What Do You Spend On Groceries Per Week?

lukeout007
lukeout007 Posts: 1,237 Member
in Recipes
And how many people are you feeding?

I'm trying to get an idea of whether or not its feasible to feed a family of 4 on $125-$150 per week for groceries (groceries will also include non-food items like diapers, wipes, etc.)

The budget I have worked out for this week seems to be well under that mark but I'm more curious if anyone does this consistently?
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Replies

  • ladybg81
    ladybg81 Posts: 1,553 Member
    I spend $250 every other week feeding a family of 4. This includes everything.
  • manic4titans
    manic4titans Posts: 1,214 Member
    I spend around the same amount on my family of 5. Some weeks I spend more when I buy meat when it is on sale therefore the next week I might spend $75. It all balances out.
  • saraann4
    saraann4 Posts: 1,296 Member
    Recently, I spent around $50 on food just for myself for the week which is GREAT for me considering I used to buy fast/restaurant food for me and my boyfriend every single day so I spent $20 a day on crap.
  • sebbysmommy
    sebbysmommy Posts: 63 Member
    $800 for a family of 7 :wink:

    The usual math is $25 per person per week :happy:
  • lukeout007
    lukeout007 Posts: 1,237 Member
    Wow...sounds like a lot of people are able to keep it in the same budget. Definitely gives me hope for being able to eat healthy and cheap.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    My husband and I have just started hitting up the local farmer's markets. We ended up getting a trunkload of produce for $20. It would be worth checking out to help supplement your normal staple foods.

    Otherwise, we spend about $300 per month on groceries, but it's just the two of us and our two cats. We are trying to get those costs down by making things like bread, cooking dry beans instead of canned etc.

    Unfortunately, the cost of living here is very high so staple foods like bread are expensive.

    This also includes our paper product (TP, paper towels, toiletries, etc.)
  • ErnieM88
    ErnieM88 Posts: 146 Member
    I used to spend about £15 a week on my shopping, obviously some weeks it was more what with shampoo, toiletries etc but I just stuck to in season fruit and veg, I don't really eat meat either so that's a big money saver I suppose. I think the budget you have set out seems feasible - just be careful about what you buy and I've heard a lot about coupons in America, so maybe it will be worth looking out for some of them.

    Also remember it's not a bargain if you don't need it
    :)
  • rmqt
    rmqt Posts: 78 Member
    I spend about $400 to $500 for a family of 5, which includes two teenage boys. Most of our meals are from scratch, and I shop sales carefully. We're fond of pasta, beans, rice, potatoes, and oatmeal.
  • lukeout007
    lukeout007 Posts: 1,237 Member
    I spend about $400 to $500 for a family of 5, which includes two teenage boys. Most of our meals are from scratch, and I shop sales carefully. We're fond of pasta, beans, rice, potatoes, and oatmeal.

    That's per month? That's really cheap.

    Part of the issue I have is that pasta isn't healthy and nobody in my family likes beans. Although rice and potatoes are definitely cheap and you can do a lot with them.
  • rsparks38
    rsparks38 Posts: 51
    Bump
  • kitiarascott
    kitiarascott Posts: 30 Member
    i spend about $100-150 every two weeks for my boyfriend and I, we have saved a ton of money since we have stopped eating out as much! we used to order in 3-5 times a week! eek! :noway:
  • sarafil
    sarafil Posts: 506 Member
    I'm sure I could be more thrifty than I am, but for a family of four I usually spend about $150 per week. I buy a lot of fresh meats, seafood, veggies, fruits, etc so I shop weekly.
  • rissaface
    rissaface Posts: 129 Member
    It depends how long we can stretch it, but ours averages out to about $250ish every 2 weeks for a family of 5. We still go out to eat about once a week.
  • Morgan803
    Morgan803 Posts: 56 Member
    Definately i spend about $100 a week on a family of three, i stock up on discount lean meats, frozen chicken breast and vegetables. I dont know if you have a Sams or Costco near you but thats where i get all my produce and dairy. You can create amazing meals with Meat and Veggies, can beans are cheap too but its cheaper to buy them in the bag, you get a lot of meals out of a bag of black beans, add some chicken, salsa and peppers( you can get a bag of frozen mixed bell peppers for a $1, MUCH CHEAPER THAN FRESH)
  • Morgan803
    Morgan803 Posts: 56 Member
    Just a few ideas:)
  • Loves418
    Loves418 Posts: 330 Member
    There is four of us and I spend about 125 a week some weeks less. I am a coupon queen..yes I am one of those with the binders..I am lucky my stores do double every day and some months they do super doubles and triples. I load up stock up and for most things we are not brand loyal..unless its frosted flakes for my son..NO getting anything else past him..he is our super taster..LOL. I also hit farmers markets now that it got nice out..just got tomatoes for 49 cents a pound....woohoo..:)
  • cynthiaj777
    cynthiaj777 Posts: 787 Member
    I spend roughly $100 a week for everything for just myself. I go back once or even twice a week for more spending another $30 per trip. So, I'm spending roughly $150 a week for just me.

    I actually was JUST complaining to my roommate that I spent $60 and got nothing at the store!

    $600 a month in groceries. Ridiculous.

    Edit: Maybe I should mention that I stock food at work for snacks, I buy mostly fresh seafood, fruit and veggies. And I cook lunch and dinner for every day of the week. I never eat out. So, I'm going through a lot of groceries with cooking two full meals a day. (I cook 8 or so pieces of meat on Sunday and store it for the week in the fridge. It makes it easy for quickly doing dinner since I get home so late.

    Not to mention, I live in DC. So, my groceries prices are exorbitantly more than normal places. :grumble:
  • cjgsmg
    cjgsmg Posts: 131 Member
    I budget $150/week for my family of 6 and this has just recently bumped up from $100/week since the cost of groceries is rising so much.. This also includes diapers, wipes, and shampoo. I've learned to buy my meat when it's on sale. My favorite is ordering ground beef and chicken through Zaycon Foods. I was able to get 93% lean ground beef last September for $2.53/pound and the 40 pounds has lasted us until this month. I think we have 5-6 pounds left. I'm picking up my chicken the end of this month.
  • montana_girl
    montana_girl Posts: 1,403 Member
    Just two of us... and we spend about $75 to $100 per week. Depends on how much meat etc we need for the week.
  • JanetLM73
    JanetLM73 Posts: 1,226 Member
    $200.00 for the family.
  • glittersoul
    glittersoul Posts: 666 Member
    $650/mo for a family of four (one kid still using pullups), one dog & one cat... this includes everything (human & pet food, toiletries, medicines etc etc)
  • cngeike
    cngeike Posts: 305 Member
    I have a family of 6 and spend $500 a month on groceries. I love winco, and safeway. I also coupon shop a lot
  • theskinnyonme
    theskinnyonme Posts: 443 Member
    family of 3 (5 if you the dogs lol) usually 75-100 /week
  • patriot201
    patriot201 Posts: 117 Member
    I'm only technically feeding myself, but I do a tremendous amount of baking for others and also cook two meals per week for others. I generally spend about $50/week on groceries.
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
    I buy my own groceries just for me, about 80 dollars a fortnight
  • ucaminax
    ucaminax Posts: 157 Member
    Wow I have been needing to budget better so bumping this to read thropugh for later!
  • Alicia_Monique
    Alicia_Monique Posts: 338 Member
    COUPON.
    COUPON COUPON COUPON.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    So much. Family of 6 with 3 boys ages 14, 10, and 8 that eat like I don't know what kind of animals. Even my 4-year old daughter has a big appetite. ha! I spent $187 today on meats/fish for the week, a few staples like Tide, butter, cheese sticks (they go through these like crazy), worcestershire sauce and produce for 2 days.

    I will likely spend another $40 on produce for the week, and who knows, $40 on miscellaneous stuff like pull-ups for my daughter and TP. I don't buy shampoo very often--I get the giant jugs at Costco, so I'm not really sure what I spend on that as a per week cost.

    I don't buy prepared meats; I prefer to do my own rubs and marinades, and I grill or crock pot most of it. I get fresh produce every other day from the local farmer's stand.

    Today's meat/fish purchases were a score, as everything was on sale and I came right home, split the packs (I always buy the BIG packs), dry-rubbed and marinated it all and froze it. There will be yummy lunch leftovers this week -- woot!
  • hollyeverhart
    hollyeverhart Posts: 397 Member
    120-180$ (every week) between my husband & I, but I'm mostly vegan & he is a total cheese/meat eater so we normal eat completely different meals & I buy a crazy amount of veggies per week & they are NOT cheap... damn Wegmans.. also NOT cheap, but it's the best grocery store ever! maybe another 30$ per week on cat food/litter/shampoo/paper towel etc....
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
    We spend about $500 monthly. This includes food, cleaning supplies and toiletries for 2 adults and 2 kids, 7 and 3.

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