It’s no secret that Canadian grocery prices are getting out of hand. Most of us don’t make it out of the supermarket without spending an arm and a leg on essential groceries.
However, Melanie Seamone of Nova Scotia has mastered shopping for a week’s worth of meals for just $23, which allows her to feed herself and her husband.
It sounds nearly impossible, but the 49-year-old community support worker has documented how far she can stretch a super-tight grocery budget on her YouTube and Facebook pages, Adventures in Groceryland.
Scrolling through her YouTube account, you’ll see how the Canadian takes $23 and transforms it into a week’s worth of meals for her and her husband.
She whips up a quick stirfry in one video using frozen veggies and meats. In another, she makes fries and tacos using frozen chicken strips topped with a homemade relish.
Starting extreme food budgeting
Whatever she’s making, Seamone has mastered a diligent couponing system. She keeps track of her frozen and pantry items and meal plans to achieve her cheap grocery goals.
In an interview with Daily Hive, Seamone explained that her low-cost meals are part of an ongoing “grocery challenge” inspired by another social media creator, Jessica Wanders.
Seamone took on her first challenge in October 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was watching Wanders’ videos and thought she would try to challenge herself.
Seamone’s first challenge lasted 16 weeks, and she started with a slightly larger budget of $42 per week, which she realized got her more food than she expected.
“By the beginning of January, I had so much food that I started to do a challenge within the challenge. I started seeing how much cash I could save each week, and I put it in this little cup every week,” she said.
By the end of the first challenge, Seamone had saved enough leftover cash from her grocery budget to make a nice charcuterie board for her and her husband to enjoy for Valentine’s Day.
Since then, she’s been filming and posting different versions of the grocery challenge.
Once, she tried a plant-based series where she spent a “moderate budget,” eventually moving on to working with $23 per week.
Seamone also changes her budget after a few weeks. A month ago, she shared the following video with a budget of just $25 weekly.
Begin with the groceries you already have
The key to Seamone’s grocery challenge success starts with her pantry.
“If someone asked me what the most important thing is to live on a smaller budget — to successfully, happily live on groceries on a smaller budget — I would flat out say it’s your pantry,” she shared.
“Your pantry is so important because it allows you to focus on spending your grocery budget on sale items… Once you have that base pantry, you’re going to be able to start eating a lot differently.”
She also stressed the importance of taking “inventory” of what you already have.
A meal that Seamone made on her tight budget. (Adventures in Groceryland/Facebook)
“It’s way more important than people think. How in the world do you know what to buy if you don’t know what you have?” she said.
Couponing is also a significant part of Seamone’s strategy. She’s constantly looking at flyers and plans her menu around what’s on sale that week.
Because she lives in rural Nova Scotia, Seamone has few grocery store options. She usually shops at her local Sobeys or Superstore and does what she refers to as a “perimeter sweep.”
“I’ll just walk through quickly and … do a quick walk through produce, a walk down the meat section, and walk through the dairy [aisle] because that’s where your big markdowns are … they’re in the fresh food [sections].”
It’s not for everyone
The Nova Scotian acknowledges that even though she finds the entire process — from pantry planning to cooking — easy, it’s not for everyone.
She also understands that the current cost of food in Canadian stores causes many people to feel angry and stressed.
Several shoppers have taken to social media to share their frustration and dismay with the cost of groceries. Others have boycotted certain grocery giants like Loblaws.
“Unfortunately, we’re in a position where groceries really are expensive. And people like me are showing some creative, sometimes simple ways to save money,” said Seamone.
“But most citizens feel like they shouldn’t have to do all these creative things to buy a decent amount of groceries for a decent price.”
Have you changed how you buy groceries due to the Canadian cost-of-living crisis? What are your favourite techniques to save money? Send us an email at [email protected].
This article was originally published on March 7, 2024.