Biggest Loser does it again

concordancia

Sometimes I think the show is determined to show how out of touch with reality they are!

Last night's episode included a challenge to buy a week's worth of groceries on a "budget" of $70 per person.

Our average is higher when you factor in the staples, but we often only spend about $70 for the two of us! Last week was $150, but it included $50 worth of whey protein, which lasts him several months, as well as allergy meds. Basically, we budget $100 a week, including paper towels and similar things that come from the grocery store or Costco. Pure groceries comes out to about $45 per person.

Has anyone else figured this out for their family? Was anyone else surprised that $70/ person was considered challenging?

TylerJ76

Maybe you're the one out of touch with reality.

I would say that it depends A LOT on what part of the country you live in.


$70/week in NYC would not go far...

_Tara_R

I also find $70/week is challenging.

rockangel8907

My family scrapes by on $150 a month. It's me, my mom, and little brother.

jenndymond

Im in Toronto spend about 60 a week.

maab_connor

see, i thought that their point was the opposite. ppl don't realize how far the dollar can go at the supermarket, so long as you're making careful decisions. ppl assume that it's expensive to eat healthy, but it CAN be done on a budget, easily.

SVCat

I budget $125 a week for three, two teenage boys and myself. I buy our healthy meals along with a bunch of snack food for them for when they get out of school.

But I do travel to DC/NYC and other metro areas a lot. $70 would not come close to meeting those needs in those regions.

PottsvilleCurse1925

I used to be piss broke I would make $25 stretch for a week of groceries for me.

jlopez9707

Maybe you're the one out of touch with reality.

I would say that it depends A LOT on what part of the country you live in.


$70/week in NYC would not go far...

I agree. I live in NYC,$70 is not enough

Nessiechickie

My purchase is usually $30-50 for 1.5-2 weeks.
But keep in mind I don't buy breads or rarely meat

concordancia

see, i thought that their point was the opposite. ppl don't realize how far the dollar can go at the supermarket, so long as you're making careful decisions. ppl assume that it's expensive to eat healthy, but it CAN be done on a budget, easily.

That was their point, but to a lot of us, $70 is a lot to spend on groceries. To the average American not living in a city known by its initials, that *is* really expensive. Evidently, our national average is about $25, $42 when you add in eating out.

http://www.wral.com/5onyourside/smartshopper/blogpost/10620544/

MelMoly

I spend about $150 twice a month for my family

_granola

I spend about $120-$180 per week on groceries for 1-2 people. I think with kids and bigger families it's probably much more difficult to eat for less. There are ways to adjust what you are buying to go cheaper though. For example, instead of buying whey you could be using that money for actual food. I think there are ways to eat well on a tighter budget, you just have to figure out those ways of doing it.

_Witsy_

Maybe you're the one out of touch with reality.

I would say that it depends A LOT on what part of the country you live in.


$70/week in NYC would not go far...

This...I know some other parts of the country are much cheaper than around here...and there are many places much more expensive than around here.

For food and household stuff, we spend about 130-150 a week for 2 people.

ShannonECTD

Maybe you're the one out of touch with reality.

I would say that it depends A LOT on what part of the country you live in.


$70/week in NYC would not go far...

yikes a little hostile.

I agree that groceries are different in different parts of the country, but i have lived in LA, Seattle, Omaha, and Colorado Springs and I would say that i spent about the same in all of those areas. If i was buying 100% organic it may be more expensive.

I currently spend about $75-100 a week for 2 people. And that is for LOTS of fresh fruit and vegetables lean proteins, and some indulgences along with any household items we need like toilet paper/paper towels etc...

I don't really understand why they were stressin so bad, there is an organization called Bountiful Baskets, its in select cities all over the country and you can get a big box of organic produce for $25 a week. and $15 for a conventional basket.

_granola

I think it's more about percentage of income and "value" you place on the food you are buying. Since about the 1960s, the amount of money we spend on groceries has decreased dramatically from 17.5% of household income to 9-10% of household income. Europeans generally spend about 14-19% of household income on food. Our tax dollars go to subsidizing cheap crops/food while we are actually spending quite a bit (and what we think of as cheap) on food that has little nutritional value. So if we spent more on higher quality, whole, nutritionally-dense foods, and cut out other things in our lives that we maybe don't need, it might seem easier.

Even when I didn't have as much money to spend, I chose to not buy other things so I could buy better food.

maab_connor

see, i thought that their point was the opposite. ppl don't realize how far the dollar can go at the supermarket, so long as you're making careful decisions. ppl assume that it's expensive to eat healthy, but it CAN be done on a budget, easily.

That was their point, but to a lot of us, $70 is a lot to spend on groceries. To the average American not living in a city known by its initials, that *is* really expensive. Evidently, our national average is about $25, $42 when you add in eating out.

http://www.wral.com/5onyourside/smartshopper/blogpost/10620544/

No, it's also how far the food has to come to get to you. Alaska and Hawaii spend INSANE amounts of money on food. there are areas in the cereal bowl that pay out the nose for seafood. and places in the southwest where you better be ready to put out a mortgage for produce. it's ALL geography.

i'm lucky, i live halfway between two major cities and i have a lot of farmland near me, but i'm not too far from the sea. our supermarket bills are a LOT lower than ppl living as much as an hour in any direction.

$70/per person / per week is NOT a lot for organic food, but it CAN be done if you're careful.

Dauntlessness

Damn, I don't want to admit this but I have trouble keeping it under $170.00 a week for 2 people....Most times I over spend and its around $200.00 a week and my husband goes out to eat for lunches every day. I guess I have got to look at my grocery list because I'm not doing it right...

Dauntlessness

Oh household stuff, thats why!!! I spend like at least $40-50 a week just on paper towels, tp, soaps, etc etc

_granola

You don't need whey powder or paper towels. That should give you another $70/week for actual food.

wigglypeaches

Maybe you're the one out of touch with reality.

I would say that it depends A LOT on what part of the country you live in.


$70/week in NYC would not go far...

I agree. I live in NYC,$70 is not enough

San Francisco is just as bad. $70 for a week's worth of meat and produce? That's not easy to do.