GTKY: Grocery Budget

bacorrea

Hey y'all! I am working on our budget! What do y'all budget for groceries? When I say groceries I mean all food/toiletries basically anything you could buy at a box store (Walmart/Target/SAMS etc).

How many are you feeding? 
Do you only eat organic?
How many times do you eat out? 

Thanks! 

WombThereItIs

How many are you feeding? Me, a grown mean beast (he eats like 2 adults), and a 2 year old
Do you only eat organic? hahahaha no
How many times do you eat out? Maybe 2 times per week we end up grabbing something out

I think our weekly grocery bill averages around $150-$200 depending on how much produce I'm buying (more in the summer because the boys eat a ton of fruit) and if I plan to cook more nights than usual. 

starphish18

Food budget: Averages about $100 a week
How many are you feeding? 2 (me and H)
Do you only eat organic? No, but I do like to grab eggs and produce from our local farmer's market when I can, which is a little more expensive
How many times do you eat out? Usually 1 dinner a week that's about $15 (we do a more expensive dinner once every couple months or so), H eats lunch out daily during the week

fbmandy55

Food Budget: About $75 per week. We do a bigger trip about once a month at Sam's Club and usually spend about $150 on top of our $75 for that week. Bulk TP and paper towels, string cheese, water, frozen chicken and ground beef we put in the freezer in portioned bags. Sometimes we'll even buy a big bag of shredded cheese for $15 and portion it out and freeze it.   
How many are you feeding? 3. Me, DH and DS
Do you only eat organic? No
How many times do you eat out? Usually only Friday nights and Tuesday night for me. I have a bowling league Tuesday nights after work so I always eat there. Thankfully they have good food and lots of options. We go out as a family every Friday night because we are just too tired from the week to cook and we usually go out to pick up groceries for the next week after. 

BeachMommy2B

Food Budget: about $100-130 a week
How many are you feeding? 3
Do you only eat organic? no
How many times do you eat out? lunches are normally out, dinner might be once a week

I will add that this question may be really different depending on where you live. I lived in the midwest until I was in my early 20s, then moved to a tourist town in Florida. My grocery bill is probably 50% higher here on average.

hp_momma

Food budget: Probably $150 a week
How many are you feeding? Another man beast over here, me, and two kids. 
Do you only eat organic? No, but I do get a weekly fresh milk delivery which I know is a little more but convenience is worth it
How many times do you eat out? 1 restaurant on the weekend and 1 fast food/fast casual on gymnastics night. 

I will agree with @BeachMommy2B that my grocery bill and restaurant bill changes pretty drastically depending on where we are living. Arizona, North Carolina, and Texas were much much cheaper than Washington has been! 

Kipperoo

I'm a bad example in budgeting because we frequently eat out more than we've planned (especially with the pregnancy), but I try to do something like this...

Food budget: $80/month for our meat and egg delivery, around $100/week for everything else from Trader Joes. I'd say 95% of our weekly shopping can be done at TJ's, we buy paper towels/ toilet paper in bulk at Costco, most toiletries from Amazon subscribe and save.

How many are you feeding? 3--me, DH, 2.5 year old DS

Do you only eat organic? Not only organic, but I do but organic when possible and we get most of our meat and all of our eggs from a local farm delivery service. Pricey, but worth it for us because cheap meat skeevs me out and I love farm eggs. 

How many times do you eat out? We aim to order out once during the week, once on the weekend, and hit a restaurant out with DS once on the weekend (in large part so that he learns how to behave in that setting). 

ETA: in the summer we hit up our neighborhood farmers market every Saturday, so our grocery bill probably jumps to $130/week, but I like buying local so it's worth it to me.

NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot

Our budget is about $250-300 a month.  We typically shop every two weeks and plan for 10 dinner meals in that 2 week time span with any other extras we need.

How many are you feeding? 3 (DH, Me, 3yo DD)

Do you only eat organic? No. I'm very against organic actually.

How many times do you eat out? We usually eat out every Fri night, all day Saturday, and lunch on Sunday. ETA: I also eat out every weekday but lunch at my work is super cheap.

nda_roxybabe

We don't budget, but I can tell you we spend around $140 at the grocery every weekend. Sometimes this includes pricier items like moisturizer, razors, etc.
It's typically a mix of this though: A thing of greens, some fruits, turkey from the deli, these Chinese bowls they make fresh that H loves (they're pricey), a meat from the meat counter for Sunday dinner, bread, bars (these can get expensive), yogurt, almond milk, eggs, OJ, drinks (powerade, la croix, Dasani sparkling, soda), cheese, and whatever else makes it on the list.

How many are you feeding?  Just the 2 of us
Do you only eat organic? No. Eggs, honey, almond butter, some random other items are, but not the majority.
How many times do you eat out?  H used to eat lunch out daily (typically $11 at Chipotle), but has stopped doing that which is why we now spend more on groceries. I still often pick up a fast food dinner/ snack after work several days a week as we don't cook regularly yet.

ETA: Other things like toiletries come in waves. We do Amazon dash for toilet paper and the H typically stocks up on soap, moisturizer, razors, etc. I have no idea how much we spend there as it's all over the place.

Jens_Hoes

@NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot what is the reasoning behind being against organic? 
I don't eat organic, so I'm just curious. 

vrj0522

I spend between  $130-160 per week, feeding 4 of us.

I do a few organic foods but mostly not.

We eat out once a week. 

NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot

@Jens_Hoes

I think the organic/ anti-gmo industry is a sham. Practically everything is a GMO and most organic food uses pesticides.

https://www.nurselovesfarmer.com/2014/05/perspective-on-the-dirty-dozen/

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/pesticides-food-fears/

https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pressrls/2015/151014.htm

melonmug

What do y'all budget for groceries?- We budget $90 per week, but we are pretty good about keeping it around $75 actually at the grocery story. We do a monthly trip to Costco for TP, any toiletries, frozen chicken, diapers, etc), and we usually spend around $100 there.

How many are you feeding? 3- Me, hubs, and DD

Do you only eat organic?- No

How many times do you eat out?- Either 0 or 1 time per week. We meal plan for ALL meals, and if we decide to eat out or with family, that meal gets put on the menu for next week. 

After Christmas, we made it a point to start significantly reducing our expenses, so we could save money at a faster rate. We were spending around $140 a week on groceries before January. Groceries are one of the easiest ways to cut your monthly expenses significantly. We do our weekly grocery trips at Publix, and we always take a list. We do not stray from the plan unless there is a great deal. Publix has a TON of bogo deals every week. If we see a deal on a product that we regularly use (broth, pasta, sauce, frozen meat, frozen veggies)...we stock up.

jayandaplus

Uh... apparently I'm doing it wrong, but:

How many are you feeding? DH and myself.
Do you only eat organic? No, but majority of produce we eat is organic, eggs and some to majority of meats.
How many times do you eat out? Too much, this has always been our downfall. At least once a week, but typically 2-3 times.

I am responsible for the grocery shopping and spend about $150/week. This only includes the rare non-food items because those aren't weekly purchases. There are some weeks we spend a lot less if we're busy, or I don't get to do a full grocery run and pick up just a few must need items.

BabyMC517

How many are you feeding? Aim for $100, but sometimes a deal is a deal and we go over. Toiletries and what not add to it when we buy them once a month or so. When we move, we plan on going to COSTCO for meat and a few other things that we would use in bulk and then picking up weekly items each week. Not sure what that budget will be yet, thinking $200 at COSTCO and then can determine what we would need weekly. ETA: because I read it wrong...its H and I, but at the moment my brother is living with us still and apparently he doesn't know how to contribute so he eats our food sometimes, especially dinner.

Do you only eat organic? No, but I will pick up a few things organic. I like cage free eggs, which aren't always an organic brand, but I do like the brown ones that are probably mainly organic. There will be more farmer's markets in the city we will be moving too so I'd like to hit some of those up. 

How many times do you eat out? Aim for 1-2 times, but if we don't make it to the store or H forgets lunch, we will get something out. He tends to get a 'snack' on days that he has school because he is starving. Trying to not eat out as much though because man that is expensive! 

WombThereItIs

NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot said:

@Jens_Hoes

I think the organic/ anti-gmo industry is a sham. Practically everything is a GMO and most organic food uses pesticides.

https://www.nurselovesfarmer.com/2014/05/perspective-on-the-dirty-dozen/

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/pesticides-food-fears/

https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pressrls/2015/151014.htm

Bump crushing you pretty hard right now. Preach!

fbmandy55

NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot said:

@Jens_Hoes

I think the organic/ anti-gmo industry is a sham. Practically everything is a GMO and most organic food uses pesticides.

https://www.nurselovesfarmer.com/2014/05/perspective-on-the-dirty-dozen/

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/pesticides-food-fears/

https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pressrls/2015/151014.htm

I'm right here with you. One of my best friends is a biochemical engineer that worked with GMOs all through school. I"m confident if they weren't safe she wouldn't be feeding them to her children. And the requirements for foods to be certified organic are a joke. 

That being said, I'll eat fresh eggs from friends and buy produce from the farmer's market because it's cheaper sometimes in the summer.  

Squirtgun

We budget 80$/week for groceries, but I usually spend about 60$ (and save the rest for fancy meals, cookouts, holidays, etc.) (Aldi's is the BEST, it's less than half what we would spend at any other grocery store.)  

There are 4 of us (1.5 yr old eats more than I do!) 

orgnaic? No. We do garden in the summer, so that cuts down on produce costs at that time. 

Eating out? Maybe once a month? If that. 

I meal plan every week, and it works out for us! 

BabyMC517

@NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot very interesting! Thanks for sharing those sources! Always a little skeptical about organic produce, but have bought some because well for the reason stated in your sources! And sometimes there wasn't a big price difference so I thought eh, why not! But maybe not so much anymore...just wash them good and everyone should be fine! I just think brown eggs taste better and wish I could find some locally, but haven't yet. Maybe when we move and there are more farmer's markets to go to. We shall see!  

NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot

WombThereItIs said:

NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot said:

@Jens_Hoes

I think the organic/ anti-gmo industry is a sham. Practically everything is a GMO and most organic food uses pesticides.

https://www.nurselovesfarmer.com/2014/05/perspective-on-the-dirty-dozen/

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/pesticides-food-fears/

https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pressrls/2015/151014.htm

Bump crushing you pretty hard right now. Preach!

ChristinaWild

We (normally) spend about $150/week. These last few weeks we've spent a little more, because I'm trying out a new food service company that I found where this amazing lady makes your dinner for you! If you're in the North Houston area, let me know - so far it's been worth every penny and it's reasonably priced!

How many are you feeding? 2 adults and a toddler (Disclaimer: daycare only provides a snack, so I'm still making breakfast and lunch for the little tyrant)
Do you only eat organic? I'd say we're about 50/50
How many times do you eat out? The goal is to only eat out once a week, but my fat ass has been driving that number up lately.

rkstro2

@NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot I agree!  I thought that might be an UO cause I thought the same thing when I saw the question about the organic food.  

We probably spend around 100-150$ per week on food and toiletries at the grocery for two of us.  We eat out every Friday night either going out or order in (nowadays almost always order in bc my large-and-in-charge self is tired on Friday evening) and a couple other weekend meals.  

MrsFox2008

We try to aim for no more then $120 a week that's including if we need shampoo, body wash, toilet paper, etc. 

Feeding: 3. Myself, DH and DD

Organic: nope! 

Eating out: too much! Ha. Probably 2x-3x a week(but not every week), we always did cooked meals but this mama has been so tired this pregnancy so I've slacked! 

bailey8809-2

I typically spend $100-$130/week depending on sales and coupons. I love to coupon, but I'm not the crazy hoarder coupon type person!  (This doesn't include beef which we get from our families ranches) 
How many are you feeding? 2 Adults and a 3yr old 
Do you only eat organic? No
How many times do you eat out? We try to limit to once a week. 

chickyclg

I try to keep it under $150 a week, $100 if we don't need any household stuff.

Family of 2 adults, 2 toddlers (we go through 5 gallons of milk a week )

the only organic thing I buy is apples- I'm convinced they don't get brown as quickly after you slice them, I could be crazy though.

As far as eating out, we budget $100 for a family day once a week and we always go to Waffle House before church and occasionally we will do lunch.  If I plan to do Pizza or anything else during the other days I account for that in the grocery budget.  

mamatowildones

I'm feeding DH and 2 very hungry growing boys (ages 4&2) For food only I spend between 85-100$ at Trader Joe's every week. We eat out 2x on the weekend for either lunch or dinner. 

For other essentials I would have to guess because I don't really track it. But I would guess around $50 monthly maybe. 

CherryBananas

I budget $100 a week for me and DH including all household items. I'm usually able to come in a little under that though. I've been trying to get it down to $80.

We eat out once a week. Twice if we do wing night with friends. 

Organic only if the appearance/quality is significantly better than what I currently need or want. I'm super picky about how my strawberries look.

Kipperoo

NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot said:

@Jens_Hoes

I think the organic/ anti-gmo industry is a sham. Practically everything is a GMO and most organic food uses pesticides.

https://www.nurselovesfarmer.com/2014/05/perspective-on-the-dirty-dozen/

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/pesticides-food-fears/

https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pressrls/2015/151014.htm

Totally agreed with all of this--GMO fear is complete nonsense. I should have clarified that a large part of the reason that we buy certain things organic is because of proximity farming--I try to get everything as close to locally grown as possible and have found that many commercially available non-organic produce items are shipped in from other countries. For meats/etc, I prioritize humanely treated animals and responsible farming, again, something that is usually easier to guarantee with organic/grass fed meats. 

ETA: since I live in MA, there are very few locally grown produce options available right now, lol...

bubsalicious

Budget? I try to keep $150 in the budget for every 2 weeks, but I rarely reach $100.
How many are you feeding? 2 adults and 1 child on the weekends
Do you only eat organic? I do not go out of my way for organic (meaning no pesticides) but I do garden in the summer, receive fresh produce whenever it's offered, and prefer my selection at the farmer's market compared to our crappy grocery stores. And we get all our beef from family, so we actually get "grass fed beef" too.
How many times do you eat out? Depends on the week, probably average once a week because I need a burger.

SparkySunDevil

Budget: usually about $150/wk

How many: 4. two adults, two children (2 & 5)

Organic: haha no. That crap is expensive and really no better for you. The only "organic" thing in our meal planning rotation right now is the elk meat from the bull my husband shot last November 

Eat out: maybe once a week, as a family. DH usually eats out for lunches because he's a driver and it's just easier to pick something up while he's in between deliveries. I try to pack my lunch for work daily. And I pack my daughters lunch because she won't eat the school lunch. 

JCWhitey

Budget is maybe $200/mo for DH, myself, a 3 year old, a 2 year, and our au pair.  We also have something called Ruby's pantry where we get about $100-150 worth of food for $20 and it happens once a month.  We usually buy two shares.  For meat we try to get a deer every year and that usually lasts us most of the year.  

We do not buy organic because we don't really have that up here.  I guess the deer would be considered organic assuming it didn't eat treated plants or something.  We'd have no way of knowing.

We rarely eat out.  Maybe once a month.  But I go out every Tuesday with friends and spend  $15-20 on food and drinks (obviously closer to $20 when I can have a beer).

JCWhitey

On the topic of organic, there's a pictogram called "Who Owns Organic" or something like that which shows that most organic companies are owned by big companies like Kelloggs, Pepsi, Coke, Hormel, etc.  And, yes, it's a sham.  I actually did an entire report on the organic food industry for my business class in college.  Most truly organic foods are from small farms that can't afford the USDA certification.  Companies that can usually have some very questionable practices and Jack up prices way higher for food that isn't any better quality just because it has the seal.  Buy local, not organic if you want a sustainable food option.