How much money do you spend on food?

Options
PiSquared
PiSquared Posts: 148 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm trying to figure out how my grocery budget compares with other people's. I spend around $150 per week. This is for a family of 2 adults, living in the northeastern US. We almost never eat out. Breakfast and dinner are eaten at home, and lunches are packed and taken to work. We eat a lot of fresh veggies, and I try to stick to high quality meats. I feel like I'm spending a lot of money on food, but I'm not entirely sure how to start reigning the cost back in, nor am I sure what an average grocery budget looks like.
«134

Replies

  • nortonsmom
    nortonsmom Posts: 4 Member
    Options
    I would be afraid to add up what we spend on food...we are like you ( 2 adults) We seldom go out and cook real food, nothing that is prepared from a box/frozen etc. If you are doing it for 150 I would like to see your menu!! Food is just expensive!
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    Options
    We eat vegetarian (with some fish added recently... unsure if that is permanent thing.) and have a family of 4 in the midwest. we spend around 150, including dogfood, and a once a week trip to a fast food/casual dining restaurant.

    we eat alot of dry staples, rice, pasta, cereal, potatoes, beans, oats...
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    edited March 2015
    Options
    My husband I spend about $300-$400 every two weeks. I find I'd rather pay more for stuff I like, so I really don't focus on trying to cut back too much. Plus, fresh food is just costly, especially in the winter since most of our stuff is imported (we live in Western Canada).

    Good ways to save is to buy in bulk - Costco is great for this. Costco can be harder with things that can spoil quicker and can't be frozen, but we just focus on eating those things sooner and making meals around them!

    When my husband is working out of town, then man is that grocery bill nice and small haha!
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    Options
    It really depends where you live and where you shop... we (2 adults) usually spend about an average of $50 weekly just on food at the supermarket.
  • dirtyflirty30
    dirtyflirty30 Posts: 224 Member
    Options
    Eeek. Not counting meals out, coffee, etc., probably $75-$100 per week for just me.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    Options
    It depends on where you live and what you buy a bit.
    For my household, we spend $100 a week for 2 adults, 1 teenage girl, midwest USA, everyone eating almost all meals prepared from home, eating some meat but also some meatless meals regularly, not eating any special diets or all organic.

    Recent thread on this topic-
    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10108987/monthly-grocery-budget/p1
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    Options
    about $500 a month for me
  • PiSquared
    PiSquared Posts: 148 Member
    Options
    Thanks for the responses. It sounds like we're in a pretty normal range in our grocery budget. We're currently apartment dwellers, in the process of trying to purchase our first home, and I've been looking for every place in our budget to pinch those pennies just a bit tighter. I think I'm going to leave the grocery budget as is, and just live with the reality that food is expensive, and good food is worth the price.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    edited March 2015
    Options
    That sounds pretty average to me. We grow a lot of our produce, which isn't free but is definitely cheaper. But in months when we buy most of our food, that's about what we spend on food (not including beer and wine) for 2 adults.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Options
    $750ish a month for one, not including meals out
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    Options
    $300 or so per month for 2 adults 1 child. That doesn't include eating out though. We eat out probably once or twice a week. I pack my lunches every day for work.
  • PiSquared
    PiSquared Posts: 148 Member
    Options
    nortonsmom wrote: »
    I would be afraid to add up what we spend on food...we are like you ( 2 adults) We seldom go out and cook real food, nothing that is prepared from a box/frozen etc. If you are doing it for 150 I would like to see your menu!! Food is just expensive!

    My grocery bill this past weekend (should carry me through the entire week) came to about $120. It's a bit lower because I didn't have to restock things like rice (restocked a few weeks ago, tend to buy in bulk) and I'll be using some chicken from the freezer. It's a pretty varied menu, includes a vegetarian dinner, some red meat, and even tuna steaks. If you're interested, I've started posting my menus on a blog here (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/PiSquared)
  • RosieWest8
    RosieWest8 Posts: 185 Member
    Options
    I probably spend around $50-$70/wk. It's kind of hard because I don't go shopping every week. I usually go for the main things once/month and then I'll stop and get things like lunch meat or produce (the stuff that doesn't last too long). It's just me, though. Doesn't include meals out (which isn't that often) and I'm in the Midwest.
  • nortonsmom
    nortonsmom Posts: 4 Member
    Options
    [My grocery bill this past weekend (should carry me through the entire week) came to about $120. It's a bit lower because I didn't have to restock things like rice (restocked a few weeks ago, tend to buy in bulk) and I'll be using some chicken from the freezer. It's a pretty varied menu, includes a vegetarian dinner, some red meat, and even tuna steaks. If you're interested, I've started posting my menus on a blog here (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/PiSquared)[/quote]

    Wow! thats an impressive menu! I think Im gonna follow you around!!
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
    Options
    I spend on average $50 a week. This is just for me. I live in the Mid-Atlantic area. I get a lot of frozen veg from Wegman's because 1 bag is $1. I will eat a bag of veggies a day. I get the family packs of <insert meat here> and freeze them in portions. I do cereal and milk, and I make my own frozen meals. My BF does yogurt and cereal bars for lunch--this doesn't work for me.
  • heritagemom
    heritagemom Posts: 1
    Options
    We're a Midwest family of six (four sons ages 18-26, then hubs and myself), and we spend about $30-40 per person per week. We rarely eat out, and I make most everything from scratch (meaning, I have nothing in my home with a Campbell's, Kellogg's or Kraft label, lol). We purchase mostly organic meats and produce. I purchase from a local farmer, plus my grains, dry beans, etc. from a bulk supplier via a food-buying co-op. The make-from scratch lifestyle takes more effort, but totally worth it if you can swing it.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    Options
    We spend roughly $1k per month for 6 of us:me, Mrs Jruzer, and 4 sons ages 6, 8, 14, and 16.
  • rejectedprincesssupportgroup
    rejectedprincesssupportgroup Posts: 16
    Options
    It's just me, and I spend about 30 dollars a week. That's all I can afford right now, so unfortunately I don't get to buy the foods I would like.
  • Terpnista84
    Terpnista84 Posts: 517 Member
    Options
    If I'm really careful I can do $40 a week.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    Options
    rejectedprincesssupportgroup wrote: »
    It's just me, and I spend about 30 dollars a week. That's all I can afford right now, so unfortunately I don't get to buy the foods I would like.
    Honestly, I'd love to just know what you eat daily for $30 a week.

    Seriously just curious.

Categories