I’ve been hearing a lot about how grocery prices are going up in Canada now that the loonie is on a nose dive. I thought prices were bad before. My weekly grocery shop was usually 80CAD to 100CAD last summer, and I had to watch my pennies and sales to get it in under that price if I wanted any fresh veggies, meat, or dairy.
This afternoon, I headed to Centro to do my big shop for the month where I stock up on pantry staples, get the meat I’ll eat over the course of the next few weeks (freezing some), and buy produce for the week ahead. Basically a Moose Jaw-style supply run, only I’m buying just for a month instead of a couple of them. Those runs, if adjusted to a monthly basis, were about 400CAD a pop and I still had to shop weekly for some things. My average monthly grocery bill was 500CAD and the only way I could have gotten it lower was if I was living there year round and could really stock up a pantry when there were sales and also take up Charles on his offer of filling my freezer with deer meat. I should stress that don’t buy a junk food or a lot of convenience items and I didn’t even buy alcoholic beer all of last summer, with the non-alcoholic stuff being very inexpensive.
The little Ley in Centro has been totally revamped and carries more stuff, so I hoped that I could do my big shop there since I didn’t have time to go elsewhere. Did it ever! What a fantastic remodel! I found everything I wanted there except hummus, but I did find sesame seeds, so I’ll retry my hand at making my own tahini.
I had 1,000MXN, or about 82CAD, in cash on me but don’t really worry about my grocery budget here since even with eating out, I only average 300CAD a month on food. That’s right. I can eat whatever I want here and go out as much as I want to restaurants and I’m still spending 200CAD less than I do in Canada. So I just put what looked good in my cart and got enough food that I had to take 40MXN pulmonía ride back to the embarcadero. Total cost of my shop? 635MXN or 52.26CAD…
Here’s my shopping list. I’d love to know what a similar list would cost where you live! Prices are in pesos, then CAD. I will say that lots of these items are at sales prices because I don’t like buying things full price, but I do the same thing in Canada so I really am comparing apples to apples.
Avocados, 2, 6.27/0.52
Garlic, clove, 3.6/0.30
Sesame seeds, small packet, 8.90/0.73
Almond milk, carton, 42.9/3.53 (the only thing that is the same price as back home)
Brocoli, large, 4.30/0.35
Yams, two small, 10.61/0.87
Ground beef, pound, 44.05/3.64
Yellow onions, two large, 16.61/1.37
Green onions (échalottes), bunch, 4.75/0.39
Sliced deli ham, package, 58.80/4.84 (this is thick-cut ham)
Lettuce (Boston-type), large, 17.90/1.47
Butter, two sticks, 21.80/1.79
Sliced multigrain bread, loaf, 26/2.14
White potatoes, four medium, 8.05/0.66
Toilet paper, four jumbo rolls, 11.50/0.95
Barilla pasta, two packages, 35/2.88 (this is why I eat so much more pasta here than back home!)
Pineapple, half, 11.66/0.96 (!!!)
Pork roast, small, 50.14/4.13
Beef, two large thin steaks, 46.58/3.83
Tomato sauce, three small tetra packs, 11.7/0.96
Chihuahua cheese, 200 grams, 28.90/2.34 (compare to cheddar)
Oxaca cheese, 400 grams, 55.90/4.60 (compare to mozzarella)
Sliced cheese, 8 slices, 16.90/1.39 (compare to Kraft real cheddar slices or other higher end slices with real cheese in them)
Chinese-style soy sauce, small bottle, 15.50/1.26
Salsa verde, small tin, 8.90/0.73 (compare to green enchilada sauce)
Paper towels, 3 rolls, 20.90/1.72
Raisins, medium bulk container, 17.33/1.43
Yoghurt, 1KG, 18.90/1.56 (granted this is a sale price, but the full price is only about 0.50CAD more!!!)
This was my first time needing a pulmonía to get home from the Centro Ley and it cost me 40MXN, a fair price. I had just what I could carry home on this side. If I’d had just one more carton of almond milk, I would have needed a taxi here, too!
You need to put away the money you save in Mexico & then use when you get back to Canada. Yes, what a crazy thought… that would never work. I like your idea of moving from there, anyways.
What an expensive life in Canada. I surely wouldn’t be able to survive.
You got a whole bunch of food girl!
Keep having fun.
Hugs!
“You need to put away the money you save in Mexico & then use when you get back to Canada. Yes, what a crazy thought… that would never work. ”
What do you mean it would never work? I know what it costs me in a year to eat, on average, and I put that money in the virtual food envelope every month, with the extra rolling over to the next month. So like when I got home last summer, I’ll have a well padded food fund. But it is going to HURT to see that fund go down so fast when I know I could eat better for two thirds of that money down here.
I’m done with Canada and just hoping Mexico gives me that resident visa.
I know you’re good at budgeting… but I would hate to pay the prices you have to in Canada for food. I hate paying some of the prices for milk, eggs etc. At least gas is down for a bit here.
I’m hoping for your resident visa as well.
I’ve FINALLY figured out budgeting. Took me ages to get an idea of what it costs me to live in an average year when I’m going between so many places.
Why would I want to continue living in a country that denies me freedom of mobility within its own borders and good internet access and which taxes me to death when I can be much freer somewhere else and live much better on a third of the money? I’m not saying MX is the promised land, there are TONS of issues here, but I’ll actually be able to get ahead here.
I just hate going home and shopping….the cost of tomatoes and avocados never mind fruit….big sigh :((
And yet, you buy, what 90% of your food for the winter in Canada?
Not true, what I buy is what I can’t buy here on our type of diet, ie soy products, etc. Anything that I can buy here I do. Why would I carry it here? However I do bring all of our paper goods with us as a preference in quality. I know you will nit pick about my creme cheese but I do buy that on sale at home. Unlike you we don’t shop in Mazatlan but once per month, our choice. I would rather spend more money in Canada for certain items than use up my precious time shopping. Part of our holiday means not leaving the Isla for groceries.
Deleting my response and closing this conversation. 🙂
Oh….thanks for the update on Ley’s, will be sure to check it out. We were in the GZ today and then walked to Mega for the first and last time this year. Way too expensive and becoming more and more a gringo store. Only stopped in cuz we were in the area.
Don’t like Mega. Ley or Soriana are my preferred stores. Only go to Mega for their pumpernickel and raisin breads.
Food, paper goods, soaps & cleansers are all expensive here in the States too. I just spent $300 last Friday, plus two hours on the road, and the only extra item was one quilting magazine. Then on the way home I stopped in a closer store for 85% hamburger and a small summer sausage for over $80. Admittedly, most of this will last for quite a while, but it’s still sticker shock. I don’t envy you trying to make a go of it in Canada.
My grocery costs in the US were about half those in Canada when our dollars were at par. Now, I’m just grateful I get paid in USD…
We are in the Fraser Valley for a few days, and did a lot of shopping for a Bday party and things are definitely more expensive than Mexico. Not that big a difference from Mesa though. Asparagas is $4 in the US and $6+ in Canada which is about the same. Took a walk into MEC for some hiking gear though, and the $40 inserts I bought for my boots in Tempe were $40 Cdn in Langley. Go figure.
I would say, on the whole, our prices here in Arizona are about what you are quoting for Mexico. I am frequently amazed at how much food I can drag home for ten bucks! I mail order a fair amount of organic staples like beans and flour, but am able to buy in bulk. I spend about $100. a week, on average, I would say, including local purchases and the mail order items, for two adults, and we eat very well – not vegetarians.
I make all our bread goods and yogurt, so there are big savings there. We like premium gelato, but otherwise eat very little in the sweet category.
Virtual hugs,
Judie
Its funny to read that Mega is expensive (I am going to walk the extra blocks this year to the grocery stores further up in the GZ) – as I don’t ‘know any better’ I find it so cheap (I guess compared to home) for items.. Ill be interested to see the difference
Compared to Soriana or Ley, Mega is crazy expensive, the meat especially. A package of ground beef there is about twice what I pay for it at Ley or Soriana.
Their “Gringo food” prices are also inflated. They’re kept in a special part of the store. But you can get many of these same foods at Ley or Soriana, only mixed in with the regular groceries, for a lot less. I think sweet relish (Heinz brand) was 20 pesos more at Mega. Not a huge difference, but why pay more?
My riding friend Joan went there to get maple syrup, thinking it would be the only place to do so in Maz, and paid “an arm and a leg for liquid gold.” She then went to the little Ley in Centro that has been complete revamped and found the exact same bottle… for half price.
“I don’t ‘know any better’”
That’s how Mega gets you and why it’s important to check out the different stores to determine who has the best prices for what and who carries the products you want. Ley and Soriana each have things I can’t get at Mega, and Mega also has things I can’t get at Ley and Soriana.
There is a misconception among some folks that Soriana and Ley are “too Mexican” (whatever that means), but they do have signage in English even if I’m not sure they have staff on hand who speak English. Personally, I didn’t come to Mexico to shop for the same stuff I have back home, so I’m happier the more “too Mexican” a store is!
100% agree! I am in Mexico – so I love finding and trying items (I always bring home things like Tajin which I have gotten so many hooked on hah) that I cannot find here in Canada.
Why travel if you aren’t going to explore the cultures?
Thanks for the info on the different grocery stores! Mega is super close to where I usually stay, so it makes sense to shop there, but I will be venturing out for sure..
There is a Soriana very near the Mega in Maz, just down a ways a bit.
There are probably a dozen buses that drive down Rafael Buelna if you’re a non-walker.
There are lots of Sorianas in Maz and I really want to go check out the one just past the big Ley on Ejército Mexicano as it is more ‘busable’ for me than is the El Toreo one.
Im a walker 🙂 If not though – im pretty comfortable with the bus system there!
Thanks again!
Interestingly, about ten years ago, I was in a group about migrating to New Zealand and/or Australia, and was amazed at the complaints about not being able to get Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in a box at a reasonable price. First of all – ICK!
But secondly, there are macaroni noodles, milk, flour, salt and cheese available at the grocery store, so why sully your system with the chemicals in the Kraft boxed “mix” (probably safer to eat the box it comes in!), when healthful alternatives are readily available.
How hard can it be to make a cheese sauce that doesn’t require orange powder to do so? At the very least, if one wished not to take the time to make a proper cheese sauce (~five minutes!), it would be possible to boil up the noodles, thin with a little milk, add a handful or two of shredded real cheese, let it melt, and then eat it. Of course a sprinkle of some type of herb(s) (Italian seasoning?) that you like would add tremendously to the dish.
Think outside the box – thinned sour cream instead of milk? Or even just DIY buttermilk to add some zing? How about some tarragon for a French flair, nutmeg (tiny amount), rosemary, garlic powder, and/or turmeric. One of my faves these days is smoked paprika, which is quite lovely in small quantities. Wanna think “mideast”? Toss on some Berbere!
Wanna go whole hog? Butter up some bread crumbs, sprinkle on the pan of cheese-y noodles and run under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Here’s where paprika, smoked or otherwise, will give you that nice, browned appearance without running the risk of burning the top of the dish, particularly if you are using a smallish toaster oven on BROIL.
Any of these would be preferable to the artificial flavorings and preservatives that are found in boxed “dinners”.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been on the go so long, but I just don’t have that need to have all the ‘familiar flavours of home,’ which is what people are looking for in that crappy boxed mac. I think some expats make themselves miserable focusing on what they can’t find instead of what’s available that they will miss when they get home.
When I move to Mérida, I’m going to be living in Mérida. I’m sure there will be things I’ll miss, but there are things I miss having access to in southern SK and it doesn’t kill me.
I think the only two things I’m really particular about brand-wise are ketchup and cream cheese. You can get Heinz here (and I may sometimes sneak my bottle in my purse when I know I’m going to have fries at a restaurant because I just don’t like the DelMonte version that’s more popular…) and Philly cream cheese, which I’m pretty sure is the only brand of cream cheese I’ve seen here, and super cheap to boot. But otherwise, I trust Mexican brands as much as I trust brands back home.
One of the things I’m starting to understand about older expats who have been coming to Mexico a long time is that reality has changed, but they haven’t updated their knowledge. From what I can understand, Mexico used to be lacking in a lot of ways and that is the world these older expats told me to prepare for, when the reality today is that Mexico has gone global and that a lot of what I’ve been told about what you can’t find in Mexico is no longer true. Of course, you have to be willing to go out and hunt for things sometimes. I know one woman who brings Ocean Spray cranberry sauce down for Thanksgiving and Christmas because it’s not available in the ‘Gringo aisle’ at Mega, the Gringo grocery store and so not available in Mexico. Surprise, it’s mixed in with all the regular Mexican food at the Mexican Soriana store, and not expensive either… I wasn’t even looking for it.
Also, I can’t find tahini here and lemons are expensive, but I can find super high quality commercial hummus that beats the commercial stuff back home by a mile…
Re: Making your own hummus – been there; done that. Learned a good lesson.
I buy sesame seeds in five-pound bags, so figured since I had plenty of sesame seeds and sesame oil, I could easily make my own tahini. Hoo-boy – was I ever wrong! Skip to where I scraped the whole mess into the garbage can. Very expensive lesson. I had the proper equipment and everything, but seeds to tahini is just probably not something that is successfully doable outside of commercial equipment.
BUT . . .
When I got myself a jar of regulation tahini, and cooked up a fresh batch of garbanzo beans, the results were nothing short of spectacular. It is a dip that you can indulge in with a completely clear conscience! I usually go with veggie sticks or Triscuits as the vehicle to get it into my mouth.
An entire pound bag of garbanzo (ceci) beans produced enough fodder for about a pint of dip, a quart of beans that I put in with vinegar and herbs to sprinkle on salads, and about another two cups of beans and liquid that made a fantastic addition to some chicken soup on a chilly afternoon.
Virtual hugs,
Judie
I haven’t had much luck making my own tahini, either. But in a pinch, the trick is the mortar and pestle. Grind and grind and grind and grind the sesame seeds. So much work!
I make my own hummus at home now that I’ve sourced tahini through mail order. I make it super chunky and have a bowl of it for breakfast with chopped tomato mixed in. So yummy!