View Full Version : How Much Do You Spend On Groceries?
Teacher Terry
12-9-19, 4:48pm
My good friend said she is surprised how little we spend on groceries per month for 2 people. We shop at Winco and spend between 300-400/month. This includes all paper products, cleaning supplies and wine. We buy our dog food somewhere else. We eat meat every day and have frequent company. So I thought this is the perfect place to ask my frugal friends.
iris lilies
12-9-19, 5:32pm
Sad to say, I have no idea. Which probably means we are spending crap tons at the grocery store.
I know that I no longer rein myself in terribly much, just sometimes.
happystuff
12-9-19, 5:43pm
I try to do the lower end of between $50-$75/week for three people - four when we get "raided" by college child. LOL. If there are some stock up sales, I will spend more, but that usually means less spent in coming weeks. After the holidays, I'm hoping to get it back to the low end.
SEE Finance says we spend about $600 a month for the two of us. That includes paper products, food we serve at parties, and items we bring to potlucks (about 3-4 of them a month). It does not include most cleaning supplies or liquor. Eating out averages another $100 a month.
Teacher Terry
12-9-19, 6:07pm
Wow Happy you are definitely frugal with food. That’s a lot of potlucks Steve. One thing that helped us is we do a big shop monthly and then buy milk, fruit, etc as needed so not a lot of temptation by being in the grocery store much.
rosarugosa
12-9-19, 6:17pm
We probably spend $500 - $550, but this includes cat food, treats, & litter; wine, paper goods, cleaning products and some health & beauty items like eye drops, cold meds, etc. Market Basket has decent prices on most things, so we buy a lot of miscellaneous things there when we can.
$700/year for organic veggies, $200/month for incidentals: cat food, soap, etc. About $600 a year more for organic meat. The veggies are from a CSA with a Pick Your Own option and I make up partial casseroles, etc. in the summer we eat in the winter, like now. I have one more container of chicken thighs (3) currently thawing in the fridge for tomorrow. Tonight's dinner, the remains of the soup we had for lunch (chickpea/squash stew) and cheese sandwiches. I'll buy about 10 lbs of chicken in the next week or two, at about $2.50/lb, it will last us 2 months. If I go to the "local" greenmarket it costs $9/lb, so I try to avoid that! We try to eat 2 meat meals a week: a double veg meal 2 days, eggs 1 day, sandwich 1 day, and whatever is leftover 1 day.
I budget $500 for "basic" food, and $100 for "splurge" food, which would be something like picking up a pre-made sandwich at the convenience store.Since we've moved to Vermont, our "basic" food has exceeded $500 a month--in order to get really good food deals we have to drive off the island and when I'm busy my meal planning gets shot to hell and I wind up in the local "supermarket" which is reasonable, but not as cheap as bigger supermarkets/Costco. But OTOH, we rarely spend our "splurge food" allotment, so I guess I would say $600 for two of us (and more if we go off the rails) which we could definitely shrink with better planning.
We spend about $60/week/ less than $280/month for groceries for 3 (1 a teenager). We eat nearly every meal at home or homemade all month. Like happystuff, I stock up when sales are good, and some weeks I can get by with just $15 worth of fresh produce. We eat mostly vegetarian meals but I do cook meat for DH's lunches.
Lately it has been creeping up as high as $100 a week but this has included non-food items sold at my supermarket like gift cards for Christmas presents and postage stamps. It also includes stocking up on sale items.
So far this year we're averaging $550/month. This includes alcohol. Organic produce and meats, wild caught fish, our CSA share, all gardening expenses (since I grow food to preserve I put those expenses here).
I've got 19 jars of blackberry jam, 9 jars of tomato paste, 40 pints of salsa and 12 pints of tomato sauce put up.
60 quarts of ratatouille and about 12 packages of greens. in the freezer.
I'm happy with this considering what I buy.
Simplemind
12-10-19, 1:40am
$400-ish a month for groceries.
We spend too much, so this month we are budgeting and shooting for 300 groceries and 100 eating out. The groceries includes household items and dog food, though.
JaneV2.0
12-10-19, 10:43am
I would hesitate to guess, but maybe $300? When I make my monthly (or so) trip to Grocery Outlet, my bill has been around $200 (which would be closer to $300 anywhere else), Then another $100 at Amazon and elsewhere. Much of that is laying in supplies. I'll economize elsewhere, if necessary.
pinkytoe
12-10-19, 11:33am
I am tracking all grocery expenses this year broken down into food, non-food, alcohol, coffee (just curious) and pets. I haven't yet taken the time to tally though so it will be interesting. Too much I fear...but probably around $500 for all.
ApatheticNoMore
12-10-19, 12:55pm
A lot although I do combine household products with food.
I'm really more concerned if food gets wasted than what it costs (I'll economize elsewhere as well). My diet is majority organic, so there is a limit to how cheap it's ever going to be, and I like a few specialty items as well. I'll tell you what adds to the bill: cheese. Hahaha. When I gave up dairy for awhile it was noticeable. Alcohol though no, that's nothing, don't drink all that much and don't need expensive alcohol.
Yea, that includes some household supplies, and no booze. I'm trying to limit perishable items destined to perish, but it may be a losing cause. Exotic ingredients are my downfall.
rosarugosa
12-10-19, 1:50pm
Yea, that includes some household supplies, and no booze. I'm trying to limit perishable items destined to perish, but it may be a losing cause. Exotic ingredients are my downfall.
It's a trade-off. There would be less waste and it would be more frugal to always stick with the tried and true, but discovering new foods can be one of life's great pleasures, and then you have to risk trying some things that you don't like.
It's a trade-off. There would be less waste and it would be more frugal to always stick with the tried and true, but discovering new foods can be one of life's great pleasures, and then you have to risk trying some things that you don't like.
I laughed at myself when an order of Knorr chicken bullion base arrived at my door. Very reasonable for eight pounds and "shelf stable," it will likely wind up in my will..:D
I'd ball park $75 a week or a little more cooking for one. I used to be more conscious of grocery costs when I was saving for early retirement but any more it really isn't part of my frugality. I don't buy meat, but it's offset by some of what I'd consider higher priced what might be called health foods. Sometimes organic, fresh produce or occasional specialty items. I get a slightly expensive total meal replacement powdered protein drink mix and have it most breakfasts. I don't splurge on gourmet or exotic things and it just is what it is. There are better places to save money for me.
Teacher Terry
12-10-19, 4:03pm
One thing that really helps is that Winco is cheaper than even Walmart. Of course it’s only in a few states. Food has went up because a few years ago we spent between 200-300/month. We also like to eat out and do it every week. It’s usually happy hour prices if you go between 3-5.
I would add Winco to the mix if it were closer. Maybe they'll open a store around here eventually. Also, Winco is employee-owned, if I'm not mistaken--big plus!
Aldi's (not even close yet) sounds wonderful, as well.
Teacher Terry
12-10-19, 4:30pm
Yes Jane it’s employee owned. You have to bag your own groceries.
rosarugosa
12-10-19, 5:10pm
I went to Aldi's once and although the prices were good, it was an unimpressive shopping experience. The variety was very limited, basic stuff.
Teacher Terry
12-10-19, 5:28pm
Winco is a huge store. So big that’s it’s a pain if you miss something and need to go back. Thankfully DH likes to grocery shop because I hate it.
I went to Aldi's once and although the prices were good, it was an unimpressive shopping experience. The variety was very limited, basic stuff.That's my thought as well although we go there fairly often. The prices on milk, eggs and most importantly pistachio nuts are better than anywhere else. I read somewhere recently that Aldi's will go full organic soon, that should make the crowd a bit crunchier when we visit.
happystuff
12-10-19, 6:22pm
You really do need to know your prices from store to store. I only shop Aldi's for certain things that are lower than even sale prices at my regular grocery store. Otherwise, I get most of my groceries - and non-perishables - at the grocery store, usually on sale, but definitely lower price that Aldi's. I think you are correct, rosarugosa, in that there is very limited variety and sometimes the prices on what they have are rather high.
SteveinMN
12-10-19, 9:48pm
That’s a lot of potlucks Steve. Yeah. Something about dancing makes people want to eat....
Teacher Terry
12-10-19, 9:51pm
That makes sense. I actually am not a foodie and would rather spend money on other things. I am not a fan of potlucks because I am a fussy eater and I wonder about people’s cleanliness habits.
I would add Winco to the mix if it were closer. Maybe they'll open a store around here eventually. Also, Winco is employee-owned, if I'm not mistaken--big plus!
Love Winco.
Also, some have noted eating out spent here. I thought this was groceries only so I did not include eating out.
Teacher Terry
12-11-19, 12:14am
Groceries only I didn’t list eating out.
SteveinMN
12-11-19, 2:27pm
Also, some have noted eating out spent here. I thought this was groceries only so I did not include eating out. I think they kind of go together. TT did not ask about eating out, but I figure that posting "I spend only $200 a month on groceries" without mentioning "But we spend $400 a month eating out" provides an accurate answer to the question that was posed but does not get to the heart of it, which is "How much do you spend on eating meals?"
SteveinMN
12-11-19, 2:30pm
I am not a fan of potlucks because I am a fussy eater and I wonder about people’s cleanliness habits. Same here. But I usually can pick around all the carbohydrates lol. And I decided a long time ago that, in the interest of sociability and in the absence of overt issues (cats all over the kitchen counters, food that's not sufficiently hot or cold) I was better off overlooking the cleanliness thing. Choices, choices...
Teacher Terry
12-11-19, 3:01pm
We spend 300/month eating out. It’s one of our favorite things to do.
catherine
12-11-19, 5:17pm
I am not a fan of potlucks because I am a fussy eater and I wonder about people’s cleanliness habits.
DH agrees with you, but I love them. I'm not a picky eater at all, and I enjoy seeing what other people make for ideas/recipes. I also don't worry about the cleanliness aspect. To be honest, if I were worried about that, I wouldn't go to restaurants. You never know what happens in those kitchens.
Cats on countertops? Check. Got a problem with that? :D
Like Catherine, I'm not a germophobe and I'm not in the least averse to food cooked in a private kitchen. Like Steve, I occasionally eat around the carbs. I mostly like potlucks for the cookies, which I rarely get a chance to eat. I always brought chips or paper plates to ours.
Steve, how long have you been using SEE Finance? What did you use prior, and how does it compare? I’ve been looking for a program like this and, strangely, hadn't heard of it yet. Thanks.
SteveinMN
12-12-19, 10:09pm
Steve, how long have you been using SEE Finance? What did you use prior, and how does it compare? I’ve been looking for a program like this and, strangely, hadn't heard of it yet. Thanks.
About nine years now (looked up my first registration key; no idea it had been so long!). Before that I used ... umm, I don't remember well, but it most likely was the Windows app HomeBank, running under MacPorts.
SEE Finance works much like Quicken and HomeBank and other checkbook-register applications. It has a fairly clean interface and is more Mac-like than much of its competition. The reports (the ones I use, anyway) are comparable. There is investment tracking and a syncing iPhone version of the app (neither of which I've ever used). I don't need true double-entry accounting (like GnuCash) or a lot of budget guidance (like You Need A Budget or envelope-system apps). I abandoned Quicken when Intuit made it clear the Mac version would be a poor cousin to the Windows version. I found SEE Finance and have seen no reason to leave it, even after trying apps like Moneydance, iBank/Banktivity, and Checkbook Pro (especially since the sidegrade would cost me about as much as I have into SEE Finance). And support has been good with keeping up with OS updates and responsive to specific questions about how to use it to do things not outlined in the documentation.
Does that help?
FWIW, groceries are cheapest at supermarkets between the week before thanksgiving and Christmas. They go up the most by percentage starting in January, getting back where they were.
I have a weird hobby: I read USDA reports. The USDA has a monthly retail price report (or they did) for produce and more common meats.
I'm ashamed to say that our grocery expenditure is around $1100 a month, and our dining out as been around $100-$300 a month. I've had an eternal struggle to bring it down. I personally think I could do it, without my family adding things to the "list", for around $300 a month.
Because our son isn't getting the kind of financial aid he was hoping for for the colleges to which he has been accepted, we're trying to pile up money and get our expenses down between now and August, so I'm forcefully saying that we're spending $100 a week on groceries, and that's that.
Where it gets difficult is when it starts feeling like I'm being the budget demon, and the family feels like I'm trying to starve them.
This week, the budget was staying close to $100, but then I had to make a trip to Trader Joe's for coffee, (the big can of whole bean French Roast is a little more expensive than Maxwell House, but tastes better and seems less acidic). My son then wanted to tack on salami, jarlsberg cheese, crackers - my wife wanted chips and dog treats (for the dog), and I bought two bags of peanuts for our individual snacks. That came out to $60 or so. So this week was around $160, which is still better than close to $300. Nothing we buy seems like a big extravagance. We make kombucha and kefir, so there's not any "recreational" drink purchases. We eat mostly vegetarian. Still, it seems difficult to keep it down. I think "Food" is roughly a third of our yearly expenditures.
Teacher Terry
1-7-20, 7:15pm
I think 1100 is huge for 3 people. If you shop strictly at Trader Joe’s it gets expensive.
I wrapped up the itemized tracking I did for 2019 and these were the grocery-related monthly averages for the two of us and two cats:
Groceries/Food only - $362
Groceries/non-food - $16 (toilet paper, wax paper, etc)
Health and Beauty - $20
Pets - $51
Coffee - $15
I spend less than $200 per week on groceries. I think it would be a lot less if I didn't have two teenage boys, one of which is over 6 feet tall and still growing! They "require" snacks in the house at all times. I am trying to wean them down so they will conserve what is available but not sure how well that will go. I try to only buy what we need and will pick stuff up during the week if we happen to run out of something I didn't have a "back up" of on hand. That doesn't happen too often though.
I think 1100 is huge for 3 people. If you shop strictly at Trader Joe’s it gets expensive.
I tend to spend most of Sunday bicycling among three or four different stores. Partly, it is because I know where to get the healthiest, least expensive things, but there's also various preferences among family members for certain foods from certain stores. The amount also seems to go up if I have various family members along with me to "help" with the grocery shopping. I'm sure other persons on the list have the same experiences with family members. My wife, for example, loves to snack on dehydrated mango. The dehydrated mango from Trader Joe's doesn't make the cut. It has to be the dehydrated mango from Vitamin Cottage, and that mango is, I believe, around $7 a bag, and she usually wants two bags. So that's already 14% of my ideal weekly budget of $100. (There's also the ongoing issue some people might remember of purchases of herbs and supplements that also get loosely thrown into "grocery".) Then my son chimes in with all the things he wants to eat. My overall feeling is that it is all those add-ons that push the budget up. (And admittedly, if I'm not being careful myself, I buy roasted cashews instead of roasted peanuts, and I like cheese, so I'm not blameless.) I've learned not to make such a big deal out of it, both for my own peace of mind and for that of my family. But it still gets a little fraught when I AM focusing on getting costs down. I have some cooperation with the college expenses looming. No one wants to borrow money. I bought mangoes this week and dehydrated them myself in our old Excalibur dehydrator, and they passed the finicky-about-mangoes test. Still, even fresh they cost $5 for 4 mangoes, and it amounted to about one bag of the Vitamin Cottage mangoes - but that's still a savings of $4 over the price of two bags, and I got away with dehydrating just the four, so that's a savings of $9 over the usual weekly mango expense.
Recently, I've been trying to shop only at Smith's, because I feel we spend less overall there than if we visit the other stores that have more treat-like items scattered about. It's also closer to our house, so I don't have to spend as much of the weekend bicycling groceries around.
This week's meals are Sunday-vegetarian lasagna; Monday-Filipino Adobo chicken from the "Good and Cheap" cookbook; Tuesday-roasted broccoli and cherry tomatoes with Orzo and feta; Wednesday-posole; Thursday-black beans, kale, and sweet potatoes; friday-bean burritos; Saturday-lentil soup.
We had many of those ingredients on hand, and it still came out to $160 for the week - even with the mangoes getting dehydrated at home. I feel a week like that should be closer to $60.
Teacher Terry
1-8-20, 12:19pm
Teenage boys eat a lot. We had 3. We always had a list on the refrigerator and the kids would put on it what they wanted. We have never shopped at more than one store.
Oh my gosh, I had three teenage boys once upon a time, and we were lucky to get by on 125 a week, and that was 20 years ago!
I spend less than $200 per week on groceries. I think it would be a lot less if I didn't have two teenage boys, one of which is over 6 feet tall and still growing! They "require" snacks in the house at all times. I am trying to wean them down so they will conserve what is available but not sure how well that will go. I try to only buy what we need and will pick stuff up during the week if we happen to run out of something I didn't have a "back up" of on hand. That doesn't happen too often though.
I think you're doing FANTASTIC feeding those boys for only $200 /week. When it's football season w 2h practice nightly plus a game every weekend, my nephew is consuming 4500 calories a day! That is not cheap. And he's a really healthy eater so a lot of yogurt, cheese, veggies (he'll eat them raw), salads, chicken, pasta meals. She always has chocolate chip cookies fresh in the cookie jar. 2-3 of those will hold him after practice while dinner is made. And after a game, he wants a big steak!
If you figure out how to go lower, I'd love to hear about it!
iris lilies
1-8-20, 2:35pm
I think you're doing FANTASTIC feeding those boys for only $200 /week. When it's football season w 2h practice nightly plus a game every weekend, my nephew is consuming 4500 calories a day! That is not cheap. And he's a really healthy eater so a lot of yogurt, cheese, veggies (he'll eat them raw), salads, chicken, pasta meals. She always has chocolate chip cookies fresh in the cookie jar. 2-3 of those will hold him after practice while dinner is made. And after a game, he wants a big steak!
If you figure out how to go lower, I'd love to hear about it!
I know! All bets are off in controlling groceries when feeding large male teenagers.
I think you're doing FANTASTIC feeding those boys for only $200 /week. When it's football season w 2h practice nightly plus a game every weekend, my nephew is consuming 4500 calories a day! That is not cheap. And he's a really healthy eater so a lot of yogurt, cheese, veggies (he'll eat them raw), salads, chicken, pasta meals. She always has chocolate chip cookies fresh in the cookie jar. 2-3 of those will hold him after practice while dinner is made. And after a game, he wants a big steak!
If you figure out how to go lower, I'd love to hear about it!
I used to clip coupons but it became a hassle every week. Just use my rewards card and buy store brands when possible.
I used to clip coupons but it became a hassle every week. Just use my rewards card and buy store brands when possible.
If there are coupons for things you use, they are worth it when you think about savings over time. Suggestion: put those flyers on the table and have the boys cut out coupons for items they want! Designate an envelope to put them in. Go through it before your weekly shopping trip while you're making your list.
my wife wanted chips and dog treats (for the dog),
I may be over-reading things but when you have to clarify that the dog treats were for the dog and not because your wife was so desperate for some sort of treats that she was willing to ask for dog treats you're pushing the frugal envelope pretty hard.
If there are coupons for things you use, they are worth it when you think about savings over time. Suggestion: put those flyers on the table and have the boys cut out coupons for items they want! Designate an envelope to put them in. Go through it before your weekly shopping trip while you're making your list.
Used to do that but don't get the Sunday paper anymore. Anyone know of good online coupons sites or apps? I shop at Giant Foods and their rewards card seems to really help get prices down.
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