how much do you spend on groceries

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LoosingMyLast15
LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
in Chit-Chat
i'm curious: how much money do you spend in a month on groceries - this is for everything, food, wine, beer, cleaning products, paper products, hygiene, pet supplies (if you have). CC bill came in yesterday and after totaling everything up in one month for me, husband and 2 large breed dogs everything came to $1187. my husband had a fit. also what do you typically buy (or don't buy):

for me i buy very little processed foods: very little frozen dinners, never purchase ramon noodle things, premade/frozen burgers/chicken patties/nuggets/fish, soda, sugar cereal, premade cookies, pasta sauce in a jar, jelly and chips)

we rarely go out to dinner (past bill only had 1 dinner out on it). so i'm curious what does everyone else spend - if you go out to dinner include this in your total.
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Replies

  • lilmisfit
    lilmisfit Posts: 860 Member
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    Way too much! :noway: At least $200+ a week. We are vegetarian, and we buy a lot of our food at Whole Foods, which is super expensive.
  • Stylegal
    Stylegal Posts: 9
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    400 a month for my husband and I. It is difficult, but I try to stretch money as much as possible. I focus on fresh fruits and vegatables, I also try to visit my local farmers markets, you usually can make out great with your produce, it's usually cheaper there and you are supporting local farmers. I do not buy any processed foods, I stick to all natural products.
  • rnhoppe
    rnhoppe Posts: 111 Member
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    We are a family of 4 a d I typically spend between $150-$175 a week on food/household items (paper towels, toilet paper,, cleaners, etc),
  • MrsKDH11
    MrsKDH11 Posts: 3
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    I Spend around $500 a month in the supermarket and an additional $400-$500 in eating/drinking out
  • roxedy
    roxedy Posts: 49 Member
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    Around $500/month for two adults and a toddler. Including home food, eating out (once a week usually), other household items (soap, paper products, cleaners), stuff for my son (diapers, milk, etc.). We don't eat a lot of pre-made meals (bag dinners, tv dinners) and I tend to spend more on products that my son eats. I also try to buy organic for fruits/veggies and try to expand that whenever our budget allows.

    Edit to add: We also have two cats.... They don't eat much but cat litter is costly. :P
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    We try to stay between $400 and $500 per month on groceries.

    We have date night one night a week and try not to spend more than $40 for that per week.

    My animals are on their own budget and I set aside approximately $300 per month for their food, meds, toys and vet care.
  • CanadianThunder
    CanadianThunder Posts: 84
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    We've got $400.00 budgeted for the month (2 adults and a teen boy who visits on the weekend), but sometimes we go over.

    We've also got 2 dogs (Rottweiler and a Jack Russel Terrier, along with a cat.) We have cut out A LOT of processed food, so it's generally produce and dairy products, with some bread like food and our "cheat snacks."
  • mamakira
    mamakira Posts: 366
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    Way too much.
    We are a family of 6, 3 teenager. Even with the big ones having lunch at school we spend around 2000 swedish cronor on food a week, that is around 375 Dollar. We rarely go out but we live in Sweden and Sweden is incredibly expensive when it comes to food, especially in fruit and veggies.

    Bought 5 peaches, 5 apples, 2 avocados and 1 cucumber yesterday, all gone today.
  • valerieknox
    valerieknox Posts: 45 Member
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    I spend between 100-200 euros on groceries a month. Not sure what that would be in dollars, a bit more I think. Then the cost of living is quite cheap in Germany. I also eat a lot of lentils, canned tomatoes (soups, soups, soups), and only buy vegetables on discount.
  • krissyliz78
    krissyliz78 Posts: 181 Member
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    I spend $1000.00 a month with a family of four. 2 growing kids and a fiance with a ridiculous metabolism!!!
  • valerieknox
    valerieknox Posts: 45 Member
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    As a swede, I must say I disagree that food is that expensive in Sweden. Maybe if you live in Stockholm.. But really, the key is to find the neighbourhood where immigrants live. There are usually markets or stores with cheaper vegetables and fruits than in the other supermarkets. When I lived in Sweden used to survive on 1500 swedish kronor a month eating a lot of beans, chickpeas and lentils. Buying huge packages of eggs are also a cheap source of protein.
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    thanks everyone. i'm sure there are ways i can cut back but based on some posts i'm less than $200/month off from others. again i'm including everything in my spending not just food. i prefer not to buy a lot of store brand products which ups my costs because a lot of times the store brand has extra crap in their ingredient list that i prefer not to eat.
  • pain_is_weakness
    pain_is_weakness Posts: 798 Member
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    Family of three in CA, we spend about $600 a month and eat pretty good. Steaks ect, also my 3 yr old I buy lots of snacks and stuff for
  • stillme4you
    stillme4you Posts: 33
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    Things I HAVE to have:
    Chlorox clean-up, Murphy's Oil Soap, Dish Washer Detergent, Dishsoap, garbage bags and leaf bags, and of course toilet paper and kleenex.
    FOOD STAPLES:
    Mrs. Dash (I cannot tell you how often I use this to cook - highly recommended)
    Kosher Flake Salt, Peppercorns, season salt, the rest of the essential herbs and spices, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, tuna fish (canned), shredded cheeses (colby/jack, cheddar, mozzerella), american cheese slices, velveeta, parmesan cheese wedge (I grate fresh), other cheeses to eat, lemons, limes, ketchup, WORCESTERSHIRE (In gallon jug - refill the smaller bottle), (when I wasn't on Atkins diet: cornmeal, flour, baking stuff like powder and soda).
    Cereal, eggs, milk, butter (none of that fake butter crap), sour cream, syrup, peanut butter and jelly, ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce of some kind...

    These are my essentials. All the extra stuff like snacks and things change periodically, but since I started Atkins, I have a lot of nuts, and carb smart ice cream and such.

    I've never added up what I spend a month, but I would guess it's about $800 or more if I don't eat out.
  • Cassie8877
    Cassie8877 Posts: 177
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    Around 150 for the month... A lot of fresh veggies and fruits :)
  • Behavior_Modification
    Behavior_Modification Posts: 24,482 Member
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    Groceries + Work Cafeteria food + Dining Out

    = an average of $10/day for just myself
  • travisseger
    travisseger Posts: 271 Member
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    We're between $1,000-$1,100 per month for our family of four.
  • Kenzietea2
    Kenzietea2 Posts: 1,132 Member
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    Have you ever thought of growing some of your own veggies and fruits? It is an investment to get started, but once you get things going you can save a bunch :) My husband and I grow ALL of our own produce except the few things that just won't grow in our limited space and our climate. Our goal is to eventually be about 90% self sustaining but that probably won't happen until we close on this house and move in and get settled. We have saved a lot on produce and I can't even tell you how many meals we have eaten straight from our yard.
  • mamakira
    mamakira Posts: 366
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    As a swede, I must say I disagree that food is that expensive in Sweden. Maybe if you live in Stockholm.. But really, the key is to find the neighbourhood where immigrants live. There are usually markets or stores with cheaper vegetables and fruits than in the other supermarkets. When I lived in Sweden used to survive on 1500 swedish kronor a month eating a lot of beans, chickpeas and lentils. Buying huge packages of eggs are also a cheap source of protein.

    I know about those neighbourhoods but that is not that easy to get there from where I live. I rather spend that money on food than on petrol. I can´t feed my children mostly with beans, cabbage and eggs, I don´t see that as a well balanced diet. I tried to go organic some years ago, it was incredibly expensive. Organic is cheaper now. But for 6 it is still expensive. With all the food scandals, I don´t buy at a market in the south where I don´t really know where the vegetables and fruit come from, I buy organic at a store and that just adds up.
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    we're starting to do this but starting very slowly. this year we planted strawberries and garlic (very random but we use a lot of it) and we do grow our own fresh herbs. next year we plan on growing tomatoes, cucumbers and a few other items. :)
    Have you ever thought of growing some of your own veggies and fruits? It is an investment to get started, but once you get things going you can save a bunch :) My husband and I grow ALL of our own produce except the few things that just won't grow in our limited space and our climate. Our goal is to eventually be about 90% self sustaining but that probably won't happen until we close on this house and move in and get settled. We have saved a lot on produce and I can't even tell you how many meals we have eaten straight from our yard.

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