Possibly off topic - food budget survey question

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  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
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    This thread is depressing me.

    I live in a high cost country. I really wish I could get by on 200$ a month for groceries (that would already be amazing!), the reality is closer to 400$ (without buying any outrageously expensive products. No organic. Meat only 3 times per week, no eating out and no toiletry included).
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    $100 a week for 4 of us counting paper and cleaning products (but my husband still buys lunch 3x a week, even though he could bring leftovers, so it's actually more money).

    I stock up on things on sale, save on laundry detergent by making my own, don't buy supplements I don't need, make my own bread (not sure I'm saving that much on that though, to be honest), usually don't buy protein at more than $3 a lb, and mostly buy frozen veggies.

    I do have kids that make me buy more processed food, but again, I stock up when it's on sale so it's not THAT bad. I typically save between 20 and 40% on my grocery store bills (I stick to 2 stores plus Target occasionally).

    I do splurge on the occasional treat though and this doesn't include pet stuff.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
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    Last year my family of four spent $1,000-$1,200 per month on groceries and another $400-500 per month on eating out. I spent about $65 per month on supplements (protein, BCAAs, bars, etc.).
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
    I think its costing me around 400-500 a month to feed just myself.. =/ lol
    I also pay a bit more then that besides the food cause i buy bottled water

    We just moved and went from city water to well water, which is definitely an acquired taste lol. So for right now I'm buying bottled water (for drinking), and I'm just getting 24pks from Aldi for around $2. Need to figure out what to do long term though. The well water was just tested and it's fine, but it has a sweet taste that's off putting.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    kwtilbury wrote: »
    Last year my family of four spent $1,000-$1,200 per month on groceries and another $400-500 per month on eating out. I spent about $65 per month on supplements (protein, BCAAs, bars, etc.).

    Dang, that totaled is more than half of our monthly take home pay!
  • laceyslabaugh
    laceyslabaugh Posts: 113 Member
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    It is my husband, 18 yr old daughter, 2 1/2 yr old daughter and myself. I spend about $225 every 2 weeks. I buy fruits and veggies at our local produce store and get the other stuff at Walmart. I use the Savings Catcher and just put that money towards the next bill and I'm always cutting coupons too!
  • johnnylakis
    johnnylakis Posts: 812 Member
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    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
    I think its costing me around 400-500 a month to feed just myself.. =/ lol
    I also pay a bit more then that besides the food cause i buy bottled water

    We just moved and went from city water to well water, which is definitely an acquired taste lol. So for right now I'm buying bottled water (for drinking), and I'm just getting 24pks from Aldi for around $2. Need to figure out what to do long term though. The well water was just tested and it's fine, but it has a sweet taste that's off putting.

    I live in New York. They say that NY tap water is fine. The lead levels are within acceptable limits. Wait, what? I drink Poland Spring. 24 bottles for $3.99.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    johnnylakis wrote: »
    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
    I think its costing me around 400-500 a month to feed just myself.. =/ lol
    I also pay a bit more then that besides the food cause i buy bottled water

    We just moved and went from city water to well water, which is definitely an acquired taste lol. So for right now I'm buying bottled water (for drinking), and I'm just getting 24pks from Aldi for around $2. Need to figure out what to do long term though. The well water was just tested and it's fine, but it has a sweet taste that's off putting.

    I live in New York. They say that NY tap water is fine. The lead levels are within acceptable limits. Wait, what? I drink Poland Spring. 24 bottles for $3.99.

    Part of the problem is mental I think-we now live off of a river, which is well known for it's heavy pollution. So in my head I'm putting 'dirty river' and 'water coming out of my sink' together lol. But, as part of our buying of the house it was required to have the health inspector come and do a thorough testing of the well/septic, and everything passed with flying colors. But still..... :p
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    edited February 2017
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    I eat 3000 calories a day typically $40 a week on food budget $200 a month with two kids (11, 13) every weekend. We eat lots of Chicken, pasta, red meat and I grow my own Veggies.. I use a few money savings apps but Aldi typically beats all the other stores prices by so much they have become useless..

    I haven't used protein supplements in a long time because my diet is high in Protein
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
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    Interesting to see how varied it is. I just reviewed our budget from last year and we averaged $500 a month for two adults which includes not only our food but assorted paper products, food for 3 animals, gas for my car and take out once a week.

    I shop a lot of sales and use my freezer a lot. Really makes a difference in the budget.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    edited February 2017
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    I don't have a total but expect I'm spending maybe half the amount as before I started dieting/tracking. I don't eat out much now and buy most of what I need at Costco.

    Healthy food isn't expensive, maybe you are overdoing supplements? I only have protein powder, power bars & shakes as a backup or supplemental, not for primary nutrition.

    Having a large freezer really helps. If I make lasagna etc on the weekend, I package it up and freeze some of it for the future. I also rely on mixed bags of frozen veggies which are good and I find I don't throw away wilted stuff nearly as much.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
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    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    kwtilbury wrote: »
    Last year my family of four spent $1,000-$1,200 per month on groceries and another $400-500 per month on eating out. I spent about $65 per month on supplements (protein, BCAAs, bars, etc.).

    Dang, that totaled is more than half of our monthly take home pay!

    It's ridiculous. We probably waste as much food as many families consume.
  • Iknewyouweretrouble
    Iknewyouweretrouble Posts: 561 Member
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    $150 per trip for me and boyfriend 1-2 times weekly not including retail trips and eating out. we really need to cut back n be thrifty. i waste. a lot of food with it going bad
  • CafeRacer808
    CafeRacer808 Posts: 2,396 Member
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    Wow, after reading this thread, I'm realizing that my food budget is quite high. I spend anywhere from $600-750/month on groceries, just for myself. :|
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
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    Family of 5, kids are fairly young so they don't eat a ton. My husband on the other hand...

    I budget about $500 a month. This includes toiletries, cleaning products, batteries, printer ink a few times a year.... some months I go over, other months I come under (usually when my husband is away for work).

    I coupon for items we regularly buy. I usually can get pantry items pretty cheap. I buy extra lean ground beef and antibiotic free chicken breast from Zaycon. We also got a bunch of free venison.
  • MacaronStyle
    MacaronStyle Posts: 35 Member
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    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    Wow, after reading this thread, I'm realizing that my food budget is quite high. I spend anywhere from $600-750/month on groceries, just for myself. :|

    The last I checked I was spending $800/month on groceries and eating out. Just for me. Not including toilet paper and other household goods. I get Blue Apron and go out to lunch 3 days a week. I also buy a lot of food with good intentions. Everyone is going to be different so I wouldn't worry about it as long as you're comfortable with what you're spending!
  • ashleighs148
    ashleighs148 Posts: 334 Member
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    My boyfriend and I spend around £150 (around $186) on our food shop each month (everything's usually from tesco or waitrose). We buy everything we want and don't miss out on anything, we don't go out of our way to try and spend less on food. Our dinners are always homemade so it's a lot cheaper than buying packaged stuff I suppose and I'm vegetarian so we don't buy a lot of meat which is really expensive but we buy quorn, which does work out a tad cheaper.
  • SierraFatToSkinny
    SierraFatToSkinny Posts: 463 Member
    edited February 2017
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    When I was a vegetarian I got my monthly budget down to $86. (Single girl living in Los Angeles.)

    But I exclusively made my own food. Including yogurt and bread. I bought dried beans and rice. (Though... I also bought larger ticket items from Whole Foods occasionally. Like quinoa.)

    Not purchasing meat or ready-made foods really cut costs!


    I eat meat now, but I can still live affordably.

    For example, I always purchase meat on sale. Usually I wait for bone-in, skin-on, chicken thighs to drop to 78¢ a pound and then I purchase it. (I prefer the benefits of eating meat off the bone than I do the lower calorie, more expensive chicken breast.)

    I made a soup the other day. One whole chicken 99¢ a pound, $4.51 altogether. One pound of black beans, dry, 99¢, one pound of red beans, dry, $1.19, one onion, estimate about 30¢, one large can of on-sale diced tomatoes, 99¢, (varied spices added in, half home grown, half purchased). And I added in bone broth which I had previously made from the bones of the last chicken I cooked.

    It made 26 cups with a cup being about 250 calories, rounding up I'm looking at 35¢ a cup. Or about $1 for 3 cups at 750 calories. Very nutritious and very tasty as well!

    Soup:
    c4ftxn1axyd4.jpeg

    I added some green onions and mozzarella cheese as a garnish on top.


    Edit: Excluding eating out, I average >$150 worth of food a month at >$5 a day. It also isn't all beans and rice :D . I also buy grass-fed butter, organic milk, local cream, and free-range chicken eggs (some bartering goes down at the local farmer's market.) Because... it pairs nicely with discounted chicken? Lol!

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