Dee Debarros used her first coupon when she was pregnant with her first child in 2016 for a pack of Pampers diapers. 鈥淚 figured out there was so much free stuff and free samples and free coupons that you could get for a baby,鈥 says the 36-year-old resident of Sarnia, Ont.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit four years later, Debarros鈥 husband, Tom, a trained chef, wasn鈥檛 able to work, so they quickly had to figure out how they were going to听pay their bills. 鈥淥ne of the biggest things that I could think of was to lower our grocery costs by really investing in couponing,鈥 Debarros says. That meant spending more time looking for flyer sales, coupons, loyalty rewards points and rebates. Over time, Debarros says she and her husband have managed to lower their out-of-pocket cost for groceries to an average of $30 a week.
Though听inflation fell slightly in July,听people across the country听continue to struggle with food insecurity. As of July, Canadians were paying 27.1 per cent more for food purchased from stores than they were five years ago. This year, food prices are forecasted to increase by three to five per cent and an average family of four is expected to spend up to $16,833.67 on food in 2025 鈥 an increase of $801.56 from the previous year.
In 2024, Debarros says she and her husband spent just $2,387.45 on groceries for her family of four, which includes two kids younger than 10.听This year, their goal is to spend just $2,300.听Here鈥檚 how they make it work.
Take advantage of flyer deals, coupons and cashback apps
New flyers are released Thursday at midnight, so Debarros visits the grocery store every Friday. She and her husband first make a list of what the family needs, noting the best flyer deals and including coupons and opportunities to earn bonus reward points.
Debarros finds most of the coupons she uses in the aisles of the grocery store. 鈥淩eps will go to grocery stores and install coupons weekly,鈥 she says. She also points out that it鈥檚 important to read the fine print on coupons; unless it says one per transaction, you can use one coupon per item that you’re purchasing. 鈥淚f I were to buy three cans of soup, and I had three coupons, I could use one coupon per can of soup,鈥 she explains.
Collect loyalty rewards points on groceries
Loyalty points are a key part of Debarros鈥 money-saving strategy. Last year, she says she and her husband accumulated more than two million PC Optimum points,听which is equivalent to $2,000. All of those points went back into their grocery budget. Debarros takes advantage of bonus events 鈥 for example, Shoppers Drug Mart offers a Friends and Family event where most regular-priced items are 20 per cent off, including milk and eggs.
鈥淧eople don’t realize that if you’re not collecting grocery loyalty points, you’re losing money,鈥 says personal finance and loyalty rewards expert Barry Choi. He explains that grocery stores factor the cost of loyalty points into their pricing. 鈥淟iterally, if you are not collecting or using them, you are losing money,鈥 he says.
Grocery stores want customers to sign up for their loyalty programs so they can see what they鈥檙e spending and then send targeted offers. 鈥淚f you’re paying attention, you can really save a lot money. It’s usually a bit of a gamification,鈥 Choi says. 鈥淲hen people are stacking 20 times the points with other offers, it can be incredible.鈥
He also suggests learning about the best ways to redeem rewards points. With PC Optimum, he says, the best way to redeem points is during bonus redemption events that happen a few times a year, where you can get a lot听more value. 鈥淚nstead of redeeming 100,000 points for $100, you’ll get $140 off. So it’s a 40 per cent increase. 鈥淭he point is it’s a little bit of a game,鈥 he says.
Choi also likes to check out weekly flyers for deals using the Flipp app, which allows users to see digital flyers from different grocery stores in one spot. In the end, he says, the lowest price will almost always be better than loyalty points. 鈥淚 wouldn’t pay more just because I’m getting points.鈥
Think outside the grocery store
Debarros also looks for deals at stores like Giant Tiger and Rexall, where people wouldn鈥檛 normally buy groceries. She recently used her Rexall loyalty rewards points to buy eggs on sale.
Debarros also uses Checkout 51, an app that allows users to earn and redeem cash back on some grocery store purchases, as well as FoodHero and Flashfood, which offer big discounts on meat and fresh fruits and vegetables at participating stores. If Debarros is able to snag a $5 produce bag through one of these apps, she鈥檒l plan the family鈥檚 meals around it.
Ask for price matching
Debarros says price matching (where stores offer to match lower prices from competitors) has made a big difference in her grocery bill. 鈥淚 know a lot of people have social anxiety, that can be really hard,鈥 she says. She recommends people who are anxious about holding up the checkout line start with price-matching just one item. 鈥淲e have to be more consumer aware and mindful of where we’re putting our money.鈥
Understand wants versus needs
Debarros emphasizes the difference between wants and needs. 鈥淚s the want to get strawberries or is the need to get fruit?鈥 she says. 鈥淲hatever fruit is on sale that week, that’s the fruit that I’m going to get.鈥 Luckily, her children aren鈥檛 picky eaters.
Kerry K. Taylor, host of the Cash and Kerry podcast, says planning two- to three-ingredient meals based on flyer sales is a great way to save money. 鈥淚f chicken is on sale and beef is too pricey, well, I’m going to make something with chicken,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t’s just working within your budget and finding a way to use nutritious food.鈥
For special occasions like birthdays and summer barbecues, and holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, Debarros adds another $30 to the weekly grocery budget for big meals. This adds around $300 to their annual grocery costs. Last Christmas, Debarros says, she hosted a large gathering of family members for a dinner that included chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, salad, rolls, pie and Portuguese coffee cake without going over her $60 budget for that week.
鈥淭urkey is more expensive and chicken is just as good,鈥 Debarros says. 鈥淭he need is to have a protein on the table, the need is not to have turkey. Some people disagree with me, but that’s just kind of changing and shifting your thinking.鈥
The Debarros family also donated $440 worth of groceries in donations to their kids鈥 school鈥檚 breakfast program and holiday food drives last year.
Invest 60 minutes to save $100
Before they started couponing and using other savings strategies, Debarros and her husband spent around $280 a month on groceries 鈥 and that was before they had children. 鈥淲e’ve significantly changed our habits and our lifestyle,鈥 she says.
Sacrificing on certain cravings at the grocery store has paid off for the family. They recently returned from a 14-day trip where they spent five days on a Disney cruise, something Debarros never thought they鈥檇 be able to do. Spending less on food has also allowed them to invest more in their TFSAs, RRSPs and RESPs, she says.
Since becoming parents, “we significantly changed our habits and our lifestyle,鈥 says听Dee Debarros, seen with her husband, Tom Stitzel, at their home in Sarnia, Ont.
Nicole Osborne for the 海角社区官网StarNow that she understands how to make the most of coupons, special offers, cashback apps and loyalty points, Debarros can spot ways to save money everywhere. She recently bought a family-size box of Kellogg鈥檚 cereal that was on sale for $5.50 and PC Optimum was also offering 4,000 bonus points on the product. She also had a coupon for $2 off. Not only did she save money, she got $4 in points. 鈥淪o I’ve actually made 50 cents in PC Optimum points,鈥 she says. 鈥淎nd my cereal is essentially $0 as a net cost.鈥 Debarros finds these kinds of savings (often referred to as 鈥渕oney makers鈥 in the couponing community) every week.
As exciting as it is to save so much money, Debarros tries to take the emotion out of it. 鈥淭here is something called a 鈥榗oupon high鈥 and you can definitely get swept up in that fear of missing out and emotional attachment to being like, 鈥業 have to get the deal,鈥 鈥 she says. 鈥淚f you’re going to go over budget to get a deal, then it’s not worth it. So it’s a balancing act.鈥
Debarros says the family went over their 2024 grocery budget by $87.45, so this year, she and her husband are trying to be more strategic with their purchases and going through their freezer more often to use what they have. 鈥淓ven when something is free or super cheap with a deal, we want to stay on budget,鈥 she says.
You don’t have to be an extreme couponer to save money on groceries, Debarros says. She believes if the average family spends one hour couponing, they could save $50 to $100 on groceries for the week. 鈥淚 don’t think of it as a waste of time,鈥 she says. 鈥淚f rewards and loyalty points and coupons are going to save you a hundred dollars, that’s a hundred dollars you don’t have to work for.鈥
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