With the cost of groceries burning a hole in everyone’s pockets, a Canadian family of five has managed to keep their grocery bill below $800 per month.
Thorine Newman and her family, including her husband and three children (ages five, 10, and 12), live in Grande Prairie, Alberta, and use a variety of methods to keep their grocery bills impressively low.
With a budget of $800, it works out to about $160 per month per person and less than $3 per meal.
Buying in bulk is one of her best tips for keeping the budget so low.
“I try to meal plan for two weeks at a time and can usually stretch groceries to about three weeks, other than the odd jug of milk,” the savvy shopper told Daily Hive.
Items she buys in bulk include potatoes, vegetables, pasta, and meat from a local farmer.
“Most of our beef is farm to table,” she mentioned.
Though it’s a hefty cost up-front (about $1,200 for half a cow, Newman said), it works out to about $2.50 per pound, far below the price at the grocery stores.
However, you’ll want to invest in a large freezer if you plan to buy beef in bulk.
Apps, flyers and deals
Newman uses apps such as Flipp, which lets you browse weekly grocery flyer deals to find the best price on grocery items.
If she comes across bargains that are hard to beat, such as case lots of canned vegetables, she’ll scoop them up regardless if they’re on the grocery list.
“It might not be something that we will use in the next week or two, but it’s on sale, so you kinda stock up on it,” she said.
Planning and prep
A lot of prep work and planning goes into making three home-cooked meals daily for a family of five. Meals are planned two to three weeks in advance, using a whiteboard in the pantry.
“We go through, and it’s like, ‘Okay, we’re having shepherd’s pie. We’ve got lots of potatoes, lots of frozen vegetables and lots of ground beef.’”
Newman, who works in childcare, meal preps as much as she can on Sundays, and often has leftovers that can be frozen and reheated for later to make life easier throughout the week.
Her last tip? Skip the expensive snacks at the grocery store.
“With our kids, we find that if we feed them more of those whole, nutrient-dense foods, you’re not paying for the treats,” Newman said.
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What are some of your favourite tips for reducing your grocery bill? Let us know in the comments.