While many Canadians can’t make it out of the supermarket without spending an arm and a leg on groceries, Nova Scotia’s Melanie Seamone has mastered shopping for a week’s worth of meals for just $23.
While it sounds nearly impossible — especially given Canada’s sky-high grocery prices — the 49-year-old community support worker has been documenting how far she can stretch a super-tight grocery budget on her YouTube and Facebook pages titled Adventures in Groceryland.
Scrolling through her YouTube account, you’ll see how Seamone takes $23 and transforms it into a week’s worth of meals for her and her husband.
In one video, she whips up a quick stirfry using frozen veggies and meats. In another, she makes fries and tacos using frozen chicken strips topped with a homemade relish.
Whatever she’s making, Seamone has mastered a diligent couponing system, keeping track of her frozen and pantry items, and meal planning 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 back 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 out of 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.
One time, she tried a plant-based series where she spent a “moderate budget,” and most recently, she’s been working with a $23 per week.
Start with the groceries you already have
The key to Seamone’s grocery challenge success starts with her pantry.
“If someone asked me what’s the most important thing 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.
One of Seamone’s weekly meals 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 major 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 doesn’t have too many options when it comes to what grocery store she shops at. She usually heads to 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].”
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 prices in Canada has many feeling angry and stressed.
Many Canadians 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 very creative, and sometimes simple ways … to save money,” said Seamone.
“But the majority of citizens feel like they shouldn’t have to do all these creative things to buy a decent amount of groceries for a decent price.”
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