Weekly grocery bill
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First of all, look for coupons and specials at the grocery store. Second, make sure you are shopping at a cheaper grocery store. Some grocery stores are really expensive. Buy fruits/veggies that are in season because they will be cheaper. Get meat from the meat guy in the grocery store, it is usually way cheaper than the prepackaged meat. For example the chicken was 1.88 a lb for boneless/skinless from the meat guy, and was like 5.99 a pound prepackaged. Buy stuff like rice/beans etc in bulk. Also canned beans, tomato sauce, etc is usually pretty cheap as well. Look up the dirty dozen list it is a list of stuff you should buy organic, you dont have to buy EVERYTHING organic just the stuff that is mostly sprayed with pesticides. Stop eating out to eat as much. Maybe only eat out to eat once or twice a month and look for specials/deals at the restaurant you go out to eat at. You will save SO MUCH MONEY if you cut out fast food/starbucks etc.0
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Wow I feel ripped off!!! I am in Perth Western Australia we are a family of 6 and I do menu plans and shopping lists.
Our weekly spend is $250 a week not including my husbands lunches. I can't cut anything else out0 -
Cutting out ordering in,take out, eating out etc is always a big saver. Where we live in BC, a large pizza and order of wings, after tipping the driver is ~$45.00 Do that twice in a month and that literally buys enough chicken breasts to feed me and my wife for the entire month. Toss in 3-4 stops at a burger joint each month at around $90 combined buys all of the rice/veg/oatmeal/egg whites/fish to round out our menu.
Stop buying ice cream/pop/sugary snacks/chips=money for protein powder/supplements (optional of course).
Even with some extra money for protein that we use I estimate we will cut our food expenditures by 50% this month.
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I know that most folks throw out far too much food. Be careful about best before dates. They are there to protect the producer, not you. Freeze stuff that is getting close if you can't use it. We freeze or reuse leftovers for lunches as much as possible. If food is fully cooked and in the fridge it will be good for longer than you probably think. Waste is probably one of the biggest areas you can manage directly.
Eat by the season if you can. Asparagus is one of my favorite veggies and we gorged on it when it was fresh and local and frankly 1/3 of the cost of the imports that you get in the winter. And again, freeze a bunch for later. We garden and do about 100 dozen ears of corn. Guess where it goes...we don't buy much corn in the winter. But I know not everyone has that opportunity. Use items that never get too expensive. Cabbage is usually always cheap and works in soups, stir fry, salads, slows... Stretch meats where you can as far as you can.
Learn to cook. This may sound insulting and I apologize of it does, it's not my intent. But if we make mashed potatoes, left overs will be made into potato pancakes or gnocchi or bubble and squeak or something like that. Knowing how to utilize leftovers in a manner that transforms them into something that is better can help stretch things much further. And we expect a day a week or more to be leftovers.0 -
I'm in Ohio with a husband and 9 yo daughter. We spend around what you do, OP. I could get it down if I really tried but that amount doesn't bother me.0
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2 adults $60 per week, but never eat out except once year on birthdays...0
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But very frugal, Walmart, dollar store and grocery outlet..0
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My first thought was I'll trade you. I get 94 in food stamps and have another$50 max that I can spend on groceries if I don't have to buy medicine. Eating healthy food on this amount is very difficult. Any suggestions.0
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Two adults anc two children in Ohio anc we spend $300-$400 per month. I plan my meals around what's on sale and buy and freeze meat when it's on a good sale. I also utilize a loca farmers market that has ridiculously cheap produce. Finally, I compare ads and usually hit 3-4 stores to get what I need. (All are nearby each other so I'm not wasting gas)0
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Wiseandcurious wrote: »Reading through this topic is amazing. You guys are amazing to eat on $500-$800 per month. My family of 4 adults (in Southern California) spends over $1500 per month on food (groceries, restaurants, fast food).
From your perspective @424a57, why is that? Lots of eating out? Food generally more expensive where you live? Throw out food a lot? Eat truffles/foie gras a lot? Life standard (costs and salaries) double that of other states? Just curious, I am not in the US so wondering what a double (or triple) difference can come from.
@Wiseandcurious - My guess would be that $1500 includes "groceries, restaurants and fast food" One night at a restaurant for a family of four would be a minimum of $40 up to probably $100-150. A fast food night can add up quick too.
I don't grocery shop but a fantastic website is the cheapskates club. http://www.cheapskatesclub.net/ They have heaps of cheap dinner recipes & do a $300/month grocery challenge.1 -
Meal plan you'll spend way less. I also shop at Costco or Sam's Club so I can buy in bulk. We buy a lot of organic food and my grocery bill has also doubled. I use to coupon but everything is junk food. We're a family of 5 and I spend about $600 a month on food now.0
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hummingbird92548 wrote: »My first thought was I'll trade you. I get 94 in food stamps and have another$50 max that I can spend on groceries if I don't have to buy medicine. Eating healthy food on this amount is very difficult. Any suggestions.
@hummingbird92548 suggestions for you:
1. See if you are mistakenly receiving too little money. Every childless person I know gets more than that. My brother's amount fluctuated down to under $50 and it turned out to be a mistake.
2. Utilize food pantries/religious charities
3. Farm stands and farmers' markets. (However, my experience has been that farmer's markets that specialize in organic are overpriced.) http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/
4. Grow your own herbs in pots in the windowsill. You may be able to get supplies on freecycle. I've given away lots of pots and plants to fellow freecyclers. When my garden really starts popping I give away produce as well, as do many people who grow cucumbers and zucchinis. Seedlings of these often get sold in six packs and you'd need to be feeding a platoon to be able to consume all the veggies produced.
5. See if there is an Aldi's near you. People here praise their low prices.0 -
I don't have any tricks.. I spend around $200 a week . It's just me and hubby.
I used to spend over $300 pw when my 2 kids were still living at home.0 -
Brocksterdanza wrote: »My wife and i are almost 2 weeks in to eating clean again and this is something that came up in our discussion. We are also working on tightening the reigns of our spending and waste for financial reasons. We have a 4 year old daughter as well. We calculated that in the last several months, we are spending nearly 850 dollars on food. Now granted this is groceries and eating out. I see all over the Internet that families of 4 or more are eating for under 600 a month. How do they do it? My wife says eating cleaner is much more expensive. Is this true? What are the tricks? How much do your families spend? Thanks all!
When I was tracking my spending, I came in at about $200 per month for me. I didn't eat out. I don't drink soda or juice.
I'm not a "clean eater" per se but I do eat a lot of organic produce and humanely raised dairy and meat. However, I get the cheaper cuts. I eat a lot of chicken thighs and very little steak. I buy meat when it's 50% off and freeze it. I see what's on sale where and meal plan around that.
Over the winter and early spring I was using organic baby greens in my smoothies, which are expensive, but less so when purchasing by the pound as opposed to the 3 or 5 ounce container. Now, I'm getting my greens from my garden.1 -
When people are starting "clean eating" they often have a couple misconceptions. If you are just trying to avoid processed foods like you are saying there are some things you can do easily:
- Sign up for any rewards program/email lists your local grocers have. They often will send you some really good deals.
- If you have shelf space, buy stuff when it is on sale in bulk. Stocking up saves a lot of money.
- Plan your recipes based on what the store has on sale. When I go shopping there is seldom anything in my cart that isn't on sale unless I am Aldi's or Woodman's.
- Organic isn't necessary
- Look for local farmers markets, they aren't always cheaper, but sometimes they really are.
- There are ways to add more to your meals cheaply: beans, rice, vegetables can add bulk to your meal and beans especially are a cheap protein source.
- I don't do coupons other than the ones the stores email me, but they really can help
- Don't be afraid to shop around. You may find that different stores have lower prices on different items. In my area I buy most of my meat on sale at the local grocer because their sale prices are better than others by a dollar to four dollars a pound usually, but fruit and vegetables I buy at Aldi's or Woodman's because their prices are usually a third of that same local grocer
- Check the clearance section/bargain bin if your store has one. Sometimes there are some great deals.
I do all the things I mention above and it has cut my bill drastically. It is mostly about spending my money at the right time and the right place. I could easily pay double or triple what I do if I just made a list and shopped without looking at ads or if I shopped at only one place1 -
AmazonMayan wrote: »Plan your meals around what's on sale instead of shopping for a specific menu plan.
I have a friend with 12 kids and this is what she does. It works well for them and they eat a completely whole foods diet. I couldn't do it because it's not my style and we have the luxury of not having to do it; but it does work!
We are a family of 5. Two adults, one teen boy, and two teen girls. We spend $1200 a month on food (this includes all my household products as well - TP, paper towels, shampoo, etc.). We eat an 85% or more organic diet and some of our snacks are more processed then I'd prefer. We're in Idaho which is considered to be fairly cheap cost of living wise. If I had to hit just what we spend on food, I'd say it's about $1000/mo. I do not have to buy beef as we buy half a cow each year but I do have to buy chicken and I only buy organic chicken. I think anyone that can feed their family for $600/mo is a hero. LOL!
There have been some great suggestions put forth here but the planning your menu according to what's on sale is probably the most logical in my mind.2 -
I am impressed lots of good advice. Its just me and my adult daughter shes more particular. I eat clean/vegan she doesnt. I buget coupon some but except w my fruits/vegies certain suppliments I never spend high end. I try to freeze what I can eat cabbage &kale vs lettuce just cause it stores longer. I use lists and try to be disciplined in my spending never eat out or splurge. I simply cant afford it only working part time.0
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- stop eating out if you want to save money
- compare prices with 2/3 stores and stock up when things are on sale
- buy in bulk when possible (but always compare prices, some things are more expensive in bulk)
- use coupons when possible (90% of the stuff I buy doesn't have coupons)
- buy cheaper things. We eat a lot of chicken vs salmon or steak, for example. Eat lots of frozen veggies instead of fresh.
I spend less than $150 a week for the 4 of us in groceries - but my husband eats lunch out 3x a week (wish he stopped) and we eat out once a week on top of that... so we're probably not that far off (we usually spend $60 or so eating out).1 -
Put in a garden (or start a windowfarm for the urban). If you are blessed with the land, then not only will you be feeding yourself wholesome real food but burning calories too. It's a win/win.0
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Soooo true. Eating out at a "nice" restaurant for family of 5 can easily cost $100. I can feed my family of 5 for a few days on that!Wiseandcurious wrote: »Reading through this topic is amazing. You guys are amazing to eat on $500-$800 per month. My family of 4 adults (in Southern California) spends over $1500 per month on food (groceries, restaurants, fast food).
From your perspective @424a57, why is that? Lots of eating out? Food generally more expensive where you live? Throw out food a lot? Eat truffles/foie gras a lot? Life standard (costs and salaries) double that of other states? Just curious, I am not in the US so wondering what a double (or triple) difference can come from.
@Wiseandcurious - My guess would be that $1500 includes "groceries, restaurants and fast food" One night at a restaurant for a family of four would be a minimum of $40 up to probably $100-150. A fast food night can add up quick too.
I don't grocery shop but a fantastic website is the cheapskates club. http://www.cheapskatesclub.net/ They have heaps of cheap dinner recipes & do a $300/month grocery challenge.
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If you have any yard, patio or balcony I'd suggest growing some of your own food. Many vegetables can be grown in containers that take up very little space. If you have the space for a garden that is even better. Gardening can save so much money if you enjoy fresh produce.1
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I purchase our family's groceries. I'm vegan, my husband is not, and our child eats anything we put in front of her. We usually make a joint dinner that my husband will add chicken or steak to, so there really isn't a huge difference in what we are eating, and I take leftovers for lunch the next day while my husband has a standard lunch of chicken, rice and sweet potatoes. We eat "clean" I suppose you could say. We buy our grains and beans in bulk, and I shop for fresh produce 2x/week (but we eat a lot of frozen as well). We only eat out 2-5x/month, and our total food budget for the month is $350. Honestly, we rarely get close to this, unless we are replenishing our dry storage. We have found our food budget dropped significantly when we started ordering our groceries. When we would go into the store, we would always end up with $20-30 worth of impulse buys that we no longer get when we put in our grocery list online and then pick up at the front of the store. It's helped so much! I know it's not an option everywhere, but I'd look into seeing if any of your local stores offer it!1
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I live in probably one of the most expensive places to buy food, especially fresh food (Northwest Territories, Canada) and can feed our household of three adults on about 700/mo. This includes a ton of convenience items (i'm a little addicted to rotisserie chickens!). We shop sales and buy what is in season.
Our grocery store will put meat packages on sale for 30-50% off. I asked the butcher when they do this and shop according to that. I will go earlier in the morning or in evening and buy most of my meat on sale.
I eat a lot of frozen veggies because it's significantly cheaper here. I made sides, stir-fries out of frozen veggies
I buy no name or "off name" (weird brands that seem like a copy of the name-brand) brands for as many items as possible. Most of the time it's just as good and I save a ton.
I buy a lot of the same stuff over and over again so buying in bulk is often cheaper. For example, a small jar of banana peppers is like 4 dollars but I can buy a really big jar for about 12 dollars so the price per gram is cheaper than the small jar.
I am spending less money eating healthy than I ever did eating badly
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