Torontonians are sharing grocery shopping hacks with a newcomer who was shocked by the prices

Canadians are definitely aware of just how expensive groceries are these days, but for newcomers, it might be an unpleasant surprise.

On the Reddit forum r/askTO, someone new to living in Toronto asked for advice and he was given some helpful tips and tricks.

"New to Toronto (moved a month ago) and although most things are expensive here, the area I continue to be surprised about compared with other cities is how expensive it is to buy groceries!" they wrote in their post. "Consistently spending approx 50% more on items here than I was in my home city in Europe (rent comparable)."

They explained that some of the tips they've already employed include shopping at Dollarama, Walmart and Asian grocery stores for specific items that those retailers have for cheaper than other places.

In the comments, many chimed in with how they save money.

"Flipp app and as big of a freezer as you can have with a vacuum sealer to stock up on meat sales," said one user.

"Sometimes Uber eats has a 50% promo coupon for groceries — it can work out to be cheaper than going in store to shop," recommended another.

Others suggested utilizing price matching, noting that Giant Tiger, No Frills, Freshco and Real Canadian Superstore all accept the practice.

in another thread on r/askTO, someone asked for help finding an affordable grocer around the midtown area.

"Groceries at places like Carload / Fresh Fruit Market," recommended one person.

"For produce, there are a bunch of fruit/veggie markets either just north of Yonge and eg or at Yonge and Davisville," said another. "When I lived there that's where I did my produce shopping and it helped save me a lot."

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.