What should 2 people spend a week on groceries?

0somuchbetter0

I'm sure it depends on where you live -- cost of living ranges so much from one part of the world to another. That said, I spend $800-$1000/month for a family of four -- kids are 7 and 10 so they don't quite eat as much as adults, but the older one is getting there! I also live in a pretty expensive part of the country. I shop at our regular grocery store and I use coupons and buy generic whenever possible. Sometimes I'll make a special trip to Costco for bulk items or Trader Joe's or Whole Foods for special stuff, but that's only about once every 2-3 months.

Chaskavitch

My husband and I spend about $500/mo on groceries, but that includes toiletries, cat food, and beer. I don't know how much we ACTUALLY spend on food. We do also eat a lot of meat (steak, bacon, pork tenderloin, burgers), and splurge on fancy cheeses occasionally. I'd probably spend less if it was two of me, lol, because my husband goes on kicks for like 3 days - has to have juice for breakfast, or needs his Izze, or pickles, or bagels - and then is so done with that food, and is convinced it is bad by the next time he wants to eat it. /sigh.

bcattoes

It seems that we just can't get lower than around $75 a week and then $20-30 a month for once a month buys.

We do buy a lot of fresh produce and lean meats and try to eat as healthy and clean as we can.

That being said, I am looking for input from couples who eat mostly clean.

Eliminating alcohol and non-food items, we (my husband and I) probably spent about $75 - $85 a week on food before our garden started producing.

We don't eat out often and cook most meals from scratch using fish or lean meats, whole grains, legumes and vegetables. I buy some organic and some not. It really just depends on price and freshness. We eat more fresh than frozen vegetables, but we do use frozen. And I often use canned beans, even though dry are much cheaper.

leftinthekitchen

My husband and I spend normally $80-90 on groceries every week, including paper products, but not including wine or beer. I do shop around to see which stores in my area have the best sales each week. We're in NE Ohio so my main stores are Marc's, Giant Eagle, and Heinen's. Every week I sit with the sales papers for these stores and plan our menu for the week around whatever is on sale. I rarely buy things that aren't on sale for the week, unless it is a staple that we have run out of. I plan and buy to make 7 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. I also make snacks for us throughout the week: hummus, bean dips, protein bars,etc. I also take advantage of the farmer's markets that have opened for the season.
I buy some stuff at Bj's every few weeks when I get gas for the car, mostly nuts and bags of greens for juicing. That being said I take advantage of ethnic stores for a lot of things like spices and grains. I also buy lots of frozen veggies for quick sides and frozen fruit for smoothies. I don't buy many processed things either so that tends to help us eat cleaner.
My biggest advice would be to work with whatever is on sale for the week and menu plan so you are making the most use of the things you buy

__hannah_

My husband and I spend about $300/month on groceries including toilet paper, paper towels, etc. So average of $75/week.

rak173

My partner and I have also been trying to tighten up our budget on groceries. We have been spending $75-$100 per week for both of our groceries. This includes some household items (probably 50%) like toilet paper, cleaners, and the cats stuff. I buy only produce that is in season and have been watching the amount we spend on meat. We also have reduced the number of prepared items and snacks we buy.

MinnieInMaine

1) zombie thread

2) We spend somewhere between $80-$120 including cleaning products and one take-out meal per week. This also includes things I buy to pack for my lunch and snacks. He buys his lunch on the road or eats leftovers.

I agree that location can make a difference as cost of living, fresh produce, etc can vary by location. Being in Maine, our time for fresh produce is somewhat limited so the cost goes up for things that need to be shipped in the rest of the year.

itsbasschick

we spend about $150 a week, but i'm allergic to wheat and we eat a lot of organic or no chemicals added foods. lots of shopping at trader joe's and whole foods, some at ralph's and target.

kristen2713

Some weeks I can manage us on $40, and some weeks it's closer to $80-100; what I try to do to keep things as low as possible is about every other week do the meat run to whichever of our stores is running specials and then portion and freeze. The other weeks in between I get the bare essentials of fresh fruits and veggies and it helps a little for me to use up things in the cupboard. If he wasn't so dang picky and into junk food, I would be able to do our groceries on $50 a week guaranteed.

bcattoes

It seems that we just can't get lower than around $75 a week and then $20-30 a month for once a month buys.

We do buy a lot of fresh produce and lean meats and try to eat as healthy and clean as we can.

That being said, I am looking for input from couples who eat mostly clean.

Eliminating alcohol and non-food items, we (my husband and I) probably spent about $75 - $85 a week on food before our garden started producing.

We don't eat out often and cook most meals from scratch using fish or lean meats, whole grains, legumes and vegetables. I buy some organic and some not. It really just depends on price and freshness. We eat more fresh than frozen vegetables, but we do use frozen. And I often use canned beans, even though dry are much cheaper.

Where I live it is definitely possible to eat healthy on much less than my husband and I spend. We are older and have years of experinece at our jobs and with the kids gone, we don't really budget our food shopping. But not buying many processed foods does cost quite a bit less and allows for more expensive ingredients for home cooked meals.

alabella

We spend £30 a week max, but right now it's closer to £20.

dbmata

So I have been trying to get a better hold on our budget, i thought it would help me to see what other couples (without kids) are spending on groceries per week. Not including household essentials like toilet paper, paper towels, soap....

I'd say try to stay under $200 a week.

PSMTD

We usually spend about $100-130 every 2 weeks.
Tons of veggies, some fruits, milk, juices, meats, eggs, pretzels, hummus, lunch meat and cheeses.

rosebette

I have 4 adults in my house -- myself, hubby, and 2 young adult sons. Most weeks, I spend around $160, with an occasional week where I spend $200. We eat a lot of meat and fresh produce. My mom, who lives alone, spend around $50 a week; she eats fish every week, as well as quite a few fresh foods. So, between $80 and $100 seems reasonable for a couple. One caveat -- with a family, the per person cost goes down because buying in bulk the unit cost is lower. If you overbuy as a couple or a single, you end up throwing stuff out. I almost never throw stuff out with the 3 guys in the house.

ekat120

Oh man. We spend probably around $150/week for 2 of us. Maybe more. But $30-50 of that is probably wine, and we don't really eat out much. We mainly shop at TJ's and Whole Foods. If I'm going to spend money on anything, I think good food that I enjoy is an excellent thing to spend my money on. Pay your farmer or pay your doctor and all that.

seltzermint555

$50 a week, easily. I feel that we eat well. We don't specifically strive for "clean" or organic, but we don't buy much junk. We shop mostly at Aldi and the small ethnic/natural foods store, and we do buy frozen seafood but no beef/chicken/pork since my husband is pescetarian.

We go out to eat at least once per week, often twice but if so the second time is usually something like lunch at our favorite Mexican place which is around $4-6 per person.

One disclaimer though: I don't include any items like toilet paper, laundry detergent, HBA items, in that total. For us those things are less frequent, never purchased in the same places we buy grocery items, and we tend to stock up so maybe spend like $100-125 every 2 or 3 months and then don't shop for them again for quite awhile.

Amitysk

We spend about $100-$125/week on groceries. That covers breakfast, lunch, and dinners plus snacks. We rarely eat out... Maybe once/month and that's usually a brunch or breakfast.

sweetpea03b

I would say we spend about $100/week... but that includes wine. We don't eat a lot of carbs... almost no processed foods... all lean meats, fresh produce... we eat seafood at least once each week which is of course very expensive and we only eat out about once/month.

sshintaku

I just went shopping and spent $52 for the week. It's usually between $50-70, depending on if I buy meat, wine, extra treats. Bare bones, I can do $40 but that means a lot of bananas, rice and beans

engodwin

Aprox $200 a week.... Live in the Midwest/US

Cost of things are different in different areas - I'm in a pretty "average" area in the States.

This does not include "date nights" or holiday - eating out cost.

ltlemermaid

It would depend on your area and cost of foods since it varies greaty.

For me and my husband we spend about $130-150/week on groceries:

farmers market- $60-$80 (veggies, fruits, cheese, eggs, pierogi, breads)
grocery store $20-30 depending on what we are out of
Meat farm comes to about $27/week, we have a 6mo share we pay for up front and get 15lbs of meat each month

we also eat out 1x a week

lalawaterlala

me and my boyfriend who lives together probably spend about $70 on groceries per week. With that being said, we do occasionally eat out.
From the grocery store we usually buy ingredients and end up making home-made meals. Being a student on a budget is hard work lol

Meerataila

I spend $50-$60 just on myself. And I don't even buy everything organic. I'm working on paring down prices, though. It's hard on a fruit and veggie diet, at least around here. I need to go to the farmer's market now that so much is in season. It was even more expensive when I was on a low carb diet. Go figure, steak is expensive.