My Grocery Bill Needs to Shrink! Eating healthy on a low bud

strivingfor130
strivingfor130 Posts: 221 Member
edited September 22 in Health and Weight Loss
I was wondering if there is anybody that shops for either yourself or even maybe one other person in your household, and about how much do you spend every week on groceries? I always feel like I spend way too much on food and am trying to eat healthy on a low budget!

Replies

  • girlruns
    girlruns Posts: 344
    It is just me and my husband, and our groceries are about 300-350 a month. This is a mix of fresh and processed foods. I'm hoping to lower it some by being stricter with lists and portions, but my hubby is just slowly trying to eat healthier so I'm not quite there yet.
  • RLAL09
    RLAL09 Posts: 28
    i am wondering the same thing! college expenses on a part time job salary dont leave much left over for food would love to get ideas on this also
  • azlady7
    azlady7 Posts: 471 Member
    Dont know if this will help, but for a family of 5 I spend 500 bucks a month on food. Its normal to average about 100-150 on food when following a good budget. Not all the food I buy is healthy (most members dont need to lose weight or care :( oh well). But for me and my stepdaughter (who eat healthy) It probably averages to 150 each per month
  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
    I was spending a lot until I found a veggie co-op. Check and see if there's one in your area. That cut down on the cost considerably. I spend $15 a week on all my produce. then I shop the sales on meat and also buy my rice/beans in bulk at Sunflower market. It takes a bit more running around but well worth it. I find if i plan well then it's no problem. :)

    Good luck.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    We spend about $400 a month on food for myself, my husband and our daughter. (My son's formula and baby food are separate.) But, my husband is trying to build muscle so he eats a ton of food!
  • CherokeeBabe
    CherokeeBabe Posts: 1,704 Member
    I struggle with this alot too :( I'm getting by on $50 a week and trying to feed two people right now(me and my roomie,but I do the shopping), and it's really hard, and very hard to be healthy doing it.
  • melodyg
    melodyg Posts: 1,423 Member
    I'd have to go and try to figure out what I spend (because I haven't been following the budget!) but I don't think we spend more than $300 a month. I spent $200/month before I started trying to eat healthier... and I know it has gone up some but not by *that* much. That is for me, my husband and an almost 5 year old who doesn't eat much!

    The keys for me are to stock up on chicken breast when it is on sale, buy discounted meat (like the manager markdowns that look good) and use it or freeze it that day, shop seasonally for produce, and shop at Aldi for staples like sugar, flour, butter, eggs, etc. I don't buy a lot of processed foods and try to cook as much as I can. I also do menu planning which helps A LOT! (we do leftovers for lunches and I also usually have at least one night of leftovers). I've been doing a lot of soups this winter, and I did a lot of fresh produce with chicken in the summer.
  • ka_42
    ka_42 Posts: 720 Member
    My boyfriend and I spend about 175-200 on groceries and toiletries every two weeks. I think we spend too much! We're trying to cut back where we can and make things last. The hard part is that I'm always finding expired items in our fridge that we barely touched.
  • TheMaidOfAstolat
    TheMaidOfAstolat Posts: 3,222 Member
    For my daughter and myself it's about $50 a week. We have a garden...so that really helps on the veggies, I partisipate in a co-op...give a little time, get some great food in return. We eat as healthfully as possible. We've cut out most junk food and that has really cut back on the grocery bill. I'm a vegetarian and my daughter eats meat only 2-3 times a week...so that also drastically lowers our food bill. I go through all the adds...Aldi is by far one of my fave places to shop. I also love Whole Foods...I love the Asian section. We have a Super H Mart (which is all asian foods and fres produce...I can buy 2-3 pounds of green beans for about $3). Always look into 'alternative markets'...you can get some really good stuff at a fraction of the cost of a traditional grocery store.
  • daniface
    daniface Posts: 338 Member
    two words, Public Market
  • blumuse
    blumuse Posts: 52 Member
    about $50 a week for myself. I don't eat out, hardly ever and I get most of my veggies and fruits (which make up the majority of my diet) from local farmers markets (wayyyyyy cheaper than the grocery store). I find that the more meals I make from scratch, the cheaper it usually is as the ingrients divided by the amount of servings you get out of them makes a lot more than a pre-processed meal. I can buy a pack of chicken breasts, cook those on Sunday and they'll work as dinner for me for the whole week coming up. I just have to find the determination and time to stop and cook the meals.
  • kaymd
    kaymd Posts: 470 Member
    For our family of 5 we spend about $100/$150 a week. 3 of the members are under 10 and don't eat a ton of food. My husband just got on board this wagon of eating healthy so surprisingly our grocery bill hasn't gone up tremendously. We do shop mainly at Aldis though.
  • leslielove
    leslielove Posts: 251 Member
    I spend $30 or less a week.. and that's an expensive week where I'm stocking up on meat - which I only buy when its the cheapest sale price I know it will get.

    Most of the time I leave a grocery store for $12 or less. I buy in bulk, check grocery ads online and make lists. I only go to stores where the things I need are on sale.

    The most important things you can do are buy in season, buy on sale, buy in bulk, clip coupons, and look at ads.
  • megamom
    megamom Posts: 920 Member
    Coupons coupons coupons, I buy when on sale, buy fresh and in season, and bulk and split costs with family members to cut down on costs. In the summer go to the farmers market half hour before the close and barter for lower costs, they don't want to haul it back home. Stay away from the middle isle.
  • twistygirl
    twistygirl Posts: 517 Member
    Man I have no control, I came from a poor family and we didn't have a lot of stuff so my Mother always fed us like queens and kings we all ways had tons of food in the house an freezers out in the garage. Now I am wasteful I spend 20-30 dollars a day. I go to the store every day. I have never used a budget or a meal plan. After reading what others are spending I realize I need some help and I throw food out every week bc no body cooks it. We take meat out then somebody buys out so the meat goes bad. It's me and two grown daughters Not to mention if I had a penny for every banana and apple we throw out a week. HELP.
  • marsbar_0789
    marsbar_0789 Posts: 34
    For me and the boyfriend it's about 100-125 a week but where we live food costs are really high so i don't think its too bad. Also i mostly buy whole foods with a few package foods in for his lunches (he works at a mine driving coal trcks so he needs easy portable foods that wont go bad)
  • melodyg
    melodyg Posts: 1,423 Member
    about $50 a week for myself. I don't eat out, hardly ever and I get most of my veggies and fruits (which make up the majority of my diet) from local farmers markets (wayyyyyy cheaper than the grocery store). I find that the more meals I make from scratch, the cheaper it usually is as the ingrients divided by the amount of servings you get out of them makes a lot more than a pre-processed meal. I can buy a pack of chicken breasts, cook those on Sunday and they'll work as dinner for me for the whole week coming up. I just have to find the determination and time to stop and cook the meals.

    So jealous here about cheap farmer's market prices! Our farmer's market is about twice as expensive as the grocery stores, and that is with plenty of locally grown food available. I still went most of the summer just because the food was so much better but it was definitely the majority of my food budget.
  • FireRox21
    FireRox21 Posts: 424 Member
    Even though my fiance and I live with my parents, I buy our food and he buys some food for his mother when he visits her and his brother on the weekend. We average about $500.00 a month for food. I pay extra for brand name diet or sugar free products and spend a bit on fruit and veggies. I also pay extra for the lower calorie/whole grain breads. He has to be on a super high fiber diet, so I am now spending more for foods with high fiber content. I cannot stress the absolute greatness of coupons. My mom and I both have organized coupon boxes that never leave our side when we are shopping. I also can't wait for summer to roll around again so we can start up our garden. Last year, I was quite successful growing six types of bell peppers, tomatoes, peas, beans, broccoli, and mesclun. With all of the rain So Cal just got, we should have a great growing season.

    Also, check into farmer's markets or street markets. You can get great deals on produce. Also, check into the Wonder Bread outlet store. Most of them closed here in So Cal, but others still might be open in other places. Hang in there. This eating healthy thing can be quite stressful to the bank account!!!!
  • tigersgirl
    tigersgirl Posts: 66 Member
    I spend about $600/month for groceries for me and my boyfriend. He has food allergies- gluten and soy being the big ones. The specialty food are usually 2-3xs the price. I usually try to find sales and use coupons.
  • cddavis04
    cddavis04 Posts: 38
    I used to spend about a 100 a week. Then I started going to the butcher shop for the fresh and cheap meat. I spend 80 at the butcher shop every 6 weeks and 100 the first week of the month then 50 on produce and veggies every week till the end of the month. There is only two people in my household.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    Man I have no control, I came from a poor family and we didn't have a lot of stuff so my Mother always fed us like queens and kings we all ways had tons of food in the house an freezers out in the garage. Now I am wasteful I spend 20-30 dollars a day. I go to the store every day. I have never used a budget or a meal plan. After reading what others are spending I realize I need some help and I throw food out every week bc no body cooks it. We take meat out then somebody buys out so the meat goes bad. It's me and two grown daughters Not to mention if I had a penny for every banana and apple we throw out a week. HELP.
    There's actually a name for this ...I'm sure you'll find it if you Google, there is explanation and help in changing from feeling like you'll never get food again to buying more than the household could possibly eat. :flowerforyou:
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    I was wondering if there is anybody that shops for either yourself or even maybe one other person in your household, and about how much do you spend every week on groceries? I always feel like I spend way too much on food and am trying to eat healthy on a low budget!
    $25 a week for myself eating healthy food.
  • strivingfor130
    strivingfor130 Posts: 221 Member
    Thanks for all the comments! I guess my bill isnt as bad as I thought. I normally spend about 70 every two weeks or so. I do think I could do without a few things though and stock up more on less processed food.
  • yanicka
    yanicka Posts: 1,004 Member
    Woa, or the food is way more expensive in Montreal or I really over spend but for myself and my 2 kids 11 and 4 y/o, I easily spend 500-600$ a month
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