This Ontario Mom Feeds Her Growing Family on $100 a Week and Still Finds Room for Worthy Splurges

Jacqueline Gilchrist, a personal finance expert, prioritizes nutritious, culturally diverse ingredients (even when they cost more).

By

Alesandra Dubin

Published on March 31, 2021

As the founder of the personal finance website Mom Money Map, Jacqueline Gilchrist is always in tune with her household budget — and always doing what it takes to make it go far.

The Ontario, Canada native lives with her husband and two children, an infant and a toddler. For the family of four, the grocery budget ranges from about $80 to $120 USD ($100 to $150 per week CAD), and it's creeping ever closer to that higher end of the range as the three-year-old grows. "Sometimes she eats the same portion size as me!" Gilchrist says.

"Since the kids have come into the picture, we've kept a particularly close eye on the budget," she explains. That said, she adds, "A healthy, balanced diet is important to our family. We're more flexible with food than we are with other areas of the budget."

Here's how she manages the family spend while keeping the focus on quality, nutritious foods balanced with cost efficiency.

Shop with Intention

Gilchrist feels fortunate her family lives in close proximity to many grocery stores — they're just a few blocks away from Walmart, Zehrs, and Food Basics — all of which they frequent.

In particular, Gilchrist finds that Food Basics "has the best overall deals on essentials like fruits, vegetables, and meat." She also shops other groceries such as T&T, No Frills, M&M Meat Shops, and Sobey's "just to mix things up" if she's in the area. And she makes some food purchases online as well at Amazon and Well.ca.

Her best overall tip for grocery shopping? Approach it mindfully, with intention and not distraction. "Always check your receipt before you leave the grocery store, "she says. "In my experience, around 30 percent of the time, the prices are wrong.

Her pro tip for Canadians: The Scanner Price Accuracy Code ensures price accuracy for consumers. If the correct price is $10 or less, the grocery retailer will usually give the product to the customer for free. If the correct price is more than $10, the retailer will usually provide a $10 discount.

Furthermore, before she even heads to the grocery store at all, she shops her pantry — and recommends that practice to anyone mindful of a budget. "It's easy to forget about items in your pantry or freezer that might be close to expiring, she says. "By using what you have, you can push back your grocery trip an extra day."

Make Room for Splurges, Adjust for Savings

While Gilchrist is focused on her family's bottom line, that's not the only thing that matters when she's making choices about groceries. Occasionally, for instance, she'll buy ready-made meals like roast beef or lasagna at the grocery store to make her life a bit easier.

She's also aware that meat is usually the most expensive thing she buys, and she's comfortable with that decision. But she also finds ways to bring down the costs when it's feasible to do so. "I'll usually buy the 30- to 50-percent-off meat that has same-day or next-day expiration," she shares. "And if I can't eat it that day, I'll freeze it for another day."

Another worthy splurge for Gilchrist is diversity of ingredients. "I think it's important to try new recipes and eat food from different cultures," she explains. "I want my children to be open minded to trying all types of food."

While the family has plenty of go-to favorites, she also makes it a point to try new recipes every month so the kids get exposed to different flavors and textures — and she shops accordingly.

Depend on Hard-Working Staples

To balance out those splurges, Gilchrist shops for an array of affordable staples that she uses in many different ways for cheap, nutritious variety. Top among them? Chickpeas.

"I love how chickpeas are so versatile," she says. "There's plenty of protein, and they last a while without going bad. They're already affordable, but you can save even more money if you buy dry and in bulk." She uses chickpeas in bowls, curries, salads, and hummus. She's even used them as a flour substitute in desserts.

In fact, the family uses hummus in many different incarnations, too: They'll combine it with eggs in a wrap for breakfast, eat it with carrots or cucumbers as a snack, or put it in a sandwich with chicken and roasted vegetables for lunch or dinner.

Another hard-working staple in Gilchrist's home is rice. "Rice is a great side dish to most meals," she says. "While you can eat it plain, it's also great cooked with chicken, coconut milk, or in a stir fry dish. We also use rice in congee and rice pudding."

Develop a Meal-Planning Strategy

Gilchrist typically meal plans on Sundays. For her, that involves prepping some ingredients as recipe building blocks. "For example, I'll cook six cups of rice for use over the next few days," she says. "I'll pre-chop four onions and peel a few garlic gloves."

Meal prep in her house also involves making a list of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks the family will eat for the coming upcoming week. She plans for extra portions at dinner for most days so the family can eat the leftovers for lunch the next day, repurposing them in varied recipes to mix up the flavors and textures — and stretch the budget.

"For example, if you have a BLT sandwich for lunch, you can use any leftover bacon in a Caesar salad the next day," she says. When there are a lot of extra vegetable pieces that are nearing expiration, she likes to throw them in a stew and add some lentils to reinvent them as a hearty meal.

While Gilchrist typically bases her grocery list on sales at the grocery store, here's what a typical list looks like:

Fruits and Vegetables