Grocery budget is supposed to be $100 a month per person?
Replies
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It depends on the dietary needs of the person. Any kind of food restrictions caused by medical issues makes reaching this a lot harder. One way to save, since you have SNAP benefits, is to see if there is a local food bank program that can help (they help those with low income, and usually someone who gets SNAP is considered low income) . They usually give out things like bread/dairy/rice/dried beans/fruit/veggies/meat. That way your SNAP funds can go towards anything they don't have.
I'm not actually on SNAP. I just picked the amount they list online as the maximum allotment since its the lowest "reasonable" amount that it seems someone should attempt to spend on food. The $100/mo. was found months later elsewhere.
I could have loosened up the rules and multiplied by the single person amount ($194) but that didn't feel properly strict enough to me.
I plan to put the savings into my retirement. I'd have had no problem topping it off easily if it weren't for my household's student loans ($550/mo. total), but that's a whole different topic.
I'm on SNAP and I get $192/month. That's all they give you for a single person per month. The price you looked at is probably for a family of 4.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/how-much-could-i-receive
$194 for 1, $357 for 2. I'm in a 2 person household.0 -
@pmm3437 great way to break it down. Out of curiosity I checked your prices with our local flyer. Keeping in mind that these are all sale prices, the prices seem about on par with your New York prices. (Our Canadian dollar is worth less though)
https://www.salewhale.ca/
All I would do differently is buy the spices and make my own sauce. Alfredo is screamingly easy to make up. Taco/enchilada/chilli can be made with cumin, chilli powder, and whatever else jumps off my spice shelf.
Yeah, some of the convenience items are replaceable with homemade, to save a bit more ... but I'm a single dude, and my spice rack consists of 2-4 McCormacks seasoning blends for use on my proteins, and a few others like salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I cook for just me, cept the couple weeks a year my retired mom visits from FL, so its down and dirty, finished in 15 min meals, when cooking to order. Usually no more then 5-6 ingredients, including seasonings.
If the exchange rate is in our favor these days ( I dont keep track ) vs. your local currency, then you should adjust by that when making comparisons. All the restricted spending lists/challenges I tend to see on the Internet are in US dollars.
For reference, the prices are from Wegmans.com ( local/regional chain ) and Walmart.com ( national chain ), if anyone is interested. And yes, you can get some even better deals from local vendors ( butcher, farmer's market, etc ).
Yes-Wegmans is definitely not the cheapest grocery store here in Buffalo, NY (with the possible exception of the larger packs of boneless, skinless chicken when on sale for $2/lb and 12-pack boxes of Clif bars for <$12; and they also stock toiletries and paper products). Pricerite is so much cheaper (and probably Save a lot, Aldi) on pretty much all the produce, dairy, canned, frozen vegetables, beef, ham,..0 -
I did some shopping today and realized that the way I buy food may be different to someone else who spends a much smaller amount.
I have a meal plan. My family eats meals from home except one meal a week. Not too different.
I keep my cupboard and freezer stocked. I do not expect that I will consume every bit of food I buy in one week. I probably could feed my family for a several weeks on the food I keep on hand. That is important to me.
I don't know if the $100 per month people maintain that much extra or they just buy what they will use right away.
Ditto for the most part. Many things I keep stocked all the time and just top off when running low. Freezer is always more than half full of frozen veggies (some, like carrots and onions were bought fresh and chopped before freezing), raw meat, cooked and chopped meat. Cabinet always has cans of diced tomatoes, mushrooms, bags of beans/lentils/split peas. Fridge has a decent supply of eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, 1-2 large batches of something, and often a loosely covered salad spinner full of leafy greens, along with condiments. Grocery shopping for me is mainly replenishing what is running low.0 -
It depends on the dietary needs of the person. Any kind of food restrictions caused by medical issues makes reaching this a lot harder. One way to save, since you have SNAP benefits, is to see if there is a local food bank program that can help (they help those with low income, and usually someone who gets SNAP is considered low income) . They usually give out things like bread/dairy/rice/dried beans/fruit/veggies/meat. That way your SNAP funds can go towards anything they don't have.
I'm not actually on SNAP. I just picked the amount they list online as the maximum allotment since its the lowest "reasonable" amount that it seems someone should attempt to spend on food. The $100/mo. was found months later elsewhere.
I could have loosened up the rules and multiplied by the single person amount ($194) but that didn't feel properly strict enough to me.
I plan to put the savings into my retirement. I'd have had no problem topping it off easily if it weren't for my household's student loans ($550/mo. total), but that's a whole different topic.
I'm on SNAP and I get $192/month. That's all they give you for a single person per month. The price you looked at is probably for a family of 4.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/how-much-could-i-receive
$194 for 1, $357 for 2. I'm in a 2 person household.
That is for up to September 30 this year. It went down $5 person starting October 1. So it would be closer to $345 now.1 -
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?
In 2010 I had a friend who received $200/month in assistance and I was curious to see if I could live on that while staying within my food ethics - consuming the foods I considered important to be organic and more eating humanely raised dairy and meat. I could indeed stay within $200/month, but I ate a whole lot of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and very little red meat or dairy.
If I stuck with cheap seasonal produce, increased bulk rice and beans, and dramatically decreased meat, I could probably do $100/month, especially if I did something like bartering for local eggs in exchange for baked goods.
But like another poster pointed out, that $100 figure is probably quite out of date.2 -
I doubt I'll get close to $100.00 a month, but next year I do want to drastically cut my food bill.
I've started to pin a lot of recipes from Budget Bytes & want to start batch cooking a few of her recipes & then freezing some of the leftovers for dinners & lunches.
I am lucky that in one of the nearest cities I have Wal-Mart, Grocery Outlet (near expiration store), Ollie's (has discounted foods), Big Lots, Aldis, Target, Food Lion (changed names), two Giants, Weis, & a Butcher Block.
I usually try to look at Grocery Outlet at least once a week since you never know what you'll find & a few weeks ago I found Brown Cow Greek Yogurt tubs for $1.77 a container.0 -
Single male living in the NE US ( western New York ), with daily targets of 1800 net cals and 100g protein. I hit the gym at least 3 days a week, doing both strength training and cardo work.
I spend $25-30/week to meet nutrition goals, and another $15-20 for optional items or product "upgrades". I've also had weeks where I decide to splurge, and so can easily double that amount in both categories.
It can be done for around $100-120/m in my area, eating healthy, but it takes some planning. You will also be rotating thru a few protein and vegetable options each month. An example follows:
$3.69 - 3 dozen grade aa eggs
$7.58 - 2 lbs bacon
$4.98 - 2 lbs breakfast sausage
$6.96 - dozen multigrain english muffins
$2.99 - 2 loaves of whole wheat bread
$3.29 - 1 lb butter
$2.79 - 1 lb peanut butter
~$10 - 5 lbs chicken thigh ( family pack, $1.89/lb )
~$10 - 7-8 lbs pork shoulder ( bone in, $1.39/lb )
$4.29 - 1 lb bratwurst sausage ( 5 links )
$5.69 - 1.5 lb Italian sausage ( 6 patties )
~$5 - 3 lbs dry beans ( red, black, white )
$1.99 - 5 lbs white potatoes
$2.89 - 5 lbs long grain rice
$2.37 - 3 lbs assorted pasta
$2.79 - 24oz jar of Alfredo sauce ( 7 servings )
$1.89 - 24oz jar spaghetti sauce ( 7 servings )
$3.96 - 4 packages seasoning mixes ( taco/enchilada/chili/white chili/etc )
Total ~$83.15 ... leaving you with $16.85 for various frozen produce/fruit, dairy and supplemental/variety items. And this is all at regular prices ... pantry and freezer space to buy in bulk/on sale can save you another 15-25%. I typically shop mid week, and can get mark downs on a good portion of my meats ( use or freeze in next couple days stuff ... ), cause they over stock for the weekends, and they end up marking it down on Wed/Thur.
For breakfast your eating eggs ( to order, fritata bake, french toast ) w/ or w/o a breakfast meat and/or a grain, or maybe just an english muffin/toast with peanut butter. Couple this with your dairy options ( cheese, milk, yogurt ) and/or breakfast beverage ( coffee, tea, juice ).
For lunch during the week, your taking a batch cooked pre-made option like chicken chili, pork burrito bowls, reheated leftovers from the night before, etc. You can make a couple different items and freeze, then be able to pull and alternate for some variety day to day.
For dinner, and possibly lunch on the weekends, your rotating between stuff like chicken broccoli Alfredo w/ pasta, braised pork tacos, chicken fajitas, bangers & mash, spaghetti with Italian sausage or other combinations you devise, along with your vegetables and supplemental items.
This grocery list would support my targets, on a month average, and I probably don't use up all that I bought ( particularly dry stores and frozen veg ).
I LIVE IN CT ! SHOOT I NEED TO MOVE TO NY!! ARE PRICES ARE DOUBLED!
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I'm from the UK and spend between £75 and £80 a week on groceries, that feeds 3 adults for the week no problem. Groceries have gotten dearer but there are always foods on offer. I buy fresh food and make my meals from scratch. I buy mine online from Sainsburys for home delivery and can always keep an eye on my budget easily.0
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Single male living in the NE US ( western New York ), with daily targets of 1800 net cals and 100g protein. I hit the gym at least 3 days a week, doing both strength training and cardo work.
I spend $25-30/week to meet nutrition goals, and another $15-20 for optional items or product "upgrades". I've also had weeks where I decide to splurge, and so can easily double that amount in both categories.
It can be done for around $100-120/m in my area, eating healthy, but it takes some planning. You will also be rotating thru a few protein and vegetable options each month. An example follows:
$3.69 - 3 dozen grade aa eggs
$7.58 - 2 lbs bacon
$4.98 - 2 lbs breakfast sausage
$6.96 - dozen multigrain english muffins
$2.99 - 2 loaves of whole wheat bread
$3.29 - 1 lb butter
$2.79 - 1 lb peanut butter
~$10 - 5 lbs chicken thigh ( family pack, $1.89/lb )
~$10 - 7-8 lbs pork shoulder ( bone in, $1.39/lb )
$4.29 - 1 lb bratwurst sausage ( 5 links )
$5.69 - 1.5 lb Italian sausage ( 6 patties )
~$5 - 3 lbs dry beans ( red, black, white )
$1.99 - 5 lbs white potatoes
$2.89 - 5 lbs long grain rice
$2.37 - 3 lbs assorted pasta
$2.79 - 24oz jar of Alfredo sauce ( 7 servings )
$1.89 - 24oz jar spaghetti sauce ( 7 servings )
$3.96 - 4 packages seasoning mixes ( taco/enchilada/chili/white chili/etc )
Total ~$83.15 ... leaving you with $16.85 for various frozen produce/fruit, dairy and supplemental/variety items. And this is all at regular prices ... pantry and freezer space to buy in bulk/on sale can save you another 15-25%. I typically shop mid week, and can get mark downs on a good portion of my meats ( use or freeze in next couple days stuff ... ), cause they over stock for the weekends, and they end up marking it down on Wed/Thur.
For breakfast your eating eggs ( to order, fritata bake, french toast ) w/ or w/o a breakfast meat and/or a grain, or maybe just an english muffin/toast with peanut butter. Couple this with your dairy options ( cheese, milk, yogurt ) and/or breakfast beverage ( coffee, tea, juice ).
For lunch during the week, your taking a batch cooked pre-made option like chicken chili, pork burrito bowls, reheated leftovers from the night before, etc. You can make a couple different items and freeze, then be able to pull and alternate for some variety day to day.
For dinner, and possibly lunch on the weekends, your rotating between stuff like chicken broccoli Alfredo w/ pasta, braised pork tacos, chicken fajitas, bangers & mash, spaghetti with Italian sausage or other combinations you devise, along with your vegetables and supplemental items.
This grocery list would support my targets, on a month average, and I probably don't use up all that I bought ( particularly dry stores and frozen veg ).
I LIVE IN CT ! SHOOT I NEED TO MOVE TO NY!! ARE PRICES ARE DOUBLED!
Western NY has more in common with PA than CT.2 -
Where do theses' people' get their numbers? $100, I suppose I could, if I bought the BARE minimum, no name brand anything, and no paper products, AND magically stopped having my period so I could stop buying those supplies.2
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Where do theses' people' get their numbers? $100, I suppose I could, if I bought the BARE minimum, no name brand anything, and no paper products, AND magically stopped having my period so I could stop buying those supplies.
Thought this was groceries only, not necessities. I don't buy name brand anything unless it's on sale. Had a bf once that was a name brand snob. I snuck in store brand and poured the items into the name brand containers. After a month I asked him had he noticed a change. He said he hadn't. Told him what I did and he was pissed. Showed him what he saved.. he never went back to name brand again.2 -
Just FYI ... Name brands included in my list : Goya, Prego, Smithfield, Gwaltney, Gianelli, Thomas', Aya and Mc Cormack's.
It's about a 50/50 split ( spending wise ) between name brand and store generics...0 -
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Just FYI ... Name brands included in my list : Goya, Prego, Smithfield, Gwaltney, Gianelli, Thomas', Aya and Mc Cormack's.
It's about a 50/50 split ( spending wise ) between name brand and store generics...
I think Goya is about the only name brand I regularly buy. Occasionally McCormack's if no store brand or only giant size of that particular spice. And the off-brand of ham quarters at my cheaper grocery is leaner than the name brands/higher-priced supermarket's brand.
And on most things, I'm unwilling to pay extra for the main supermarket chain's store brand (Tops, Wegmans) versus the store-brand/off-brand at the cheaper chain (PriceRite).0 -
It depends on what I’m buying. Canned beans I tend to buy the store brand organic (it’s lower sodium), dry beans also the store brand. Sometimes even dollar store for those.MinuitMinuet wrote: »Where do theses' people' get their numbers? $100, I suppose I could, if I bought the BARE minimum, no name brand anything, and no paper products, AND magically stopped having my period so I could stop buying those supplies.
Thought this was groceries only, not necessities. I don't buy name brand anything unless it's on sale. Had a bf once that was a name brand snob. I snuck in store brand and poured the items into the name brand containers. After a month I asked him had he noticed a change. He said he hadn't. Told him what I did and he was pissed. Showed him what he saved.. he never went back to name brand again.
Some things, like if I really want a grilled cheese sandwich, I’m going to go with kraft American slices. (A rare treat because of the sodium). Generic American cheeses just have an off flavor. Soap and detergents, name brand of certain brands that I know my skin won’t react to.
Most things, whatever is cheapest of what I need.
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We spend 150-175 a week for a family of four. We eat a lot of fresh fruit and veg and it's expensive here. I'm in Canada.0
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That is crazy to me. I spend so much more than than on me and two kids. Way more. I have no idea how a family of four could only spend $400 a month.0
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MinuitMinuet wrote: »Where do theses' people' get their numbers? $100, I suppose I could, if I bought the BARE minimum, no name brand anything, and no paper products, AND magically stopped having my period so I could stop buying those supplies.
Thought this was groceries only, not necessities. I don't buy name brand anything unless it's on sale. Had a bf once that was a name brand snob. I snuck in store brand and poured the items into the name brand containers. After a month I asked him had he noticed a change. He said he hadn't. Told him what I did and he was pissed. Showed him what he saved.. he never went back to name brand again.
ah, so just food groceries. I lump it all in together. As for name brand- some stuff is fine (most meats, and canned stuff) but some things taste totally different (chex mix is the snack that springs to mind).0 -
No way in hell i could sustain myself off 100 worth of food in a month.....i eat 100 worth in a week and i bargain shop....1
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Just FYI ... Name brands included in my list : Goya, Prego, Smithfield, Gwaltney, Gianelli, Thomas', Aya and Mc Cormack's.
It's about a 50/50 split ( spending wise ) between name brand and store generics...
I think Goya is about the only name brand I regularly buy. Occasionally McCormack's if no store brand or only giant size of that particular spice. And the off-brand of ham quarters at my cheaper grocery is leaner than the name brands/higher-priced supermarket's brand.
And on most things, I'm unwilling to pay extra for the main supermarket chain's store brand (Tops, Wegmans) versus the store-brand/off-brand at the cheaper chain (PriceRite).
Was more in response to previous posters saying you have to buy all generics. Prices/listed items were to be representative of what you can get, not necessarily what brands I always buy. Personally, I shop for value ... its doesn't matter to me either way, unless I've tried and dislike a particular item from a specific producer.0
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