How much do you spend?

Fayve
Fayve Posts: 406 Member
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
On food each month, and for how many people?

I realize food costs differ quite a bit depending where you live too. Mostly just curious! I spend about $350-$400 a month in Canada for myself and one other. That's probably on the high side of what it should be. Would be interested to hear others, and the special things they do to keep within their budgets (would love to learn some couponing techniques for future, but the valid coupons seems so minimal in Canada, or maybe I'm just blind).
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Replies

  • EBFNP
    EBFNP Posts: 529 Member
    I spend close to 200 dollars on food for myself a month..seriously..I sometimes have left overs, but at the end of the month I need to restock. The food I need to eat is so expensive. 9 dollars for a bag of salmon. 7 dollars for a bag of chicken. Lifestyle changes are expensive.
  • Stefanie7125
    Stefanie7125 Posts: 462 Member
    when the kids were younger (three of them, two boys one girl) I could feed all of us on about $50 per wk. Now they are older and eat ALL the time. I spend about $200 per week. Ugh!
  • hdlb123
    hdlb123 Posts: 112 Member
    I'm also in Canada, in Northern BC where everything has to be trucked in.

    For a family of 5, we spend around $800 a month. I"m sure we spend more some months.

    Its really expensive here though, just because of where we are. And to the OP, its really hard to get coupons for Canada. The ones that are out there are almost all for pre-packaged junk.
  • kngarber
    kngarber Posts: 227
    I am in Indiana. I'd say 400-500 a month for 3 of us.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I think my teenage son eats about $400 a month.

    We average about $800 a month for a family of four but could probably cut that back if we tried.
  • Kristinemomof3
    Kristinemomof3 Posts: 636 Member
    I'm in Indiana and it's less than $400/mon for 5 of us. I coupon, garden, watch sales, shop Aldi and minimal processed food. My parents are beef farmers, so I get a quarter of beef a year as a Christmas gift, so I'm not having to spend as much on meat.
  • runnercheryl
    runnercheryl Posts: 1,314 Member
    £160 a month, just for me.

    My fiancé spends £40 a month.
  • kel_c
    kel_c Posts: 19 Member
    I live in South Texas, I spend around $300 a month for 2 of us.
  • 967_1111
    967_1111 Posts: 221 Member
    Southern Ontario, and yes, couponing in Canada is not nearly the same thing as in the US. Stores don't do double coupons, etc. but are more inclined to have loyalty programs.

    Our family of three probably spends $600 a month, but that includes the other stuff you get at the grocery store, like laundry soap, health care items, etc. We rarely eat out and I pack my lunch for work every day, so that's almost every meal. For us, to cut costs, we hit Costco (with a LIST!), then No Frills for the staples, and our local grocery store for the rest. Buy in bulk when you can, and cook from scratch. Takes time, but you save money and eat healthier!
  • Superchikanthem
    Superchikanthem Posts: 362 Member
    I'm in southern AB and I do about $400 for two and that includes food, cleaning supplies any toiletries things like that. I ALWAYS buy thing when they are on sale and when bulk goes on sale it's in my cart because like everyone else said Canada does not really have many coupons. Also my husband eats at least 2x as much as me a day (to loose weight) so having to triple what I making from before I got married last year per meal has been a HUGE change to budget and cooking habits.
  • Hippie_Soul
    Hippie_Soul Posts: 190 Member
    Probably close to $600 a month for 2 adults and a preteen. Of course, my husband is a very picky eater that won't touch a vegetable (he is skinny fat) so he eats a lot of take out.
    I cook all of my meals at home and do eat a lot of Smart Ones for lunch (because they are easy and yummy!) but I have noticed since I stopped drinking soda, our grocery bill has gone down a bit.
    I also coupon once a month, for the largest shopping trip and that does save some.
    Btw, I live in Tampa, Florida!
  • Thesis_gut
    Thesis_gut Posts: 56 Member
    I live alone in London, UK and spend about 100 pounds a month on food. This doesn't include going out for food though (although I do that at most twice a month). It also doesn't include alcohol, on which I spend another 85 pounds per month.

    edit: 100 pounds is currently about 158 US dollars.
  • emeraldowl
    emeraldowl Posts: 33 Member
    Probably about £180.00 a month for myself.
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    I would say 20-50 a week for just myself.
  • scottishmummyoftwoboys
    scottishmummyoftwoboys Posts: 39
    I'm in the uk and spend £320 a month, that includes toiletries, cleaning products, dog food and nappies/wipes for my toddler. So it's not too bad!
  • ladyamandajane
    ladyamandajane Posts: 43
    I,m in the UK and spending around £250 per month for me and my Fiance, eating healthy cost more i think in the UK, if you want to eat junk and fast food it would be loads cheaper, but would be terrible on the waist line!!! do all you other Brits agree???
  • Phrak
    Phrak Posts: 353 Member
    600-800 for myself.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    For 2 people, I spend similar to the following:

    $550.00 for CSA membership that includes 26 weeks, so that is $21.15 per week. In the months that I don't get a CSA delivery, I purchase bi-weekly produce basket from our local Coop group, which is $23.50 for a huge bag of vegetables and fruit.

    I spent $80.00 from a local farmer who has a meat market and that is nearly a month's worth of meat for my husband and I.

    I started making our cleaning and personal hygiene (soaps, shampoos, deodorant, toothpaste, and use soap nuts for laundry).

    We buy coffee, toilet tissue, paper towels and stuff like that at the grocery store.

    So, we spend at the most an average of $50.00 per week.
  • zenchild
    zenchild Posts: 680 Member
    We live in Georgia and probably spend $200-$300 a month on food, mostly at Whole Foods. Our weekly bill changes depending on how many staples we have to buy. If it's a normal week, $50 is fine. If we need olive oil ($50 for a big tin of the good stuff) or cheese, $100 is normal. Before we go shopping we look through the kitchen to see what we have and make a menu for the week. The menu and the shopping list is on an app on our phones. We buy what's on the list though that may change once we get there and see what's on sale. If heirloom tomatoes are on sale, we make a red sauce and meatballs. Even if it's not on the list, we can get 7-8 meals out of one pot of sauce. Buying what's on sale and what's in season makes a huge difference. I like being able to shop at Whole Foods so I can get organic/pastured foods. If we make just a little effort to watch what we buy, we don't spend any more than we did at Kroger or Publix.
  • britexmom
    britexmom Posts: 145
    i spend about $900 a mth on groceries (that does include paper/cleaning supplies too), i have me, dh, and 3 of my kids still at home (18, 15, 10) plus we have the GF of the 18 yr old with us for dinner 5 nights a week.
    we dont have any stores in my area that double coupon and i refuse to shop at walmart (hate that place) so i shop either at HEB or super target, 2 of my kids take lunch to school 3 days per week and dh takes lunch almost everyday too...so dividing up the $900 by the amount of meals i get out of the supplies is doing pretty good.
  • bio_fit
    bio_fit Posts: 307 Member
    I,m in the UK and spending around £250 per month for me and my Fiance, eating healthy cost more i think in the UK, if you want to eat junk and fast food it would be loads cheaper, but would be terrible on the waist line!!! do all you other Brits agree???

    I've actually found the opposite! When I used to go shopping I would just grab anything that looked tasty, including crisps, chocolate, pastries, cereal bars, ice cream...

    Now i'm actually thinking about what I buy, so I buy less. My main tip would be - get your fruit and veg from Aldi! I know there is a bit Aldi snobbery in this country, but the quality is good and they are cheap enough that I can pile them in my trolley without worrying about the cost! I'm a student too. It has really opened my eyes to how much of a rip-off fruit and veg is in the major supermarkets...

    Oops, forgot to say how much I spend - I average about £80-£100 per week, feeding just myself.
  • PhoenixBlaise
    PhoenixBlaise Posts: 63 Member
    For a family of 6 I spend about $600/ month, plus about every 4 months or so we do a big costco shop for canned goods, meat etc and I stock up on chicken at the maple lodge farms outlet here in town. That's about $500-$800 on top of regular groceries. I'm about an hour west of Toronto.
  • jdavis193
    jdavis193 Posts: 972 Member
    There's 3 of us I spend about 240 a month. I don't buy as much meat. I cook hamburger once a week and chicken or pasta the rest of the week. It's so much cheaper. I could spend so much more if we had it.
  • joannea1988
    joannea1988 Posts: 73
    i avoid aldi, im not a snob but the amount of mouldy veg and fruit ive ended up with, so normally asda, tesco or morrisons and its about £60 a week for 3 of us, mainly fruit , veg, meat, pastas.. and i get plenty of meals out of it .
  • 01divey
    01divey Posts: 50 Member
    around £40 a week for myself :)
  • Caileadair
    Caileadair Posts: 17
    I'm in the Vancouver area of Canada...the cost of living here is high. I spend about $500 and upwards for two adults who are both trying to lose weight (my son and myself).. That does not include any toiletries, laundry soap etc. I buy those separately. The cost of those items at most grocery stores is prohibitive...I go to a local drugstore that has great sales every month.
    I watch for sales and buy my produce at a Produce Market. Better quality, most often more variety and a lot less expensive.
  • Louise1583
    Louise1583 Posts: 97 Member
    I think about £150 a month for myself. I've found I'm spending less now, because I'm being so strict with what I'm eating, therefore taking my lunch to work every day, which is making it all a lot cheaper.
  • Purple_Orchid_87
    Purple_Orchid_87 Posts: 517 Member
    £130 freezer food, plus £25 a week on fresh top-ups like fruit and bread
    that gets me 3 square meals a day plus pure fruit smoothies and the like

    total - approx £230 a month for 1 person
  • thatgirl125
    thatgirl125 Posts: 294 Member
    we spend just about $350 dollars a month on groceries for a family of 4. And of course that does not include the money spent on grabbing taco bell real quick or something like that.
  • Emancipated_Tai
    Emancipated_Tai Posts: 751 Member
    I spend about $30/week, but when I shop for a two week period, my bill is about $75.

    So that's between $120-150 a month. Its only me I'm shopping for.

    I guess the cost is so low because I plan all my meals and make a list prior to going to the store. I'm pretty good about staying inside that list!
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