Stretching the dollar
Lake George woman demonstrating how to save money at the grocery store
A Lake George woman with a knack for finding good deals is helping inspire others to maximize their savings at the grocery store.
With the rising cost of living, Melanie Seamone said it’s more important than ever to be able to stretch a buck.
“Although shopping for groceries seems pretty grim right now – groceries are expensive – there’s always a way that you can pare down. There’s always hope that you can do better,” said Seamone.
She enjoys scouring the weekly sales flyers to find deals.
Every week she creates a new video for social media that provides people tips on stretching a dollar and eating well even on a tight budget. It’s something that she’s been doing since 2021, but her helpful posts date back even further.
HOW IT STARTED
About eight years ago, Seamone launched a Facebook page called Easy Valley Living where she posts what she thinks are the best deals on groceries each week. She also shares inexpensive activities that she thinks Annapolis Valley residents might be interested in attending.
In 2021, Seamone said she was watching a blogger who was taking on the $21 challenge.
Based on the book, The $21 Challenge: Save $300 in a Week! No Coupons Required!, by Jackie Gower and Fiona Lippey, the challenge is simple. Using what’s available in your pantry, fridge and freezer to make meals for the week, you can only spend $21 at the grocery store.
The point is to save money, especially if there’s an unexpected expense.
While watching the woman’s Youtube videos, Seamone said she wanted to provide some advice on how to buy spices more affordably, but couldn’t comment as she didn’t have an account. When she signed up, she discovered that granted her a channel, where she could produce her own content.
“The blogger that I was watching the videos of, she was starting at scratch, spending $21 and then anything that she had accumulated at the end, she carried forward. I thought, ‘I can do that,’ and I would definitely do it different,” said Seamone.
That’s exactly what she did. Her first 16-week series of videos focused on a twoperson household taking on the $21 challenge with a combined budget of $42.
Since then, she’s completed a few different dollar-amount challenges, has created videos touring the various places she shops, has demonstrated a pantry purge that can help save money, and highlighted some of the deals she’s found.
“It’s fun for me, also, to make the videos. I enjoy it. I enjoy being creative. I enjoy seeing what I can find,” said Seamone.
“I’m not always on a challenge. Sometimes it’s, ‘these are the groceries I bought this week and this is what I’m making.’”
HOW IT’S GOING
To start 2024, Seamone launched another Youtube challenge, this one showing her getting groceries for $23 a week.
Over a five-week period, Seamone spent $110 (one week was only $18) and had a counter full of food leftover – both perishable and non-perishable – from the challenge.
But how does she find these deals?
“I spend several hours at it each week. But I eat really well and I don’t begrudge the hours. I feel it’s well worth my time,” said Seamone.
She said she looks at the weekly sales flyers and goes from store to store to get the best deals.
Since most shops are close by in New Minas, hitting five to six stores in one trip doesn’t result in a lot of gas money, she said. And, she doesn’t make a special trip to the store just to pick up one item.
It’s all about planning. She said about 75 per cent of her grocery shopping is done in New Minas, with the remainder in Greenwood.
According to Feed Nova Scotia, in 2022, about 213,000 Nova Scotians, or 22 per cent, were living in food-insecure households, a five per cent increase over 2021 statistics and 21 per cent higher than 2019 pre-pandemic figures.
Food Banks Canada gave Nova Scotia a failing grade during its 2023 annual report card, noting nearly one in 10 seniors live in poverty in the province, and “35 per cent of the province’s residents are spending more than 30 per cent of their income on rent.”
TIPS FOR SAVING MONEY
When not completing a challenge, Seamone said her usual weekly household food budget is pretty steady.
“It’s $60, approximately, for two people. I just show that with time and effort, you can eat well on a budget,” Seamone said.
“Sometimes when you think about the dollar value of a budget, it feels very scary but there are things that you can do.”
Seamone said expecting to get all your shopping done at one store and getting the best deals won’t happen.
“It’s the time that people want to dedicate that has an impact on how their budget can work for them, or how much they can get for their budget,” said Seamone. “And unfortunately, nowadays, a lot of people don’t want to take the time or say they don’t have the time.”
She suggested planning meals around what’s on sale and what’s available versus setting a meal plan and then buying the ingredients, whether they’re on sale or not.
Taking stock of what is already in your pantry, cupboards, fridge and freezer will also help cut down on unnecessary spending.
And sometimes, purchasing in bulk – like three heads of lettuce when you only need one – isn’t worthwhile if it leads to a lot of food waste.
“People buy things with the intention that they’re going to use them and then they spoil before they use them and they go in the compost,” she said.
Seamone said being flexible and not tied to brand name products may also lead to better savings.
“There’s a lot of people who wouldn’t buy store brands; who buy a lot of convenience foods," she said.
“It’s not hard. Just pick one thing and start with that. Start looking at the flyers and making a grocery list.”
Seamone said she’s not a fancy cook but she tries to incorporate some meals that she’s made from the weekly ingredients into her videos so viewers can get ideas.
“A great cook I’m not; very basic skills. I’m just creative, maybe, with an open mind."
And she has a willingness to try new things.
“It’s the time that people want to dedicate that has an impact on how their budget can work for them, or how much they can get for their budget. And unfortunately, nowadays, a lot of people don’t want to take the time or say they don’t have the time.” Melanie Seamone
FEEDBACK
By and large the feedback Seamone has received online from people who view her videos has been positive. Her latest video, posted on Feb. 9, focuses on the ‘phenomenal week of meals’ she had while on Week 5 of the $23-budget challenge.
“I am shocked on the amount of food that is left over. It is amazing what a person can do with the right amount of planning,” said one commenter.
“You have been having well-balanced, nutritious and delicious meals! You have inspired me to go through all my leftovers and stashed freezer food to create meals that are satisfying and nutritious,” another commenter offered.
Seamone said she’s noticed an increase in video views recently as more people are looking for easy ways to cut their budgets.
“I make all of these little mistakes, but even so, just being a regular person with nothing fancy, I feel like I’m doing a lot of good, a lot of help educating.”