How to Save Money while Shopping at the Top Grocery Stores in Canada

Saving money on grocery shopping is the first thing on every one's list. An average Canadian spends about 13% of their monthly income on grocery items. With the cost of food items rising each month, keeping the cost low is a daunting task for households. If you’re worried about paying much more than you should for groceries this This guide will give you strategies to complete your grocery shopping on a budget! Read on to find out more about how to save money each month.

Plan Your Meals to Save Money

If you plan your weekly meals, the practice can help you save a ton of money by the end of the month. The task is simple and all you need to do is make a list of your meals for the week and shop for it more preferably on a discount day of the week. Planning a week’s meals will help you reduce wasting food. You can use the leftovers for your meal like turning leftover chicken from the roast into a stew or using the bones or carcass for a broth or as a soup.

Buy Generic or non-Branded Food Items

Did you know that you could save up almost 20% on your grocery bill if you purchase non-branded food items? Buying produce from the local farmers market is another great to way to save big! Choose generic brands for staples like salt, bleach, flour, sugar, rice, pasta, and bread. Most brands at stores like Costco, FoodFresh, and Walmart have similar quality and similar quantity but generic brands can help you save considerable amount of money.

Choose a Discount Grocery Store

To keep yourself from overspending, choose a discount grocery store like NoFrills. Apart from discount stores, you can choose to pay a visit to other non-branded stores in your local neighbourhood. If a discount store is not near your neighbourhood, taking an Uber or driving back home with your groceries isn’t that expensive. If you have your own car, going to a cheaper NoFrills is a better option.

Saving Money on Proteins

Proteins and produce are the most expensive items on every grocery list. You have to buy bread, lean meats like chicken, fish for a healthy diet but they cost money check the local flyers for November for discounts on lean meats to get the best bargain. Another expensive item on the list is the eggs and fresh produce. These food items are pricier items in every store you can still save money and get a quality protein and produce at a discount.

Instead of going for the lean meat, choose the fatty cuts of meat that you can clean up later at home. A lean cut will set you back to about $15.36 while a fattier cut will cost you $12.24.  Instead of going for the premium cuts, befriend your butcher and request him to process your meat through the tenderizer and turn a tough cut into a tender cut and save some cash.

We hope that the money saving strategies discussed here will help you reduce your monthly grocery bill to a great extent. Do remember that when you buy clean and expensive meat, the price includes the butcher’s time and effort as well. But, if you do the prep work at home you will end up having more money towards the end of the week.