Readers Lindsay and Carla thought it would be interesting to have a poll about what Canadian families spend each month on groceries. I thought this was a great idea, so I made up a poll!
Now, I’m not entirely sure if we’ll get the results we’re looking for as I couldn’t figure out a way to combine the family size with the grocery budget question. (If you have any brilliant ideas, let me know!) Since most families budgets vary a great deal and one family of four may spend $200 and another may spend $1000 a month.
I imagine the poll will still be insightful!
[polldaddy poll=5039436]
[polldaddy poll=5039444]
The other idea I had was to create another poll in Google Docs and then share the results with you all after a couple of days. Let me know what you think.
Please feel free to leave a comment about your grocery budget and family size if you feel so inclined!
My family eats out constantly and also has expensive snack foods bat home that I often live off of. We are eating poorly and spending an insane amount. My husband alone spends $900.00 per month on food. Myself and 2 children another $1240 per month. Thats $2140.00 per month on food. My parents worked long hours and I never learnt how to cook. When I first moved out and was poor I ate canned vegatbles and frozen chicken. Now I have no idea how to get the spending down. I dont have the time or the knowledge to cook healthy meals on a regular basis. Any suggestions?
We are a family of four (two adults, two teens). I just looked at our bank statements for the last three months and added up and averaged all the purchases made at Safeway, Costco, Walmart and Sobeys. This summer we spent an average of – get ready for this – $1200 per month. I think the problem for us is four different schedules, four different diets. I eat lean, fresh and healthy, daughter’s a vegetarian, husband and son are carnivores. Everyone’s on the go all the time. I shop for convenience while trying to be health conscious (avid label reader) and please everyone at the same time. This is about 20% of our income right now. Crazy, huh?
Family of 2 who are mostly vegetarian. $100 / month groceries, household items, and toiletries. Living in urban Alberta. I cook gourmet meals and don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. We have a bread maker and soy milk maker which helps with $ savings. Eat out out 2x / month $60-80.
We are a family of 5 – one has moved out but comes home several times a week and eats. We do shop Costco every 2 or 3 months and then buy all fresh food at local stores plus have our backyard garden every summer. Our average monthly is $800 and I feel this could be trimmed. We buy beef maybe 3 times a year – not big red meat eaters at all. We try very hard to stay away from processed food – too expensive and not healthy – but as someone else said earlier, teens do like the KD and cheese slices. I wish I could get into coupons but so far I just can’t find the time to do it. If I didn’t have to work my full time job, my husband also works, and have a family, I feel we would do better in all aspects of our family life but you can not survive in the middle class today with one job in the family.
For myself only. My goal is for health perfection, so you need to consider this. For the most part I don’t buy commercial products. My goal is to eat 100% organic. I only drink spring water in glass bottles, which costs me about $156 per month (mountain valley spring water).
Total groceries is $780 per month plus about $40 in air miles dollars for myself. I don’t eat out and I don’t drink or smoke. I eat about 1500 calories per day. My favorite foods are grass-fed ground beef and chicken, wild rice, walnuts, raw cheese, raspberries, fresh vegetables and fruits. I don’t eat grain products other than wild rice.
Lov this poll! I wanted to have an idea of what I was spending…turns out I am not doing to bad lol. We are a family of 5 (2 adults, 7 year old, 6 year old and 7 month old.) I spend $650/ month on groceries..which is everything diapers, formula etc. laundry soap, hairspray etc. We are a homeschool family…so we are home eating. I don’t do alot of couponing….I just DONT use most of the coupon products. I DO use flyers sales. I LIVE at costco! I shop once a month (menu plan for a month) and buy my milk and fresh fruit every week. We have a budget of about $120/month eat out money.
I have moved from texas to ontario 2 years ago…then from ontario to new brunswick last year. So I have noticed my grocery bill climb. (i am originally from ontario and my husband nb). Texas a gallon of milk was $1.99, ontario $3.99 and new brunswick is $5.96..yikes. CRAZY! New Brunswick way more expensive than Ontario. Texas i could generously feed my family of 4 (then) for $350/ month…but i spent $400… and that was buying organic milk…CRAZY!
LOV THIS FRUGAL WEBSITE….GOD BLESS
Anyone have any suggestions for me !! Wow im spending way too much on groceries… I live in ontario, im a single mother with a 14 yr old and a 17 yr old. On average i can spend anywhere from 250 – 300$ week on groceries…. Of course that is when i have the money. Are we eating too much ? I read all the flyers and try to buy sale items. What should i be spending on groceries ? Oh i also have a dog and two cats and there food is added in the groceries.
My best advice:
Stop buying convenience foods and start cooking. You pay top dollar for frozen meals and junk food that are generally not healthy choices anyway. Get familiar with the food items that are costing you the most. Assess what foods are essential and what ones are luxury. Make a grocery list ahead of time and stick to it. Set a budget and stick with it. It may mean forgoing a favourite item here or there, which tests your ability to delay gratification… a necessary step to reduce expenses and start saving money. Imagine what an extra $600 / month can do for your bank account. Believe me it is possible. I spend $100 / month for 2 adults.
– From a reformed spender extraordinaire (and former Ontario resident) – to a now much healthier, wealthier and happier individual 🙂
That’s presumptuous. Cathy made no mention that she was buying convenience foods…
Hello Dallas
If your at home on the weekends it would be a great time to try a simple recipe. Looking for inexpensive meal plans and grocery lists online to send to your email is the easiest way to go.
If your pickier you could register for a cooking class.
This is a total bummer for me. We are a family of 4 (2 adults + 2 & 4 yr old girls). We spend over $1000 mth in the Burlington, Ontario region (everything included). We have flash frozen meat delivered to us once a year (AAA grade, grain fed) and that costs us $260 mth alone which is typically a good savings in terms of meat pricing. I’m trying to find ways to get my wife to cut down on the spending. Maybe we are doing it all wrong and need to explore other ways to save such as buying in bulk. Perhaps a Costco membership is the answer? Coupons? Walmart is much like Costco now. Some of the prices are good and others are terrible.
We should all be involved in forums to bang heads on “how to save” as opposed to polls that just show how much people are spending… As you can see, no one has addressed any of the comments relating to helping them save.
Hi Chris, here’s a 15 post series I wrote on how to trim your grocery bill: http://simplyfrugal.wpengine.com/tag/trim-your-grocery-bill/ . You might also find some useful tips on the Articles page: http://simplyfrugal.wpengine.com/articles/
We’re a family of 5 (3 growing boys) and live on Vancouver Island. One of our son’s plays Rep Hockey so we’ve had to find an extra $400/m for this. I’ve had to drop our grocery budget from $780/m to $610/m to make this happen. It takes a bit of work, but I’ve managed to do it. Definitely more baking for school snacks, some meatless meals (which hubby hates) and more portion control (which is extremely difficult to do with a 12yr old and a 14 yr old). TP, shaving cream, razors, etc do not come out of the grocery section of our budget, but the “medical” category. Junk food night (2x/m) comes out of either the “Entertainment” or “Planned Spending” category.
I found this great article:
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2011/02/13/17260721.html
Wow! I live in Quebec and food here for the look of things is way more expensive! We are a family of three (one 2 year old) and I spend not less than 180$/ week and that value does not include cleaning products (laundry detergent ~ 12$ for 4l bio, all purpose cleaning ~4$, garbage bags~4$, dishes detergent ~4$ etc) neither includes diapers which runs around 27$/pack of 128 size 4 plus 8$ pack of 3 baby wipes).
I go to Super C which is the cheapest supermarket here in Montreal IMO. Here are a few prices:
I buy mostly not processed food but since everything is so expensive we do have to buy a few KD (1.8$ each) and pizzas thin crust PC on promotion for 3$ each to compensate.
I buy eggs ~3.5$, bacon4-6$, chicken or fish (got so expensive lately don’t know why cause it’s local!) and meat, cheese 7-8$ for 500g marble, bread 3.5$ white whole grain, 4l milk 7$, a lot of veggies and fruits, pack of 12 apple juice Oasis for 15$ (lasts around 10 days), rice, pasta for 1.7$ and sauce around 3$ the most affordable, fish crackers, some extra snacks, rice krispies, salad, sometimes a pack of Canada dry when is summer, yogurt… I also buy at least a big bag of potatoes weekly, it can be used in many different ways.
In the last 2 years prices raised a lot! I remember one juice was 0.79$ and now is 1.25$ at best. It’s pretty disappointing that they are hijacking the prices so much, makes us wonder how is it going to be in 2, 6, 8, 10 years! I wonder who is to blame really (supermarkets or the companies)…
We eat out once a week mostly with coupons and our monthly budget for that is 20$-30$ every weekend. We barely have coupons that are worth it around here.
I feel we spend way too much but if I try to cut back the budget a little bit I end up having to go back before the week is over and then is worst!
I have a family of 3 and I live in Hamilton, Ontario. That is absolutely insane!!! I’ve never paid $7 for a 4L bag of milk!!! I buy 2% Neilson for $4.50 at Fortino’s or Wal-Mart. I do ost of my shopping at Wal-Mart because they’re about the cheapest besides Food Basics or No Frills. I can’t believe how much name brand pop (Diet Pepsi, Orange Crush) has gone up… It used to be $2.99 for 24 cans! Now it’s over $7! Eggs are about the same here $3.50 for 18 pack large. Chips are about $2.50 a bag at best. A pound of ground beef is about $3.50 at specialty meat shops. At my usual grocer it’s about $7 a pound. Steaks are about $10-$12 each, for decent ones. You can’t even buy a pack of Scneider’s Hot Dogs for $3 anymore, they’re $5! I try too to get coupons, but it’s hard if you don’t get the newspaper, I mostly either have them sent through the mail or print them out. I can never seem to find anything really useful, only very specific groceries. I do my shopping about once a week. I used to do only 2 a month, but we go through them so fast that by the end of the week we’re lucky to have Kraft Dinner in the cupboard! lol. I can’t even fathom the prices of things in the future! But we know it’s inevitable. And the food companies know they’ll get their money because they know we need to buy bread, milk, eggs… Thanks for the insight on your grocery shopping! 🙂
reply to Beatrice: you are not alone! food in quebec is expensive, i can hardly believe the other prices people are listing here. we also spend at least 200 dollars a week for 3 people. we don’t eat junk but bread, produce and milk products are expensive. i buy as much as i can onsale but there’s only so much pork one can eat in a week.
Could you set up a poll like this: Answer Q#1 if you’re a family of 2, Answer Q#2 if you’re a family of 3, Answer Q#3 if you’re a family of 4, etc. But all the questions are the same: “How much do you spend per month on groceries?”. Then you’d just have to calculate an average for each question, giving you the average a family of 2 spends, the average a family of 3 spends, etc. [This would only be acurate if respondents only answer the one question that represents their family.] That’s my suggestion 🙂
Crystal, that’s brilliant! I think I’ll set up a poll just like that for Monday! I knew someone had to have a better idea! 🙂
Family of 5, in rural Alberta. We raise chickens for eggs and meat, and grow a garden in summer. Family is 2 aduilts, 2 teenagers and 1 preteen. Our grocery bedget is about $6oo/ month (high). Our children are all in dayschool, and we all brown bag where possible. The big glitch comes that the school provides a hot lunch program once a week. Even with buying “bare bones”, and rounding up from my pantry, I still send a minimum of $35/month for these lunches (ouch!) If I don’t comply, the kids fell stigmatised. Either way, I feel I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I am definately spending way too much for a family of three.HELP!LOL
Ps – I’d love it if you could set up a poll that incorporates family size AND budget together. 🙂
Carla, I couldn’t figure out a way to incorporate both questions together. I think if I could, the poll would give us the exact answers we’re looking for! (Have any suggestions as to what I could use to put that poll together? 🙂 ) I’m really enjoying the comments though!
Thanks for the poll! 🙂
We are a family of six, hubby & I, 4 kids ranging in age from 4-16. I’ve recently had to drop our food budget down to $150 week. I dont think you need to spend more on “healthy” food personally. It’s all the processed foods that cost more here… $3.30 for a loaf of *Wonder* bread vs. Under $1.00 for a fresh home baked loaf… A box of chicken nuggets ($10?) vs a whole home roasted chicken, chicken, potatoes, veggies, scratch gravy, etc… All that for under $10!
I still buy a few processed foods, kids still eat some items & hubby too, you can drag a horse to water but you can’t make him drink and all that… 😉
I buy **lots** of fruits & veggies as they make up the bulk of my diet. I literally eat NO processed food unless you count olive oil. I’m definitely a “health nut” in my family & have major food allergies to go along with that. I should mention that I put in organic meat orders every 3-4 months which add up to about $300 each time.
I’m interested in seeing the rest of the replies! 🙂
I totally agree…the processed foods cost more/meal than fresh fruits & veggies. You can buy 10 lbs potatoes, 2 lbs carrots, and 3 lbs onions for under $10.
@Heather, I think it sometimes depends on the amount you buy. We find that buying more (if you can eat it) tends to be better value. BUT, I’m sure that it’s the region (and the stores) too. For instance, we just bought 4L of milk for $3.89 at a local Shopper Drug Mart in Ontario.
Ok…I’m INSANELY jealous at your milk price right now. I buy the 2L jugs because we all use different milk (skim, whole for the baby, and 2% for my son) We have so many open that the gallons would go bad before we use them, and even the gallons are only about $.20 savings over 2x2L. I have been buying my milk at Shoppers, because they have it at cost, but even there, a gallon is around $6.60.
Ok…where do you live that you can eat so cheap? I’m getting into couponing alot more, so I’m starting to see savings, but I still have a hard time getting out of the grocery store for under $150/week! That is on PEI, where I find things seem to be a bit more expensive. Can we compare a standard item…like 2L white milk, we pay $3.48…is that about the same everywhere?
WE are now a family of 3 adults, our daughter is now 19. My grocery budget includes, eating out, Zellers trips for TP, cat food etc.., going to the farmers market, and coffee/tea time at Tim’s. So we spend up to $600/month.
We are a family of 7 including 5 boys (3 of which are teenagers….) and we spend about $800 a month on all food and toiletry related items. We very rarely eat out as it is just not remotely affordable for us.
It’s just the two of us and our budget used to be about 400$ (works out to 50$ a person a week). Spending more time at home means I have the time to plan a bit better, and with summer comes cheaper produce. We’re probably closer to 250-300$ a month as of now!
We are a family of four – 2 adults, 7 year old and 2 1/2 year old. I run a home daycare with 4 kids that I provide snacks & lunches for. I spend about $480 a month and that includes food, toiletries, laundry soap, dish soap, arts & crafts supplies, etc.
I spend 140 a week, but this includes all baby needs and household things as well. Formula, any disposable diapers we might need(mostly use cloth) toilet paper etc….
We’re a family of 4 and I try to budget around $80 a week, so we’re in the 300-400 category. Now that I’ve started couponing in a big way I’m definitely spending less than I used to. One of these days I need to track it…
We’re a family of 4 and spend about $600/month on groceries. That includes one member on a gluten-free diet (all suppers are also GF), and we very, very rarely eat out.
You have to share how you do this, we are GF as well, and we can’t get under $900/month.
We’re a family of 3 with one on the way but I voted family of 4, since that how I’m eating ;). We budget to stay under $100 a week on groceries. Any takeout/restaurants falls into our “entertainment” category (but we dont eat out that often).
We’re a family of 4. Spend about $150/week, or $600/month on everything grocery related. We also have a budget of $60/month for eating out.
Family of 4. We spend $125-175/week. Which adds up to $500-600/month. This includes everything; food, toiletries, cleaning supplies. We also spend about $200/month on takeout & restaurants.
Really? Oh my word you must teach me. I am spending WAY too much by the looks of this poll.
Family of 5 and a home daycare where I provide lunches and snacks. We spend between $450 – $500/month.
Hi,
I seem to be in the same boat as you – family of 5 and a dayhome. If you have time could you please share some of you money saving ideas. I am currently spending much more on food and we need to cut back a lot. Any info or advice would be much appreciated.
Chantal