Monthly Food Expenses

JDMPWR
JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
edited November 11 in Food and Nutrition
Im wondering how much everyone else is spending monthly with all your food that you buy at the grocery store plus supplements.

I try to trim the fat from my spending when it comes to food but it's not easy when you go to WF's and Trader Joes.

Please share.

I know with protein I am spending about 600 bucks a month on food and thats not including beer, alcohol or dining out(which I RARELY do).

Can you guys please share?
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Replies

  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    I never did the math. I'm kind of afraid to. But money spent on food is money well spent
  • runnercheryl
    runnercheryl Posts: 1,314 Member
    I spend £160 on groceries each month (approx. $250).

    I'd say about £120 of this is my usual food and drink, and the other £40 is for treats including better quality meat than we usually have, and occasional unhealthy foods that don't fit into my weekly shop.
  • carrie_eggo
    carrie_eggo Posts: 1,396 Member
    I know I spend about $800 a month on groceries for a family of 4 (two kids ages 3 and 7). About $100+ of that is due to me watching other kids during the week. I plan nearly every meal though. That helps a lot. I'd spend a lot more if I didn't plan meals and go with a list. Plus that's not counting any beef, because we buy it from a local farmer 1/4 - 1/2 a cow at a time.

    Sorry, that probably doesn't help you much....lol
  • pg3ibew
    pg3ibew Posts: 1,026 Member
    Married here with 3 adult children(19 and 18 twins), all males.

    We spend about 1200 US dollars a month. That is before we run out of Milk, bread, Etc., mid week.
  • lkm111
    lkm111 Posts: 629 Member
    My family of three has a food budget of $350. I am able to make it by only shopping sales, buying meat in bulk when on sale, and wasting nothing. Leftovers are usually lunches that week. I use my crock pot a lot. Still get fresh fruits and vegetables. I sometimes use coupons, but not religiously. I don't have a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods near me. My shopping consists mainly of Marsh (local to Indiana) and Kroger.
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
    As a vegan my meat bill is nothing :wink: For me alone, including protein powder, now that I'm trying to eat at maintenence+ I spend about $150 a month. Total we spend about $400 per month (including eating out once a week)

    dried legumes, tofu and tempeh on sale is cheap. we do splurge on 'sausage' and some fake meat.

    All of us are "in training"
    daughter is vegan, too - 12 years old, but 5'5"/130 so she eats A LOT
    husband is omni so we do buy some lunch meat and cheese but he eats vegan dinner with us 90% of the time

    What also helps us is buying very little alcohol. Husband is sober and I'm a light weight :wink:
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
    Just for myself, $800-900/month
    But that includes groceries, supplements and eating out. Nearly $600 a month on eating out. I'm single and don't have much time to cook :-(
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    i probably spend about $300 a month which seems like a lot since I live alone. I think about this every time i go grocery shopping because i do eat a lot of food throughout the week. i also only shop at TJ and WF.
  • paulamarsden
    paulamarsden Posts: 483 Member
    about £250 a month for the two of us.

    im a food snob, supermarket tart.

    for the UK people, i do waitrose once a month for a stock up on unusual stuff and faves, then top up with organic veggie boxes delivered, sainsburys, asda and tesco.

    i always have a full chest freezer :)
  • rebeccap13
    rebeccap13 Posts: 754 Member
    I think it averages out to about $50/week for food and supplements. Eating out would maybe be about $25/week. Trying to cut that down for financial and health reasons.
  • mrsbastone
    mrsbastone Posts: 83 Member
    600-800 (not including if we eat out, which is rare) a month for a family of 4
  • i spend about 40-50$ a week for myself. ive found that avoiding meat seems to help, and replacing it with cheaper (and healthier!) alternatives like eggs, tofu, and canned beans. a lot of times people say produce is the culprit, but if you've got a walmart with a grocery store nearby you can get a lot for not much money. last week i was amazed when i bought one avocado, a bag of onions, one yellow pepper, a bag of little carrots, a bag of spinach, broccoli, 3 apples, 3 oranges, mushrooms, 2 tomatoes, and a can of kidney beans for 12.50$!! i was blown away.
  • Justjoshin
    Justjoshin Posts: 999 Member
    I never did the math. I'm kind of afraid to. But money spent on food is money well spent

    I started to do the math a few weeks ago. Once I broke 250 for the week, I figured it was safer to stop than to freak myself out.
    I buy quality, tasty, foods. I'm going to enjoy them instead of letting the money factor bother me.

    If I factor in supplements, I'm much higher than that.
  • kittenmitton
    kittenmitton Posts: 231 Member
    um....like $20-30/month rsrsrs. Some months I go over and buy big things in bulk, like oatmeal, rice, beans, and things like that that I can eat over the course of a few months, so most of my grocery shopping is just buying produce and such.
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,870 Member
    I have the exact dollars and cents in a spreadsheet at home, but my guesstimate would be between $500-600/month for a family of three.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    £300 a month for my partner and I - and that's with trying to keep it to a minimum! We get a lot of fresh meat though, which probably makes up a lot

    I don't include protein supplements in with that, that's always separate. £40 a month for protein for both of us.
  • seattlerain
    seattlerain Posts: 189 Member
    Family of 31/2...

    We spend on groceries around $400

    Dining out is a entirely separate expense that probably is double our grocery bill..
  • CTK3989
    CTK3989 Posts: 109 Member
    I have a family of 4 and I spend $400 a month on groceries.
  • runnercheryl
    runnercheryl Posts: 1,314 Member
    about £250 a month for the two of us.

    im a food snob, supermarket tart.

    for the UK people, i do waitrose once a month for a stock up on unusual stuff and faves, then top up with organic veggie boxes delivered, sainsburys, asda and tesco.

    i always have a full chest freezer :)

    Oooooh, organic veggie boxes. :tongue:

    I thought I was a food snob, but I've never had the money for those. In comparison to my fiance, I spend loads. I think he spends about £50 a month, and with my £160 I feel a bit greedy. :ohwell:

    I'm not a 'full freezer' type, though. I buy EXACTLY what I need, so each week my freezer, fridge and cupboard are bare.
  • JDMPWR
    JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
    I am still totally lost how some of you have a family and can eat on what I eat alone in a month. I am with Josh and Taso when I say it's about the quality of food.

    I am going to become the Food Diary Creeper now....
  • Wendi_S
    Wendi_S Posts: 489 Member
    Family of 5 - between $1200- $1300 a month.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    Honestly, I wish I knew! I am pretty sure for the 3 of us we spend about $500 per month on food, but probably another $200 or more eating out.
  • jamk1446
    jamk1446 Posts: 5,577 Member
    I never did the math. I'm kind of afraid to. But money spent on food is money well spent

    I started to do the math a few weeks ago. Once I broke 250 for the week, I figured it was safer to stop than to freak myself out.
    I buy quality, tasty, foods. I'm going to enjoy them instead of letting the money factor bother me.

    If I factor in supplements, I'm much higher than that.

    I agree with both of you guys. I know I spend a lot for a family of 5 but I buy quality food and we don't eat out much. Easily $1000 a month, probably more.
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
    We spent $175 per month in 2011, which I am upping to $200 per month this year for our family of 4. That includes all food and toiletries and household things like light bulbs, batteries, paper towel, etc.

    A couple ways I am able to make it this low is 1) I am a dedicated (although not extreme) couponer. 2) My father-in-law is a hunter and we are able to supplement with venison we sometimes get from him. 3) My father is a farmer, and I have access to really inexpensive and sometimes free produce . So I spend a lot of time and energy canning, drying, freezing, jamming, juicing etc.
  • AmyEm3
    AmyEm3 Posts: 784 Member
    About $600-700/mo for a family of 5 (two adults, 8yo, 6yo, 3yo). BUT that doesn't include a lot of our meat as we buy a quarter of a cow at a time and my husband hunts deer so we also have venison and he also goes fishing a lot as well. I also do a lot of gardening and can/freeze/store what I'm able to. We eat out maybe twice a month? My kids eat ~one or two school lunches per week so that's an extra expense. That amount does include things like toilet paper and shampoo and laundry detergent.
  • For myself, about $250. Mostly because it's winter and absolutely nothing except root vegetables is in season here, so just about all the fresh fruit is imported. It'll probably drop substantially in spring/summer as fruits and vegetables come into season and I can buy more stuff local.
  • paeli
    paeli Posts: 295 Member
    My grocery bill was getting a bit out of hand the second half of 2011, averaging around $400 per month just for myself and occasionally my BF every other weekend (he does eat a lot more than I do, but still...)

    I've tried to make an effort to lower my food costs, so for Jan and Feb i'm looking at around more like $250 average just for me. I know I could do better, i'll keep trying! haha.

    That said, I don't see food as a place to compromise on cost. I'd rather buy quality fuel for my body than live off happy meals every day. Duh :D
  • epona_mus
    epona_mus Posts: 207 Member
    We spend ~$800 a month - 2 adults, 3 teenage girls at home, 1 married + son in law nearby and often eat with us. Our kids are homeschooled, so we provide all meals, 7 days a week. We are vegan-ish (some of us eat no meat, some of us do) so we eat a lot of meat-free or meat-optional meals. We buy our beef on the hoof from a local family, plus my husband hunts and fishes, so we are well-stocked in venison, duck and salmon/halibut most of the year.

    I cook in bulk, so I tend to shop at warehouse stores every 2 weeks, and I have 2 pantries, 2 freezers and 2 fridges and a cold-store to store everything. I buy most of my stuff in bulk, and then buy a few things at the regular grocery store.
  • Noadi
    Noadi Posts: 27
    Around $175 for just me. I try very hard to keep to my budget and not go over that amount.
  • amyrobynne
    amyrobynne Posts: 64 Member
    We kept our food expenses for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 young kids) at $600/mo for everything including toilet paper, etc, from 2008-2011 while I was on a strict budget. I went lax on the budgeting last spring and the baby started eating more (now we have 3 boys ages 8, 6, and 1.5) and it went up to $800/mo. I started shopping at Aldi for a bunch of stuff recently, so I need to look back and see how that's affecting things.

    We buy 1/4 cow once a year, I can A LOT of stuff using food I grew, picked on farms, or bought at the farmer's market. I use coupons on double-coupon day. We get organic produce and dry goods through a co-op with friends along with earth-friendly cleaning supplies and paper products. I try for mostly unprocessed food.
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