What should 2 people spend a week on groceries?

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shannonshock13
shannonshock13 Posts: 355 Member
in Food and Nutrition
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....

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.

Thx :flowerforyou:

(and i apologize if this isn't in the right section...)
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Replies

  • 13turtles
    13turtles Posts: 183 Member
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    I'd love to say it was around $75 per week, but it's probably closer to $100 per week and then monthly purchases on top of that. We buy mostly organic, clean foods for just two people. I say if you want the fresh, good stuff, then it is a little pricy.
  • now_or_never12
    now_or_never12 Posts: 849 Member
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    My husband and I tend to spend around $200 a month... so about $50 a week.

    We buy a lot of in season produce. Certain produce we will only buy when on sale. We don't buy brand name things unless it is on sale and cheaper than the store brand version. That alone saves a lot of money. We price match a lot and shop sales.

    I find it easy to get a low grocery budget most of the time. Our $50 a week is for two adults and one dog along with household items. When we run out of main staples that may run us another $20 or so.
  • Livingdeadgirl44
    Livingdeadgirl44 Posts: 264 Member
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    Not sure what the current exchange rate is but we spend £50 a week and that includes things like cleaning products, toilet roll, and laundry powder.

    From that we have a fresh cooked meal every day and breakfast and snacks. I make sandwiches for lunch but my bf doesn't bother and then spends more on lunch from his own money.
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
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    my fiance and I do not spend a lot on groceries, maybe $100 each a month.
    the bad thing about that is that it usually means that we end up going out to eat more often, which of course ends up costing more in the long run.

    I'm actually going to try to change that though, I think I've budgeted for about $150-$175 a month each, I'm pretty sure that will be enough for us. We are college students though and we don't cook often, so I eat a lot of sandwiches, lean pockets, clif bars, etc. Not a lot of meat or fresh fruits and produce unfortunately, but I am going to try to change that too!
  • kleflar
    kleflar Posts: 1
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    I would love to see a sample of a grogerie list for two people. I ave got to ger mine down! Thank you in advance. Menus too!

    Kelly
  • jynxxxed
    jynxxxed Posts: 1,010 Member
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    Around $100-175 a week. This includes ALL purchases (like toilet paper, new pants, etc.) since we do everything in the same day. I couldn't really tell you what I spend on JUST food, sorry. It's probably around $125 at least per week depending on our needs.

    We also almost never go out to eat lately.. maybe once every 3/4 months or if somebody's having a birthday.
  • sugarbomb83
    sugarbomb83 Posts: 67 Member
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    We spend $150 per week on just groceries for 2 adults. We buy the majority of our food at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, but do buy some bulk items at BJ's Wholesale. We rarely eat out so the $150 does include some "treats" for weekend meals -- like salmon and organic pizza :-)
  • PennStateChick
    PennStateChick Posts: 327 Member
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    We spend just under $100 per week on grocieries. We also have one meal per week that we eat out (usually pizza, chinese, or applebees type restaurants)
  • runnninginmd
    runnninginmd Posts: 67
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    We spend about $150 a week on just food products. We eat almost all fresh meats/produce, some products organic but not all. It's a bit more expensive to eat food that isn't processed! But the $150 includes seven days of breakfasts, seven days of lunches, and five or six dinners (we usually eat out at least once on the weekends).
  • harlesscasey
    harlesscasey Posts: 5
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    I think 50-75 is ok for two people. Also if you have the time you could cut out some coupons from your local newspapers to save on money as well.
  • Car0lynnM
    Car0lynnM Posts: 332 Member
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    I probably spend about 200-250 a month on groceries for myself and my husband. Keeping in mind, he doesn't eat breakfast, and usually eats out for lunch. And we eat out a couple of times per month, that he usually pays for (our finances are separate). I tried for a while to shop at Aldi where it's cheaper, but they don't have as many 'low sodium' choices, and I found myself wanting some specific brands of items that I couldn't find at Aldi. so rather than make two separate trips, I shop where it's a bit more expensive, but I can make better choices and get everything I need.
  • Gwenski
    Gwenski Posts: 348 Member
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    HI There... Did a quick calculation. We have spent $5046 so far this year on groceries. So it averages $107 over the 47 weeks. We live in southern Ontario, Canada and probably order in take-out once per week in addition to that.
    Hope this helps!
  • mwbulechek
    mwbulechek Posts: 162 Member
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    My wife and I spend around 80 dollars a week on groceries
  • rugbyphreak
    rugbyphreak Posts: 509 Member
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    My boyfriend lives off of ramen, cereal, and frozen pizza and can survive off of just $25-30 a week. I like more fresh fruits and vegetables and pasta, so I usually end up spending $30-40 a week. So that puts us at about $60-70 a week including paper products and soaps. We only eat out like twice a month, and even then, it's at cheap-ish places, so that usually leaves us with some leftovers too.

    We love coupons and sales!
  • sabrinafaith
    sabrinafaith Posts: 607 Member
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    i have 2 kids, but before that i would say about $85/week including fresh meat & fish every week would be a good amount. I recently discovered Trader Joes and found that if I buy most non- kid items there I would be saving about $40 a week. I think the best thing to do is keep your receipts and shop at different stores every week for 2-3 weeks so you can compare. Also, certain stores, like food emporium and stop and shop, have days that they restock the store and get fresh deliveries, which means all the stuff there is on sale. I find thursdays at stop and shop are 2nd best to Trader Joes. I think Food Emporium is tuesdays or wednesdays usually, but check your local stores. Also, make a list of all the stuff you guys throw out at the end of the week so you know what you are wasting so you don't buy things that just get trashed.
  • Gotspunk1
    Gotspunk1 Posts: 33 Member
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    It's just me and my 6 year old daughter here and we end up spending roughly 75-100 per week on groceries. We don't eat clean totally but we try to a lot. I try to save money on some of my shopping by couponing to make more room to spend on fresh organic fruits and veggies. I also garden and hope to have a huge one next year! Then I can be a lot more self sufficient in that area. Plus I just love gardening with a passion!
  • nklunk
    nklunk Posts: 149 Member
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    We spend around $50 to $75 per week (that's for two adults a 2 1/2 year old and a dog) its a lil more if I have to buy diapers. I eat healthy clean foods. My hubby does not. I do the extreme coupon thing so that helps us out a lot.
  • gailt1959
    gailt1959 Posts: 11
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    Used to spend around £50 (80 US$) a week including toiletries 2 years ago, but everything in the UK is going up and up and now its around £80 (130 $). We do eat pretty healthily though, making most meals from scratch and I try to buy free range eggs and meat. Probably spend about £5 a week on nuts and seeds too.
    Apparently though we dont spend nearly as much on food as the French do - they consider food a very vital part of life and dont mind spending more on it. Perhaps we should look on it that way if we can afford to!
  • shannonshock13
    shannonshock13 Posts: 355 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies! We unfortunately don't have a Trader Joe's here :( I really miss that store. And Whole Foods is too pricey even when i used to work there!!

    I do most of our shopping at the commissary (husbands military) and I hate to say it.... Walmart, and sometimes at Natural Grocers since they have killer deals on organic broccoli and apples. And sometimes participating in Bountiful Baskets co-op, but I have found that a lot of that stuff goes to waste since we eat more veggies than fruit, I can't beat the 5 loaves of organic 9 grain bread for $12 :)
  • elanaknt
    elanaknt Posts: 40 Member
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    I like this thread, because I too have continued to marvel at how expensive food is getting and am wondering WHY I am spending so much on food when it is just me and the hubz plus two cats.

    I use as many coupons as I can and I used to get away with $75-80 a week, but lately it is more like $100-120, more if I buy non-food items, am stocking up on something on sale, or if I get something special (like salmon, wine, specialty cheese, etc.). I eat breakfast at home and pack my lunch daily during the week and I usually cook dinner six nights. Hubby doesn't ever eat breakfast and eats lunch at home probably 3 days a week. We usually eat one dinner and one breakfast/brunch/lunch out or with family on the weekends. Oh, and we do most of out shopping at Harris Teeter, plus sometimes get things at Whole Foods and produce weekly at our local farmer's market.

    I don't know....I try to justify our food bill with the facts that we eat healthier, home-cooked food, that we spend less on eating out and that we probably don't spend as much as other childless couples on things like clothing, gadgets and personal care. But still...it hits the wallet hard!

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