Grocery budget is supposed to be $100 a month per person?

24567

Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    Totally depends on where you live. Then obviously you have to be smart and buy chicken breast at the store where it's $1.88 a lb vs the store where it's $4 a lb, buy frozen veggies on sale at $1 and not fresh broccoli at $3 a lb etc... Heck a gallon of milk goes from $2.5 to $4 here depending on the store. And yeah, protein like fish and steak are pretty rare at my house, I don't like them enough to justify paying $6+ a lb.

    And $100 a month on groceries doesn't mean anything if you eat out 5x a week and end up spending double that at restaurants..
  • svel713
    svel713 Posts: 141 Member
    Thanks to everyone for the responses. I think I may be okay where I'm at, considering my protein needs. I also forgot to add all the eating out costs, which brings it to $200 per person per month rather than $178.

    I should have probably asked about overall food costs and fitting them into the $100. No one could drink or go out to eat with friends on that budget anywhere, I'd assume. I don't drink, so I don't know how much that costs a month, but I heard its a lot.

    I'll try to keep lowering the budget, but I won't stress is I pass the $100 mark. 95% of people I know easily spend $400/mo per person on total food costs anyway.
    diannethegeek wrote: »
    I'd be curious to know where this $100/month ideal comes from, how old it is, which agency came up with it, and whether it's before or after sales tax is applied.

    @diannethegeek. It was from Reddit. People living in the USA. From a few years ago to now. My problem is they never post their macros, so I have no idea if they also have my requirement of 80g protein per day. That's why I asked here.
  • LiveLoveFitFab
    LiveLoveFitFab Posts: 302 Member
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    on average i spend $75-100 a WEEK for my son (11 years old) and I.

    More when my fiance is home.

    generally speaking, the only pre packaged foods i buy are for his breakfast and lunch.

    we eat at home every day. i take leftovers or a salad or sandwich for lunch to work.

    I will say, that usually includes dog food (we have 5 dogs) and at least some non grocery items.

    Could I reduce that cost, yes. But I dont have to. I'm picky about what i eat (mostly meat and veg) and while much of what i get is generic brands(especially for canned/pantry items), there are some name brand items i prefer. If I am baking I am VERY picky about brands and quality.

    I do miss living near an aldis. the nearest one is almost 2 hours from me :(

    LiveLoveFitFab wrote: »
    100 dollars a month would be living in poverty and not sustainable where I live. I spend about 150 a WEEK. That's just for me and my husband. Not only that, but I'm vegetarian, so that's half the amount of meat. I could probably do $60 a week on my own just because I don't eat meat, but it's nothing for me to spend $100 a month just on meat, and that's just for him. A pack of four chicken breasts is 16 dollars here. A small strip steak can be 6-15 dollars, depending on if there is a sale or not. Even a can of tuna is two bucks.

    Where I live, 100 dollars a month would literally be rice, beans and frozen vegetables. Not much else.
    I'm Canadian btw.

    i was going to say, those sound like Canadian prices (thats where my fiance is from and i spend a lot of time up there LOLOLOL) i dont see how anyone can afford to eat up there! LOL! only the chicken breast packages tend to run around $22 in his stores (outside Toronto)

    Try going up North...a head of lettuce is $26 bucks up there. Yikes!
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    We have a family of four and our grocery budget happen to be $400/mo. It was $300/mo for several years, than $350, then $400. Doable but not necessarily "easy" (depending on preferences and appetites, of course, along with where you live).
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    edited October 2017
    I'll add, our dining out budget is separate. So is "supplies/consumables," which is $130/mo (and includes all the paper products, toiletries, makeup, cleaning supplies, stamps, etc.
  • ccruz985
    ccruz985 Posts: 646 Member
    What!?! Where?!
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,069 Member
    Confuzzled4ever wrote: »
    LiveLoveFitFab wrote: »
    I keep hearing about American's having cheap shopping trips at Aldi's where the eggs are a dollar for a dozen and everything else is cheap cheap cheap.

    Just a Canuck fantasizing about being able to afford more clothing due to spending less on food here...

    Aldis is cheaper. I got baby Bella mushrooms for 79 cents a container today. Boneless skinless Chicken breasts are 1.89 a lb or less, cheese slices are 2 dollars or less a package. Eggs range from $1 to 1.50. Greek yogurt is 3 bucks for the bigger one. They've got a lot of organic stuff too.

    I live in south Jersey at the beach.

    Monmouth County myself, with at least 2 Aldi within 20 minutes. I guess I'm going to have to check them out. Recently watched a youtube vid on Aldi, which is stimulating this response, that asserted that Aldi in Europe split into 2 companies, one of which is what we know as Aldi here in the US, and one which is the parent of Trader Joes. I was surprised.

    Shopping around, eating well, lots of fresh produce, lots of home prep of everything from bread to spaghetti sauce to salad dressings, etc., lots of general home cooking, we are still spending way, way above $100/month/person. And I'm a low-wastage kitchen manager, diligent cook, and comparative/sales shopper. I guess you *could* go $100/month by eating not-so-nutritious stuff, but not easily in this area of the US.
  • alicebhsia
    alicebhsia Posts: 179 Member
    svel713 wrote: »
    I've heard elsewhere multiple times that its "easy" to live off $100 a month for groceries. This was after I patted myself on the back for eating below the food stamps max allotment for 2, which is $357 a month. So of course I felt like I was a super overspender after that.

    I did math for months on and off, and found I could live off rice and dry brown lentils, leaving only $30 a month for fruit, veg, and vitamins. But that sounds like it would be unhealthy with such a lack of variety.

    So is it actually possible to live off that and be healthy? Are these $100/mo people living off just 30g of protein a day? What is the proper lowest amount of money to live off for groceries that is healthy?

    potatoes are a good buy too if you get sick of rice. nice filling baked potato, don't need anything on it but maybe a little salt. i used to live off 40 bucks a week for two adults and two children about 15 years ago. lots of homemade muffins, homemade yogurt smoothies (made with frozen strawberries in syrup) when finances allowed, hot dogs and veggie hot dogs, american cheese, homemade bread, cheap bread from the bread outlet store, onions, celery, carrots, mac n cheese boxes, lots of tea and coffee, got us by fairly well. i don't know how we did for protein everyday though no one got a protein deficiency that we were aware of. prices have gone up though.
  • debmclernon
    debmclernon Posts: 8 Member
    We spend about 150-200AUD per week in Australia for my husband and I. Sometimes that's a stretch. Cost of living in Australia is ridiculous though.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    I could probably eat on $100 per month if I had to. But I don't.

    I've never really separated out food vs. non-food items to see what we spend, but our total bill at the grocery store is more than $100 per person per week.
  • HannahInHawaii
    HannahInHawaii Posts: 173 Member
    I live in Hawaii and there is no way that would work for us.
  • TARGET65K
    TARGET65K Posts: 150 Member
    $100 a week per person here in France.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    http://www.foodmatters.com/article/what-the-world-eats-shocking-photos

    I don't think there is any "should" about it. Love your food. Eat a variety. Find deals where you can.

    I made a soup in my slow cooker last week that I consider virtually "free". The soup base was made from a chicken carcass (I got one pre-roasted from the store), potatoes ($2 for a 20 lb bag), onion, and spices.
  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
    edited October 2017
    LiveLoveFitFab wrote: »
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    on average i spend $75-100 a WEEK for my son (11 years old) and I.

    More when my fiance is home.

    generally speaking, the only pre packaged foods i buy are for his breakfast and lunch.

    we eat at home every day. i take leftovers or a salad or sandwich for lunch to work.

    I will say, that usually includes dog food (we have 5 dogs) and at least some non grocery items.

    Could I reduce that cost, yes. But I dont have to. I'm picky about what i eat (mostly meat and veg) and while much of what i get is generic brands(especially for canned/pantry items), there are some name brand items i prefer. If I am baking I am VERY picky about brands and quality.

    I do miss living near an aldis. the nearest one is almost 2 hours from me :(

    LiveLoveFitFab wrote: »
    100 dollars a month would be living in poverty and not sustainable where I live. I spend about 150 a WEEK. That's just for me and my husband. Not only that, but I'm vegetarian, so that's half the amount of meat. I could probably do $60 a week on my own just because I don't eat meat, but it's nothing for me to spend $100 a month just on meat, and that's just for him. A pack of four chicken breasts is 16 dollars here. A small strip steak can be 6-15 dollars, depending on if there is a sale or not. Even a can of tuna is two bucks.

    Where I live, 100 dollars a month would literally be rice, beans and frozen vegetables. Not much else.
    I'm Canadian btw.

    i was going to say, those sound like Canadian prices (thats where my fiance is from and i spend a lot of time up there LOLOLOL) i dont see how anyone can afford to eat up there! LOL! only the chicken breast packages tend to run around $22 in his stores (outside Toronto)

    Try going up North...a head of lettuce is $26 bucks up there. Yikes!

    That's crazy :o.

    What's usually the highest priced food/food group in Canada?
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,493 Member
    edited October 2017
    I never eat out and spend about 400 a month for 1 person. I could probably live on less but I dont like rice beans pasta, etc. A lot of my favorite products are quite expensive (protein bars, snack bars, powdered pb, 0 cal coffee syrup, non dairy items, etc) and I am glad I don't have to live on 100 a month because I would buy so many boring foods I wouldn't eat enough.
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
    $100 a month/per person? Does that include paper products, H&M, cleaning supplies too? Where? I live in the Midwest United States and spend MUCH more than that. And that is with coupons, trips to Aldi and farmers markets.

    In the last 3 months we have cut back drastically on eating out, so my grocery bill has actually gone up. I'd say most of my grocery bill every week is fresh vegetables/fruits and lean meats.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    kellyjellybellyjelly wrote: »
    LiveLoveFitFab wrote: »
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    on average i spend $75-100 a WEEK for my son (11 years old) and I.

    More when my fiance is home.

    generally speaking, the only pre packaged foods i buy are for his breakfast and lunch.

    we eat at home every day. i take leftovers or a salad or sandwich for lunch to work.

    I will say, that usually includes dog food (we have 5 dogs) and at least some non grocery items.

    Could I reduce that cost, yes. But I dont have to. I'm picky about what i eat (mostly meat and veg) and while much of what i get is generic brands(especially for canned/pantry items), there are some name brand items i prefer. If I am baking I am VERY picky about brands and quality.

    I do miss living near an aldis. the nearest one is almost 2 hours from me :(

    LiveLoveFitFab wrote: »
    100 dollars a month would be living in poverty and not sustainable where I live. I spend about 150 a WEEK. That's just for me and my husband. Not only that, but I'm vegetarian, so that's half the amount of meat. I could probably do $60 a week on my own just because I don't eat meat, but it's nothing for me to spend $100 a month just on meat, and that's just for him. A pack of four chicken breasts is 16 dollars here. A small strip steak can be 6-15 dollars, depending on if there is a sale or not. Even a can of tuna is two bucks.

    Where I live, 100 dollars a month would literally be rice, beans and frozen vegetables. Not much else.
    I'm Canadian btw.

    i was going to say, those sound like Canadian prices (thats where my fiance is from and i spend a lot of time up there LOLOLOL) i dont see how anyone can afford to eat up there! LOL! only the chicken breast packages tend to run around $22 in his stores (outside Toronto)

    Try going up North...a head of lettuce is $26 bucks up there. Yikes!

    That's crazy :o.

    What's usually the highest priced food/food group in Canada?

    Canada is a very, very large country. The highest prices are in the remote locations, like Nunavut. The most expensive items would be the perishables that can only be grown in more southern locations.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-18413043
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    Gracie12311 wrote: »
    If you’re in the US, you can an definitely eat for $100 per month for one person. I’m not saying you can eat whatever you want, or have extra treats or alcohol, but if you need to simply fill nutritional needs for one person, you can do it no matter where you are. I’ve shopped in Manhattan, NC, SC, Virginia, Vegas, and states in between and I can always find sales. Even more expensive grocery stores will have certain days they mark their meats down, and very cheap. Pork loin and roasts are $2 a pound on sale, as well as hamburger meat and chicken.

    I would honestly be so happy if this were true...but my experience definitely does not match yours. Excluding eating out, or extra treats, or alcohol - still no, truly. Many places, for folks with no special dietary requirements...yeah, I think a lot of places you might be able to do this with a lot of work and effort (with the caveat that you'd have to be able to be AT the stores when they have their sales, which some work situations would make impossible).

    But it is definitely not all places.

    While a lot of cities have higher costs of living prices, they also have more choices. And they have more choices that are in close proximity or have low cost ways to get there (as opposed to driving long distances in rural areas when gas prices are high). When you live in a moderately high cost of living area that is also rural...you've got one choice, maybe two, or you drive for a couple hours to get to a place with more choices, but you will be using enough gas that it negates any benefit from a sale.

    I guess my point is, in rural areas, you don't always get to 'shop around' for the best sale, you know? It costs more to ship food into those places. And EVERYONE knows when the special sales are and when things are marked down, so it gets very competitive to try and acquire them.

    This is all, of course, just looking at people who have no dietary restrictions. Throw in allergies or medically restricted diets, and the cost of a meal jumps significantly - although I am assuming you are mostly addressing more 'average' meal planning as opposed to these.







Categories