Groceries... $$$

Daniellemf1228 · January 2012

Question for those who are currently just SO and yourself. How much is your average grocery bill for the two of you per week (if you average) I take care of the grocery bill and DH never really knows what things cost as far as food shopping goes. The few times he goes with me he is always surprised at the total even though I try to shop mainly all sale items so...

Whats your average?

Kristin83 · January 2012

I would say about $350 a month....we usually have to go about every 10 days or so so that's about 3 times a month, at around an average of $115 per load. This includes toiletries & cleaning products. And it's with coupon clipping, buying store brands, and watching for sales. I wish I could get it down lower but I don't know what else to do.

Aprilsies · January 2012

Way to much... we have to get on a budget otherwise I's spend minimum $100 a week... dh eats A LOT ... and I may dinner for 4-6 so there are leftovers. He likes to eat

SugarWorms · January 2012

Usually about $65 or $70 a week. Thats partially due to shopping sales at 2 stores weekly though.

Monicagail1 · January 2012

Before we had DD it was probably around $90-$100 a week, but that was back when I actually had disposable income, lol. I just went and shopped. Since then I've had to budget better. I make a list and try to stick to it pretty closely, as well as trying to plan out meals for the week. Now it's more like $60-$80 a week. I buy more generic/store brand items, and less junk.

ETA-this does not usually include toiletries and household items like TP, diapers, papertowel, cleaners, etc. I usually have to make a trip once every 4-6 weeks for that kind of stuff, at about $50-100 a trip. I try to buy that stuff in bulk at Sam's.

Bonidiebabe · January 2012

I honestly have no clue. Embarrassed

I just buy groceries when we need them. This is one area we really need to improve in cuz we throw away ALOT of stuff.

JSweetieXO · January 2012

Depends...about $130 or so a week.

ninjabridemom · January 2012

Pre-layoff we were spending between $60 and 80 a week, and going pretty religiously every week. This was at TJ's or Stop n Shop.

Now we shop somewhere cheaper and are going to try to keep it to $50.

I do wish the grocery stores here were closer together, b/c I think the BEST thing to do would be to shop at the cheap place for anything packaged, poultry, etc., and then go to TJs or Whole Foods for produce, fish, and meat. But to do that would either take 2-3 hours (shopping+transport time) or we'd be at the grocery store twice a week.

TheOriginalSP · January 2012

For us as a family of 4 I try to get our groceries for $100/week or under. I shop sales and buy the stuff that we use a lot of (eggs, milk, bread, fruit) in bulk at Costco. We go through 4 gallons of milk in our family a week and that's about $10 in just milk right there.

BigAppleBiggerBelly · January 2012

I pick up items as I need them rather than do a full grocery run because I can't carry that much home (no car). Our groceries are crazy expensive. At the "cheap" store last night, I spent $32 for 1 lb of store brand ground beef, 1 four-pack of dinner rolls, 4 potatoes, 1 bell pepper, 1 can of store brand tomato paste, and 50' of store brand foil. It honestly is cheaper for us to eat out or get delivery than cook.

Daniellemf1228 · January 2012

Ok...Good I thought I wasnt completely out of control. Some weeks I spend closer to $100 while other weeks I only spend about $40-50. It depends on what is on sale and what meals I have planned for the week. This week though I really wanted to make a huge fruit salad. I bought pretty much only fruit and a few other things we needed and it came to $60. We buy ALOT of produce and it kills me how that is usually the most expensive on my list.

TKx2 · January 2012

We shop every 2 weeks and spend $200-250 each time. That includes toiletries, pull-ups/wipes, cleaning supplies, etc.

TheOriginalSP · January 2012

Daniellemf1228:
Ok...Good I thought I wasnt completely out of control. Some weeks I spend closer to $100 while other weeks I only spend about $40-50. It depends on what is on sale and what meals I have planned for the week. This week though I really wanted to make a huge fruit salad. I bought pretty much only fruit and a few other things we needed and it came to $60. We buy ALOT of produce and it kills me how that is usually the most expensive on my list.

I almost always buy my fruit exclusivly at Costco. It's so much cheaper there for so much more. We go through fresh fruit like crazy and if I bought it all at the grocery store, I would never be able to afford it. Same with some veggies.

JFH2010 · January 2012

That's one area where I'm definitely not thrifty. I hate going to multiple stores, and I buy all organic, so we really only shop at Whole Foods. I also love to cook and I don't like substituting ingredients, so I have a lot of weird expensive spices that I used once and are now sitting on my spice rack. We spend about $450/month, which includes all cleaning stuff as well as some toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste, etc) and pet food.

onetxjewel · January 2012

We spend about 70 a week but we also eat out 3-4 times a week for dinner. I budget $340 for two weeks for groceries and eating out.

Laouli · January 2012

Is it bad that I couldnt even calculate this? DH and I eat out soo much.. and I have lots of toiletries and cleaning products that are auto shipped through amazon every couple of months so I wouldnt even know how to acocunt for those...

westrose · January 2012

ABout $80 a week, but a coupon and buy things on sale too. I have a big stock full of things we use a lot because I buy them when on sale.

katieh1017 · January 2012

I budget $125 per week for groceries. It's usually that or a little less but it ends up evening out if we eat out once or so.

ETA: This includes all the paper products. I rarely make different trips to discount stores like Wal-Mart or Target.

WildcatPrincess · January 2012

Just groceries when it was DH and I, probably $300 a month. We were on a $100 one week, $50 touch up the next week pattern. Now it's more like $150/$100 with the organic/natural foods stuff I buy with DD in the house. Dinners I have down to a science, I feel like we probably overspend on snack foods and convenience lunches.

tarat3232 · January 2012

We just budgeted it down to about 50-70 dollars a week. I try to make a crockpot meal that will last several dinners and lunches (this works especially well for shredded meat--beef, pork, or chicken because you can make tacos, sandwiches, etc. and still eat veggies, fruits, and a carb without feeling like you are eating the same darn thing every day.) We buy tp and other paper products, coffee, cereal, laundry detergent, and shower products at Sams. I go there once every few months and try to spend under $120.

Oh, and I buy ego waffles from Sams. 60 pack for 8 bucks. Breakfast and snack for a month. Sort of.

schmood · January 2012

I'd say it averages out to about $100/week. I make my list then check to see which store has more of what I need on sale and go there. We have 2 large grocery chains, Super Target and Aldi. I do get some stuff at Sam's as well - but usually only go there about 1x/month. Don't know that I save that much when I stop multiple places to get what's on sale. I also do a lot of coupons and buy generic whenever I can. DH eats a lot, so that was a bit of a shock to me when we got married. I could get by on a lot less food when it was just me but I still haven't adjusted to just how much he can put away in a meal!

laurack · January 2012

A lot. Could spend a lot less I'm sure, but I like to buy natural meats and a lot of fresh produce. Also hubby eats a lot, he'd happily eat a pound of meat at dinner.

I would say probably $100 - $150/wk.

Keep in mind location has a lot to do with it too... in Boston, groceries are just expensive.

If one of us lost our jobs and we had to budget I could probably cut this in half just by buying cheaper meat, less fresh produce and less of the stuff like greek yogurts. A bit more planning/effort on my part would definitely cut the bill down, but we both work full time and commute, so to me right now my time is worth more than saving a few $ by shopping around at different places.

ninjabridemom · January 2012

laurack:
we both work full time and commute, so to me right now my time is worth more than saving a few $ by shopping around at different places.

I'm in Boston, too, and have noticed food prices creeping up, no matter where you go. We're still able to keep it around $50 at the cheap place and under $80 no matter where we go, though, and we eat a lot of produce, dairy, and meat (not a lot of packaged stuff).

I totally agree with the above. Maybe when the babies start eating food I'll be more willing to go to different places but for now, it's good for us.

DinabethL · January 2012

I spend about $50 a week, we have an Aldis here, and everything is really cheap. I stock up so I don't have to buy everything every week. Sometimes, if we are having a rough month, I can spend even less and get by because I have meat and pasta stocked up.

funkymonkeyohyeahhh · January 2012

I shop weekly and spend no more than $65/week. This includes dog/cat food, litter, and some household items (I make most of our cleaning products and we don't use paper products, but there are still some things we buy like dishwasher detergent). I make all of our breakfasts, lunches and dinners, except one night a week we'll eat out.

Patella1129 · January 2012

We budget $450 per month. This includes food, toiletries, toilet paper, paper towels and my prenatal vitamins. I do a bigger shopping trip every Saturday and if I come in under $100 I feel okay about it. There are always times when we run out of milk or bread or something mid-week and I have to run out an extra time. I'm trying to cut back and make it $400 a month, but I haven't been using a lot of the strategies I know of consistently enough to make a difference.

This week was awesome! I spent just $66 this week and that included a $12 pack of beer (DH was with me during this trip--a rare occasion!) and big pack of paper towels. I got a bunch of chicken on sale last week, so the only meat I had to buy this week was 2 lbs. of ground beef. That helped a lot!

Our budget for groceries has significantly increased in the last few years. Before DS (and before he was on solids), I kept it to $350 per month. After DS started solids, I had to increase to $400 per month which was really surprising to me at first. We are now up even more. I don't know if it's because things are getting more expensive or I just need to do more to cut back.

Tambcat · January 2012

$200, and we eat mostly take out on the weekends. It is ridiculous. We do buy mostly organic.

Christina_Diane · January 2012

We budget $600 a month for food. If we don't spend the entire $600, it goes into savings. That includes eating out once a week. I use coupons, meal plan, and shop sales, but we don't eat casseroles at all and we don't eat left overs for dinner...just for my lunches.

Tambcat · January 2012

You thought $50-100 was out of control? Oh man. I spent more than that when I was single and not buying organic stuff. I suck at budget shopping.

eta: I also suck at reading, because I just saw you said you thought it wasn't out of control. But anyway, yeah, not out of control for 2 people at all, imo.

Tambcat · January 2012

Okay, well apparently edits aren't working, but I wanted to add that our $200 almost always includes some kind of toiletry or other household item or dog food.

Steffie17 · January 2012

We have a mint.com budget set up for $500 a month for groceries. This includes going to Costco and stocking up, and we do that most months. This past month, we went over, but that's ok. Most weeks I don't spend more than $70-80. I think last year we were under budget overall. I shop sales, use coupons, and menu plan around them and what we have in the freezer. We also buy lots of produce, which is usually half of our spending each week. I do make bigger meals for just the two of us so that way it gives us at least lunch for the next day and dinner the following night.

lauranicole91 · January 2012

Wow, you ladies make me feel so frugal and cheap! DH and I usually only grocery shop about once every two weeks and only spent about 80 dollars. And we shop Target, so that includes pet essentials(dog and cat food, and litter) and toiletries and such.

Tambcat · January 2012

lauranicole91:
Wow, you ladies make me feel so frugal and cheap! DH and I usually only grocery shop about once every two weeks and only spent about 80 dollars. And we shop Target, so that includes pet essentials(dog and cat food, and litter) and toiletries and such.

What do you eat??

Does that include all meals, or just dinners?

lauranicole91 · January 2012

Tambcat:
lauranicole91:
Wow, you ladies make me feel so frugal and cheap! DH and I usually only grocery shop about once every two weeks and only spent about 80 dollars. And we shop Target, so that includes pet essentials(dog and cat food, and litter) and toiletries and such.
What do you eat??
Does that include all meals, or just dinners?

Haha, yes all meals. Not healthy stuff...mostly frozen dinners, ravioli cans, mac & cheese, and other boring stuff. We always make sure we have frozen veggies and fresh fruits though. DH and I both work retail with very sporadic schedules so everything we buy feeds 1 and we just take that to work or eat it at home. We hardly ever eat dinner together(due to opposing work schedules) and DH doesn't really eat breakfast. So I guess all things combined we some how pull off cheap grocery bills.

Oh also since we both work for Target we get 10% employee discount plus 5% savings with the Target RedCard and we do some minor couponing.

kkfeb04 · January 2012

I know you said just for two....we spend about $250 a month for our family of three, I get gift cards through my employer for a $10 discount, so technically spend $225.

This also included my low-carb foods (GD) which are more expensive than regular foods. We get our paper products and DS's diapers/wipes through BJ's but that cost is typically spread over about 3 months. We don't do many coupons but we have a local card that gives $5 off an order of $75 or more, we use reusable bags which typically gets another $1 or $2 off and we shop the sales when we can (unless the products I need for GD are not on sale I still get them). DS eats what we eat so no extra cost for him. Our store also has a spend $500 in a two month period get 10% off next order, so we do that and I use the pharmacy which gives a $10 off coupon when filling 10 scripts and since I'm on GD medicine, use lancets and test strips we typically get that coupon monthly. Our store is also a family owned store so they have things cheaper than the chains (and it's not a discount store).

MANDALYOUNG1 · January 2012

We spend around 400 a month, but that includes all toiletries, household supplies, and dog food/treats.

Johlise · January 2012

I go once a month for my "big" grocery shopping and pick up little things locally after that. Usually we budget $200-250 for groceries in a month and are pretty good at sticking with it.

jeffsjayme · January 2012

$300/month

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