Do you know your grocery total before you get to the till?

[RootofGood]

FWIW, I'm still trying to get over the concept of $3.99 for 12 eggs.  That sucks.

Welcome to Canada?  I was shocked at some of the prices there, too when we visited.  To the point of just not buying some things.  Cheese is another one.  Seems like at least double the US prices. 

[1967mama]

This made me LOL! We only eat sandwiches about once a week. Most days it's leftovers from dinner the night before or homemade soup from stock I've made. Don't worry, we don't go through vats of mayonnaise each week ;-)

[Spudd]

Sobeys and Superstore are expensive. Do you have any of the following in your neighbourhood? Freshco (the cheap Sobeys), Food Basics (the cheap Metro), or No Frills (the cheap Loblaws)? I believe Valumart is also a cheaper Loblaws although I haven't shopped there much, so I don't really know.

When you look at your grocery receipt, you should see each item will either have nothing beside it, or a letter (after the price). If there's a letter, that means it's taxable. G means GST and P or H means provincial or HST. Normally only processed foods are taxable, staples like produce, meat, dairy are not taxable.

You can also analyze your bills after each trip and see where the majority of your money was spent. Then you can focus on figuring out how to reduce these.

For example, for meats, we like to make stir-fry and will use 1 chicken breast for the 2 of us, chopped up in the stir-fry. If we were having a plain chicken breast with side dishes, we would each want one, but we're able to use less by making it an ingredient rather than the main event.

[TrMama]

You're absolutely on the right track. You'll get those food costs down eventually, it will just take some time and effort to change your, and your children's food tastes. Cabbage, potatoes, carrots and all the fun chinese vegetables are decently priced right now. At least here in BC, where many of the grocery chains are running Chinese New Year promos.

If you can manage to shop at Superstore more often, sign up for their Mastercard. It earns points for every dollar you spend which you can redeem at the till when you buy groceries. Also sign up for PC Plus to earn extra points on things you actually buy. My food budget is $600/mo for 2 adults and 2 kids and one of the reasons I'm able to keep it this "low" are those PC programs.

[Goldielocks]

The only way I could TRULY get to a new grocery spending "automatic" level, was to use a monthly cash allowance for a few months.

1) I take $200 cash to the grocery store.   
2) Running total in your head what things are costing. (just like you)
3) Load the cashier conveyor with the optional items last.
4) When the total was $223.59, I would reach over and remove the pickles, strawberries, barbeque sauce, and other non-essentials, until the total was under $200. 

I only needed to do this about 4 times in the first 3 months to help figure it out.  By then my tastes and eating habits had changed and I could recognize the splurges on my list. (yogurt, many fresh veggies and fruits, baked goods, anything with a box / label)

What I next learned to do, was figure out the true cost of my usual menus / meals, and began to view some foods (strawberries) as treats.   Think about "cost per serving".    Also I started a price book so that I could know what a good price looks like.

Yesterday, I went to the store, and I had "veggies" on my list.  Well, with broccoli at $2.23 per lb, lettuce at $1.79 for a tiny head, english cucumber at $2 each, and even winter squash at $1.59 per lb, I did not buy much variety, and I was tired of cabbage and have carrots already.

Instead, I left with a 10 lb bag of potatoes, 10 lb bad of onions, garlic, celery at $1.79 per 1.5 lbs (flavour and fresh this was the treat)... ...  AND bagged Sunkist oranges and bagged apples which were seasonally low at $1 per lb, down about $0.70/lb from usual.   I noticed my parsley running over the garden this morning, too, so that will help.

The fresh veggy prices in Canada in Jan / Feb are outrageous.  The quality of some of them right now is marginal too (Mexico is FAR, FAR away).  At these GD prices, if I am willing to pay for fresh instead of frozen, I would actually up the cost and go organic to at least get something very lovely quality, and call it a treat.

[hunniebun]

@Root of Good - Cheese is also very expensive here, but does tend to go on sale a lot (still not as cheap at the states, but better than usual). It is also super popular with the kids!
@1967Mama - I agree that the food restrictions are beyond ridiculous.  They have taken it to the extreme and banned all food that even one child in the school has an allergy to.  My daughters day care, has all the same bans as my son's school...but it also has a ban on pineapple and soy.  It isn't as much of an issue because they provide all the food, but it really limits the variety.  But it is what it is and there is nothing that will change it. 
@spudd - I have none of those grocery stores in my area. Ranging from least to most expensive is Costco (25 minutes), Superstore (12 minutes), Sobey's (2-3 minutes) Safeway (2-3) and Marketplace (Coop, which seems like it would be cheap but is the most expensive of all them) (1 minute). None of the one's you mentioned are even in my city. There is one discount store called price chopper I think, but it is a 45 minute drive away.  I live a a major city and our options seem very limited - there is safeway or a sobeys (who are both owned by the same company now, so virtually the same) on every corner. 

[KMMK]

If you can manage to shop at Superstore more often, sign up for their Mastercard. It earns points for every dollar you spend which you can redeem at the till when you buy groceries. Also sign up for PC Plus to earn extra points on things you actually buy. My food budget is $600/mo for 2 adults and 2 kids and one of the reasons I'm able to keep it this "low" are those PC programs.

Yes, definitely get the Superstore Mastercard. We get 1-2% back, plus the PC Plus coupon things. It's so hard to get coupons in Canada and they are actually on things you buy - produce and such - not just brand name processed foods. Some of the deals last week were 20% off.

I don't have any of those stores someone else mentioned either. Walmart is the closest for us, so we go there for some things, and Superstore for our bigger trips. Rarely Sobeys or Safeway. We have an Extrafoods as well (Superstore company) but I haven't checked it out. Food is definitely expensive here. And those school restrictions are crazy.

We spend about $600 a month for two produce-loving adults in Winnipeg, plus about $40 on eating out. I know we could do better, but my husband prefers certain convenience foods that are pricey.  And I have my weaknesses as well. Luckily our income is high enough that we can spend that kind of money. It's not worth straining the marriage over. We both buy what we want. I think I could probably get down to $200 a month for just myself if I was more careful, but I can't see lower than that and still get healthy food.

What I did last fall, and may help you next year, is stock up on freezable veggies at the farmer's market. The prices were quite good, so I bought extra cabbage and zucchini (I know - I should have found some zucchini for free but it didn't come up) and froze a whole bunch. I just use it for curry and soup, so I don't care that it gets a bit mushy. I got a huge amount of cheap apples as well, and sauced most of them. Next year I'll try to get even more cheaper, local produce.

And no, I don't know how much my groceries will cost before I get to the till. Unless there's a superstore deal - buy $250 and get $25 back or something like that, then we try to keep track. But like others have said I do get a feel for what items are good deals.

[Silverwood]

Hearing that you spend 600 on your groceries makes me feel a lot better about how much I'm spending. I'm in Winnipeg too.  I try to stay dairy/nightshades/gluten free as I feel better without. However that makes it expensive as I'm eating more veggies. Rice is my filler food.  Not a lot of variety compared to others but food isn't my entertainment.

I've switched to mostly frozen veggies cause I feel like the fresh ones don't last. I try to keep to my budget but if I see something on sale I'll stock up. I don't usually keep track of my total but I plan to now!  :)

Oh and I'll shop at family foods even tho its expensive because I can walk there. 

[Primm]

I'm usually pretty close. Today I had $35 out of my purse and it was $36.10. Mildly annoying because I didn't have any more change and had to give them a $50 creating even more change. Oh well, it's in my jar now.

[Zikoris]

Yeah, we generally know pretty close to the amount, because we rarely buy more than a few things at a time. Typical weekly shop is $20-$40, plus Costco where we only buy one or two things at a time, plus grabbing a few vegetables here and there. Sometimes we use a calculator if we need to make sure we hit a certain amount.

[Goldielocks]

Thank you for the suggestions Mama1967 - Those are good lunch ideas for at home...but this is a list of banned items at school All tree nuts, peanuts, all fish (so no tuna, salmon etc.), all shell fish (nothing with shrimp or scallops etc.), and eggs (which means no mayo since it is made with egg). 

Here here!  we had the same restrictions, plus kiwi, citrus, sesame, etc.   not all in the same year, but pretty close (only two classes per grade.)   Lots of home made cheese sticks  (breaddough wrapped around cut cheese, sometimes with pizza sauce, and baked.  Homemade pudding and granoloa bars, carrots and celery.  raisins.  pepporoni sticks (ugh),
I did buy the imitation crab chunks, which are not too smelly and cost about the same as ham, and no one noticed.

One year we found out that my nieces could not bring peanut butter because the TEACHER was allergic, an no one else.   It was a grade 4 class too, so not too much smearing going on.   

At least by grade 6 most parents with kids with milder allergies give up, so only fish, allnuts and sesame remained banned.  High school - anything goes again.

[Catomi]

I did buy the imitation crab chunks, which are not too smelly and cost about the same as ham, and no one noticed.

Just so you know, the imitation crab is usually made with fish, so if you can't bring fish then you can't bring imitation crab.

I'm not looking forward to navigating allergies in school lunches in a couple of years.

[Goldielocks]

I did buy the imitation crab chunks, which are not too smelly and cost about the same as ham, and no one noticed.

Just so you know, the imitation crab is usually made with fish, so if you can't bring fish then you can't bring imitation crab.

I'm not looking forward to navigating allergies in school lunches in a couple of years.

I know. I cheated. I thought the rules were extreme and we were not feeding anyone else. If a kid has a life event due to traces of fish from surimi (original term for what this really is) that may be on my kids fingers.. I don't think so.   At least the no dairy parents don't insist on a ban unless super life threat is involved. 
I figured that my kid's asthma and grass allergy was more severe than some of these kids foods, but I don't ban outdoor shoes from entering classroom. Even if he was not allowed out on some days himself.

[Catomi]

I did buy the imitation crab chunks, which are not too smelly and cost about the same as ham, and no one noticed.

Just so you know, the imitation crab is usually made with fish, so if you can't bring fish then you can't bring imitation crab.

I'm not looking forward to navigating allergies in school lunches in a couple of years.

I know. I cheated. I thought the rules were extreme and we were not feeding anyone else. If a kid has a life event due to traces of fish from surimi (original term for what this really is) that may be on my kids fingers.. I don't think so.   At least the no dairy parents don't insist on a ban unless super life threat is involved. 
I figured that my kid's asthma and grass allergy was more severe than some of these kids foods, but I don't ban outdoor shoes from entering classroom. Even if he was not allowed out on some days himself.

Out of curiosity, do you know how severe the allergies were, for them to institute a ban? I would think they wouldn't do that unless the allergy was severe. And while it's annoying to have to figure out lunches that meet the requirements, I can virtually guarantee you that it's more than annoying for the kid with the allergy and their parents.

[MPS]

I know within a couple of dollars by the time I check out. 

My method (here we have a sales tax on food of 2%) is to round everything I put in the cart up to the nearest dollar, and I've learned to subtract $1 for every $50 worth of groceries in the cart to get closer.  In your case (13% OUCH) I'd add a buck every $20 and see how close it comes, then adjust the adjustment on your next trip until you get within a buck or two at checkout.

I like doing it this way because I don't have to keep an exact total in my head as I go.

[sky_northern]

+1 for no GST on real food, so that shouldn't be a issue.

Sometimes I'll do a quick rounding up to the dollar count of what things cost, but most of the time I just buy without looking at the price - this is a habit I need to get out of. But I have a bad memory for numbers so I can never remember if anything is a 'good price'.

I agree with poster that said parents decide what to serve and kids can decide to eat it or not, and this is a classic example of why my bill is so high. My kids prefer berries and grapes to apples and oranges and banana's, which are clearly seasonal and much more expensive in winter. This is a habit I will have to break. 

Yeah get your kids to eat bananas and apples. They are just as yummy. Make sure you get good eating apples (not cooking apples). Oranges are good to. When my nieces and nephews were visiting over Christmas I bough a (to me a huge) bunch of bananas and a box of mandarin oranges. They 5 of them devoured them in 2 days. They are crazy fruit-eating machines. 3/5 of them also love Brussels sprouts, so they may be weird kids.

[sweetproserpina]

hunniebun- not sure where you are in Canada, I'm in Ontario (where prices are a bit lower than they are in BC),

Couple things to help you quick!

Don't buy your butter at Sobey's or RCSS. Even on their best sales, they might have butter for 2.99/pound. Buy your butter when you go stock up at Costco. Their regular price is 2.85/pound. Butter freezes beautifully so stock up (I might buy ten at a time), and store them in the freezer until you need them :)

Cheese on the other hand can be beat by RCSS and on the very rare occasion Sobey's. When bar cheese goes on sale at RCSS they might have it for 4.44, or 4.50 a bar. Stock up :) I might buy five or six at minimum. Check those expiry dates- that cheese is good for at least 6 months in that package! Very easy to keep at the back of the fridge.

Fruit for little ones: I hear ya! I have a 4 and 1 year old and they eat fruit like it's going out of style. Grapes at this time of year are a very special treat.. I bought one bag before Christmas and it was over 8$!! Ack! Same with berries, one of those little clamshells from California would last about 2 minutes in their little hands. I buy big bags of frozen blueberries at Costco and they love eating them frozen or in their cereal/yogurt/oatmeal. Much, much cheaper than buying fresh. If you are in BC, buy fresh blueberries in season and freeze them yourself, or upick with the kiddos and they can stuff themselves full then :) We do that at the strawberry fields. One caveat to berries.. occasionally crazy good sales (loss leaders) in berries will occur here in the winter, Food Basics around here is having strawberries for 1.88 next week. So, I will buy a few boxes and let them at 'em. A nice surprise treat when it's -17 outside. This time of year the kiddos eat apples, pears, clementines, bananas, frozen berries and frozen mangos, home-canned pears and peaches, and dried fruit like raisins, craisins, and apricots. Hothouse cukes, and carrots are also popular.

Eggs- think of unconventional places to buy them. Shopper's Drug Mart very often has them for 1.99/dozen, eggs last a long time in the fridge, so once again, stock up! Lol...

A great Canadian site for coupons/deals/early flyers etc. is called Smart Canucks, I have learned tons there..

Hope that helps!

ps. usually I have a rough number of how much my grocery bill will be, because I shop from a list which are either specials, or staples that I buy all the time. However, there are times when I have to add up my receipt afterwards and own up to spending way over what I thought! Oops!

[Goldielocks]

I did buy the imitation crab chunks, which are not too smelly and cost about the same as ham, and no one noticed.

Just so you know, the imitation crab is usually made with fish, so if you can't bring fish then you can't bring imitation crab.

I'm not looking forward to navigating allergies in school lunches in a couple of years.

I know. I cheated. I thought the rules were extreme and we were not feeding anyone else. If a kid has a life event due to traces of fish from surimi (original term for what this really is) that may be on my kids fingers.. I don't think so.   At least the no dairy parents don't insist on a ban unless super life threat is involved. 
I figured that my kid's asthma and grass allergy was more severe than some of these kids foods, but I don't ban outdoor shoes from entering classroom. Even if he was not allowed out on some days himself.

Out of curiosity, do you know how severe the allergies were, for them to institute a ban? I would think they wouldn't do that unless the allergy was severe. And while it's annoying to have to figure out lunches that meet the requirements, I can virtually guarantee you that it's more than annoying for the kid with the allergy and their parents.

Ha!  I can pretty much guarantee that the egg, fish and fruit allergies were not severe.   The moms' (two) with the severe peanuts and sesame allergies would bring it up in a nice way when parents were waiting for kids, or whenever, so you knew these were strong, go to the emergency if you can't find the epipen.

One mom admitted in grade 4 that their son did not have peanut allergies, but wanted to be extra careful because her nephew did.  Another parent took away the egg and citrus ban in grade 5 or 6 saying that  "it is only a problem if my son eats it, but someone else in the class can eat it no problem"  (I think it was a digestive intolerance distress, only -  not life threatening). 

The point is that in Canadian schools, pretty much any food gets banned at the drop of a hat or simple note from the parent.  They (school) actively ask in first grade what kids are allergic to (without stating the food ban consequences), so parents think it is just for the class party potluck list, not lunches.  Once on the list, you have to take initiative to remove it.

As to making lunches around allergies, I definitely agree to do it on principle, however far too many items are on the allergy list through GRADE 7!!   If a 10 year old can not figure out how to not eat something, or  pick where they want to sit (away from the egg salad eater), something is wrong.

Imagine lunch restrictions on all of the following at the same time: 
All of these have appeared on my lists, and none of them are unusual.  Usually some for my DD lunch and others for my DS,  but that is getting worse, as if there is one kid, if they share a music room, then the food is banned across many classes.

1) All fish & Shellfish
2) Sesame  (think many crackers, hummus, etc is banned)
3) All dairy  (trace milk allergies are brutal for the kid, when severe)
4) Strawberries, kiwi, citrus, bananas
5) Peanuts & peanut oil
6) Nuts
7) Eggs
8) Sugary foods / drinks / snacks including many granola bars (Teacher  / principal specific health initiatives)
9) No heated foods  (no microwave or hot water available)
10)Need to eat in under 15 minutes

and your kid has digestive trouble with wheat breads and soy, and you prefer not to buy bologna and cheap pepperoni too often.
and you are watching the budget.

What do you serve?  Cold chickpeas and lettuce  wrapped on a corn tortilla?, carrots with ranch dip, apple.    Homemade muffins, maybe..
How many kids want that every day...?     I know lunch was often more like a snack to my DS, with a bigger meal at home after school.