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How much do you/should you spend on food (US)?

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Replies

  • echoresco
    echoresco Posts: 57 Member
    250 a week on the average here on the central coast of California for a family of 5. We eat as clean as we can with no boxed or canned junk mostly from Trader Joe’s but meats com from a different store
  • SagePeach
    SagePeach Posts: 37 Member
    amandaeve wrote: »
    How much do you spend on food? Do feel like what you spend is reasonable? Do you feel like you are stuck spending more money than other people, or do you feel thrifty and like you get good food for the cost? I spend 17% of my take-home pay on food (groceries, eating out, everything). This seems like way too much, but my partner disagrees. I searched the internet to get an idea of what "normal" spending is, but I couldn't find anything very current from a reliable source.

    This is the best I could come up with, but it's from 2014 and doesn't account for the variety of cost of living in different places. I do live in an expensive city compared to other places in the US.
    https://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/usda_food_plans_cost_of_food/CostofFoodJul2014.pdf

    Family of 5 and we spend $600ish a month on grocery food and then another $200ish on eating out/alcohol etc. So a little less than 17%, if I'm doing my math right. We used to have a very frugal grocery budget when times were tight, but we're in a better place financially now, so I don't have a problem spending more on groceries/food. It gives us the room to buy more produce, real butter, ingredients for homemade breads, nuts and seeds, beer lol, etc.
  • Amerane
    Amerane Posts: 136 Member
    edited June 2018
    Single, and I spend $35/week or $140/month on groceries. Add in about $25 in eating out/alcohol per month for a total of $165 per month. I live in the southeast. Produce is generally cheap year-round, and I buy a lot of it. Most of my food budget goes towards meat (mainly poultry, fresh salmon, shrimp, some pork) and fruit (usually seasonal), with vegetables and starches (usually rice, beans, or pasta) being the cheapest components. I have access to a few Asian grocery stores which are my go-to for certain produce on the cheap (ginger, garlic, shallots, cruciferous veggies, radishes, mushrooms). I cook 90% of what I eat and always shop the grocery store sales flyer, which makes things pretty darn affordable. We also have grocery stores with good rewards programs in my area which helps. I'm starting to experiment with a higher protein, higher fat diet so my weekly grocery bill is going to get a little more expensive, but I still don't anticipate spending more than $40/week or $160/month.

    I've lived on as little as $20-$25/week, which which was mainly dark meat chicken or eggs, beans, rice, and whatever veggies were cheap and bulky (cabbage and turnip greens are always super cheap around here) plus fruit and oatmeal.

    For non-grocery household needs, I've saved money by buying reusable dish washing cloths ($4 for 2 vs $2-4 for a 2-pack of disposable sponges), switching over to vinegar for cleansing (vs buying clorox wipes and the like), and cleaning my bakeware instead of using aluminum foil.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,789 Member
    I spend about 25% of my take-home income on groceries, but that includes non-food items (toilet paper, cat supplies, cleaning stuff, etc.). I live in a low COL area, but my percentage is high because my income is low -- the actual dollar amount is around $550/month, though it fluctuates some. I just feed my son and me, so we eat very well on this amount. I could definitely cut it, probably almost by half, but good, varied, plentiful food is foundational to my sense of security and well-being. I grew up poor and quite literally starved; on top of this, food was used as a tool of abuse in my home, and I developed a life-threatening eating disorder as a teen. Part of my work on food behaviors and total health is keeping the house well-stocked and not artificially constraining my choices.

    ... Which, I know, is mostly a load of hippie nonsense. But it does help me to know I can (within what I can afford) buy what I want, cook what I want, focus on health and pleasure over cost alone, and feed my son abundantly and without fear or resentment. I spend more on food than anyone I know locally, but it's really worth it to me.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    echoresco wrote: »
    250 a week on the average here on the central coast of California for a family of 5. We eat as clean as we can with no boxed or canned junk mostly from Trader Joe’s but meats com from a different store

    Good. This sounds a bit more realistic than some of the other statements I see here, but evidently there's a lot of from location to the next.
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
    edited June 2018
    More than I care to admit for a single person. I eat an autoimmune paleo diet, and struggle keeping weight on due to Crohn's, so I have to eat more than the average 'healthy' female with my stats. I spend an average of $100 a week. It's a lot less than when I was trying to gain though!

    I downloaded a budget app this month because I want to afford my own apartment. I have already started making changes - seasonal and local produce, discounted meat section, shopping st different stores for sales, more organ meat. I will come back to update on my progress. :D
  • noel2fit
    noel2fit Posts: 235 Member
    edited June 2018
    We spend 20% of our take-home on food. It seems strange to me that we calculate in percentages though. The food needs of a person don't change with income. We're at around $350/ week for 2 adults plus a toddler which includes organic groceries plus eating out 2-5 times weekly.
  • malpat1315
    malpat1315 Posts: 19 Member
    In my household of 2 we make it our goal to be less than $200/month for groceries. Most of our budget goes toward meat but we are now jumping on the Meatless Mondays band wagon and I'm trying to cut out meat from all of my lunches and focus on other sources of proteins. We also eat out but have limited ourselves to once per week and I'd say average is about $30/week for about $120/month.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    noel2fit wrote: »
    We spend 20% of our take-home on food. It seems strange to me that we calculate in percentages though. The food needs of a person don't change with income. We're at around $350/ week for 2 adults plus a toddler which includes organic groceries plus eating out 2-5 times weekly.

    I just read this:

    The 50-20-30 Rule helps you build a budget by using three spending categories:
    • 50% of your income should go to living expenses and essentials. This includes your rent, utilities, and things like groceries and transportation for work.
    • 20% of your income should go to financial goals, meaning your savings, investments, and debt-reduction payments (if you have debt, such as credit card payments).
    • 30% of your income should be used for flexible spending. This is everything you buy that you want but don’t necessarily need (like money spent on movies and travel).
  • Leslierussell4134
    Leslierussell4134 Posts: 376 Member
    How much we spend? Family of two adults, waaayyy to much money!!. I could say a percentage, but that doesn't display the magnitude of the damage as we live in California where food is relatively inexpensive out side of eating out, and incomes are higher. I also admit I eat out entirely too often, contributing to my excess weight. We like wine as a couple and my husband drinks craft beer. The only time I don't drink wine is when I'm watching my calorie intake, like the last 20ish days lol. Another consideration, my husband likes to smoke food for friends and co-workers because he's very good at it; it's a hobby. We entertain about twice a month, usually between 4 and 8 people.

    All things considered, I just added up my last month bank statement on groceries and dining out, this is a shock to me...$1764.32. That's intense! Do I believe we pay more than the average family of two? I'm positive we do, and it's excessive. We could live on 25% of that and still eat well, but the ingredients my husband cooks with are expensive.

    Many people spend money on hobbies, habits and luxuries, I guess one of our hobbies is cooking and eating out, so that's where extra money goes. Funny thing is, I'm vegetarian, so only one of us is eating the most expensive food, meat. I only buy about 2 to 3 bottle of wine per month and he and his friends drink about four 6pks of beer a month.

    I suppose only eating out 2 to 3 times a week could save us approximately $500 per month, and that is likely where we would need to begin cutting back. It will help the waistline and wallet. Since starting back with MPG, I have encouraged we eat at home at least 4 times when we could have easily gone out, I call that a win.
  • lolly2414
    lolly2414 Posts: 186 Member
    edited June 2018
    We spend around $600/month on groceries (including toiletries) for two adults and three elementary aged children (we live in the Midwest part of the US). I use coupons and shop sales most of the time. Then we also eat out once per week for dinner (usually fast food or pizza) and I usually eat out once or twice for lunch during the week. So, that equals another $150ish per month on food. We currently have a one income household (but I'll be going back to work once our youngest starts kindergarten in August so that will bring our percentage down to something more reasonable, but definitely not close to that 6% number that was stated on the first page).

  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    Food? Probably <10% of gross.
    Also refuse to buy a home more than 2x household income(I realize that is nearly impossible in places like NY, MA, and CA) . So mortgage+escrow is right around 10% of gross.
  • BrSpiritus
    BrSpiritus Posts: 190 Member
    $50/wk on average just for myself, I can go less during the school year and I'm being fed 2x a day at work. Great deal if you can eat cheeseburgers and pizza all the time.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited July 2018
    fishgutzy wrote: »
    Also refuse to buy a home more than 2x household income(I realize that is nearly impossible in places like NY, MA, and CA)

    ...and WA, and a lot of urban areas in general. My house is 5x my household income and I have a dual professional income household and we were being frugal relative to most in our area. 2x is impossible unless you are making a huge income. 3x pretty much impossible as well, 4x would be a stretch. Not sure where you are from where houses go for only 2x of household income as an upper bound but if that rule was followed then almost no one would have a house in urban areas on the coasts at least unless their household income is $300k+

    I think more general advise would be don't purchase a house if you could rent an equivalent for less than the mortgage interest/home insurance/maintenance costs and don't purchase a house unless you have at least 2 years worth of mortgage payments in savings to provide a buffer for job loss or transitions.
  • Debster634
    Debster634 Posts: 53 Member
    Thanks a lot for your detailed info. I'm in Southern Ontario and love that we can get local produce in the summer. In the winter we have no choice but buy imported food. I'm trying to get our grocery bill down and will definitely use your strategies. We are 2 adults and 2 young college/university students and I spend at least $200-300 per week. One thing my parents allways did was avoid going to the store between the weekly trip. This is a real pitfall for me as I go in for 1 item that I had forgotten or need for a recipe and end up $30-40 later. Meat is expensive, especially beef so we only buy beef if there's a good sale. I need to plan better and not let my husband do the grocery shopping as he doesn't look for sales and buys too much processed food. I'm inspired now to get this under $150 a week.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,469 Member
    Just my husband and I, plus the cat. I live in Spain, supposedly a lower cost of living country atm. So we spend 500 euro a month which exchanges to $585 U.S. dollars a month. We just buy fish, yogurt, fresh vegetables mostly, a few frozen, fruit, cheese, some nuts, rarely snack foods, pasta, rice, two to three fresh bread a week. I think we are frugal, we don't go to restaurants. There is the water too included in that, can't drink from the tap here, but spring water is cheap, .50 a bottle.
    We arn't working atm, with no income, so I can't say what that would be, but when work does happen $585 is 4% of our income.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,469 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    CSARdiver wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    CSARdiver wrote: »
    amandaeve wrote: »
    CSARdiver wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    We live downstate IL mid-size community....same house in S. Cali or Seattle would be 4-5X as much.

    Yeah not even an exaggeration....pretty spot on. Median price per square foot for houses:

    Seattle: $506
    Los Angeles: $635
    Illinois: $141

    Illinois x 4 = Seattle
    Illinois x 5 = So Cal.

    Your house would probably be ~1.2 million in Seattle. Food prices probably a little higher in Seattle as well but not nearly to that degree.

    Acutely aware after family moved from St. Louis to Mission Viejo in the mid 1970s and living as a single sailor in San Diego in 1996. Food, gas, basics in general were about double the price largely due to taxes associated with the product. Economics in motion - supply and demand.

    I don't want to divert too much from the thread's topic, but housing (in Seattle at least) is NOT economics in motion. It's investors having their fun. The demand for low-income housing is through the roof. Nine percent of children attending public schools do not have a roof over their heads at night. An overwhelming number of adults living without shelter are employed full time. But there are plenty of housing options for the top 20% and plenty of vacant properties too (although a lot of that is zoned for business). I'm sure we'll be like Vancouver, BC soon, with vacant overpriced properties everywhere you look.

    High demand, low supply. How is this not economics? Seattle's primary issue is dealing with reality.

    You can either rail against a system which you have no control over, or you can change that which you have control over. Get a group of investors together and purchase property offering low-income housing.

    Eh I think you can understand that when a city (which obviously has to employ a labor force and base-level professional workers) has housing costs that vastly exceed the income of those people it creates a very awkward situation where you need people to work in the city but they can't afford to live in the city. You can't really get a house within the Seattle city limits for less than 500k now and if you get one that is 500k you are talking like a 900 sqft townhome on the outskirts.

    This is precisely my point. We can sit and discuss it, but market forces being what they are those with wealth can either decide to provide necessities to maintain status quo or suffer. Until workers utilize their power there will be no change. Seattle like so many other cities needs to quickly come to terms with reality. Chicago is in the same situation, only the disparity is not as obvious. Government blames industry. Industry blames government. Both have the power to implement a solution.

    No offense but I think that Vancouver and Seattle are in rather unique situations that you aren't fully grasping. The real estate economy is so "booming" or "bubbling" that it has attracted a lot of foreign investment of people buying up property not to occupy it or even to use it really but like they are valuable trading cards or something. Sure, free market capatalism balances the whole system, but if you look locally to the actual people who live in the actual city they are getting kind of screwed by investor wars driving up prices and making housing overpriced and non-functional for the general population. When a run down 900 sq ft townhouse costs more than a typically 2 person household can afford that is sort of a problem and if the market "equalizes" by crashing that isn't good either.

    I don't think anything like that is happening in Chicago.

    It's Ok, The tulips will rot. and yes, a crash will suck, so keep your powder dry.

    I'm terribly off topic here but along these lines I was shocked to find out that over half the homes in spain are vacant! Most families own three plus homes or apartments and don't rent them or sell them. I thought they already had a crash, how much worse could it get, yet the euro keeps floating along. On the ground it doesn't look good. I don't see how it keeps afloat myself. There a a lot of people who are barely making it here, a lot of young people live with family and never move out of home.

  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    shaumom wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »

    I just read this:

    The 50-20-30 Rule helps you build a budget by using three spending categories:
    • 50% of your income should go to living expenses and essentials. This includes your rent, utilities, and things like groceries and transportation for work.
    • 20% of your income should go to financial goals, meaning your savings, investments, and debt-reduction payments (if you have debt, such as credit card payments).
    • 30% of your income should be used for flexible spending. This is everything you buy that you want but don’t necessarily need (like money spent on movies and travel).

    I’ve see this rule before, and I’ll admit, it puts my hackles up a little. Not saying anything bad about the person who put it up, mind- I know Elizabeth Warren made this popular in her book. But the concept always has that assumption that people ‘of course’ have enough money, they just need to learn how to spend it right and budget better.

    And there are millions of people right now where this is not in any way the case.

    Heck, my living expenses and essential expenses are 90% of my income this month. That’s with groceries down to the bone, the most ‘processed’ food being a little plain cheese, excepting the special nutrient shakes for my kid on a medical diet that cost the earth.

    This is not that uncommon, either. The 50-20-30 thing was invented by folks who, I think, are an example of how out of touch the wealthy and upper middle class are with those in lower income brackets. :-(

    I read it and shared it here, but it certainly isn't my own reality. The 20% for financial goals disappears straight into the other living expenses department for those if us merely existing from paycheck to paycheck each month.
  • Leslierussell4134
    Leslierussell4134 Posts: 376 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    fishgutzy wrote: »
    Also refuse to buy a home more than 2x household income(I realize that is nearly impossible in places like NY, MA, and CA)

    ...and WA, and a lot of urban areas in general. My house is 5x my household income and I have a dual professional income household and we were being frugal relative to most in our area. 2x is impossible unless you are making a huge income. 3x pretty much impossible as well, 4x would be a stretch. Not sure where you are from where houses go for only 2x of household income as an upper bound but if that rule was followed then almost no one would have a house in urban areas on the coasts at least unless their household income is $300k+

    I think more general advise would be don't purchase a house if you could rent an equivalent for less than the mortgage interest/home insurance/maintenance costs and don't purchase a house unless you have at least 2 years worth of mortgage payments in savings to provide a buffer for job loss or transitions.

    I had to giggle at this, as living in California having 2 years of mortgage in the bank doesn't really make sense to me. If I did have 2 years, that would be over 100k and better spent as a down payment on the actual morgage to avoid the costly PMI. If I did have to save 100k I'd never own a home.
    Here in Cali it's advised you have 3 to 4 months morgage on the bank, which is still a lot, as most mortgages are between 4k and 5k.