce is 4 cans for $5 then stock up on some spaghetti sauce and make pasta for dinner.

Always write your grocery list around what you need for your meal plans. And then add in all the things you need outside of meals. Stick to your list and I promise you will spend less money on groceries and you will feel like you have way more food in your home for the week.

4. Price Match and Stock Up On Sales

The first thing to do after taking an inventory of your groceries and meal plan around that inventory is to check the sales. The Flipp app is the best way to check sales and price match.

After I meal plan around what is already in my home I then plan the rest of my meals and grocery list around the sales. When I shop around the sales my main priority is to find good deals on produce, meat, and dairy.

I don’t worry so much about what I like to call the “fluff” in flyers. All the little boxes of “for sale” items that really don’t make or break your budget. Many of those items can be bought for cheap if you just buy the store brand such as Selection, PC, or Noname (And currently all NoName brands have a price freeze on them until Jan 2023).

So, if I see chicken on sale I plan some meals around chicken. Chicken Fajitas and Chicken Caesar wraps are some of my favourite easy recipes that don’t require using a ton of chicken.

If the deal is really good then I will buy more than one package of chicken to stock up. So that if there isn’t a good sale for a few weeks time I can use the chicken I stocked up on instead of paying full price.

Same with pork and ground beef. No Frills often has amazing sales on pork loins. Whenever it is on sale I stock up and keep it in the freezer for whenever I want to make some pulled pork or pork chops for later weeks.

Now, the beauty of price matching is that you don’t have to wait for a particular item to go on sale at your chosen grocery store. You can check the Flipp app and search “ground beef” to see if it is on sale at other stores.

I’ve actually just gotten in the habit of checking the flyers for Food Basics, Walmart, and Superstore to price match their sales at No Frills. No Frills is kinda picky about what stores they price match. But I know that these stores are always included.

So I’ll scroll through those store flyers real quick and “clip” the sales that I want to price match. Always just looking at their first two pages which are the actual good deals until you hit the “fluff” that comes after. Then I’ll write up the remainder of my meals and grocery list based on those sales.

When I head to the store I always remember to have my cellphone on me where I have the Flipp App and all my clippings ready to show the cashier and get the sale price.

Shopping the sales and price matching will save you money and help you have a nice stockpile of food to fall back on when prices are way too high. It takes a bit more time and energy before you head to the grocery store but it is well worth it when you can stay within your means and still provide great meals for your family.

5. Take Advantage of the PC Optimum Program

Photo by Ylanite Koppens

The PC Optimum program works for Canadian grocery stores such as Loblaws, The Real Canadian Superstore, and No Frills. When you sign up for the PC Optimum program you can download their app and start getting personalized offers that give you points.

You can use these points towards your grocery bill. 10, 000 PC points is $10 and it can add up pretty fast if you know how to take advantage of the deals. Some ways to take advantage of the PC Optimum program are:

Check your weekly offers in the PC Optimum App. Every week you can load personalized offers that offer you points for food items you normally buy on a regular basis. For example, I get personalized offers for the same brand of bread I buy every week. For every dollar I spend on bread I get 200 pts. If you aren’t planning on buying that item for the week you can choose to “save” it for the following week. You can save your deals for as many weeks as you need. That way, when there is a sale you can use your deal and stock up on your item and your points.

Use the PC deal offers in your store flyer. On top of your personalized offers store flyers such as No Frills often has deals where you can snag 2000-6000 points. The most common deal that you will see every week is for produce. If you buy 4 of a combination of peppers, avocado, grape tomatoes, and broccoli then you get 4000 points. Another popular deal is if you spend $30 dollars on fresh poultry you get 6000 points. You need to look through the flyer to discover these deals. I often take advantage of them for my meal planning and stocking up on meat.

Check your email for special promotions. Often PC will send you specialized emails offering you a code that will gain you a large number of points. The offer I normally receive is if I spend at least $100 on groceries for pickup or delivery I will get 25,000 points as long as I include the code in my online order. That’s 25 dollars just for doing my grocery shopping online! So make sure to check your email each week along with checking your PC Optimum app for offers.

Save on Groceries to Save Money During Inflation

From doing these tips I have saved hundreds of dollars on groceries each month. Not only do I save money but I feel a sense of control over my budget and over what I spend on food each week. I’m able to cook homemade meals on a budget and stay within my means.

Gone are the days when I would swipe my credit card just to be able to feed my family. I now stock up my pantry and freezer and not only save money but also make money with the PC Optimum program.

The stress I used to feel when paying for my groceries at the till is gone. Instead, I feel peace and gratitude that I know what I can afford for my family to eat each week.

Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions about budgeting for groceries and I’d love to answer them!

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