Have you seen the price of groceries lately?
In case you haven’t noticed groceries are astronomically expensive right now. Why is a 1lb clamshell of strawberries now $8.99 at regular price?! I remember paying half that just a few years ago.
Over the past 6 years of being a parent I’ve started to find ways to make the cost of groceries a little bit easier on our budget. We are an active family of four who primarily cooks at home and I don’t know about you, but trying to feed two growing boys is probably going to bankrupt me in a few years.
"Over the past 6 years of being a parent I’ve started to find ways to make the cost of groceries a little bit easier on our budget."
The tips I’m going to share will depend on where you live. I currently live in Calgary Alberta Canada. The options to save money on groceries may vary depending on where you live. But I do hope that this post helps you ease the pressure on your grocery bill a little bit.
You’ve probably seen those crazy couponing grocery hauls all over the internet or reality TV shows. You know, the ones where they collect and clip coupons for months and scour the flyers, intricately plan their shop and then walk out of the store paying $13.64 for what should have cost hundreds of dollars.
This is not that.
Not to say coupons aren’t helpful, but they are generally only available for packaged products. I’ve yet to see a coupon for fresh produce or protein. In our home, the majority of our grocery expenses come from fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, gluten free products (because I have Celiac Disease) and school safe snacks. Yes we buy packaged and frozen foods so coupons come in handy sometimes, but they're not a significant source of savings for our family.
TIP #1 - Price Matching
Price matching is when you show a lower competitor price of some item at a grocery store - say from a flyer - and you receive the item for the lower competitor price.
For example, if you do not want to travel from store to store just to find that item on sale, you can show the cashier the flyer for the sale price from another store and they will match the price. This is an important option for me as a legally blind person - I cannot drive from store to store looking for sales. Please note this does not apply for all grocery store chains. The stores that I shop at that accept price matching are Superstore (under the Loblaws brand) and Save On Foods. Safeway and Sobeys do not price match.
Another thing to note is that you must be price matching to stores that are in the same region. Last year our family took a trip to the mountains and stayed in a condo so we could cook some of our own meals. I sent my husband to Save On Foods to pick up some groceries with a list of items to price match but he wasn’t able to match most of them because the competitor’s store (a Loblaw’s chain) wasn’t in that town.
Let’s use the strawberries example I gave above - a 1lb clamshell of strawberries will often cost you up to $8.99 - THAT IS RIDICULOUS. These prices make it challenging for many families to buy fresh produce. I use an app called Flipp to check for a price match. I can often find some of the produce that I would like to purchase on sale at competitor’s stores in my area. Once I find the sale price, I take a screenshot and save it to my photos on my phone. When I get to the cashier I let them know I have an item (or items) to price match and show them the screenshot so they can adjust the price at the register. I don't go to the self checkout when I have items to price match because it usually takes more time waiting for the attendant to override the item price.
Here are a few things that MUST be included in your screenshot:
The item price - per item or per kilogram
The date of the sale
The competitor’s name
Instead of paying $7.99-$8.99 for a 1lb clamshell of strawberries, I usually only pay $3.49 to $5.99 depending on the sale. If I can’t get them on sale, I usually choose not to buy them.
Price matching works on more than just produce - I often use it use it for dairy products, milk alternatives, kid's snacks, cereal, canned goods and freezer products.
TIP #2 – Loyalty Points Programs
I use the loyalty points programs with PC Optimum (which includes Loblaws and Shoppers Drug Mart) and the More Rewards program at Save On Foods. I shop for items that I can earn points for and in turn, I use those points towards my grocery purchases. Each of these retailers has an app that you can use that provides general and personalized offers that are specific to you.
For example, this week on my PC Optimum app I can earn points on cucumbers, strawberries, and PC Organics toddler cereal bars. These are all items I buy on a regular basis, so it makes sense to also earn points on them for future grocery purchases at that store. All I have to do is open the app to load the offers to my account and scan my PC Optimum card (from the actual card or the app) and the points are added to my account after my purchase. NOTE - double check that your points actually are transferred for your purchase because they don't always show up as they're supposed to. If I won’t be shopping at Superstore during the week the offer is available, I save the offer(s) - up to 4 total - for the following week. The points in your account accumulate and once you have 10,000 points, you can save $10.00 on your groceries.
In the More Rewards app, I can upload offers to get items at a cheaper price then non-rewards members or earn extra points on items. For example, this week a 2lb bag of mixed bell peppers is regularly $7.99, but if I upload the offer in my app, I can buy the same bag of peppers for $3.99 when I scan my More Rewards card - saving me $4.00!
With More Rewards, you can also earn points to use to purchase items. For example, when I checked my app this week one brand of frozen pizza had a points promotion of "buy 2, get 2000 points". I loaded the offer and then checked for a price match and managed to get each pizza for $4.49 instead of $7.99 (that's a $7.00 savings for 2 pizzas) plus earned 2000 points towards future grocery purchases.
TIP #3 - Checkout 51
Checkout 51 is basically a cash back or rebate app. It provides cash back on popular household brands that include dairy products, beverages, frozen foods, self-care products, over-the-counter medications, cleaning products, pet food and baby items. When looking at the cash back offers, they include some offer details such as "Claim up to 5 times" or "Only available at (insert specific store)" so keep these in mind when you purchase.
For example, when you open the app you might see a $3.00 cash back offer on a specific brand of diapers. Once you purchase the specific brand and package size or volume of diapers you can upload a picture of your receipt into the app and receive the $3.00 cash back to your account. Once you have accumulated up to $20.00 in cash back you can apply to receive your money and Checkout 51 will send a cheque in the mail.
TIP #4 – Flashfood
Flashfood is an app that allows you to buy products that are almost at their best before date or that are not in perfect condition for the grocery store to sell on their shelves. This is also a great way for the stores to fight against food waste.
To use the app, open the app and select your region by using location setting or zooming in on your city/town on the map and selecting your area. You will see stores that are associated with Flashfood pop ups as shopping cart icons on a map. Select the store you would like to shop at and view the items they have posted to see if there's anything you are interested in purchasing. Flashfood often has fish, meat, breads, dairy products and produce that are nearing their best before dates for 50% of the regular price. Sometimes you can get a box of mixed produce for only $5.00 depending on the store you are searching and the day of the week.
For example, in Calgary, Alberta I can use the Flashfood app at Superstore. This week, the closest store to my house is offering produce boxes for $5.00 (that include carrots, celery, apples, box choi, fresh herbs and apples) loaves of bread, frozen fish and milk that expires in 5 days. Some of these items could be purchased for more than half the price and easily put right into your freezer until you’re ready to use.
So there you have it - 4 different ways to ease the pain of buying groceries in 2023. I hope that some of these tips are useful to you in the area you live and you can use some of your hard earned dollars on other necessary expenses or to put towards making some memories with your family.
You can follow me on Instagram to see more of my grocery saving (and fitness) tips!