Gary van der Westhuizen 178 Posted November 7, 2017 Hi Everyone I haven't seen one of these for Toronto, or at least not recently, and I thought it could be of some assistance. I will qualify this by saying, I am sure these costs aren't absolute. This has been our experience. I am sure you can find some things, if not all, cheaper, and my numbers could be wrong. We have used No Frills( like Shoprite) and Food Basics ( Pick 'n Pay). This is just an indication of what we have experienced. With the HST indicator, this could also not be 100% accurate. One things that everyone tells you, but you don't realize it until you get here, is that everything is ex-HST (VAT) so it takes getting used to, as you end up paying more for some stuff. Description $ Price HST Charged Big Bottle of Ketchup (750ml) 3,88 No HST Big Bottle of Mayo (890 ml) 3,99 No HST Fruit concentrate (makes about 1l) 0,89 HST Mccain Oven bake chips (650g) 2,00 No HST Male work shirt (wear with a tie ) - Old Navy 45,00 HST Oral B floss (2 x 50m) 7,00 HST Zoo Admission 23,00 HST Lysol disinfectant wipes 4,00 HST Bounce - antistatic sheets (80's) 5,00 HST Instant Oats - 500g (about) 2,75 No HST 12 Rolls 2 ply toilet paper 4,97 HST Onions (3 LB) 1,28 No HST Tomatoes per KG 2,82 No HST Becel (basically Flora margerine) 454g 1,97 No HST 4l 2% milk 3,97 No HST Loaf of brown bread 2,29 No HST Famiy size Lays chips 2,50 HST Strawberries 454g 1,88 No HST 12 Eggs - Large 2,27 No HST Cucumber each 0,97 No HST Frozen veggies 2KG 4,99 No HST Pizza - Enough for 4 9,04 HST Lipton tea bags (200) 5,99 No HST Pasta - 500g 0,99 No HST Foam hand soap ( about 250ml) 1,99 HST 6 Beers (Corona or similar) 15,00 HST Bottle of Wine @ LCBO 15+ HST Mcdonalds Meal 10,00 HST Bottle of wine at a Restaurant 50+ HST Medium Double double @ Tim Hortons 2,00 HST Rent 1400+ Nice cell contract (Samsung S8) @ Rogers 100,00 Monthly Movies - new release each 13,50 Womens shoes 40+ King size bed 1 200,00 HST 2 seater couch 610,00 HST The list is by no means exhaustive, but I think it gives you a feel for what things cost, even if it is just ball park numbers. Where ever there is a number with a + it means that is the minimum price, and you can very easily go up, and probably will. We have found with the public transport, depending on your area, that the Presto cards with a monthly TTC pass loaded works out cheaper than paying the $3 per trip(presto $3 vs cash fare @ $3,25) , as with the monthly pass you have unlimited trips, which helps if you are not in downtown, and need to catch a bus, a subway and a bus on the other side again. We have experienced the GO system as rather expensive, but sometimes that is the only way to go. The only problem with the monthly TTC pass is if you need to go to, for example Mississauga, you get charged the $3 again when you get on the miway bus, irrespective of the 2 hour rule. Long term you need a car, in my opinion, as well as the public transport works, it takes time. You can do something in a car that the buss will take 3 times longer, just because of the nature of the beast. Feel free to add or correct anything you don't agree with, or that I have missed. 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piper 254 Posted November 7, 2017 I love that we aren’t the only Saffas who insisted on having that King size bed! 😂 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FaithFUL 418 Posted November 8, 2017 Those prices really are not bad. That is more or less what we pay here. The bread & tea bags are rather pricey thought! Oh - the wine price is also not nice :-( 2 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gary van der Westhuizen 178 Posted November 8, 2017 @FaithFUL Jip, and we are yet to find rooibos tea, although we know there is, somewhere. You can get bread a bit cheaper, we found some at the no frills for less than $2, but it is a bit further out, so cost vs benefit, not always worth it to go there, just for bread. You can get a bottle of 2 Oceans, for about $10.... If you are that way inclined. :-) 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LidiaS77 193 Posted November 8, 2017 4 hours ago, Gary van der Westhuizen said: and we are yet to find rooibos tea David's Tea has a wide range of interesting and delicious teas, including straight organic rooibos, flavoured teas with a rooibos base and many other types of tea. They have stores in the larger cities all over Canada and the US and they deliver as well. If you join their loyalty club you can collect points to get free tea. 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SunshineGirl 151 Posted November 8, 2017 @Gary van der Westhuizen & @LidiaS77, thank you so much for taking the time to share this info - it is very helpful for us on this side. I can agree with @FaithFUL, that many of the prices are similar here, although a lot of the fresh products seems to be more expensive. Also the wine :-(. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nelline 2,265 Posted November 8, 2017 9 hours ago, Gary van der Westhuizen said: @FaithFUL Jip, and we are yet to find rooibos tea, although we know there is, somewhere. You can get bread a bit cheaper, we found some at the no frills for less than $2, but it is a bit further out, so cost vs benefit, not always worth it to go there, just for bread. You can get a bottle of 2 Oceans, for about $10.... If you are that way inclined. :-) Pleaaaase... NO 2 Oceans... I BEG YOU!!! 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MaryJane 2,816 Posted November 9, 2017 On 2017-11-08 at 9:13 AM, Gary van der Westhuizen said: @FaithFUL Jip, and we are yet to find rooibos tea, although we know there is, somewhere. You can get bread a bit cheaper, we found some at the no frills for less than $2, but it is a bit further out, so cost vs benefit, not always worth it to go there, just for bread. You can get a bottle of 2 Oceans, for about $10.... If you are that way inclined. :-) @Gary van der Westhuizen Go to Florence Meats in Oakville. They have Five Roses. I must be frank. Haven’t had Rooibos in a while. Somehow or other, Orange Pekoe is starting to smell and taste like it. I might be missing Rooibos now... 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MissFrowz 216 Posted November 9, 2017 On 11/8/2017 at 6:13 AM, Gary van der Westhuizen said: @FaithFUL Jip, and we are yet to find rooibos tea, although we know there is, somewhere. You can get bread a bit cheaper, we found some at the no frills for less than $2, but it is a bit further out, so cost vs benefit, not always worth it to go there, just for bread. You can get a bottle of 2 Oceans, for about $10.... If you are that way inclined. :-) I always find it strange when people say they can't find rooibos tea in Canada. I buy it from most local grocery stores here, and all specialty tea stores should have it and/or variations of it. If you can't find any in your local groceries, there's always amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B073FSH111/ref=s9_acsd_top_hd_bw_b81UdKN_c_x_w/145-0062990-7384300?pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_r=V39WXB1E481CYD89FXEE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1128535c-dcb3-5825-8627-e127fed56508&pf_rd_i=7351140011 https://www.amazon.ca/Davidsons-Tea-Organic-African-16-Ounce/dp/B000SATIE6 https://www.amazon.ca/Freshpak-Rooibos-Tea-100g/dp/B0170F1UTW/ref=sr_1_16?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1510256182&sr=1-16&keywords=rooibos+tea Serengeti SA stores also has rooibos for sale online and in store: http://www.serengetionline.com/index.php?cPath=329&osCsid=219b3555ce3b42444285544751444f9b 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PaulD 50 Posted November 23, 2020 (edited) Is it just me or is wine super expensive in Canada?? why is this, all the taxes? I have stopped drinking wine since relocating because of the expense, even when earning dollars. Were we just spoilt in SA? Edited November 23, 2020 by PaulD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reibtseb 156 Posted November 24, 2020 On 11/23/2020 at 8:51 AM, PaulD said: Is it just me or is wine super expensive in Canada?? why is this, all the taxes? I have stopped drinking wine since relocating because of the expense, even when earning dollars. Were we just spoilt in SA? What is expensive to you? Here in the Lower Mainland, cheap bottles are $14 to $20 before taxes. I don't know what it used to cost in SA, never drank wine there :D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LidiaS77 193 Posted November 25, 2020 On 11/23/2020 at 8:51 AM, PaulD said: Is it just me or is wine super expensive in Canada?? why is this, all the taxes? I have stopped drinking wine since relocating because of the expense, even when earning dollars. Were we just spoilt in SA? Here in Victoria you can get a bottle of wine for about $9 before tax (or as low as $3 for cooking wine). This is at Superstore, in liquor stores I think it's about $12 minimum. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jules 1,391 Posted November 26, 2020 Lots of taxes on wine which pushes the prices way up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gary van der Westhuizen 178 Posted December 21, 2020 Yup, taxes and more taxes. Minimum wage also plays a part. I recently heard of som Saffas making their own Gin and Brandy. maybe that is the way to go... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites