Grocery Bill

onefortyone

We are pretty frugal and live in an area where food is cheap, and keep it around $200 a month for me and hubby, though we lost track the past couple of months. We use coupons for what we can, and stock up if the price is good, so some months might be $250-300, but we have enough TP to last 6 months and shampoo through 2016 lol.

I always recommend coupons.com as the easiest place to browse for coupons for things you already buy!

CassieR6

We are pretty frugal and live in an area where food is cheap, and keep it around $200 a month for me and hubby, though we lost track the past couple of months. We use coupons for what we can, and stock up if the price is good, so some months might be $250-300, but we have enough TP to last 6 months and shampoo through 2016 lol.

I always recommend coupons.com as the easiest place to browse for coupons for things you already buy!

Thank you! I will defiantly look into that.

amcook4

We are somewhere between $50 - $150 a week, vastly depending on if we like the stuff that is on sale, and what we make. (Just my husband and I)

If we want to keep it cheap, we will make a big batch of cheap food and have it for a few meals, like Jamaican beans & rice, that gets us dinner and about 3 days of lunches, those weeks are about $50. Although, not all weeks are like that, we like good quality ingredients, so sometimes we can drop $20 on a block of really good Parmesan cheese (that will last a few weeks) It does help that we have multiple grocery stores close by, and depending on what we are buying we know where things are cheapest (like pine nuts are super cheap at Whole foods, while canned tomatoes are usually more expensive). And our CSA plays into it during the growing season as well, we get A LOT of vegetables from them, and the price really isn't that bad.

lachapelle12345

$2500 per month in northern Canada for a family of five -our 3 children are all boys. Grocery prices are very high where we live with produce being the bulk of our costs. We all eat at least 8 servings of fruit and veggies a day....I'll be rich when they leave home

blktngldhrt

We spend 300-500 per month on groceries for two adults and a 3 year old (2 dogs too) in PA

SpicesOfLife

holy *kitten*, how much do you guys make to be able to spend 1000+ on groceries each month lol, and what the hell are you buying?

i spend about 200 on groceries for just me and i eat a lot!

21million

$300ish/month, two adults, one small dog. But that is a bit of splurging, really. I buy a lot of grains in bulk that keep well so in reality I could put out a few hundred and be set for months sans a few fresh veggies occasionally. I have a problem spending on food, though, so my menu isn't well varied.

teagirlmedium

The numbers some people are throwing out scare me. I want to move to a warmer area. Every time I look at the numbers I barely see spending $400 a month on everything that I would not consider a bill. What cost $1,000+ that does not include bills like rent or car insurance, etc.? How much daily life stuff and I forgetting?

MKEgal

I have $189 for food every month.
Sometimes I spend close to that, often I have credit left over.
I eat lower on the food chain because it's healthier & cheaper - little meat, lots of beans & veggies.

Here's a blog post I did with a link to a cookbook called "Cheap Eats":
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-09-19-cheap-eats-cookbook-696460

I also check out the 99c bin at the grocery for ding & dent produce. Have to eat it quickly, but it's only cosmetically bad.
Also, the store I go to (Woodman's) is considerably less expensive than the major chain in my area (Pick n Save). I got an avocado at W's for 69c, and at PnS they wanted $1.49. A red bell pepper was about the same prices. Milk is 75c to $1 cheaper at W's, same name brands.
Aldi is pretty cheap too, & they're an international chain.

21million

MKEgal wrote: »

I have $189 for every month.
Sometimes I spend close to that, often I have credit left over.
I eat lower on the food chain because it's healthier & cheaper - little meat, lots of beans & veggies.

Here's a blog post I did with a link to a cookbook called "Cheap Eats":
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-09-19-cheap-eats-cookbook-696460

So awesome, thanks!

Lourdesong

$500-600 a month for hubs and me in northern VA. Most shopping is in bulk at Costco. We'd either go broke or have to coupon full time if we did all our shopping at a regular grocery store.

rterilynn

single person with no food frills other than wine or beer on occasion is @ $400.00 'ish' in Oregon. We have an abundance of fresh produce, but prices are getting ridiculous.

lachapelle12345

For an idea we Just spent $10.51 on 8 apples at 10:00 this morning- all gone by 4:00 pm today

50sFit

CassieP16 wrote: »

Hello there! I know I have asked this before but I just did our numbers and we are spending about $1000 a month in groceries!! To me for a family of three (Wife, Husband, and 4 year old). This includes food, household items, and beer typically. So its all! Oh and we are in Southern California. So is this average or above average???

We're a family of 7, and we spend about $200 per week on lean meats, fish, fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, beans, whole grain flour, rice, pasta and raw, unpasteurized dairy products.
We eat well but cheap. Most of our cooking is from scratch.

NetflixAndChocolate

ireland :me and 3 housemates spend €80 a week on food + booze

krazyforyou

Its only myself and the cat. I do keep treats for my niece who visits weekly. But my bill is usually 200-250 monthly. I am in Alabama

pita7317

Southern Nevada here. Depends on who shops. My husband or myself for just two of us.
I would say food only ranges probably 800-900 a month. Hubby spends way more than I do.

mereditheve

Your grocery bill seems insanely high to me.

Tips:
- Shop around the outer edge of the grocery store (e.g., produce, dairy, meat, eggs).
- Buy staples in bulk (oats, flour, sugar, etc.) and buy them when they go on sale
- Don't buy the cutesy, processed foods with the fancy packaging

I spend about $35/week for two adults. Here's a sample grocery list from when I made 2 different chicken dishes one week, guacamole 2x that week, mushroom & onion omelets, two pasta dishes, and spinach salad.
- Jalapeno pepper $0.10 (for one pepper)
- Avocados $5.00
- Bell Peppers $2.00
- Spinach $3.00
- Eggs $3.00
- Chicken $8.00
- Onion $1.00
- Mushrooms $2.00
- Pasta $2.00
- Cilantro $1.00
- Milk $3.00
Total: $30.10 + tax

I buy 50lb bags of flour from Costco and bake my own bread. It comes out to around $0.30 per loaf and I use my own sourdough starter for it. Way better than anything I can buy in the grocery store, and for much less.

Also, you might consider growing some of your produce, like citrus and avocado, which both thrive in SoCal. Since you have children, it would be a fun learning experience for them too.

P.S., I travel to Los Angeles quite a bit, and prices there are comparable to where I live. Ironically, my grocery bill is lower in L.A. than when I am home.

mbailey423

Were in SE PA. We average 1000 a month for 2 adults 2 teens and my mother in law. Meats/ chicken are bought at a butcher, fish at the local monger, we eat a lot of venison (technically free as my kids and I are hunters) Our fruits and vegs bought at the farmers market. I'd say about 500 or so at the grocerie store

melimomTARDIS

I am a frugal shopper, by necessity. I am not the most creative cook/amazing cook, but I do make 3 meals a day for 4 people.

My weekly shop is like $70-$100, and I spend $40-60 per month at costco. (a friend with a membership picks stuff up for me while she is there.)

I do not bake my own bread, or grind my own peanuts for peanut butter.... but we do okay.

I am on the WIC program, which helps quite a bit with the weekly milk/eggs/cereal/produce.