Shopping Bill

muirspud

For the last 2 weeks, me and my partner have both been dieiting and making a real effort to cut down on the calories, eat healthy and try make fresh meals where possible. Replacing all them bad snacks with fresh ones etc, We both work, so are making and taking healthier meals to work. But we spend approx £70 ($105) on food a week (and usual house stuff for 2) and usually have guests round once a week, Now in the last 2 weeks we have spent.......... £95 ($142.5).

So heres the question. Fat and wealthier. Skinny or Skint (Broke/busto)?

But no, has your food bills gone up, with the change in diet and buying all the healthier extras etc?

bonitacash08

Mine definitely have. I think it's more expensive to buy fresh produce, especially in a state like Nevada that doesn't have much of its own fresh fruits and vegetables. Seafood, forget about it lol. But it's a small price to pay for my health. What I pay for in healthier food now I won't have to pay in medical bills later. Diabetes, heart disease, and obesity run in my family.

Edited to add: Grocery bill has increased. Total food consumption has gone down as I'm not eating out as much.

ParrosFan

Oh absolutely all the fresh, healthy items are more expensive. Sad that the cheaper affordable things are boxed mack and cheese and rice, etc. My grocery bill has gone up considerable since I've changed my eating habits.

MommaChocoLatte

I have to buy for 7 people so I just buy exactly what we need for 2 wks. We make a list and stick to the list.. we spend about $600 a month on edibles alone. It has stayed about the same because we have replaced some of the higher priced items with more of the lower priced items and we switched grocery stores to a less expensive store.

lyndausvi

We tend to eat out more then average couple. So I generally just combined the grocery and eating out budget. The grocery part is up a little since I started eating better and wanting to eat at home, the eating out bill as gone way down. So far it's helped us save money.


ETA - we also just moved to Indiana where the food, especially vegetables, are way cheaper than I was use to. We moved from the USVI where a pineapple cost $9 :sad:

howardheilweil

I think that our overall cost of eating has gone down because we are making a concerted effort to eat out (much) less and pack lunches. It is definitely true that the actual grocery bill has increased, but overall I'm guessing we are paying less....

Disclaimer: I haven't really spreadsheeted all of this!

greenmonstergirl

We figured it out at work for a gal here:

3 x/day mcdonalds - $30 - yes she was eating that much!!!

vs

what I eat in a day equaled about $10/day

I guess it depends what you were eating before and after. There are certainly differences in what you can eat (some bad things are really cheap but make you fat and if you buy a ton of fresh stuff, you are buying it more often as it goes bad and it's more costly).

I am definitely spending less though. I don't go out for lunch anymore, I bring my food. What I eat is pretty cheap now.

Bobbie8786

I don't think ours has gone up too much, if at all. However, I cook a lot more from scratch and we are cooking lots of rice and bean casseroles or soup type recipes. That way we can use less meat (saves calories and money). We are also starting to bake our own breads, English muffins, tortillas, flat bread, which is cheaper and healthier. I don't know that it has cost us more money, but it is certainly much more time consuming doing all of this cooking. The reward is it tastes better and we are losing weight.

ramalem

I'm always astonished at how much more my food cost "goes up" when I cook at home, but really when I break it down between 2 people, 3 meals a day for 4-5 days it all comes out to be MUCH cheaper than eating out.

garber6th

My shopping bill has gone up, but the amount I spend overall has gone down considerably since I don't go out to eat as often and I don't buy as much take out, etc. I buy organic foods as often as possible which are more expensive, but the portions I am eating are smaller than before so what I buy goes much further.

ChelseaM8726

I make my meal plans for the next week or two, and I buy groceries that I need for those recipes only! It helps me save money on buying things I won't use, this way I know I will use them!

lalaland82

Mine has increased by enough that I notice the difference every week (I shop daily/every 2 days)
Even the checkout lady in the supermarket double checked the price of the apples I like and said wow that's a lot for 2, are you sure you want them, you can get 5 mars bars for that, grrr don't remind me :laugh:

Espressocycle

It's possible to eat healthful foods on a budget, but it's a lot more work. Cabbage, onions, potatoes, eggs, rice, bananas - these are the staples of a healthful diet on a budget. You want salad greens, a variety of fruits, etc. and you are going to be spending more.

Joannesmith2818

Well for me .... my shopping bill has gone down. I eat alot less and eat aloooot less takeaways. I could easily spend £60 a week, now its more like £30.

meredith1123

nope because we dont buy the junk and extra basic/simple carb foods sooooooooo its about evened out.

AlwaysMTNDEW

Mine has decreased. I get what I can at Aldi's (a discount grocery store) and then get what's left on my list at walmart. Currently, I spend about $300 a month on food (feeding 3 people). I also use a lot of coupons now, when before I didn't. I used to spend about $400 - $500 a month when I was shopping at a local grocery store (the store actually went out of business last year) and that was before I had my son to feed, so it was only for 2 people.

dognamedpig

OP I'd choose broke and weigh less. If those were the only two choices.

Ninkyou

You also have to calculate though, how much you're saving by cutting out things like fast food. That $5-6 you spent on a big mac meal gets saved and redistributed to your new healthier eating style

So, it may seem like you're spending more at the grocery, but you're spending less elsewhere!

basslinewild

My shopping bill has definitely gone up. I was spending about $75 now I spend between $100 and $140 usually.

workaholic_nurse

Overall food costs have decreased despite the fact that my grocery bill has gone up a little, still cheaper to cook for 3 than to eat out 2 meals x 2 people 4 days a week and 1 meal x 3 people 6 days a week.

Acg67

$70 a person per week is expensive?