What's your grocery/other food bill like?

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Replies

  • I'm a coupon freak. I spend about $100 once a month on milk/eggs/veggies/water. But for three weeks out of the month, I spend around $20-$30 bucks. I have a stock pile of healthy noodles and juices and rice...all kinds of jarred sauces (spaghetti, indian, etc)...So I just clip and print coupons Like they are going out of style.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    $30-50/month

    you must be starving yourself. How do you do that?

    I've been tracking what I spend on food and household items for three months now and it averages out to about $250 per month. I live alone in NYC where it's hard to find a bargain on food. I had allotted myself $300 a month before I started tracking and I'm pleased to find that I am below my estimate.

    I shop in the following stores and look for sale item when possible: Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Gristedes, and the Garden of Eden. I chose those because they are in reasonable distance from my home and I can walk to them. I also get household items when they are on sale, at Rite Aide.
  • freeone17
    freeone17 Posts: 18 Member
    For 2 adults, 2 small kids, and one small dog, we spend around $150 per week for groceries, toiletries and some household items like paper towels. Sometimes it's a bit more or less.
  • Illona88
    Illona88 Posts: 903 Member
    15 euros / 18,50 dollars a week.

    I'm pretty used to being on a budget. Been a student for way too long ;).
  • momtokgo
    momtokgo Posts: 446 Member
    We spend between $150-$200/week, inlcuding toiletries and diapers. Thats for a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids - 10, 4, 2) The 10 year old doesn't eat much, but the little two eat constantly. I cook all our dinners from stratch, and we do buy some special food. We feed 1 vegan with celiac, 1 vegetarian, 1 allergic to soy and dairy, and 1 allergic to dairy.
  • ITS_MY_CHOICE
    ITS_MY_CHOICE Posts: 62 Member
    Im in Australia and its around $180 a week for myself and my husband.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
    We have an empty nest so...based on just the food bill alone:

    Meats are purchased quarterly - Ill drop about $200-$250 for beef, chicken, pork, and turkey. Seafood gets purchased the day it gets shipped in and at the time I need it. I will never purchase seafood in bulk to freeze... Would rather have it as fresh as possible.

    Fresh produce weekly to every 10 days.

    Produce probably about $75.00 each time frame that I go.

    Everything must be fresh otherwise its just not purchased
  • Iain_65
    Iain_65 Posts: 5
    We used to spend about $150 (Australian) per week all up (3 at home + 2 sons who swoop in on the weekend to raid the fridge).

    SInce we have moved away from processed foods to use primarily the basic F&V, fish and meat (less than before though) we have noticed that we are saving so much more. Last week we only spent about $90 on food.

    Pays though to find a good cheap growers mart to go to rather than a supermarket. We travel about 10kms to one but the savings are worth it.
  • apedeb09
    apedeb09 Posts: 805 Member
    we spend about 150 a week.. that's for 2 adults and 3 kids.
  • Melissa132129
    Melissa132129 Posts: 205 Member
    For the 4 of us (me, husband, 9 year old son and 4 year old daughter) I budget $200 a month. That is very low but we have a limited income right now. When there is any money leftover from bills I throw it into the food budget though so sometimes I might have a bit more. That budget is just for food, no household items. Although if we eat out I take it from the food budget since it is food. We don't eat out much because it costs so much.
  • Gidzmo
    Gidzmo Posts: 906 Member
    It makes a difference on how hard they are working and the calories they need. Like my husband can eat a huge amount of food, but he burns a ton of calories at work. I probably spend about $32 a month on milk, that's 2 gallons a week and 1 quart? of almond milk a week. But one of the gallons of milk is chocolate because my son is completely addicted to it. He's special needs, so I don't fight it.

    Plus with you living out in "the middle of nowhere" you're grocery prices are probably higher. When I lived in New Mexico...in a tiny, tiny town, everything was way expensive compared to Michigan.

    I live in the suburbs. I've taken up coupon-clipping and adding e-coupons to store loyalty cards. Los Angeles is expensive for groceries--how expensive depends on your store of choice.

    What does NOT help is the family member who insists on certain foods. One HAS to have almond milk because regular milk is (allegedly) bad for you (I could see her point if she was lactose-intolerant, which she's not). Another one refuses to eat ANY bread but white bread, will only eat certain veggies, and would NEVER consider a Meatless Monday.