Survey: Your Grocery Budget
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Nlongenecker
Posts: 765
OK, so my DH and I just had another argument about grocery spending (one of MANY). And I would like to get some input from those of you that have only two people in your house to feed. We do not have kids, so I'm looking to compare apples to apples. (Although I will take input from just about anyone). He feels that we should be able to get groceries for $80/week ($100 on a good week). This is not just food, it includes laundry soap, dog food (small dog), dish soap, personal items, etc. I am SO frustrated because I am trying to eat healthy and I am so sick of Lean Cuisine and WW Smart Ones. But he views eating as "a waste of time and money" and will eat hamburger helper, lunch meat, mac n cheese, pb&j sandwiches, etc. and be perfectly happy (and skinny). This has happened several times: I plan my food for the week, and choose 1-2 new recipes to make and make a grocery list. But when WE (yes he insists on going with me, with a calculator) go to the grocery, it is inevitable - we don't have money for the things I've put on the list for my week and he says, why don't you just get some frozen meals and/or some soups?
Please help me with this - what is a reasonable amount for two people to spend at the grocery store a week? Am I the crazy one that wants to overspend? And if not, how can I help him see that $80/wk is just not enough at the grocery? This has been his view for the 8yrs we've been married, not just since the economy's bad.
Thanks for your help.
Please help me with this - what is a reasonable amount for two people to spend at the grocery store a week? Am I the crazy one that wants to overspend? And if not, how can I help him see that $80/wk is just not enough at the grocery? This has been his view for the 8yrs we've been married, not just since the economy's bad.
Thanks for your help.
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Replies
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OK, so my DH and I just had another argument about grocery spending (one of MANY). And I would like to get some input from those of you that have only two people in your house to feed. We do not have kids, so I'm looking to compare apples to apples. (Although I will take input from just about anyone). He feels that we should be able to get groceries for $80/week ($100 on a good week). This is not just food, it includes laundry soap, dog food (small dog), dish soap, personal items, etc. I am SO frustrated because I am trying to eat healthy and I am so sick of Lean Cuisine and WW Smart Ones. But he views eating as "a waste of time and money" and will eat hamburger helper, lunch meat, mac n cheese, pb&j sandwiches, etc. and be perfectly happy (and skinny). This has happened several times: I plan my food for the week, and choose 1-2 new recipes to make and make a grocery list. But when WE (yes he insists on going with me, with a calculator) go to the grocery, it is inevitable - we don't have money for the things I've put on the list for my week and he says, why don't you just get some frozen meals and/or some soups?
Please help me with this - what is a reasonable amount for two people to spend at the grocery store a week? Am I the crazy one that wants to overspend? And if not, how can I help him see that $80/wk is just not enough at the grocery? This has been his view for the 8yrs we've been married, not just since the economy's bad.
Thanks for your help.0 -
I have 4 in my family so can't help there but a few questions:
do you clip coupons?
where to you shop?
do you ad match?
it takes a little more time but I have saved BUNCHES of money. I have a 17 year old boy and a 21 year old girl who eat LIKE crazy. I have a budget of less that $150 per trip (usually every 2 weeks) including non food items and very rarely go over. I am vegetarian but no one else is.0 -
i have an 8 month old. if i were to take out all of the formula, diapers, baby food, etc. we usually don't go to the grocery store every week, but i'm guessing we spend between $300 - $400 a month. we try to buy cheap.. i try to buy healthy. we just don't really have the money to spend on a lot of fresh stuff, so i usually buy frozen veggies and fruits! i'm trying to just get him to eat what i eat .. that way i can buy more healthy options and healthier snacks. see if your husband will eat what you eat.. that way you actually are spending less on food you BOTH can eat!
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I have 4 in my family so can't help there but a few questions:
do you clip coupons?
where to you shop?
do you ad match?
it takes a little more time but I have saved BUNCHES of money. I have a 17 year old boy and a 21 year old girl who eat LIKE crazy. I have a budget of less that $150 per trip (usually every 2 weeks) including non food items and very rarely go over. I am vegetarian but no one else is.
I do not clip coupons. He doesn't want to pay for us to get the Sunday paper. I guess I could pick it up somewhere. I shop at Meijer and try to get everything Meijer brand. I do not add match. I have to admit, I find the whole coupon/add matching task a little overwhelming but I guess I need to give it a try. Thanks.0 -
No you are not crazy about how much groceries cost now. I do alot of beans & rice, beans & ham, 15 bean soup, salads. 2 times a week I will have chicken, stews, ect. With only 2 of us and 3 dogs and 2 cats I average about $125.00 a week. This includes 7 breakfast, 7 lunches, 7 dinners and also snacks. I shop at walmart where they ad match and I also get no name brands when possible and also I use coupons. Also when I see a good deal on something I do pick up 3-4 of the items that way I can stock up for the times I have company for dinner or I just don't have the money or time to spend on groceries for the week.0
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I have 4 in my family so can't help there but a few questions:
do you clip coupons?
where to you shop?
do you ad match?
it takes a little more time but I have saved BUNCHES of money. I have a 17 year old boy and a 21 year old girl who eat LIKE crazy. I have a budget of less that $150 per trip (usually every 2 weeks) including non food items and very rarely go over. I am vegetarian but no one else is.
I do not clip coupons. He doesn't want to pay for us to get the Sunday paper. I guess I could pick it up somewhere. I shop at Meijer and try to get everything Meijer brand. I do not add match. I have to admit, I find the whole coupon/add matching task a little overwhelming but I guess I need to give it a try. Thanks.
If you order th e Sunday paper you can usually get it for $1 per week instead of $1.75, sometimes less if you talk them down a little. To me it is really worth the $1. Walmart will take ALL ads including meat and produce but they don't double coupons. Meijer doubles coupons up to $1 but doesn't ad match meat and produce. Kroger/Scotts has the card that you can download some of the coupons on the internet AND the points you earn go towards gas. I also just got this HUGE envelope full of very useful coupons from Kroger (free salad dressing, $1 off cleaning supplies and more) in the mail the other day. Meijer and Walmart will also take CVS, Walgreen and Target ads all of which are in a Sunday paper. It takes a little time but it is worth it.0 -
also there is a site it is called www.freecycle.org (it is a site to keep things out of the dump that maybe someone else could be used) they are on yahoo you can ask for peoples sunday coupons that they don't want. I belong to it and every Monday someone is on there asking for the sunday coupons. Yes you would have to go and pick them up but they are free.0
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I am in the same situation - just me, my husband and our small dog. I try to stick to around $100/week. I shop at Costco a lot and we've found some good staple items that I'll mix in. I do get salad stuff every week, though, and it gets costly, but it's worth it to me.
I typically try to have a mix of "cheap" and expensive meals. For example, there is a soup mix we get at Costco that is delicious and low cal and it comes out to something like $.50/serving. Once a week, we make something with ground turkey (which we also get at Costco) and that is a little pricer but can make 5-6 meals depending on what we make with it. We make chicken occasionally, but if I am making a casserole or something, I use canned chicken and it works great (especially because its already cooked).
For lunches, I have leftovers, veggie patties, low fat frozen burritos, PB & J (once in awhile).
I found that when I was trying to be creative with recipes, I was buying a lot of "one-time" ingredients, which got expensive. Now I stick with the staples and try to improvise with them.0 -
There are 2 of us in the house and 2 dogs. I spend between 90 and 120 a week.
I purchase as much organic as I can and almost never purchase any processed stuff. I shop the outer perimeter of the store for the things I purchase and my puppies eat raw with a bit of organic kibble also. They even drink filtered water also.
I use Seventh generation cleaning supplies, dryer sheets and dish washing soap. I use soap nuts and vinegar for washing my laundry.0 -
Hi
Family of 4 here and I TRY to keep our MONTHLY food shopping budget to around $600
Kim0 -
Thanks for all the suggestions. Another problem I have is that I don't really know what a "reasonable" price is for the things I buy. He usually pays and keeps the receipt. I guess I need to tell him that I want to work on this together and if he give me the receipt I can start keeping better track of how much things cost and how I can save money.0
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Your DH sounds cheap, and a bit of a control freak! I personally buy whatever I want and my honey agrees or doesn't...we don't discuss it. I do however limit what he buys ($30 steaks), cause if I don't then we spend way more then we should.
We are 2 people and on average, not including cat litter, cat food, soap and the like we spend between $100 and $150 a week. If I spend $150 a week it is usually cause I purchased bulk meats, so then the next week when I have to get produce it won't be even $100. Our grocery bill is about $250 - $350 per month.
I also shop at Costco and that's where I get our ground meat ($10/4 lbs) and Yoplait Smoothies - 10 paks ($11), carrot snack packs, bulk fruit, corn flakes, bananas, bread..all in bulk....I shopped there last night and spent $200, but I won't need that much next week.......so it evens out.
BTW. Food is not a luxury, it is a necessity, I would be sure to put my foot down on your DH's need to control this item of your relationship....not like your buying $100 shoes or something.
My Thoughts.............:flowerforyou:0 -
I spend about $100 to $125 for groceries each week, and it's just me and my husband. If you want healthy food (fruit, veggies, juice, lean meat) it's going to cost a lot more than boxed food.
Maybe you could try explaining it like this: "I'd rather spend a little bit more each week NOW on healthy foods, than eat boxed processed foods and get sick later on down the road, and have to spend all our money on doctor bills"
The problem is that processed, boxed foods rarely have enough fiber, and not having enough fiber can lead to serious health problems. Not to mention the extra calories, fat and lack of vitamins.
Explaining all of this is what did the trick for me Good luck!
Also you can try buying frozen fruit, which is usually cheaper and you can make a little bowl to put in the fridge each night before you go to bed, so that you can have a healthy snack the next day!0 -
I have 4 in my family so can't help there but a few questions:
do you clip coupons?
where to you shop?
do you ad match?
it takes a little more time but I have saved BUNCHES of money. I have a 17 year old boy and a 21 year old girl who eat LIKE crazy. I have a budget of less that $150 per trip (usually every 2 weeks) including non food items and very rarely go over. I am vegetarian but no one else is.
I do not clip coupons. He doesn't want to pay for us to get the Sunday paper. I guess I could pick it up somewhere. I shop at Meijer and try to get everything Meijer brand. I do not add match. I have to admit, I find the whole coupon/add matching task a little overwhelming but I guess I need to give it a try. Thanks.
Well that's just not logical... him not wanting to pay for the paper so you can get the coupons. I guarantee that you would save more than the cost of the stinkin' paper every week.
Anyway... I have a family of three, my son is 8. He's not eating us out of house and home yet, so we're probably pretty close to you and your husband. Except my husband is also trying to eat healthy and wouldn't go near hamburger helper with a 10 foot pole
. I'm a vegetarian, they are not. I spend anywhere between $50-$80 per week on groceries alone. I do buy a lot of fresh fruit, especially this time of year when it's in season. I buy all of my boys' meat at Costco, which can save up to 20% depending on what you buy. I also stock up on non-perishables like cereal, coffee, pasta, spagetti sauce, beans, frozen veggies and the like when they're on sale. I also buy a lot of store brand food. I don't clip a lot of coupons, but that's mostly because I tend to forget them at home when I go to the store. But sometimes I get on a kick and I look for coupons online. You can find a lot of them, and many of the sites are free.
If you're looking to cut cost, try going vegetarian for a couple of meals a week. You can save a lot of money by replacing the meat with beans or tofu, or just making a dish that's vegetarian anyway, like spinach pie.0 -
Thanks for all the suggestions. Another problem I have is that I don't really know what a "reasonable" price is for the things I buy. He usually pays and keeps the receipt. I guess I need to tell him that I want to work on this together and if he give me the receipt I can start keeping better track of how much things cost and how I can save money.
That's an excellent idea... it will help a lot when you plan your meals because you'll already know what it will cost before you get to the store.0 -
Thanks for all the suggestions. Another problem I have is that I don't really know what a "reasonable" price is for the things I buy. He usually pays and keeps the receipt. I guess I need to tell him that I want to work on this together and if he give me the receipt I can start keeping better track of how much things cost and how I can save money.
BINGO! You can't agree on a budget if you don't share the information :noway:
Anywho, I asked my dad what he spends per week for him and my mom for you and he spends $90-$120 per week. He shops at several stores through out the week and he cooks ALL of their meals, and I do mean all of them plus bagels and other "treats" for my kids every other week. He does all of the shopping and the household budget so there isn't really an issue but if he buys something my mom puts on the list he makes her pay him back :laugh:
Also, they keep separate accounts for all their money and if a bill comes in that they agreed to split one of them writes the other a check. My aunt and uncle do the same. If you both work it may be a solution to your problem
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Wow, i can't even tell you how much i spend on groceries a week for us there are 6 of us here ft and then my stepdaughter when she shows up.
I buy whatever i want for groceries as hubby doesn't care what i spend, i also pay all the bills so he knows i woldn't be buying stuff if we didn't have the money.........anyways i'm also am usually at the grocery store a few times a week picking up things whenever i'm have to go into town and when stuff i buy is on sale i usually stock up on it too.
I don't buy shampoo, laundry soap, dog food, cleaning supplies etc.... at the grocery store, it is more expensive there, i buy that stuff at Zellers, WalMart or Costco.
Not that i really answered your question but i think $80 a week including all the other stuff you said you buy is not very much and if that is what you have been spending for 8 years, it definatley isn't with the cost of everything going up so much. My house is full of food, most of it healthy, need junk stuff for the kids....not chips or cookies though, just dunkaroos, fruit rollups and stuff like that for snacks for their lunches.
I also use coupons when i have them, we don't get Sunday papers here, but do get coupons in the papers, not that i get the paper but i get them in other publications and there is also a site called save.ca where you can pick out what coupons you want and the mail them to you in a couple days.0 -
Do you have an aldi near by? Love the store and the prices! I get all my produce there too...zucchini, romaine lettuce, citrus, avocados...so good and cheap!0
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Just me and the hubs....we spend between about 90-110 or so a week. I never buy red meat, because my parents have beef cattle.0
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Two of us in the household. I would guess we spend 80-100 a week. We usually do meat and household cleaning, paper towels, toilet paper, body soap, shampoo, vitamins at Costco, and I try to stock up when they send the coupons out. I've also found that some of the whole foods type stores (Not the Whole Foods chain, but stores like Sunflower Market, Sprouts, etc) often have less expensive fruits and vegetables, and sometimes meat. I signed up for email ads from Sunflower market and Sprouts so I can compare prices. I also try to buy bulk foods as much as possible. Saves major dough! Good luck.0
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