Reasonable Food Budget?

[Snufkin]

Hello,

I am looking for some advice about what would be a reasonable budget for food for two adults. This fall, I am hoping to be more organized about money and hopefully, to follow a budget sucessfully.

There are two of us. We pack our lunches for school, do not have time for hot breakfast in the morning, and I cook dinner on weeknight evenings. Weekends vary; but we consider getting pizza once in awhile as "going out" money, i.e., recreation rather than food money.

We are fortunate to have access to good food stores (including a Trader Joe's), and I like to get the most health-wise for our dollar. (E.g., not all-organic, but organic dairy and a few other things).

I'd just like to know what seems reasonable to other people? I haven't really kept track, so am not even sure of what we spend currently, but would like to have a goal to shoot for.

Thanks for any input!

[HappyHiker]

Give you share more information? Are you vegetarians? Semi-vegetarians? How often do you have the need for meat, poultry, seafood? Wine? beer? What are your favorite foods that are non-negotiable? Could you live on rice/beans or pasta? Or is a dinner not complete without a meat or poultry serving?

Everyone's diet and food favs are very personal and my food budget (quasi-vege) might not work for your way of eating. Details, please, before a reasonable budget suggestion might be made...

[ljevtich]

I'm with HappyHiker - lots of variables in order to give a budget. I could suggest $300 but that would be my eating habits. To help get you started:
Food Costs at Home (http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodCost-Home.htm) These are the different food plans based on per person with four different plans. Of course, even the thrift plan is high for DH and I. Last month, we went over that by about $100, as you can see: July 2011 expenses (http://www.laura-n-sasha.com/JulExp2011.html) but during the month of May (the last full month for the USDA numbers) we were under $300.

[Bastelmutti]

I use the guidelines posted above and for our family of 4 we come in approximately around the "low-cost plan" level for a family w/preteens. We eat similarly to you.

[Fawn]

We spend less then $420/month for a family of 4, including 2 teenage boys. We eat meat/chicken/fish 3-4 times /week. We buy some organic meat/chicken/fish/dairy and some not. I cook mosty from scratch. You can read more details on my blog (see link below). Just go to the list on the right and click on "Food Stamp Allotment."

[loosechickens]

We average about 300 per month, although that has been creeping up lately. Very little meat, although what we do buy is highly priced, grass fed, organic, etc. And we eat mostly organic with fruits and veggies and completely organic for dairy. We cook from scratch, eat almost no processed foods, and generally eat fairly low on the food chain. That's for two people, and occasional guests. We could do it a lot cheaper with just regular supermarket stuff, but feel like the higher quality food is worth the expense.

[Aqua Blue]

I found it to be most helpful to me to keep track of how much I spend and what I bought for at least a month. Then start trying to lower that number. It really doesn't matter what someone else spends, IMHO> I keep track of groceries and menu. Then I spend a few minutes looking it over. My thinking might be, we liked the bean tacos just as well as the hamburger tacos and they cost a lot less.... or we really don't like ----so there is no use buying that... I even have a little list of things Not to Buy. For some reason in the store I think we like ____, but I know we really don't. This also helps me buy things when there is a really good sale.

[redfox]

Organic, local, and super high quality food is one of the top 5 most important categories for us. I save by eating out only every so often (though I love to go out to eat) and packing lunches. Scrimping on food quality isn't smart, IMHO. We shop almost exclusively at a local food co-op, and though prices are higher than the "standard" grocery store, the quality is superb. I also make things like yogurt & bread. We noticed that by limiting our beer & wine purchases, our food budget goes further too.

[iris lily]

Two adults here who eat mostly at home. We spend around $70 - $85 weekly, not counting:

pet food
alcohol
beef and pork

DH has a huge garden that is barely producing this year (weird weather and squirrels) but some years that accounts for a lot of produce in the summer. He usually makes bread.

I am not saying that this is budget shopping, it's not. This just gives you an idea of another household. I stopped budget shopping some years ago and get pretty much anything I want. But that said, we are already trained after having it ingrained in us for decades, to shop around the edges of the store, avoiding much of the processed stuff in the middle, In fact, that's my grocery shopping plan: We shop around the edges each week and put on the "list" only the things in the middle aisles, and we dart into those aisles and back out as needed. we never go down all aisles.

Sometimes when I wander into aisles where we seldom go, I am amazed by how much STUFF there is of one kind of product. Crackers, for instance--jeez. An entire aisle devoted to crackers, plus crackers at the deli, plus crackers near the beer, plus crackers...you get the idea. What are we, a bunch of babies who must always be sucking on a cracker???!!!!

edited to add: oh sorry, I forgot that DH regularly goes to Sam's CLub spending about $15 - $25 2X monthly on milk, household soaps, and parmesean cheese (that chseese purchase is 1X annually) And then, there are our forays to the International food store where we easily spend $100 but only go there 3 - 4 times a year.

hmmm, I think that I don't want to add up all of the money we spend food shopping.

[Stella]

$500-$600 a month for a family of seven. It's higher in the summer because we will buy bushels of tomatoes for canning or go raspberry picking and freeze a bunch. Plus in the winter I can bake and make more soups, which helps. We eat a fair amount of organic food including buying milk directly from a small dairy farm, which isn't cheap.

[razz]

Trying to figure out how one would spend as much as the USDA food guide indicates.

For two adults under 70 years.

Breakfast for two - usually a slice of homemade bread toasted with peanut butter and a cup of fruit for DH and 1/3 cup oatmeal + yogurt and fruit with tea
Lunch might be an egg or cheese sandwich with coleslaw or dipping veg with sour cream dip and fruit. Soup in winter plus tea or water

Snack is fruit or some almonds

Dinner is lasagna/pizza with veg or salad, 3 oz only each of protein (baked chicken or smothered steak or liver etc) with starch and veg.

Snack is 1 oz cheese and a glass of skim milk
We are lower than the thrifty level of the USDA schedule.

We:
* buy very little processed food - Cheese Whiz for DH, Kraft mayo, occasional chicken strips,
*preserve food when it is cheap and locally abundant,
*no cold meats,
*no cleaning beyond vinegar/soda except for laundry detergent and dishwashing detergent with Arm and Hammer washing soda for stain removal
*no soda of any kind
*make from scratch and bake our own bread, cakes and cookies,
*make our own jams, pickles and salsa so that I know what we are getting
*buy items at the 50% off like tofu for lasagna, bananas for breads and muffins, etc.,
*eat a simple but healthy diet

[artist]

A lot depends upon the types of foods you prepare. Dh and I only cook from scratch. No convience or processed foods. Meat is an ingredient, not a main course. Lots of veggies and at least one piece of fruit each day. Our food budget for the two of us and includes paper products (TP etc..), cleaning and personal care items. I have a budget set at $240 per month. Most months we don't spend the entire $240 and come in closer to $220. but whatever is left over we send to our son in college to supplement the University meal plan.

[treehugger]

I'd just like to know what seems reasonable to other people? I haven't really kept track, so am not even sure of what we spend currently, but would like to have a goal to shoot for.

Here's the key, I think. It's time to start keeping track. It doesn't even really matter what's "reasonable" for other people since there are sooooo many variables (location being the biggest). So, simply start tracking what you spend per month and then try cutting back by a little each month, until you get to a figure that fits within the rest of your budget and goals.

It's very easy for most people to cut back on groceries, up to a point (and that sticking point will be different for everyone). There are lots of threads here and at Frugal Village about frugal shopping techniques and frugal recipes.

The main ways I keep my budget low: making a price book that keeps track of prices at the various stores I shop at; cooking from scratch as much as practical; making my shopping list from my area's store sale flyers; shop only every 2 weeks.

Good luck!

Kara

[pinkytoe]

Wow...dh and I spend around $425 per month on groceries not including pet food or alcohol. We do buy organic and cook from scratch a lot but I am not sure why it is so much higher than everyone else. I keep telling him that we need to shop from the pantry as it is bulging with pasta, beans, etc. The only thing I can think of is that we buy a lot of organic vegetables and bread from a local bakery which is about $3 a loaf. Not to mention we love food:) We consider it an entertainment category. Since I am at $375 right now with a week and a half to go this month, I am going to challenge myself to get it under $400. I also think the price of food has gone up this past year or so.

[artist]

Wow...dh and I spend around $425 per month on groceries not including pet food or alcohol. We do buy organic and cook from scratch a lot but I am not sure why it is so much higher than everyone else. I keep telling him that we need to shop from the pantry as it is bulging with pasta, beans, etc. The only thing I can think of is that we buy a lot of organic vegetables and bread from a local bakery which is about $3 a loaf. Not to mention we love food:) We consider it an entertainment category. Since I am at $375 right now with a week and a half to go this month, I am going to challenge myself to get it under $400. I also think the price of food has gone up this past year or so.

We buy fruit only when in season and from local small farmers. Bread I make myself from scratch for around $1 a loaf.

[pinkytoe]

My experience with the local farmer's markets has been mixed. Produce is often much higher than the grocery organic stuff from California or local. We have had a historic drought here in TX so buying local is tough right now. I could never bake bread that tastes as good as what we can buy - I've tried and I am just not a baker or dessert maker.

[razz]

Pinkytoe, the price of food has gone up, a lot. I was amazed to see that for 22lbs or 10kg of all purpose flour, the price was up from less than $10 in May to $15 now. I have been able to find some on special at about the old price by watching.
Not only that but containers are smaller or not the same quality for the same price. Meats are through the roof in increased price. We use a lot of bean dishes that might have some meat as an ingredient but not the main one.

Have you seen the price on facial tissues which used to be about $.75 for a box of 200 not that long ago. The last time I looked, it was $.95 per box of 80, on special! Most times we use handkerchiefs but there are times when one needs facial tissues.

I wonder how the USDA rates get adjusted for such inflationary rates of increase?

People need different diets depending on their activities as well so our example may apply to a limited number of other people.

[loosechickens]

"The only thing I can think of is that we buy a lot of organic vegetables and bread from a local bakery which is about $3 a loaf." (Pinkytoe)
-------------------------------------------------------------
I've baked almost every loaf of bread that's come into our house for the past thirty years or more, and honestly, I think that learning to bake your own bread is one of the biggest moneysavers in our kitchens. Even using the best organic whole wheat flour, excellent quality olive oil, cost of fuel, etc., I can bake three loaves of bread for the cost of one bought loaf, especially if you are buying quality bread.

Bread is incredibly easy to make, once you have the knack down......I get the stuff out, mix up and knead my dough (ten minutes), let it rise ONCE (about an hour, while I do something else), shape the loaves, (I make three loaves at a time and slice and freeze them), which takes only a few minutes, then bake, which takes another hour, which I'm spending doing something else. So the total actual "working" time is only about 15 minutes, and total elapsed time is only a couple of hours. If I've been busy, and we're running out of bread, I can even do it in the evening while reading or watching TV (or being here on the forums), and stock us up again.

So easy, yet something that intimidates so many. A skill well worth perfecting, for a lifetime of savings, AND good eating.

[Wildflower]

Two adults here and we spend about $300 a month, including modest amounts of wine for me and beer for hubby. No junk food other than the occasional bag of tortilla chips. We eat mostly chicken, fish, and little beef and pork. A small amount of meat goes a long way with us. I can stretch it through several meals. Many of our meals are meatless, and we eat lots of veggies and fruits. Grow most of the veggies that we eat, and can the surplus for winter. We buy fruit locally in season, whenever possible. Bake our own bread. Cook from scratch. Rarely, if ever, eat processed foods. We could go alot lower in our food budget amount, but we consider eating well very important to our health and well-being. As we've aged we have tried to take better care of ourselves overall, with good nutrition and exercise at the top of the list.

[artist]

My experience with the local farmer's markets has been mixed. Produce is often much higher than the grocery organic stuff from California or local. We have had a historic drought here in TX so buying local is tough right now. I could never bake bread that tastes as good as what we can buy - I've tried and I am just not a baker or dessert maker.

I don't go to the farmer's market. Prices are usually inflated. I go directly to the farmer. Small local farmers love the support of their neighbors and usually give a good price for their goods. Fresh milk, butter, eggs, cheese, apples, squash, corn etc... .

[Bastelmutti]

I've tried and I am just not a baker or dessert maker.

Me, either. I found the Artisan Bread in 5 Min. book at a used bookstore and hope to try it soon. I think my family is moving away from eating bread daily, though, except for DD2. And, thankfully, DD1 has gotten into baking desserts, so when we want something, she's more than willing to try making it.

[pcooley]

We vary wildly, most likely a matter of cutting way back and then rebounding from a sense of lack. For a family of four, I budget $700 a month. I can get it down as low as $550 a month, and it goes up as high as $1200 a month. We cook from scratch, are mostly vegetarian, but things can get expensive with smoothie ingredients, organic fruits and vegetables, etc. A chicken from the Farmer's Market costs almost $20, so our support for local farmers certainly can cost us, but we feel it's important even if we don't get down there every week.