Non-clicky poll: Groceries

Ziegeficker

What is your monthly budget for groceries for your entire family? And how many mouths are you feeding?

Strictly curious over here since we are looking for ways to cut our budget, and I'm wondering if what I spend is outrageous...

ETA: I am including paper goods, cleaning supplies, and basic toiletries (like shampoo and soap) in my budget. Basically anything I get at the store. But not alcohol. 

Ziegeficker

I live in Washington state, am feeding three people (technically I guess Nora isn't consuming our food yet) and spend about $500-$600 a month, including our monthly or so visit to Costco for bulk goods.

ETA: I also have two dogs, so this includes their dog food. 

BabyCarryingVessel

Including the household items that you listed... $750 according to my Mint app. Feeding four people. And I guess that figure also includes dog food for my boxer.

Rachelilly23

Typically $550-600, 4 mouths if you factor in DH... That includes the household items you mentioned and dog food. I live in Northeast Georgia. It would be a lot less if I didn't buy organic milk, yogurt, and eggs.

pb_bride

I estimate I spend about $600/m for the 3 of us, no pets.  I try to buy mostly organic veggies & fruits (at least the dirty dozen list) when I'm at the produce store.  In summer, I buy mostly at farmers market.   And free-range eggs from local farms.  I buy majority of my meat either organic, or from the meat vendor at the farmers market.  As a result, we don't eat much meat because they are pricey.  

FWIW, The $600 includes B,L, & D.  I SAH and DH brown bags his lunch. I cook dinner 7 days a week.  On average, we go out to eat 2x a month for weekend lunch; no take-out, no fast foods etc.

ETA: the $600 is mostly groceries (food).  If I add household goods in, it's easily another $100-150/m.

AnotherPreggo

Between $500 and $600. Feeding 3 mouths... though I eat way more than normal while nursing, so maybe I count as 1.5 people? Haha! 

Food is one area that is just too difficult to cut back on. If we were to cut back on spending, I think it would just mean we would eat crappier food. We don't get take out, fast food, or go out to eat, with the exception of birthdays/anniversaries sometimes. FWIW, We aren't total food snobs... we *used* to go out to eat, and then kids happened.

scrumpfy

About 500/mo for 2 adults, 1 teenager, a toddler and a baby. If I add dog food , that's another 75$.

CnAnA

All food, including eating out, we probably spent $800/mo. That also includes my TP, razors, shampoo, etc. Its just me, Husband, and Girl. Its bad.

Ziegeficker

mbm1983 said:

i'm ballparking

so our food budget is very light. we are trying to get to $50/week for the 3 of us in just food groceries. we're not quite there yet. $250 is what we spent last month.

toiletries not that much more. the main expense there is toilet paper and paper towels and diapers. so i'd say....$50/month? we buy in bulk for the three mentioned so sometimes it last a little longer than a month.

we do go out to eat a lot. which we are trying to curb. so add $100 right there.

First of all, wow, that's crazy cheap! I'm impressed! Second, I forgot about diapers! I get those from Amazon Mom, so if I had included that in this budget, it would mean an extra $80 or so dollars a month for two babes.

StefanieM522

I'm in Utah and spend about $400 on groceries a month including a box of diapers and wipes from Costco.  It is just me my Husband and Wesley at home. We probably spend at least another $100 a month on take-out and eating out which we could probably cut back on but there are nights I don't want to cook.

nickschick!

Yeah, we eat out too much but I still spend around $600 a month on groceries in the summer... a little less when I am in school but I am paying for the kids' food in daycare fees then, so it's not really better. We buy tons of fruit and veggies. We do get some meat from our farmer parents, so that does help some.

chricast

cmarie79 said:

I don't really know how much we spend. That's really bad, huh? Shoot!

Ditto. Oops.

CnAnA

I would love to shop more at the markets, but I am NOT paying $9.99/lb for green beans. Not when they're literally $9/lb cheaper at the store. The giant zucchini though, I will buy all of them. Mmmmm.

Ziegeficker

@WanderingStars23‌, I am really trying to work on making solid meal plans that reuse ingredients I purchase at the store; or figuring ways to repurpose leftovers....but it's overwhelming. My step mother will periodically make quiches and casseroles using only leftovers, and she has turned some surprising things into completely new and delicious meals. I need to learn how to do that. I'm also getting better with freezing portions of groceries I suspect will go bad before I can use them. Or I buy a lot of something when it's on sale and store/freeze it in manageable portions. It's definitely a learning curve — I hate wasting food.

scrumpfy

I spend a lot on produce, too. But found I save a lot if I get whatever is on sale/ in season/ looks good. And then change up what I plan to make accordingly.

Rachelilly23

Guys. $6.99 a gallon for organic milk. My boys drink at least 3 gallons a week. That's approx. $85 a month alone in MILK. I don't think we have to have organic milk, but H insists. I have been buying regular milk though lately while he's deployed. Shhhh don't tell!

StefanieM522

$6.99 a gallon of milk is crazy to me.  I have been purchasing our milk from Sam's club and they just raised the price from $1.79 to $2.59 a gallon.

Rachelilly23

StefanieM522 said:

$6.99 a gallon of milk is crazy to me.  I have been purchasing our milk from Sam's club and they just raised the price from $1.79 to $2.59 a gallon.

I might just keep buying regular and see if he notices when he's back. It's so much cheaper.

wesleycrusher

we spend $400-ish.  

I believe it's $4.33 for a gallon of whole milk, you will never find it cheaper because that is state minimum, milk in PA cannot be sold for less or go on sale. 

scrumpfy

Daaaaamn. A gallon of milk. Here is like 2.50. But we are the dairy state

Starry Again

We don't budget per say but we spend about $500 a month on the items listed (we normally get a 1/2 pig or 1/4 cow for free from my in laws each year which cuts down on costs). HOWEVER we probably spend $400 eating out (mainly work lunches). If we cut eating out I imagine we would be in the $650 range. 

This is for two adults and a toddler who eats very little. All organic milk and meat, some organic fruit and vegetables.

Sillygirl85

We are working on a budget of $450 for groceries for three people. That doesn't include any toiletries I buy that in bulk from subscribe and save about once a year.

We have a minimum for milk I think it's $3.69 a gallon, but I insist on buying the local Maine Brand. I only buy half a gallon since Elijah is lactose intolerant. His milk is $5.69 a gallon. We go through one and a half of those a week.

I buy a lot of fruits and veggies, but not all at once. I found that helps to cut down on waste from produce. I try to only buy what we need  for one or two days, then my husband will stop on his way home from work if we need something else.

Sillygirl85

@aditigirl I know where you are coming from. We had a month once when the money ran out. I had just enough to make a lasagna. That was all we ate for a week. It was awful.

Ziegeficker

Safeway here runs sales on organic milk sometimes for five bucks a gallon. Honestly, I have stopped buying organic because of the steep price and now spend about $2.89 a gallon. I also just learned you could freeze milk right in its container, too. No way that's happening, though...I'd need a dedicated freezer just for milk.

Grocery shopping for me is now 1/2 shopping for what I need and 1/2 buying things I don't immediately need but that are on sale (stocking up on staples, basically). Safeway often runs their best prices on items that you have to buy two to four of, so we end up with a lot of things in bulk even from a regular grocery store.