NBR: Grocery Budget

sugarellie · January 2014

Hi Ladies,

FI and I are trying to make it possible for me to stay at home .. Groceries is an area I know we can cut back . I mean I do shop the sales most weeks, but I don't coupon or anything . We eat well, buy mostly fresh produce , and eat steak and good cuts of meat a lot .. So I know we can cut corners on all of that. Maybe start going to costco for meat.. What do you all budget monthly for groceries ? We are a family of four (really 3 people that eat and a baby ) and we spend $200-250 a week on groceries, which is just so so much.. What do you guys spend ?

kelizr · January 2014

For 2 eaters and baby fed on formula our bill is bttw 175-250 for 2 weeks. The higher end are the biweeks that I buy bulk meat in order to prep ahead and freeze. I plan all my meals ahead and shop accordingly. The only extras are things we need to pack lunches and the general household items. I have done Warehouse stores in the past, but are not doing that currently. You can also save a lot on produce and even meats at the farmers market. In the summer especially we often do that rather than buying those things at the store.

smilingeyes2308 · January 2014

We spend $100 max a week, usually $80 and that's for my DH and I. I used to have a strict budget of $50 a week but we were sacrificing our health. We eat mainly chicken breast, cuts of pork and some beef and then dairy and produce. I used to coupon but it's actually kind of pointless since coupons are mainly for processed foods (at least in canada). Groceries are actually something I no longer cut corner on since it's for our health. I cut corners elsewhere...we don't have cable, just netflix. We try to walk everywhere instead of using the car, etc.

AppleMuffins · January 2014

I try to keep it around $80-100 per week, but MIL cooks two nights a week. Right now i am just feeding me and dh. We usually don't do steaks or anything "fancy." I do try a meatless night each week, and we usually have a spaghetti night because it's easy, affordable, and we love spaghetti. I do try to plan based on what is on sale. I buy my produce from a smaller market that is higher quality and cheaper (mostly. Some things are comparable in price). We don't usually have coupons. I know I could save more money if we didn't get so much junk food though. I bet we could keep it closer to $60 if I bought only what's on the list.

sugarellie · January 2014

smilingeyes2308 said:
We spend $100 max a week, usually $80 and that's for my DH and I. I used to have a strict budget of $50 a week but we were sacrificing our health. We eat mainly chicken breast, cuts of pork and some beef and then dairy and produce. I used to coupon but it's actually kind of pointless since coupons are mainly for processed foods (at least in canada). Groceries are actually something I no longer cut corner on since it's for our health. I cut corners elsewhere...we don't have cable, just netflix. We try to walk everywhere instead of using the car, etc.

Yea , FI asked some of his friends and one person told us the spend $250-$300 a MONTH and that's for two adults and two kids . I was like .. What do they eat??? I mean yea I could have a budget that low.. But it wouldn't be healthy .

DaisyZH · January 2014

With two adults, a two-year old and an infant we budget $120 per week. This does not include toiletries/paper products for which we have $100 monthly budgeted. I really only coupon for the toiletries/paper products and I just clip what comes in our local circular. We shop at Wal-Mart, mostly buy store brands and we only eat meat once a week. We only eat meat once a week because we don't really care for it, we prefer vegetarian dishes. When we cook dinner it's usually enough for two nights, so technically we eat a good amount of leftovers. We also make a detailed list of breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinners and try not to add anything to the cart that's not on the list. We each get one "sweet" for the week, like this week I chose pretzel m & ms. I divvy them up for the week which helps for eating healthier as well. I should mention my mom thinks we're crazy, they always have a variety of snack/junk foods but if we did I know I'd eat all of it. We also mostly get apples and bananas for fruit plus whatever's in season to keep produce cost down. Hope any of this helps!

Shanmarie1083 · January 2014

I budget $150 week on groceries for 2 adults and a 5 year old. I have to pack lunches for both DH and DS and I cook at least 5 nights per week. We eat mostly organic so that drives up the cost as well. I shop at Wegmans and Trader Joes for my regular grocery and go to Costco once every 45 days or do, and I spend about $250 there.

VitaLuna · January 2014

Yes, you can definitely cut down a (gasp) $1,000 a month grocery budget. We don't set a budget really anymore, but it used to be $300/mo for the 2 of us with very little processed food.

The biggest budget stretchers for us are meal planning and reducing the amount of meat. For example, when a chili recipe calls for 1lb beef, I reduce it to 3/4lb. And instead of making meat the main dish (a grilled chicken breast, for example), I make it into something else that will stretch it further, like a chicken broccoli and rice casserole. If you want to keep your steak night once a week, then have a no meat dinner once a week, too. If you have a rotisserie chicken one night, then make chicken noodle soup with the carcass the next night. There are tons if ways to eat healthy on a budget, without your life revolving around tracking sales and coupons (which I did when we only had ~$125/mo for the two of us when I was in college).

jackdaniels13 · January 2014

Ugh I'm trying my best to budget with new daycare cost but having a hard time. For my DH & I it's around 500 a month. I am now trying to meal plan & stick to my list while shopping. Will be following

Great post!

olga1311 · January 2014

We spend about 100-140 a week for 2 adults

sugarellie · January 2014

Shanmarie1083 said:
I budget $150 week on groceries for 2 adults and a 5 year old. I have to pack lunches for both DH and DS and I cook at least 5 nights per week. We eat mostly organic so that drives up the cost as well. I shop at Wegmans and Trader Joes for my regular grocery and go to Costco once every 45 days or do, and I spend about $250 there.

Thats a goal for me .. $150 a week would be good for us I think .. Maybe cutting $400 a month from food .

sugarellie · January 2014

Thank you for all the ideas !! I will def be looking for local produce, getting a costco card and trying to not have a meal with lots of meat .. Every meal

kennazebrowsky · January 2014

We also spend almost 250 a week. FWIW I buy more than I probably need to. I could probably skip going for us at least for a month and still be able to eat. I just stock up on food when there's a good sale

OliveMom3 · January 2014

We budget between $80-120 per week, which mostly ends up being produce, though some dairy and bread. Dh and I are huge veggy and fruit eaters so it's pricey. We generally make our own wine and beer but while pregnant we didn't so now we add on some beer or wine which is included in that price range. We rarely go out to eat, maybe twice a month so that budget includes all our meals. We go to costco about once every 3 months and drop about $400-500 for stuff in bulk, paper products, cleaning products, meat, oil, coffee etc...

imakeeff0rts · January 2014

It depends. We make freezer meals for the month which can run about $300, and we go once a week or so for produce. All in all, I'd say about $500 a month.

jjkaye · January 2014

Shanmarie1083 said:
I budget $150 week on groceries for 2 adults and a 5 year old. I have to pack lunches for both DH and DS and I cook at least 5 nights per week. We eat mostly organic so that drives up the cost as well. I shop at Wegmans and Trader Joes for my regular grocery and go to Costco once every 45 days or do, and I spend about $250 there.

Wegmans is the best! Love going there when we visit my H's grandparents!

We spend about $125/week and most of that comes from Peapod delivery.

emorda · January 2014

It all depends on the week at my house. It's just me, dh and lo (who is bf) but dh is gone from 2-5 days a week working 24 hour shifts. Dh doesn't eat dinner at home, he pays for meals at his fire station. If I am home alone I go out and buy groceries at about $100 a week, if that. I would also add we go to Costco every couple of weeks for food such as meats/poultry, cheese, frozen items, water/Propel/soda and snacks so my weekly shopping is fruits/veggies/deli meat mainly.

sgautschi · January 2014

We spend $300-350 a month, we split that into two shopping trips. That's for two adults and DD, but she's EBF.

That usually covers us for a meat each night (whether it's steak or hamburger), and it covers DHs lunches throughout the week.

I usually shop at winco for everything but meat, and I go to a local grocery store for that.

llybeck · January 2014

I'm not sure if you have these where you are but if there is an Aldi near you, I highly suggest it. They have much cheaper off brand foods which are really hit or miss on taste (like crackers or frozen foods) but I go for the produce. It is crazy cheap and I just asked the stockers when the truck gets in and I go on that day. That saves a ton.

And like PP said, trying to meal plan ahead of time helps so much. If I can go to a bigger store and get everything I need for the week versus making trips to our little local store I save much more. I do still shop at our local store just to support local business but it is much more expensive.

LBib · January 2014

I think we spend about $50/week on milk and $60 on everything else. I need to buy a cow. 3:-O

Kristonita12 · January 2014

We spend about $150/week, including formula and cat food/litter. Sometimes it's more, like when we're running low on cleaning supplies and paper products so we have to go to Costco.

Tally879 · January 2014

We spend about $75 for H and I. LO is EBF. We could be better. Couponing is good, but may not be as cost saving for you since you buy most things fresh, but you can save on paper goods.

michelle7482 · January 2014

About $100/ wk

cputman200 · January 2014

Sorry to be late to the party, but I wanted to add you can coupon and still eat healthy. Most everything goes on sale every 6-8 weeks. When your favorites go on sale buy enough to last you until the next sale cycle instead of buying when you run out.

For example, this week our favorite granola, cascadian, was on sale 2 for $5 at Publix. There was a coupon in the paper and Publix had a store coupon. So I got each box for $1.25. Not bad for organic granola that we eat daily on top of yogurt.

And like pp have said just buying from the sale paper without any couponing will save you money.

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