Monthly Grocery Budget

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Replies

  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,344 Member
    I buy for 3 people but mostly 2 since my adult stepson eats out alot. I also eat very differently from my husband so we often have different dinners, I don't waste any food if I can help it. I'd say I spend $500-600 a month on grocerys
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,388 Member
    I live in the UK and spend about £90 to 100 per month for myself on all groceries. I drink water from the tap as I mostly drink water or tea anyway. Buy seasonal fruit and veggies from Aldi and Lidl. I'm happy to have about 80- 100g of meat or fish in a dish, or none at all. My biggest expense is probably the artisan bread I'm buying each weekend, which comes in at £2.50. But it's so yummy! If I happen to have too much in my fridge, or don't feel like cooking then I just put a piece of breaded fish or a good quality sausage in an oven dish, plus potato or sweat potatoe and veggies and cherry tomatoes. Serve with coarse salt and either hummus, self-made tsatsiki or feta cheese. Pasta sauce: really depends. I might buy a tin of chopped tomatoes as it's so cheap or make my own sauce with cherry tomatoes. I guess I'm having some convenience food maybe once in two weeks, either haggis with mash and turnips, or a deepfreeze veggy pizza or a cottage pie.
  • KelseyRL
    KelseyRL Posts: 124 Member
    Thanks for all the replies everyone. It's quite obvious to me that we should be able to eat for less money. Right now I do track all of our spending, but only by category. So I know how much we spent on groceries, but not what we bought with that money. I think for the rest of the month I'll keep our receipts and try to see what exactly we're buying at the store. I'll look too at what we're throwing out. I might but a paper on the fridge and every time we throw out food, mark down what it was and how much. Hopefully that will give me a handle on what we're buying and what we're wasting.

    Over the last few months we've averaged nearly $1000, again, not eating out or buying liquor. If we make it a challenge for September to come in around $600, it might make it more fun and if we have some data to work from, it should be more successful. My husband likes challenges, so I think it would be a good approach.

    And above all, we just have to plan better and then STICK TO THE PLAN. I feel like that's our biggest gap. We're good at making plans, not so good and sticking to them. We've started ordering our groceries online sometimes and I think that could be a big help too. That way you know what you're buying and how much it will cost before you have to pay. Then we can evaluate if everything we put in our 'cart' is really necessary.

    I'll keep you all posted on how it goes!
  • kokonani
    kokonani Posts: 507 Member
    zdyb23456 wrote: »
    I budget $500 a month that includes everything - food, toiletries, vitamins, paper products, cleaning products, batteries, printer ink/paper, Sams club membership fee, basically anything that is purchased at the grocery store or Sam's club.

    Eating out is separate and we only eat out or get takeaway a few times a month.

    I just checked my budget for last year and we averaged $460 a month. To be fair my husband travels a lot for work so it's just me and 3 kids under 8.

    Wow! That's fantastic. Here in Los Angeles, 3 kids under 10, me and hubby- we spend roughly $1400/ month on groceries and toiletries. This doesn't include eating out or treats outside our house!
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    Family of 7. NYC. We spend about $800 a month on groceries.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,388 Member
    @KelseyRL Please do! I'm really curious what you're buying for $1000! I've been on a short visit to Alberta before and bought breakfast and lunch for a few daytrips at a downtown Calgary supermarket. I was quite shocked about the prices, but that much? Wow. I can't even imagine it.

    Some more data:
    2 people Netherlands USD350
    2 people Norway USD400
    2 people Denmark: USD400
    2 people Qatar: USD200
    1 people UK: USD130

    There's a drama in there somewhere.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    edited August 2017
    We spend way more than we should or need to. We have a farm so a lot of our food comes from our land. But we still spend about $800 a month for just the two of us. But a lot of the stuff we buy is high dollar stuff we can't grow like seafood and wine and beer. Also, we entertain a lot so the food isn't just for us.

    Edit: also this is our entire grocery store expense, not just food. It would include things like toiletries, cleaners, paper products, etc.
  • puzzlingkirsten
    puzzlingkirsten Posts: 58 Member
    I also live in Alberta, my husband and I budget $600/month for groceries (but we usually wind up eating out most nights instead... bad for the budget AND waistline!). We are trying to cut back our spending so have decided to start making a weekly grocery list/meal plan, buy groceries online from Wal-mart (to hopefully cut out the extras we grab thanks to browsing) and then stick to the plan. This week we went to Co-op and spent just under $95.00 for the week which is actually fairly low for us, but the same haul at Wal-mart would have been closer to $60.00. I think it's really a matter of shopping around for the lowest prices (or price matching if your grocery store will do that) and only buying what you need. When we were planning more extravagant dinners, we wound up throwing way more out because we would eat out and then have things go bad. Now we're doing meals more along the lines of chicken breast and caesar salad, or salmon and quinoa with raw veggies on the side. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive. We're on week 2 but it seems to be working!
  • accidentalpancake
    accidentalpancake Posts: 484 Member
    KelseyRL wrote: »
    Hey,
    I was wondering how much people generally spend on groceries. I manage the money in our house and I feel like my husband and I spend a huge amount on food. We've kind of attempted to reduce it in the past, but we never tried too hard and have never been successful.

    I read the average in Alberta (the province I live in) is $240 per person per month. My husband and I spend at least double that every month and it's usually just the 2 of us. This doesn't include eating out or purchases at the liquor store.

    So, what do you spend on groceries on average and if you spend less, how?! I'm looking for any tips to reduce our monthly grocery budget (but I am going to say that I'm not a couponer).

    Thanks for the replies!

    I shudder to think what I spend on groceries. The things that really get me are the grass-fed beef and my penchant for wild-caught Red Snapper.
  • carterbrent
    carterbrent Posts: 91 Member
    I spend about 100 a week for me and my husband and adult son . We pack all lunches and eat out dinner about 1 or 2 times a month. I plan my weeks menu based on the store flyers ad sales for meat and produce. Aldis has a fit & active line of foods that are quite good. Their produce is very fresh and cheap. I do not buy much from a deli or bakery department unless it is marked down. We eat alot of hamburger and chicken, tuna and ground turkey. Not much goes to waste. Also try to shop from my freezer before I bring more food into the house. Don't want to have to throw away food that has become freezer burnt.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    edited August 2017
    I've been looking for ways to reduce my grocery budget. I'm not sure how much I was spending, because I just bought what I wanted, when I wanted it. I want to do an aggressive debt repayment plan over the coming year (until Dec2018) to see how much I can get paid down. So looking at the grocery budget has been a big part of that.

    I have actually been buying stuff on sale (looking at fliers for various stores and picking what I'll likely eat or won't go bad) and then deciding my meals. I know it's the exact opposite of what people say (to plan then buy), but it seems to be working. I do tend to cook on the fly, based on what I feel like cooking/eating. This allows me more flexibility in that way. I also batch cook and freeze single serving sizes that are all premeasured. It's a great way to have variability without having to cook much during the week.

    ETA: I'm aiming for about $100/month (it's just me), but usually end up around $200. It's a fun challenge.
  • allisonl6
    allisonl6 Posts: 37 Member
    I'm in northern Ontario and spend at least 200$ per week for a family of 6. We rarely eat out and waste almost nothing.
  • KaroshiQueen
    KaroshiQueen Posts: 213 Member
    Family of 5 in Dallas TX: we spend about $1600/mo, not including eating out at restaurants or pizza delivery. Our grocery budget is high but we use "Hello Fresh", they deliver half the week's groceries w/ recipes right to my door. It's expensive but we are eating a lot healthier than we used to. We recently eliminated meat from our diet so I expect our grocery bill to go down in the future.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    Uk and spend £240 a month for 3 adults.

    Eat seasonal fruit and veg and what ever is on Aldi super 6. Make my own yoghurt by the kg.

    Cook beans/chick peas in bulk from scratch then freeze. Buy whole chickens, remove the skin and dice the whole thing up. Freeze in 100g servings.
    Buy large joints of gammon etc that are cheaper per kg and cook and freeze in 100g servings.
    Bulk everything out with veg.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    edited August 2017
    Hmmm.. I think I'd come in around 50 a week.. But right now anything I buy is community food, so my package of chicken that would last me all week only makes it two days. 50 might be high. I literally eat the Same things over and over. Chicken, fish, lemon juice, salsa, garlic, red onion, turkey patty or ground turkey, eggs, cheese, frozen veggies, soy sauce, hot sauce, a few pieces of fruit, Greek yogurt, protein granola, protein drink (maybe), chicken sausage, tomatoes, spicy mustard, carrots.. Maybe some veggies for a salad on occasion...
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    It totally depends. Typically maybe $150 a week for a family of 4. I usually only buy meat at $2 a lb or less (so ground turkey or chicken breast on sale), sometimes a pack of sausage at $4, and frozen veggies (or produce in season only)... then there's random stuff like yogurt, pasta, pasta sauce, cheese, crackers, cleaning products etc.

    Typically 90% of the packaged stuff I buy is on sale, or I don't buy it.

    Sometimes we'll spend a bit more if I splurge on smoked salmon and bagels, for example, but you'll NEVER see me pay $3.5 a lb for chicken breast or $2 a lb for broccoli.
  • Aerona85
    Aerona85 Posts: 159 Member
    I'm in the US so my numbers aren't really good comparisons for yours but for just me I spend about $225 a month. That includes 2-3 meals out per week.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,388 Member
    KaroshiQueen wrote: »
    Family of 5 in Dallas TX: we spend about $1600/mo, not including eating out at restaurants or pizza delivery. Our grocery budget is high but we use "Hello Fresh", they deliver half the week's groceries w/ recipes right to my door. It's expensive but we are eating a lot healthier than we used to. We recently eliminated meat from our diet so I expect our grocery bill to go down in the future.

    Wow! I often use Hello Fresh and similar websites as inspiration. I have many of the ingredients at home, the recipes are online and I can adjust the amount of stuff to use while prepping or cooking to fit my calorie goal. Just yesterday I had a dish with lentils and halloumi cheese, lots of spinach and cherry tomatoes, and basalmico vinegar onions. Very yummy, very cheap for me, and only 600kcal.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,388 Member
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »
    Uk and spend £240 a month for 3 adults.

    Eat seasonal fruit and veg and what ever is on Aldi super 6. Make my own yoghurt by the kg.

    Cook beans/chick peas in bulk from scratch then freeze. Buy whole chickens, remove the skin and dice the whole thing up. Freeze in 100g servings.
    Buy large joints of gammon etc that are cheaper per kg and cook and freeze in 100g servings.
    Bulk everything out with veg.

    How do you make yoghurt? I'm really addicted to natural Skyr, but it's either expensive at Tesco, etc or usually not available at Lidl.

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