Weekly grocery bill

I have found if you buy whole foods like produce, nuts, some dairy, and meat it's not more expensive than other processed groceries. Of course it's more time consuming with prep and cooking, but I think the end result tastes better and is more gratifying. I try to hit sales - Whole Foods will do organic mangoes 10/$10 and will purchase a couple of ripe and mostly unripe fruits so they last longer, same for avocados. Organic carrots and loose bulk kale are pretty inexpensive per pound. I avoid prebagged items like salad and apples. Harris Teeter does awesome sales on organic berries. I will buy several pounds and prep them when I get home. Some of them I will freeze. Organic cheese is another one I will wait until it's on sale, find coupons, and buy in bulk. Shredded cheese is great in the freezer, and doesn't need to be thawed to use. Same with meat - buy in bulk on sale and freeze. Fresh raw nuts are also a great option, and fresh organic 1 ingredient peanut butter is pure heaven. I wait until those items go on sale and stock up - both are also very versitile. I've found apps like Ibotta and Checkout 21 offer rebates on several of these items, including produce, nuts, eggs, and milk. Saving Star also offers produce rebates, but you have to make sure you get it at a store they are partnered with (i.e. Harris Teeter, not Whole Foods). We also buy a case of macro bars a week which are great for quick snacks. Our grocery bill is usually $100/week, but often includes our water (18 gal $.38/gal), a suppliment (I take a multivitamin, magnesium, and a vitamin b complex, usually one of those is on sale with coupons so I will get a couple of containers). Other things that are relatively inexpensive and versitile are organic steel cut oats (Red Mill) - when on sale with coupons it comes out 1.25 for 2 lbs at Harris Teeter. Harris Teeter will double coupons that are .99 or less, but sometime will double coupons $2 or less which provides a lot of free shopping. Some decent coupon site for organic items are Common Kindness, Hopster, and LOZO is good to track down any coupons that are current (it's a database you can query - and they will provide links to printable coupons). Farvado is a good app to check weekly sales, and they also will let you know which coupons are available and their sources. Feel free to hit me up if you have questions or want more info.

So much good advice here. I plan meals based on what is on sale, batch cook a lot, and also plan meals based on what fresh produce is in my fridge so nothing goes to waste. I cook all meals from scratch.

Family of 4 in Canada (but pretty far north). We spend $1000-1300/month on groceries. Usually $250-400 at Costco every 2 weeks, depending on which items we need to restock. Then smaller trips to the regular grocery store for yogurt, milk, and bread as we run out. We go out to eat 0-6 times a month.

We spend for 2 people around £200 a month (though I'm not good at racking). but that doesn't include the £100 on alcohol on payday or the once weekly meal out or our food for work.

I do my drinks order from Asda then food shopping from Tesco, Morrisons and Iceland

From next month aiming for 2 food deliveries a month @ £50-60 a time.

We cook most dinners from scratch. We spend £400 per month for two adults and two children, aged 6 and 10 (this is actually a little above the average spend for a four-person family). My tips:

• Cook double, triple or however many portions and freeze all but one for the following week(s).
• Snacks for children on weekdays can be cut up cheese (not the pre-packed stuff aimed at them), left-over vegetables and fruit. We keep staples of peppers, cucumber, apples, bananas, carrots and plum tomatoes.
• Buy big hunks of meat and break them down yourself.
• Plan out three-four meals at a time. I know a lot of people go for weekly shops, but that created waste for us - as life sometimes gets in the way.
• Buy potatoes, rice and dried pasta in big portions. It keeps.
• Bulk up protein with beans and lentils.

Wow I feel ripped off!!! I am in Perth Western Australia we are a family of 6 and I do menu plans and shopping lists.
Our weekly spend is $250 a week not including my husbands lunches. I can't cut anything else out

I know that most folks throw out far too much food. Be careful about best before dates. They are there to protect the producer, not you. Freeze stuff that is getting close if you can't use it. We freeze or reuse leftovers for lunches as much as possible. If food is fully cooked and in the fridge it will be good for longer than you probably think. Waste is probably one of the biggest areas you can manage directly.

Eat by the season if you can. Asparagus is one of my favorite veggies and we gorged on it when it was fresh and local and frankly 1/3 of the cost of the imports that you get in the winter. And again, freeze a bunch for later. We garden and do about 100 dozen ears of corn. Guess where it goes...we don't buy much corn in the winter. But I know not everyone has that opportunity. Use items that never get too expensive. Cabbage is usually always cheap and works in soups, stir fry, salads, slows... Stretch meats where you can as far as you can.

Learn to cook. This may sound insulting and I apologize of it does, it's not my intent. But if we make mashed potatoes, left overs will be made into potato pancakes or gnocchi or bubble and squeak or something like that. Knowing how to utilize leftovers in a manner that transforms them into something that is better can help stretch things much further. And we expect a day a week or more to be leftovers.

2 adults $60 per week, but never eat out except once year on birthdays...

My first thought was I'll trade you. I get 94 in food stamps and have another$50 max that I can spend on groceries if I don't have to buy medicine. Eating healthy food on this amount is very difficult. Any suggestions.

Wiseandcurious wrote: »

424a57 wrote: »

Reading through this topic is amazing. You guys are amazing to eat on $500-$800 per month. My family of 4 adults (in Southern California) spends over $1500 per month on food (groceries, restaurants, fast food).

From your perspective @424a57, why is that? Lots of eating out? Food generally more expensive where you live? Throw out food a lot? Eat truffles/foie gras a lot? Life standard (costs and salaries) double that of other states? Just curious, I am not in the US so wondering what a double (or triple) difference can come from.

@Wiseandcurious - My guess would be that $1500 includes "groceries, restaurants and fast food" One night at a restaurant for a family of four would be a minimum of $40 up to probably $100-150. A fast food night can add up quick too.

I don't grocery shop but a fantastic website is the cheapskates club. http://www.cheapskatesclub.net/ They have heaps of cheap dinner recipes & do a $300/month grocery challenge.