Get a cow: Money-saving moms in Manitoba share shopping tips

It takes clever spending to manage money in these tight economic times and CBC has gone straight to the experts for tips: Manitoba moms.

Ginette Pelletier has no clue what she's feeding her kids for supper tonight. Neither does her best friend Darcy Davies.

But sitting over coffee on this grey Winnipeg day, they're not the least bit worried about it. Because it's shopping day and that, in itself, guarantees a good time.

"For us, shopping is not just a trip to the grocery store," Davies says, sitting in Pelletier's North Kildonan kitchen.

"It's entertainment." Pelletier adds.

No joke — shopping for sandwich fixings is a source of entertainment.

"It's all about saving the almighty buck," Pelletier says.

And that's no mean feat when you consider how many mouths these moms have to feed — up to a dozen between the two of them.

So how do they do it? First, they have some basic ground rules. They won't shop at Safeway; they claim it's too expensive. You won't see them at Superstore either. They don't like having to dig up a loonie for a cart or bagging their own groceries.

'It's all about saving the almighty buck.'—Ginette Pelletier

"How can you make sure the cashiers have scanned the right price if you're busy bagging your stuff?" Pelletier says. "If they make a mistake, I'd miss it."

So that leaves two other stores, Sobeys and the Marketplace, both on Henderson Highway, within walking distance of each other. But wait, don't go in there just yet. There are still a few more ground rules.

First, they do most of their shopping just once a month.

"Ten per cent Tuesdays!" shouts Pelletier.

"We live for 10 per cent Tuesdays," Davies says.

"And it's always the first of the month, so it's easy to plan for," Pelletier says.

"And if you have a club card, a Sobeys card, you get an additional five per cent off 10 per cent Tuesday," Davies says.

Next up, they collect the flyers — all the latest — spread them across Pelletier's table and begin gathering intelligence.

"I don't see cheese here. Isn't it on sale?" Davies asks, as she scans the Sobeys flyer. "Oh, yes I do, here it is. Oh, that's not a good price."

"No, but this is," Pelletier says, pointing to a Marketplace ad for mild cheddar cheese.

Compare, compare, compare

You get the idea? Compare, compare, compare. And make notes along the way. Davies, in fact, has one notebook with one grocery list and two columns — one for Sobeys, one for Marketplace.

"Nectarines, that's it. Can you write that down? Sobeys, $1.98," Pelletier instructs her friend.

Once the list is complete, the shopping begins. They climb into Pelletier's car — why take two cars and waste gas — and hit both stores, going through their list and buying each item where it's cheapest.

But even then there are ground rules. Wherever possible, they buy in bulk and split it. A flatbed of eggs cheaper than the dozen? Perfect. Pelletier takes half, Davies takes the other half and they share in the savings.

Have a cow

They also walk right past the meat aisle. They don't buy beef from any grocery store.

Instead they buy a cow. That's right, a cow, once a year from a rural Manitoba producer. And even with the cost of butchering, they still save 50 cents on the pound.

Likewise bread. Why buy it at a grocer when you can buy  in bulk? Once a month they hit an inner city bakery and for $7 fill a jumbo bag with day-old bread.

But back to the grocer for a minute. Even at the checkout they're searching for savings. If there's a mistake on the scanner, some stores will give you the first item they checked through — for free. Which is why our always-thinking shoppers make sure those are the most expensive ones.

"Not all stores do this, but make sure you ask," Pelletier says. "It's worth it."

'We've saved more than we spent'

Back at her house, Pelletier and Davies take out the calculator and tally up the savings. Today, they figure they've saved almost $60, just by sticking to the sale items.

"We've saved more than we spent," Davies says.

Still not convinced? Consider this: according to Statistics Canada, the average Winnipeg family spends roughly $570 a month on groceries.

Davies, who feeds her five kids and her husband, spends up to $80 less than that. Pelletier spends up to $100 less than that.

"We're good," Pelletier says, laughing as she high-fives Davies.