Reader Poll

We spend 400 a month... a family of 2 adults and a toddler.

Almost always go to Superstore, but sometimes sobeys for goat's milk for my son.

I don't use many coupons. I flip though flyers when they come. That's about it.

We definately shop with a list. Sometimes we grab things that aren't on it. But usually stay around 100 bucks a week. If we're over one week we just try to go under the next.
I don't preplan meals.

Um... tips... I like to buy utility turkeys. A 10 lb-er is perfect for us. Feeds us for a few days without getting sick of it, then make a soup with a carcas and feed you for a couple more!

I would guess that we spend between $400-$500 a month for one adult and four kids aged 3-12. I shop almost exclusively at Superstore, and very rarely use coupons, mostly because I forget that I have them.
I almost always shop with a list, but also sometime buy items that aren't on my list. I don't work on a budget, but rather only buy things that are either on sale, or absolutely necessary. I very rarely preplan my meals.

My savings tip would be the same as yours - where possible, only buy stuff when it's on sale, and stock up when possible.

We spend about $350 a month for two adults (I'm nursing) plus a 2 and 3.5 year old. We shop mainly at Superstore, but also will pick up items at Safeway and Sobeys when the deals are great! We use coupons often, although I'm starting to pare down my collection to only the items I'm really going to use I probably spend about 30 minutes every three weeks or so to cut and file my coupons.

We don't preplan meals, although we're hoping to start doing that again - not even so much for shopping, but so my hubby knows what to make when he comes home for lunch and supper. We always shop with a list, though, and I'd bet that we only buy something not on the list about 5% of the time. We have a monthly grocery budget that we stick to, so if we need to do a big shop one week and not the next, it doesn't mess up our accounting We also stock up when things are on sale, as it makes me crazy to buy things at full price!

My biggest tips are:
-Know your prices! If you don't know what a good price point is on a certain item, you can't know when to stock up!
-Don't collect items you're not going to use/consume. It's great to use coupons and find fantastic deals, but if it just goes to waste, the savings are wasted too!
-Check out store's loyalty programs. I know lots of folks are big fans of Shopper's Optimum and Airmiles at Safeway...we just started with the Optimum points and have found it to be great, and we've literally saved thousands by maximizing Airmiles deals.

We spend $300-$350/month for 2 adults and 1 3yr old. I mostly shop at Superstore once per week but will go to Sobeys or Shoppers when they have bonus points. We try to also hit LD once a month for stacking.

We shop with a list and coupons that we basically stick to. I spend about 30min per week planning our menu, looking at flyers, cutting coupons, etc. We do menu plans because it seriously helps us with the "What's for supper?" every day.

My tip would be to not stress about couponing. I used to run about right before shopping trying to gather everything up (bags, list, flyers, coupons) and rush out the door. Now I have a list of good meals we like and I sit down with the flyers on the evening they come in and just take my time to think it through. Then when I get to the store, I'm all organized and rarily miss an item.

Also check price per unit on different brands and bigger or smaller containers of a product. Sometimes a sale isn't a sale.

We spend 400$ on 2 adults aprox 100$/week.We shop at Superstore, Safeway, & occasionally Costco. We follow a list, but will buy things off it if I realize that I missed it or is something on sale that I know we will use. I want to start to use my grocery app on my iPhone. It allows you to keep tract of the cost of groceries & taxes, so you can have a tally of what you will spend at the store.

I will pay more for some thinks like free range chickens at the market than others will.

we are now on Mat leave & expecting our way over due first child. we have never really payed much attention to what we bought before. I just started consciously clipping/collecting coupons. I have an over flowing, but small pantry that needs to be weeded through. I Think that meal planning wounds like an awesome idea even just for a few days/week. I need to start stocking up when things are on sale we will use.

Thanks for all the tips on saving money.

The amount we spend varies greatly each month because of picking up a 1/4 cow or great sales I find on pantry items or meat. So we have very expensive months then months where we only have to pick up perishables. It works out to approximatly 300 a month for my family of 5.

We shop at Costco, Safeway, Superstore, the Bulkbarn and recently at Shoppers. I know my prices on items we regularly buy and check the flyers every week. I plan to spend $60-80 but let the deals determine what we are eating and how much I spend (especially on fruits and veggies).

I have not worked since my second child was born and am lucky to have time for this it takes me apprx 2 hours a week to prep with flyers and coupons (for all my shopping-diapers, groceries and misc). Since I live out of town when I go into the city it is for a full day of shopping so I like to be prepared with an itemized list of what I am buying and at which store, organized into section of store.
I always shop with a list, but will never pass up on a good deal for my family, christmas or birthdays.

I don't have a budget, but I'm trying to keep it under control better. We are a family of 4 - 2 adults an 16 month old and a 5 year old. We just started going back to RCSS - but I hate the store, so I don't go there often. Maybe once every 2-3 weeks. Safeway is our place for meat and sobey's usually for veggies and fruit.
I bet we spend about $400-500 a month.

I am curious if all the above totals is only food items or also cleaners, diapers, personal items (shampoo, shavers ect) and things like tylenol. Because as a family of 4 (2 adults, 1 4yr old and one 2 yr old) I cannot get my groceries under $600 a month. Even though I preplan all meals based on what is on sale. Only buy brand name if it is cheaper then no name (either on sale or with coupon), use approx $30 in coupons a grocery shop (this does not count LD trips). I stock up on dry or freezer goods when they are on amazing sale and still there is no way I can get our groceries under the $600 mark. I buy everything with that though, food, medication, personal care items, makeup, batteries, diaper products and cleaning supplies. If all you families of 3 to 5 people are buying all of that as well in the $300-$400 a month budget then I would REALLY like to talk to you and find out how

On average we spend $375 per month on groceries toiletries. The toiletries also includes diapers (I'm stocking up again). This is for 2 adults, a 3 year old, 11 year old and baby on the way. The 3 year old eats almost nothing, but the 11 year old eats the equivalent of an adult.

I have no store loyalty so I shop at Safeway, Sobeys, Superstore, Costco, Shoppers, Zellers, Walmart, Chinatown, pretty much everywhere/anywhere the sales are good. I try to price match as much as possible so I don't have to go to all the stores each week. I will only buy meat at the butcher shop, Costco, Safeway or Sobeys.

I shop with a list but don't always stick to it. I have a price book that I keep track of things we use the most, and stock up if there is a good sale.

I spend about 1 hr per week going through flyers/coupons. I enjoy doing it and don't find it a chore. It is time I spend with my 3 year old daughter. She gets to cut up her own "coupons" from last week flyers and we just spread all the paper all over the living room. When we are done, the cleanup all goes to the blue box. This has helped with explaining to her why she can't have things at the store. I just tell her it's not on sale or I don't have a coupon for it.

Tips:
-I buy my meat/cheese in larger quantities and vacuum pack them to smaller quantities. This allows me to stock up.
For ground beef, I go to the butcher and buy 10lbs at a time but ask for them to be packaged in 1 pound chubs, when I get home, I throw them all into the freezer. So I only need to take out one at a time and I get the cheaper price.
-I love Diana's pizza but find it really expensive, so I buy the frozen pizza dough ($3) and put our own toppings.
-I use my crockpot a lot, because this allows me to buy the cheaper cut of meat.