What do you spend on groceries?

jenifairies · December 2009

I don't know why, but it seems like I get really out of hand in the store! We don't have much cabinet space, but I have a separate stand alone pantry packed. My fridge and freezer were pretty full.

And... I just dropped another $200 at the store. Granted, we were out of fresh veggies, fruit, and meat, and I bought healthy stuff for me and dd, but geez! Oh, and DH takes his lunch most days.

I think I average 500 in a month (not including diapers and toiletries).

So, am I ridiculous, or is this average? I do write and follow a list, do meal plans, all of that. Maybe we just eat too much (coughdhcough). ::grumble::

djandkellen · December 2009

This is where we spend most of our budget (not really, but it feels like it)...we HAVE to get it in check!

We're probably up there around that number too.

CelticWife · December 2009

We do about $100 a week. I stock up on things when they go on sale and I use a lot of coupons, lol. Kate Gosselin causes a lot of ridiculous problems for herself, but she said something once that made a lot of sense.(It had to happen once, right?) Since she was no longer working, it was her job to save as much money as she could by coupons and sales. I try to do that.

LaurenL1976 · December 2009

Prob $150 a week? Oy, I should check it out too.

JessMil10 · December 2009

I get 300 a month (sometimes less) for groceries and toiletries. We are pretty simple eaters though so I never have to buy crazy spices or tons of different veggies.

Pacheco825 · December 2009

Ours is probaly 250 a month. But when things are on sale I buy a ton in bulk. Like for instance goldfish were on sale for a dollar a bag a couple of weeks ago and I bought like 30 bags. So that way I wont have to buy them not on sale for a long time.

violetvirgo · December 2009

i honestly didn't know off hand but i just checked our budget graph on mint.com and we spent $500 bucks last month. I guess some of it was due to the holidays, but....yeah....

kelbrian · December 2009

I don't know. Quite a bit.. I just dropped nearly $70 at Trader Joe's, and I didn't even buy that much. Supplies for enchiladas tonight, supplies for a pizza tomorrow, another bag of pizza dough, and mainly all of the rest was snacks for DD. Fruit leathers, cereal bars, yogurt O's, mango and apricot Greek yogurt, probiotic smoothies.. I think that's it. I don't do very well at the store.

We usually average about $150-$200 a week. EEEEEEK.

GRKaters · December 2009

We spend a ton on food. Grocery store alone in December was close to $400 and that doesn't include my co-op, Trader Joe's (it's a special trip for us, not local), or other specialty stores like the Italian import market we like.

ironmommy · December 2009

I asked this question a while ago (can't find the link), but it does seem like everyone is all over the map. We spend about $600 a month on groceries (no diapers). I think it's on the high side for many on this board, but it's not out of range.

MsKellDel · December 2009

Mine is between 500-600 each month, granted I have an additional growing boy in there but it is still way high

Stilts · December 2009

DH and I order in too much but if we made a concerted effort to keep the fridge and pantry stocked and cook meals I'm sure we'd be around $500/month too.

I'm basing this off the fact that there are random weeks where I do go to the grocery store and cook for a week and spend about $150 for that one week.

ktmerrill1 · December 2009

I am down to about $200 - $250 a month. I was up there at $500 and when I quit working I took it on as my job to save money and I became pretty good at it! I also cook a full dinner every night and make our luches most days. We really dont eat anything out of a box too! Last year I started to bake all of our own breads so that helped with a ton of savings as well.

mrskadams · December 2009

We spend approximately $175/week on groceries, including diapers and formula. We are a family of 5 with two teenage boys. I go to 4 different stores a week looking for the best buys and use coupons when I can. I think it's a lot of money, but I don't see how we can do much better than this for a family our size.

AmyDrinkie · December 2009

I'm sure we spend close to $500/mo if not more. It costs a lot to eat healty food. I have pet food, diapers, paper products and cleaning products in that figure as well though.

*Bre* · December 2009

200 a month including diapers. We get cereal, lunch meat, cheese, bread, milk and then basics for chili, split pea soup and burritos are always on hand. The leftover is used for other ingredients for other meals. I make my own pasta and bread products from scratch and we use a lot of canned goods we get from aldi. I don't eat breakfast, so that probably saves us a lot. My dad shot us a deer so we have that to deduct from our meat expenses; but a lot of the stuff I cook is vegetarian anyway.

ougrad1 · December 2009

We're right about there with you Jeni and my H always eats lunch out with clients.

LaLaSweets · December 2009

LaurenL1976:
Prob $150 a week? Oy, I should check it out too.

That's about what I spend. Dh is 6'7" and can eat

Soter1 · December 2009

About $450. My DH has to have the diet snapple bottles so there is like $50 a month alone! SO annoying! GOd forbid I buy a mix and he puts it in a pitcher. I take a lean cuisine type of meal everyday for lunch and he does lunch meat sandwhiches and chips. Dinners are usually pretty simple but do get good costco steaks about once a month and eat out 3-4 times.

destea1 · December 2009

We usually spend between $100-$150 per week... I'm eating TONS of fruit, like it's going out of style, and red bell peppers, since I've been pregnant, so that hasn't helped. We're starting to move to all organic meat after seeing Food Inc. too... for some reason I feel very paranoid about the corn-fed vs. grass fed cow situation now that I've been 'informed'. Skeeves me out. But damn that ups our bill quite a bit

SweetJenna · December 2009

Ours is in the $500 per month range. This is the one area I KNOW we need to work on in the new year. I know we could save a lot here if we made a more conscious effort, so that is one of my resolutions. I don't use coupons much because I don't tend to buy name brand items, but I know I buy a lot of impulse items and buy bk/lunch at work too often.

Those who have their food budget below $300...any tips?

blushado · December 2009

I try to keep it under $50 dollars a week, but sometimes there are sales on chicken or cereal or something that I stock up on. I transfer about $200 into my checking account each month for meals...sometimes I have to transfer in more money before the month is up, sometimes not...sometimes my DH will go to the store to pick up a few odds and ends, as well. I'd say we spend between 200 and 250 per month, not including diapers and other baby stuff.

ashley0616 · December 2009

I just got our grocery bill down to about $160 every two weeks. I have just started couponing and really planning meals, shopping sales, etc. It's saved us SO much money! We all eat home-packed lunches every day, and I cook dinner 6-7 days a week. We just got a deep freeze for Christmas, and I'm going to start batch cooking and stocking up on meats and other things I can freeze when they are on sale, which is also going to save us a bundle. It's sad how excited I am about this! But I'm going to be quitting my job in March when Ellie comes and WAH for much less than I'm making now, so we're cutting corners everywhere we can.

sunnygyrl · December 2009

For the three of us, we spend roughly $150 per two weeks. I think it is kinda high, but it is in check. We will typically go back to the store for a gallon of milk or whatever, but we never spend more than $300 per month. The meal plans really do help out and using the meats for other meals and lunches.

fIowerchild · December 2009

I spend about $150 a week, including diapers. It really does seem like a lot to me. I have banned MH from coming along to the store because he puts a bunch of random crap in the cart and I turn into a raging nag telling him not to.

*NNO* · December 2009

Usually $70 a week.

Gin*In*TN · December 2009

$300-$450 a week on average. Between DH being dairy free and me being gluten free, and both of us doing 98%+ organic, it's not cheap. We easily spend more a month on food alone than we do on our mortgage. That doesn't include toiletries, household items, and cleaning products.

{lovebird} · December 2009

CelticWife:
We do about $100 a week. I stock up on things when they go on sale and I use a lot of coupons, lol. Kate Gosselin causes a lot of ridiculous problems for herself, but she said something once that made a lot of sense.(It had to happen once, right?) Since she was no longer working, it was her job to save as much money as she could by coupons and sales. I try to do that.

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Mrs Manners · December 2009

My estimate is that it's usually around $1000-1200/mth (more on holiday/party months) including paper and cleaning products but excluding diapers because we use cloth.

Ds and I eat as many organics as we can find/afford (meat, diary, veggies, fruits, coffee) and they're expensive - especially since the farmers market is out of season. We eat very few processed foods or things like rice and pasta which would help keep the budget down. Organics don't keep as long so I'm constantly running to the store. I also don't do a great job of meal planning so I'm sure that increases my costs. The bonus of it is that since I switched to mostly organics and cut out the majority of our processed foods a few months ago, I've lost 20 lbs....so it takes a little less fuel to keep me going now

I did buy 1/3 of a free range pig last month so that was a larger expense for the month but we'll be eating organic pork for months with no additional expense. I'm getting ready to place an order for 1/4 grassfed pastured cow too so that will help over the next few months.

I'm making plans now for a few raised bed gardens so that we can grow some of our own veggies in the spring/summer. It'll be more expensive the first year because of the cost of supplies, but should pay for itself in remaining years.

Dh is on a training diet so he eats like 8 meals per day (16 eggs per day alone) and takes a ton of supplements and protein powders - I counted his groceries in those numbers but not any supplements.

Oh...I did include wine in that budget number too. We typically go through about 4 x $25 bottles in a typical month (more in holiday/party months).

franciscaz · December 2009

$125 a week but that includes diapers for 3, toiletries, etc.

clp1027 · December 2009

For me it depends on the week. I shop every single week. I stock up on sale items and use coupons. I just got back from grocery shopping actually. I spent $130 and saved $102 in coupons. I would have done MUCH better if I didn't have to buy diapers, paper towels and toilet paper today! I also try to buy anything that I can at CVS. Their Extra Care Bucks roll over and after a few visits of paying attention, you won't pay with real money anymore... just CVS money. I got Listerine, body wash and toothpaste for absolutely free last week!

Solelle · December 2009

$150-$200 a week here too. Sometimes more if there is a holiday - like today we bought a ton of stuff to make NYE dinner and dinner for tomorrow and we spent $150. Plus we will probably spend another $100 or more when we do our shopping for the week. -_-

We kinda go crazy with buying food though - cooking and wine are our last vices. *sigh*

preg_amy · December 2009

Probably $250-300 a month. That includes all household items, toiletries, diapers, etc.

I get a 10% discount where we get our groceries, and that makes a HUGE difference.

But I also shop sales and use coupons. I buy off-brand for almost everything. We try to buy fresh fruit and veggies as much as possible... but sometimes during the off-season, it gets pretty expensive, so we do end up buying frozen/canned.

KellyG6279 · December 2009

Holy cow!! We spend close to $1000/month on groceries. Granted, everything here costs so much more - and we use CDs so that it not even a concern.

Buckets of Moonbeams · December 2009

{lovebird}:
CelticWife:
We do about $100 a week. I stock up on things when they go on sale and I use a lot of coupons, lol. Kate Gosselin causes a lot of ridiculous problems for herself, but she said something once that made a lot of sense.(It had to happen once, right?) Since she was no longer working, it was her job to save as much money as she could by coupons and sales. I try to do that.
this

Same for us, too.

missamy713 · December 2009

I'm proud to say that we're now at about $600 a month for groceries, dog food for 2 big dogs and 1 medium dog, and diapers/wipes.

This really is amazing for me because two years ago, I swear we were spending a minimum of $600 a month on groceries and it was just DH and me. We never had anything in our cupboards, either, but now we always have meat in the freezer and food in the cupboards. If we can't buy groceries for a week, we won't starve! This is such a huge relief.

While this year has been the worst year ever, I feel because of it, we've really been able to learn a lot of financial lessons and we'll be better for it. Even though we both always said we didn't want to be like our parents and had made a lot of better choices, we are now making even more "better choices."

Sorry about the rant!