How much is your grocery bill every month?

Rosy67

My shopping bill has gone down since starting MFP, because now I plan meals in advance (for my family of five including packed lunches for 1 of the kids) and buy only what I need for that week. Also, I stopped drinking alcohol in January and that has saved a fortune! Even ordering online from Tesco and paying £3.50 for delivery, I'm spending about £120 a week (about $190) on groceries, including toiletries etc. Down from about £150-180 a week, plus heaven only knows how many bottles of wine at £6- £10 each.....

I love not wasting anything- my new hobby

kcphilly

I only shop for myself and I'd say it's about $150 a month on average. I am mainly vegetarian though that cuts down on some expense. I do get chicken sometimes if there's a good sale. I'm huge on frozen vegetables. Either from the regular food store when they're on sale or from a wholesale store. The only thing I find to be really expensive is getting fruit, mainly berries, fresh or frozen.

I must say it's not that different than before because I still always bought vegetables it's just more now. But before starting this it would be the donuts/cake/ice cream when they were on sale. So the fruit is just really replacing all that other crap. And then I would get delivery pizza about twice a month which was $30, or drive thru fast food which could be $8 a trip.

NotAllWhoWanderAreLost

i invest in organic seeds and soil ammendments for my home garden annually and around $400 for a June - late December CSA memebership (veggies, berries, melons, honey) and then i watch coupons, sales, promotions and rebates like a hawk. Its a rare day that i don't save at least 25% off my grocery bill. 50% is more the average. When i really am doing well, its closer to 75% off. I don't shop like a typical shopper because i utilize a pantry and will rotate what i am buying based on sales, coupons, promos to replenish stock when the price is at its lowest. I try to get enough of the item to last me thru until the next sale/promo cycle. I would say, if i averaged it out over a year, we spend around $200 - $250 a month to feed our family of four (plus the csa & garden expenses). THere are many many many great sites on the Net dedicated to couponing... you really do need to watch for the promos on the things you use (don't be lured into buying crap food just because its cheap or free --- ok, get a bit maybe now and then as a "treat" for the kids or spouse lol AND buying when its free can work out great when you don't hoard, but GIVE the food away to friends/family/food banks/charity). Anyways, i eat pretty well and i don't pay an arm and a leg. I say use the promos to defray the cost of eating better!

Oh one other thing: since i have started portioning out food for myself, i have been overbuying a lot of our fresh things because i havent yet adjusted to the fact that we dont CONSUME as much anymore! So yes, the price is higher, but we're eating considerably less of it!

bstamps12

For two adults and one 3 year old, it is about $75/week for us...so about $300/month. We watch our finances very closely and buy in bulk to use throughout the month when we can. We spend maybe $35/month on fast food or takeout...will be higher this month since we are going out for Valentine's Day!

ashley0616

Healthy eating is more expensive. There's really no way around that, at least not that I have found. I like to shop at farmers markets during the summer for veggies and fruits, but right now it's hard to find good deals on quality food. That being said, my girls only eat organic, non-hormone treated dairy and meat, so we spend more on that year-round.

For my family of 4 (2 adults, 1 preschooler, 1 toddler) I spend about $300/shopping trip. This includes things like diapers and household items as well. I shop about every 2 weeks, with very minor stops in between for those things I forget. I buy a lot of frozen things and have 2 freezers stocked full at all times. I also use coupons whenever I can, which I am finding harder to do now that we're eating more whole foods. I try to always shop sale items. I almost never buy anything processed, and if I do it's organic (like gardenburgers, etc).

The cost of living in Colorado is on the higher side. It's not New York City by any means, but it's definitely expensive. To put it into perspective: we spend $600ish a month on groceries, and $1100 on rent.

jenbusick

I spend about $200/week for myself, spouse, and 2 kids (7 and 10), but a) that includes non-food items like laundry detergent and toilet paper, and b) I try to buy organic whenever possible (organic milk is about 2x the price of non-organic, and organic meats are more, too -- organic ground beef is $5 a pound!) and I avoid products with HFCS,

"Healthier" food doesn't ALWAYS cost more -- you can buy a bag of apples and a bag of chips for about the same price, when apples are in season, and the apples will probably last longer because you're not going to eat the whole bag in 2-3 sittings -- but buying at the grocery store definitely does cost more. When I am able to buy things at the farm stand it's far cheaper, and I need to find a better source for meat.

Another thing that doesn't get accounted for much is the difference between buying processed/cooking from scratch. I can buy a pan of Stauffer's frozen lasagna for, what, $8 -- but to buy the ingredients to make lasagna from scratch will cost more than that, and if I buy "healthier" selections like whole wheat pasta and organic tomato sauce, that drives the cost up a notch further.

poisongirl6485

I save typically around 50% on my bill due to price matching sales and couponing. Last time I went, I got a whole cart full of stuff for $80.

healthyjen342

VERY good question...I'm creating a post for my blog about this...I will send you an invite so you can read it...Thank you for posting this!

healthyjen342

Is there a Farmer's Market in your area...I have found that their produce is a bit cheaper if you really want fresh...like Romaine lettuce and tomatoes.

healthyjen342

I take out 100 every Monday and go shopping with that. It's like a game for me I am buying for a family of 3; my husband, myself, and my 2 1/2 year old daughter. So some months are 500 and some months I spend 400 just depending on the weeks. Plus, I have extra cash at the end of the month because I never spend the full 100. I recommend sitting down and making a meal plan for the week. It's what got our crazy grocery bill in check!

ETA: I live in California...that'll give you an idea because food costs will cost differently everywhere!

I agree..making a meal plan is IMPERATIVE if you are trying to save money...Pay attention to the lean meats/chicken/fish thats on sale (depending on what you like)...You can base your meals around them...

MrsRaia

Family of four- but 2 are toddlers.... we spend about $500-$600 a month. It definitely has gone up since dieting. Crappy food is just cheaper. LOL

rmhand

wow I feel a lot better. I'm single and only buy food for myself and spend about $50 per week. I've been throwing away a lot less by making my self shop more often. I'm trying to get is down even further cuz that seems like a lot for one person.

stanvoodoo

Same here about $400ish per month, have 3 adults in my home. Eating healthier has been alot less expensive and our food has really dropped since I started in October. Fast food costs a fortune and we ate out a few times a week for dinner and most everyday at lunch. Now I make dinner most every night and we take our lunch every day. I also went to protein shakes every morning and every other day for lunch which are not cheap but still less than fast food and for breakfast the shake is less than a Greek yogurt which is what I used to have.

miss_emma_joey

100-200 dollars for just me

kelly_a

around $400/month for dh, 18yr ds,( who do not eat very healthy ) myself, and 2 puggers. we don't buy much beef (in-laws farm), but do pork @ Fareway, and chicken at Aldi's or Walmart. Sometimes I shop at Sam's (buy nuts in bulk :bigsmile: ) and Hy-Vee. If I watch the weekly ads, I can save pretty well. just bought a lot of fresh produce @ Aldi's today.

BigBoneSista

I want to say about 600 to 700 a month. Its me, my 18 yr old, 10 yr old and 9 yr old...when hubby returns in July I'm figuring close to a 1000 then. We are all eating healthier so cost are more.

CobraBubbles

For just my husband and I, anywhere from $500-$800 per month, but this includes the few high quality supplements we take, lots of grass-fed beef, eggs loaded with DHA, etc. It is absolutely worth it to us.

ChelseaRW

Wow...I'm shocked by alot of the numbers on here...I spend about 350 for the month for a family of 5...Do all of your shopping at the closest Aldi to ya...if you have one! And for those HAVE TO HAVE items that Aldi doesn't have, I suggest signing up for Grocerygame.com . She lines up current circulated coupons with your local grocery stores for you to maximize your shopping dollars. Several people save between 30 and 70 % on their shopping bills.

Katbaran

I spend about $300-$400 a month for just the two of us. That does include soaps, shampoo, paper goods, supplements, doggie treats, etc. It does not include dog food. That's another $60./mo. We love fish and seafood and that is mainly where I spend more. We always laugh about how it ain't cheap to eat healthy, but we do it anyway. I'm just glad we have the money to do it.

QueenofCups

We spend about $100/week on just food. Its my husband and I and my 2 toddlers (3 and 2 yrs old).

Sometimes we spend a little more if I run out of certain things, but we buy a lot of bulk items where we can and then the extra fresher things we have to get every week or so.

Now, add in diapers, pullups, and the like - UGH!

skynyrdchick

I am spending around $900-$1,000 a month for 3 adults and 3 kids. Also we have 6 cats (don't ask) and 2 dogs that are included in that! I have used Angelfood Ministries in the past and plan on starting back with them again. The food is always really good and it is SO cheap ) Check it out to see if there is a pick-up close to you:

http://www.angelfoodministries.com/menus/menu_2011-02_en.asp

They also have a fresh produce package that has always been super )

crazymama2two

OMG where in the hell is everyone living and spending WAY less than me...is it that much more expensive in new england? even now that im eating better its still the same...fresh produce is soooo expensive. i went ot aldi last week, still had to go to the shaws and saved 40 bucks...but evne with that savings it was still 140 a week...usually it's 180 a week this sucks. and this is THE VERY FIRST TIME since ive been an adult i won't meet my bills this month. im scared as crap

Oishii

Wow...I'm shocked by alot of the numbers on here...I spend about 350 for the month for a family of 5...Do all of your shopping at the closest Aldi to ya...if you have one! And for those HAVE TO HAVE items that Aldi doesn't have, I suggest signing up for Grocerygame.com . She lines up current circulated coupons with your local grocery stores for you to maximize your shopping dollars. Several people save between 30 and 70 % on their shopping bills.

I'm shocked too! I thought everything was cheaper in the States, but the figures here seem really similar to the UK. We spend about £50 ($80) a week, including non food items, for the two of us and our 3 year old. We eat out on top of that, but seldom more than once a week. One saving we have is that I don't see meat as the centre of a meal (not having eaten any for years), so for some meals we just have eggs or beans. We buy whichever fruit/veg is a good deal and frozen veg, which is cheaper and easier. Our eggs are free range, milk organic, but we buy economy lines too..

Has there been a lot of inflation in the States, or did I always have the wrong impression)