Hey guys,

I'm starting in September as a grad student and am living in an off-campus house. I'm looking to get an idea of how much I should be looking to spend on food and stuff. Would $80-100 be enough to cover things like:

1 - Milk
2 - Cereal (basic stuff, maybe some granola/flaxseed occasionally)
3 - Chicken/Turkey
4 - Rice, bread, potatoes

etc. etc.

How much do you guys end up spending on this stuff each week? Any insight would be appreciated.

I think that $80-$100 is more than enough if you shop smart. I live with my boyfriend and spend about that much for the both of us haha so you should be pretty golden.
The best money saving tips I have are buy chicken/turkey/meat etc in bulk and freeze it in smaller portions. If you can find stuff that is expiring soon and is on sale, I'd definitely buy that and freeze it too, it'll stay good for a few months.

Originally Posted by katrinabell

I think that $80-$100 is more than enough if you shop smart. I live with my boyfriend and spend about that much for the both of us haha so you should be pretty golden.
The best money saving tips I have are buy chicken/turkey/meat etc in bulk and freeze it in smaller portions. If you can find stuff that is expiring soon and is on sale, I'd definitely buy that and freeze it too, it'll stay good for a few months.

Very important, do not freeze in bulk as they will freeze together and it's a pain to separate them. So separate first and then freeze.

I tend to spend about $30-$40 a week on Food it's really a few items that make up a majority of that tally (Milk, Meats, and Fruits) everything else is rather cheap.

Freezing/refrigerating stuff to keep it from going bad is like key to saving. I generally only buy things I need and then only buy other things if it's on sale. I spend about 80 bucks/MONTH (generally even less) but I do eat little and split groceries with my housemates so we can buy in bulk and not have our food go bad.

I think how much you spend depends on whether you're willing to sacrifice on those few expensive items or not and how much you eat personally.

Where do you guys go grocery shopping? The Fortinos near Mac? Or is there a cheaper place?

Originally Posted by Strategy

Where do you guys go grocery shopping? The Fortinos near Mac? Or is there a cheaper place?

Word of advice: DO NOT go to the fortinos near mac, or the Metro that is in the Dundurn plaza (the one with the dollarama) up the street from mac. They are WAY OVER PRICED for the same items you can get cheaper else where. If you have to commute, go to the metro located at Longwood and King street, they are decently priced. Or if you have a car take the trip downtown to no frills. They are even cheaper. But keep an eye open for sales in the flyers.

I spend like $20-30/week on groceries. Take advantage of foods on sale! I go to Metro (the Westdale one) because it's within walking distance and I have no car.

I'm at about $50/ week. I personally find Fortinos to be expensive, but I'm too lazy to go to walmart or Food Basics. However there is an Asian supermarket nearby so I plan on getting my meats from there (its considerably cheaper). Realistically though, you will have a bus pass so it shouldn't be that much of an issue.

FRUITS! VEGETABLES! Remember to eat those

hey whats the grocery store thats in university plaza?

^^ oh and i find asian super markets to be super cheap too, plus they are always having awesome deals ( especially on a special holiday theyll practically be giving stuff away for free)can you tell me where that one is i havent seen one around mac


also. for me
i got home once ever 2 weeks, and on the weekend im home my mom makes me a ton of food ( and i help of course) and she just freezes it ( some u can put in the refrigerator) that way most of the expenses are paid by parents and i don't really need to go to the grocery store. the things i do buy while at mac are: fruits, milk, and vegies if i run out from what i brought from home. typically ill spend 30$ for the 2 weeks

THERE'S AN ASIAN SUPERMARKET??

Dude I've been just buying stuff in Toronto and bringing it over x.X where is this asian supermarket???

requesting all addresses of cheap supermarkets!!

$40-$50 per week per person. I go to No Frills because it's cheap, but the quality of fruits and veggies isn't as good as Fortinos or Metro. Sometimes i'll buy everything at No Frills, then go to Fortinos for frutis/vegs.

Definitely go to cheaper places like No Frills or Food Basics. You can find things for almost half the price of Fortinos.

Being in China for the summer (doing grocery shopping and cooking for myself + the boyfriend) has completely ruined me for grocery shopping here, I think. I could buy a pound of live shrimp for about a dollar, and it was the same for a lot of other live seafood. And I mean live to the point where they jump out of bowls of water. Vegetables were even cheaper, and same with cooked poultry. A small chicken, cooked and perfect for two people was $4. Frogs were also live, a pound for about $1.

Boo. :(

I probably spend ~$50 a week on groceries. I shop at the Fortinos on Main Street because it's closest to my house, and occasionally the Metro at University Plaza (if I'm making an LCBO run for instance). However, I'm a vegetarian so I don't pay for meat :p

Also, where is this Asian supermarket? I think I tried searching for one online once, and there was one downtown near(ish) to Jackson square, but if there's one closer I'd love to know about it. I freaking love Thai food and I make it all the time at home, and you just can't find the proper ingredients at regular grocery stores. Also, sometimes it's a lot cheaper to shop at places like that for certain things.