Grocery Bill

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Replies

  • onefortyone
    onefortyone Posts: 531 Member
    We are pretty frugal and live in an area where food is cheap, and keep it around $200 a month for me and hubby, though we lost track the past couple of months. We use coupons for what we can, and stock up if the price is good, so some months might be $250-300, but we have enough TP to last 6 months and shampoo through 2016 lol.

    I always recommend coupons.com as the easiest place to browse for coupons for things you already buy!
  • CassieR6
    CassieR6 Posts: 280 Member
    We are pretty frugal and live in an area where food is cheap, and keep it around $200 a month for me and hubby, though we lost track the past couple of months. We use coupons for what we can, and stock up if the price is good, so some months might be $250-300, but we have enough TP to last 6 months and shampoo through 2016 lol.

    I always recommend coupons.com as the easiest place to browse for coupons for things you already buy!

    Thank you! I will defiantly look into that.
  • amcook4
    amcook4 Posts: 561 Member
    We are somewhere between $50 - $150 a week, vastly depending on if we like the stuff that is on sale, and what we make. (Just my husband and I)

    If we want to keep it cheap, we will make a big batch of cheap food and have it for a few meals, like Jamaican beans & rice, that gets us dinner and about 3 days of lunches, those weeks are about $50. Although, not all weeks are like that, we like good quality ingredients, so sometimes we can drop $20 on a block of really good Parmesan cheese (that will last a few weeks) It does help that we have multiple grocery stores close by, and depending on what we are buying we know where things are cheapest (like pine nuts are super cheap at Whole foods, while canned tomatoes are usually more expensive). And our CSA plays into it during the growing season as well, we get A LOT of vegetables from them, and the price really isn't that bad.
  • lachapelle12345
    lachapelle12345 Posts: 3 Member
    $2500 per month in northern Canada for a family of five -our 3 children are all boys. Grocery prices are very high where we live with produce being the bulk of our costs. We all eat at least 8 servings of fruit and veggies a day....I'll be rich when they leave home
  • blktngldhrt
    blktngldhrt Posts: 1,053 Member
    We spend 300-500 per month on groceries for two adults and a 3 year old (2 dogs too) in PA
  • SpicesOfLife
    SpicesOfLife Posts: 290 Member
    holy *kitten*, how much do you guys make to be able to spend 1000+ on groceries each month lol, and what the hell are you buying? :D

    i spend about 200 on groceries for just me and i eat a lot!
  • 21million
    21million Posts: 113 Member
    edited October 2014
    $300ish/month, two adults, one small dog. But that is a bit of splurging, really. I buy a lot of grains in bulk that keep well so in reality I could put out a few hundred and be set for months sans a few fresh veggies occasionally. I have a problem spending on food, though, so my menu isn't well varied.
  • teagirlmedium
    teagirlmedium Posts: 679 Member
    The numbers some people are throwing out scare me. I want to move to a warmer area. Every time I look at the numbers I barely see spending $400 a month on everything that I would not consider a bill. What cost $1,000+ that does not include bills like rent or car insurance, etc.? How much daily life stuff and I forgetting?
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    edited October 2014
    I have $189 for food every month.
    Sometimes I spend close to that, often I have credit left over.
    I eat lower on the food chain because it's healthier & cheaper - little meat, lots of beans & veggies.

    Here's a blog post I did with a link to a cookbook called "Cheap Eats":
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-09-19-cheap-eats-cookbook-696460

    I also check out the 99c bin at the grocery for ding & dent produce. Have to eat it quickly, but it's only cosmetically bad.
    Also, the store I go to (Woodman's) is considerably less expensive than the major chain in my area (Pick n Save). I got an avocado at W's for 69c, and at PnS they wanted $1.49. A red bell pepper was about the same prices. Milk is 75c to $1 cheaper at W's, same name brands.
    Aldi is pretty cheap too, & they're an international chain.
  • 21million
    21million Posts: 113 Member
    MKEgal wrote: »
    I have $189 for every month.
    Sometimes I spend close to that, often I have credit left over.
    I eat lower on the food chain because it's healthier & cheaper - little meat, lots of beans & veggies.

    Here's a blog post I did with a link to a cookbook called "Cheap Eats":
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-09-19-cheap-eats-cookbook-696460

    So awesome, thanks!
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
    $500-600 a month for hubs and me in northern VA. Most shopping is in bulk at Costco. We'd either go broke or have to coupon full time if we did all our shopping at a regular grocery store.
  • rterilynn
    rterilynn Posts: 28 Member
    edited October 2014
    single person with no food frills other than wine or beer on occasion is @ $400.00 'ish' in Oregon. We have an abundance of fresh produce, but prices are getting ridiculous.
  • lachapelle12345
    lachapelle12345 Posts: 3 Member
    For an idea we Just spent $10.51 on 8 apples at 10:00 this morning- all gone by 4:00 pm today
  • 50sFit
    50sFit Posts: 712 Member
    CassieP16 wrote: »
    Hello there! I know I have asked this before but I just did our numbers and we are spending about $1000 a month in groceries!! To me for a family of three (Wife, Husband, and 4 year old). This includes food, household items, and beer typically. So its all! Oh and we are in Southern California. So is this average or above average???
    We're a family of 7, and we spend about $200 per week on lean meats, fish, fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, beans, whole grain flour, rice, pasta and raw, unpasteurized dairy products.
    We eat well but cheap. Most of our cooking is from scratch.
  • NetflixAndChocolate
    NetflixAndChocolate Posts: 57 Member
    ireland :me and 3 housemates spend €80 a week on food + booze
  • krazyforyou
    krazyforyou Posts: 1,428 Member
    Its only myself and the cat. I do keep treats for my niece who visits weekly. But my bill is usually 200-250 monthly. I am in Alabama
  • pita7317
    pita7317 Posts: 1,437 Member
    Southern Nevada here. Depends on who shops. My husband or myself for just two of us.
    I would say food only ranges probably 800-900 a month. Hubby spends way more than I do.
  • mereditheve
    mereditheve Posts: 142 Member
    edited October 2014
    Your grocery bill seems insanely high to me.

    Tips:
    - Shop around the outer edge of the grocery store (e.g., produce, dairy, meat, eggs).
    - Buy staples in bulk (oats, flour, sugar, etc.) and buy them when they go on sale
    - Don't buy the cutesy, processed foods with the fancy packaging

    I spend about $35/week for two adults. Here's a sample grocery list from when I made 2 different chicken dishes one week, guacamole 2x that week, mushroom & onion omelets, two pasta dishes, and spinach salad.
    - Jalapeno pepper $0.10 (for one pepper)
    - Avocados $5.00
    - Bell Peppers $2.00
    - Spinach $3.00
    - Eggs $3.00
    - Chicken $8.00
    - Onion $1.00
    - Mushrooms $2.00
    - Pasta $2.00
    - Cilantro $1.00
    - Milk $3.00
    Total: $30.10 + tax

    I buy 50lb bags of flour from Costco and bake my own bread. It comes out to around $0.30 per loaf and I use my own sourdough starter for it. Way better than anything I can buy in the grocery store, and for much less.

    Also, you might consider growing some of your produce, like citrus and avocado, which both thrive in SoCal. Since you have children, it would be a fun learning experience for them too.

    P.S., I travel to Los Angeles quite a bit, and prices there are comparable to where I live. Ironically, my grocery bill is lower in L.A. than when I am home.
  • mbailey423
    mbailey423 Posts: 141 Member
    edited October 2014
    Were in SE PA. We average 1000 a month for 2 adults 2 teens and my mother in law. Meats/ chicken are bought at a butcher, fish at the local monger, we eat a lot of venison (technically free as my kids and I are hunters) Our fruits and vegs bought at the farmers market. I'd say about 500 or so at the grocerie store
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    I am a frugal shopper, by necessity. I am not the most creative cook/amazing cook, but I do make 3 meals a day for 4 people.

    My weekly shop is like $70-$100, and I spend $40-60 per month at costco. (a friend with a membership picks stuff up for me while she is there.)

    I do not bake my own bread, or grind my own peanuts for peanut butter.... but we do okay.

    I am on the WIC program, which helps quite a bit with the weekly milk/eggs/cereal/produce.
  • apparations
    apparations Posts: 264 Member
    I am totally impressed that you all can even keep track of what you spend on food. If I had to guess I'd say I spend about $250 per month, single and living in Toronto, ON. Food is generally more expensive in this city, even though I pretty much always shop at No Frills (the cheap grocery store). But that's really not taking into account the amount of money I spend on eating out, which is quite a bit. Also there is an organic farmers market I can go a little crazy at. So my bill really is probably much higher. Being single and keeping afloat financially more or less, I don't worry about it much. And then there's the $$ spent at the LCBO...
  • WoWkat
    WoWkat Posts: 48 Member
    edited October 2014
    I live alone and spend about $100-$180/month on food, depending on what is in season (In the PNW)

    Dog food isn't included, my chihuahua eats a 4lb bag of food every 5 months or so for $14.99
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    saraharnoldnelson wrote: »
    $600-700/mo average for family of 4 in WA State here.

    Hm, wow. Let's see, two in our houshold, eastern wa... so food prices are higher and quality is lower than western. We're at $50 a week on average, plus $20 for meat, which we buy two animals once yearly. That $50 includes wine, craft beer, and other occasional splurges like pumpkin spice waffles, and pumpkin macarons from trader joes.... ;)
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Oh and when we lived in SF... the two of us could cover a week of meat and veg for about $30. Then we'd probably spend another $30 on cheeses and wine. So, take that out, we could probably live in SF right now for $200 a month.
  • Laura_Ivy
    Laura_Ivy Posts: 555 Member
    edited October 2014
    I assume the majority of your food is bought at whole foods or other local organic chains? Our food budget for a 2 adults and 2 children aged 10 &5 is about $800 including my gas but not including times that we have ate out. We shop at costco quite a bit and I have noticed some months are higher when we have to restock our pantry but it usually all evens out because some months we are under our budget! I don't think your bill is that out of control considering So Cal prices but I think there are definitely ways you could improve and shop smarter to decrease your bill if you wanted! By the way I live in San Diego.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    I spend about $1200 a month on groceries for me plus two kids. $600 of that is just my food.

    I wish it was lower, but all three of us have food allergies and medically restricted diets. There are many basic foods we can only buy expensive varieties of just to ensure no allergen contamination (like meats, nuts, beans, grains, even produce!).

    The budget has paid a high price! :-/ I'm literally looking at gardening more simply to lower our food budget. >_<

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