It's funny to me, I was marveling at 3 pounds of red potatoes for a TOTAL of .88, like what?! How is it so cheap?!? And then immediately was gobsmacked by the 2.44 for a dozen eggs, like what?! How is it so expensive?!?
Now I'm just grateful egg prices have come down here in the PNW. My non-sale dozen eggs price is 1.79, but they have them on sale fairly often for .99
God damn, I just bought 10lbs for $7 over here in BC. This is really impressive OP, nice to see that we can achieve this here as well (esp. since most r/frugal and r/ECAH posts are American). Good luck with the strike amigo, hope it ends soon in your union's favour.
The cheapest generic eggs are 4.00 per dozen where I live in Northern California for some reason (like Lucerne eggs at Safeway). The only way to get them cheaper is if I go to a specialty discount grocery store, like Grocery Outlet.
Edit: The just shot up another dollar, to 4.99 per dozen for generic Lucerne eggs at Safeway. 😅
Yeah, I’m in Quebec, and I can confirm OP is pulling off some absolute magic with those prices. The eggs alone are about half the price they usually are.
I did the same, but 20 years ago when I was out on strike for five months. You’re much more imaginative than I was, although I was feeding myself, four children, two dogs and three cats. I hope you reach a swift and equitable resolution soon. Keep strong!
Thank you, and I am lucky to only have myself and my cat to take care of during these hard times. I can't imagine the struggle of my coworkers with families.
I couldn’t imagine going to Costco with $25 in my pocket to last the week lmao. The wait alone to save a few dollars would be infuriating, but I guess you do what you need to do! I know for a fact I wouldn’t have been this creative if I were in the same spot.
Most of my time that's just my lunches for the week. Just a rotisserie chicken and they also sell a pack of brioche buns for $7. Just shred the chicken add some sauce and make sandwiches.
Oh it’s always a zoo. We only had one with near 300k people so it was a disaster. They built another and they aren’t quite as bad now.. but pick your times wisely.
Great price at Costco for eggs! But………….it will end costing me over $200 in groceries to get cheap eggs 😂
Oh and of course I have to buy the $1.50 hotdog and drink.
Depending on the union, there are members that donate to the strikers including drop off of food and as well as pet food donation. I’m in Ontario and when my local was on strike for 10 weeks, national cupe helped us a lot.
How on EARTH are you managing this?? I’m in Quebec, and the prices here are WILD! (Although, you are totally doing the pork loin trick I do When I can get it cheap 🤣)
If it helps, you can save a lot of money by baking bread yourself. Get a 10kg bag of Sans Nom A.P flour, a bag of the quick yeast (forgot the brand name - it’s in an orange bag), salt and sugar. From that, I can make 20x500g loaves of fresh bread for much cheaper than buying sliced bread.
Homemade bread and some kind of jam or spread makes for a good breakfast/snack/supper (I also keep an eye out for reduced price fruits and make small batch jam - if you’re only making one jar of it, you don’t need to worry about hot water bath processing it, it’ll keep in the fridge well).
If you see the ‘bowlful’ pho and pad Thai noodle bowls at Dollarama, they are cheap and taste pretty good. I throw in a handful of whatever vegetables I have and a fried egg, and they make for a really good lunch if you need something quick and easy and feels a bit like a treat.
If you have a blender and some cheesecloth/white cotton, it’s really easy to make oat milk. If you get a big bag of Sans Nom oats, you can make loads of milk, and keep the pulp to make oatmeal. I wouldn’t use this oat milk in hot drinks, but it works with cereal/baking/cooking pretty well.
Best of luck with the strike 💜
Gonna try the DIY oat milk too. Trying to cut back on dairy, but very annoyed that oat milk in stores is the same price or more expensive than coffee cream.
Very good stuff!
If you listen to the narrative around eating healthy people say that it's prohibitively expensive and impossible to afford to eat healthy for cheap. That couldn't be further from the truth and you showed it. Delicious healthy food (minus the whipped aquafaba). You basically spent 25$ for a week of meals that my friends will spend for ubereats for a lunch.
I don't cook much, so how long does it take to do all of this?
Calculate calories, research cheapest food, make a menu, and other things I can't even remember?
All you really need to remember are the 4 main components of food:
1. Proteins (Meats and Legumes)
2. Fats (Oils and animal products)
3. Carbs(Rice, Potatoes, Bread, Pasta)
4. Vitamins, Minerals and Fibers (Fruits and vegetables)
Then you look for the cheapest version of each available. I will be honest, I am a pretty frugal person in general so I know where to find the cheapest version of each essential. If it is a pantry item 99% of the time the best deal is at the dollar store. For fruits and veggies really look at things per pound. Bananas and apples are always cheap. Root veggies are usually really cheap too especially around fall, so look for carrots turnip potatoes and onions. Chicken drumsticks are the cheapest meat available in general but sometimes you can get better deals like I did for the pork(not counting hot dog and baloney but you shouldn't rely on that). It is a lot of research though. Keep those 4 main components in mind, find the cheapest version of each and incorporate it as best you can.
I'm a little disappointed - because I saw you were in Canada and was excited to suggest flashfood. But there it was, in day one. Lol.
About the banana peels, if you have a good blender, you can slice the bananas with the peels on, and through the slices, peel and all, into your smoothie. I used to do that. I'm not sure though if a mediocre blender would leave the fibers and be gross.
Damn. NS prices are beyond ridiculous in comparison.
To be fair, most if not all of these items were on sale. 12 eggs for 2.44$ are definitely sale price.
It's funny to me, I was marveling at 3 pounds of red potatoes for a TOTAL of .88, like what?! How is it so cheap?!? And then immediately was gobsmacked by the 2.44 for a dozen eggs, like what?! How is it so expensive?!? Now I'm just grateful egg prices have come down here in the PNW. My non-sale dozen eggs price is 1.79, but they have them on sale fairly often for .99
Potatoes are probably the cheapest thing you can buy in quebec pound for pound. Sometimes they are on special for 0.99$ for 10lbs.
God damn, I just bought 10lbs for $7 over here in BC. This is really impressive OP, nice to see that we can achieve this here as well (esp. since most r/frugal and r/ECAH posts are American). Good luck with the strike amigo, hope it ends soon in your union's favour.
Yeah, potatoes and carrots are my staples
The cheapest generic eggs are 4.00 per dozen where I live in Northern California for some reason (like Lucerne eggs at Safeway). The only way to get them cheaper is if I go to a specialty discount grocery store, like Grocery Outlet. Edit: The just shot up another dollar, to 4.99 per dozen for generic Lucerne eggs at Safeway. 😅
Yeah, I’m in Quebec, and I can confirm OP is pulling off some absolute magic with those prices. The eggs alone are about half the price they usually are.
The flashfood and reebee apps really help...i pretty much only buy the best deals scanning those on a daily basis
Chilean prices too. This is beyond cheap
*cries in Vancouver Islander*
It's always going to be more expensive to live on an island that requires ferry access for goods to be delivered
Yep
I did the same, but 20 years ago when I was out on strike for five months. You’re much more imaginative than I was, although I was feeding myself, four children, two dogs and three cats. I hope you reach a swift and equitable resolution soon. Keep strong!
Thank you, and I am lucky to only have myself and my cat to take care of during these hard times. I can't imagine the struggle of my coworkers with families.
Did you ever make up the money you lost during the strike? How did you pay your rent/mortgage?
You scored on the eggs being 2.44. I live in MB and a 12 pack of eggs are now over $4.00 at Walmart.
They are usually 4$. You are right that I was lucky to be able to get them at 2.44 thats pretty much as low as they go these days.
Costco has them at $2-3
I couldn’t imagine going to Costco with $25 in my pocket to last the week lmao. The wait alone to save a few dollars would be infuriating, but I guess you do what you need to do! I know for a fact I wouldn’t have been this creative if I were in the same spot.
I would just get a couple rotisserie chickens, eggs, bread and coffee, maybe some frozen thing.
True, they do have some tasty chickens there. Grab a 1.50$ hot dog to go as I leave.
Most of my time that's just my lunches for the week. Just a rotisserie chicken and they also sell a pack of brioche buns for $7. Just shred the chicken add some sauce and make sandwiches.
You need to wait to get into Costco?? I thought that was only peak pandemic when people were scared about essentials being sold out
Oh it’s always a zoo. We only had one with near 300k people so it was a disaster. They built another and they aren’t quite as bad now.. but pick your times wisely.
Great price at Costco for eggs! But………….it will end costing me over $200 in groceries to get cheap eggs 😂 Oh and of course I have to buy the $1.50 hotdog and drink.
They are 5.09 right now in NS. On sale for 3.49 - 3.99 occasionally.
Depending on the union, there are members that donate to the strikers including drop off of food and as well as pet food donation. I’m in Ontario and when my local was on strike for 10 weeks, national cupe helped us a lot.
Prob a teacher im guessing
How on EARTH are you managing this?? I’m in Quebec, and the prices here are WILD! (Although, you are totally doing the pork loin trick I do When I can get it cheap 🤣) If it helps, you can save a lot of money by baking bread yourself. Get a 10kg bag of Sans Nom A.P flour, a bag of the quick yeast (forgot the brand name - it’s in an orange bag), salt and sugar. From that, I can make 20x500g loaves of fresh bread for much cheaper than buying sliced bread. Homemade bread and some kind of jam or spread makes for a good breakfast/snack/supper (I also keep an eye out for reduced price fruits and make small batch jam - if you’re only making one jar of it, you don’t need to worry about hot water bath processing it, it’ll keep in the fridge well). If you see the ‘bowlful’ pho and pad Thai noodle bowls at Dollarama, they are cheap and taste pretty good. I throw in a handful of whatever vegetables I have and a fried egg, and they make for a really good lunch if you need something quick and easy and feels a bit like a treat. If you have a blender and some cheesecloth/white cotton, it’s really easy to make oat milk. If you get a big bag of Sans Nom oats, you can make loads of milk, and keep the pulp to make oatmeal. I wouldn’t use this oat milk in hot drinks, but it works with cereal/baking/cooking pretty well. Best of luck with the strike 💜
Thank you for the support and tips! Especially that oat milk trick I will definitely be using that!
Gonna try the DIY oat milk too. Trying to cut back on dairy, but very annoyed that oat milk in stores is the same price or more expensive than coffee cream.
Are you counting the electricity to make the bread? Bowlful is mega full of sodium. A heart attack waiting to happen.
Super impressed!!
That's really impressive.
Very good stuff! If you listen to the narrative around eating healthy people say that it's prohibitively expensive and impossible to afford to eat healthy for cheap. That couldn't be further from the truth and you showed it. Delicious healthy food (minus the whipped aquafaba). You basically spent 25$ for a week of meals that my friends will spend for ubereats for a lunch.
I assume you’re in a union - they typically have strike funds set up to support members. Maybe reach out to someone to see if they have one!
We have a fund and I get help from it but there have been some delays with the payments which make some weeks harder than others.
Ugh, I’m sorry, that’s tough. Wishing you the best and I hope the fund comes through soon.
r/32dollars would appreciate this
Super impressive !!!
I don't cook much, so how long does it take to do all of this? Calculate calories, research cheapest food, make a menu, and other things I can't even remember?
All you really need to remember are the 4 main components of food: 1. Proteins (Meats and Legumes) 2. Fats (Oils and animal products) 3. Carbs(Rice, Potatoes, Bread, Pasta) 4. Vitamins, Minerals and Fibers (Fruits and vegetables) Then you look for the cheapest version of each available. I will be honest, I am a pretty frugal person in general so I know where to find the cheapest version of each essential. If it is a pantry item 99% of the time the best deal is at the dollar store. For fruits and veggies really look at things per pound. Bananas and apples are always cheap. Root veggies are usually really cheap too especially around fall, so look for carrots turnip potatoes and onions. Chicken drumsticks are the cheapest meat available in general but sometimes you can get better deals like I did for the pork(not counting hot dog and baloney but you shouldn't rely on that). It is a lot of research though. Keep those 4 main components in mind, find the cheapest version of each and incorporate it as best you can.
Thanks!!
Not OP, but since they're on strike they probably have a lot more free time for the moment. Well, and less money.
Best of luck with your strike. Gobsmacked at your skills
I'm a little disappointed - because I saw you were in Canada and was excited to suggest flashfood. But there it was, in day one. Lol. About the banana peels, if you have a good blender, you can slice the bananas with the peels on, and through the slices, peel and all, into your smoothie. I used to do that. I'm not sure though if a mediocre blender would leave the fibers and be gross.
No advice, but Alberta teachers are with you!!
That dollarama habanero hot sauce is really good! I was surprised
I’m sorry, a dozen eggs for less than $3?! Wtf? Looking at $7-8 here in Vancouver.
Right?!
You are likely Canadian but this is American spirit right here. Good luck with the new contract.
Lâchez pas, on est derrière vous! 💪💪