Grocery bill

perfectlove09 · July 2014

Working on setting up a budget. And I'm curious...
1) how much do you spend per month on groceries.
2) what state do you live in
3) do you buy mostly pre-packaged foods, organic, much produce? (No judging! Lol it would be relevant to the amount you spend)
4) do you meal plan
Edit to add...
5) what is your family size?

thanks!

LaxMOM44 · July 2014

Not sure if I will be much help but here goes.

We spend about $400, live in Canada and rarely by packaged stuff.

My husband is a chef so he often eats at work but I always cook him a portion and if he doesn't eat it I'll take it to work the next day. I have a 14 months old daughter who eats mostly fruit and cheese so most of our money goes to her insatiable appetite for bananas and berries. Not joking half my grocery bill is fruit,

HTH

chicorojo · July 2014

We spend about 150, but thats because we raise our own meat/and hunt, and have chicken for eggs. We have a big garden and I can veggies. I also make most things from scratch. I do buy milk and cheese, easy snacks for my boys, some fruit and stuff like hamburger buns and noodles. I meal plan. We are a family of four.

Eta: I'm in NM

mc0113 · July 2014

1. $100/week so $400/month
2. Pennsylvania in a major city suburb
3. We buy mostly meats, eggs and fresh produce. Sometimes canned tuna and soups with other random things. Always organic dairy (milk, cheese yogurt)
4. Sometimes yes sometimes no. We're a meat and veggie family so I buy whatever I'm feeling like at the time.
5. Just me and my husband.

ebilbao · July 2014

We live in Delaware and spend around $600-$700 a month on groceries. We buy as much organic as we can, and very little packaged food. We buy lots of fresh meat, fish, veggies and dairy. I do not meal plan, but that is probably a good idea!

LaxMOM44 · July 2014

chicorojo said:
We spend about 150, but thats because we raise are own meat/and hunt, and have chicken for eggs. We have a big garden and I can veggies. I also make most things from scratch. I do buy milk and cheese, easy snacks for my boys, some fruit and stuff like hamburger buns and noodles. I meal plan. We are a family of four.

You are amazing to me!

feeshah · July 2014

Roughly about $400 a month. Shop once every two weeks at Ralphs. Family of three with one on the way

. We live in California. We buy lots of fruits, some veggies, some pre-packaged food (frozen lasagna has been a life saver and we love tuna helper) but we also grab chicken and steaks. Sometimes the organic produce is cheaper and we will go with that instead. We have been eating out a lot lately though. If we do plan our meals it is usually the day before.

love2travel2014 · July 2014

We live in Arkansas and spend about $600. a month for my H & I. I will buy as much organic & local as possible and we are now back to clean eating after a horrible 1st trimester. The only prepackaged food I buy is dairy, pasta & breads. We eat tons of fruits & vegetable so that takes up a lot of the grocery money. I do meal plan 4 nights a week and we do left over & sandwiches on the weekends or eat out.

rshamos · July 2014

Small town in Arizona. We spend around $450 a month. Just MH and me. We buy mostly fruits and veggies, some organic, and meat/dairy. Lots of yogurt in my house. We are getting back to eating at home. First tri I was too tired to cook and too nauseous to ear so MH are out a lot. It's not fun breaking that habit right now! We don't meal plan and only get organic if it looks good and isn't outrageously priced. It's hard to get anything local and fresh where I live. We are actually going to Phoenix tomorrow to go to Ikea, Costco, and Trader Joes. I miss the city!

allonsyalonso · July 2014

perfectlove09 said:
Working on setting up a budget. And I'm curious...
1) how much do you spend per month on groceries.
2) what state do you live in
3) do you buy mostly pre-packaged foods, organic, much produce? (No judging! Lol it would be relevant to the amount you spend)
4) do you meal plan
Edit to add...
5) what is your family size?
thanks!

1) $300-400
2) Massachusetts
3) A mix of everything. I've just been told to go dairy free by mydoctor so a lot of my stuff is organic, but I don't seek it out. Lots of fresh fruit for DS, some pre-packaged stuff. It depends on the week.
4) I haven't since getting pregnant, but I highly recommend it. It makes everything easier, plus you can plan to use some ingredients for several meals and minimize waste. Definitely meal plan if you're trying to budget and also look into making freezer meals. There are some great sites about feeding your family of four for a month on $X. I think it comes up quick in Google.
5) 3 going on 4, plus 2 cats.

perfectlove09 · July 2014

Thanks for all the responses. This is really helpful.
@chicorojo‌ ... Wow. That is really amazing. It would be incredible to be able to live like that and know the source of all your food as well and the treatment of the animals. Definitely not something I can do (live in a small condo in the city) but would love to be able to.

It's interesting to see how much people spend. I'm trying to get on track with grocery shopping 1 time per week. Period. It feels like we have to stop at the store several times a week and not only is it time consuming (something I don't have excess of) it's expensive (something else I don't have excess of) I think if I can find simple healthy meals for lunch and dinner and plan those out for the week it would save me money and time. And hopefully DH would stop grabbing fast food so damn much.

LaxMOM44 · July 2014

Try making homemade versions of fast food. It helped stop H's fast food runs.

allonsyalonso · July 2014

@perfectlove09‌ I found Pinterest very helpful. It let me find new meals and made it easier to plan. Plus I made a separate board for things I'd made so I can always check back there and see what was a hit and what wasn't.

perfectlove09 · July 2014

allonsyalonso said:
@perfectlove09‌ I found Pinterest very helpful. It let me find new meals and made it easier to plan. Plus I made a separate board for things I'd made so I can always check back there and see what was a hit and what wasn't.

I need to do this. I need healthy, easy and quick meals lol. Not too much to ask for right?

CandEChicago · July 2014

Approximately $400/month. We planned menus for several years so it has become second nature for us. We started a binder of recipes we wanted to try, would rank them (A, B, C, D), and add notes of how to improve the dish.

We made it fun by doing a new dish each week (Sunday worked best for us). I typically stick to the outer section of the grocery store and limit the amount of packaged items to select staple things (cereal, GF bread & pasta, protein bars, canned beans, etc).

We also try to do a vegetarian dish once a week. DH is on more of an organic kick since my BFP, particularly when it comes to meat.

racheldiaries · July 2014

$600-700 per month, we live in Connecticut, and it's just my husband and I. We buy a lot of processed, prepackaged foods due to the amount of hours he works. He buys quite a bit of protein bars, convenience meals, ect. It would be more expensive and a pain for me to try and cook him several meals at a time to take with him when he works 100 hours a week.

byrne15 · July 2014

1) how much do you spend per month on groceries. about $400
2) what state do you live in: NY
3) do you buy mostly pre-packaged foods, organic, much produce? (No judging! Lol it would be relevant to the amount you spend) a mix of everything really. I tend to buy produce that is more in season/local cause it is less expensive
4) do you meal plan : I was really good about meal planning for a few months (it was my resolution), but I haven't done it for the past few months
5) what is your family size? 2 children, 2 adults

weezy29 · July 2014

I live in DFW Texas and it spend $600-$700 per month for my family of four.

We don't eat much red meat but I stock up on the ground turkey and chicken breasts. Our meals usually consist of a lean meat with green veggie and a carb(potatoes, quinoa, ect.) I also stock up on lots of fresh fruit, veggies and yogurt for snacking. I do buy some prepackaged foods like crackers, graham crackers and cereal for my kids but it's not the biggest part of my grocery bill.

As for a Organic I buy some but it's not a must for me, except milk and eggs but that's because I think they taste better.

nopegoat · July 2014

1.We spend $400-600 a month for groceries.
2.Texas
3.We buy bulk (from Costco) and we buy mostly organic.
4.Nope. I have tried, but not knowing H's schedule or when he will be OOT makes it hard for me.
5.4 right now, will be 5 in December.

vintagejjane · July 2014

We live in North Texas. I'm a good snob and only really shop at Sprouts and Trader Joe's, but I only spend about $60-$80 a week on groceries for the three of us. I meal plan everything down to snacks. That allows me to be able to buy my natural/organic products. I make our own breads and a lot of other foods. We rarely eat out.

OhBaby+2013 · July 2014

$100 a week, Canada, mostly fruit, meat and veggies. Not a tonne of packaged food but definitely buy one for onvenience. We grow quite a few veggies in our yard so that helps in the summer. We don't buy organic as its not regulated, but I buy loa. As often as possible. Farmers markets are my favourite. We price match with all of the flyers so that's sort of how we menu plan t we don't do it formally. We are 2 adults, 1 toddler and 1 on the way. Our grocery bill has not increased since having DS. We simply shop smarter now.

JunkieBrewster · July 2014

Family size is 3 but I cook for 5 because my guys eat a lot and husband takes leftovers to work.

We live in Atlanta.

We spent about $150/week.

Thats no junk food or convenience food. No grains, so mostly dairy, produce (lots and lots of produce) and meat. We eat a lot of quinoa but not really any pasta or bread.

We arent too picky about meat but tend to eat a lot of chicken, turkey, fish and shrimp.

We don't buy soda, juice etc. No pre-packaged foods like rice a roni or mac and cheese.

This includes 50lbs of grain free dog food a month, and household cleaners.

Wulfgar · July 2014

1) Roughly $520 a month with at least once a quarter more when I go to a local meat market for a meat run or go to the warehouse club for other items such as paper goods and laundry soap.
2) I live in Ohio
3) I make sure that we have some frozen main dishes for the days that we don't want to do from scratch. I do frozen veggies along with usually a pasta to round out the meal. We have been doing better at keeping fresh fruit around and I try to take salads to work for lunches.
4) We usually don't meal plan mainly because we don't know day to day who will be cooking because our our working situations.
5) There is 2 adults and 1 toddler.

ZAP12 · July 2014

I live in Wisconsin. We budget $300 for groceries. Peas, corn, and green beans I buy frozen and everything else is fresh. We meal plan Monday-Saturday dinners with enough for me to take some for lunch at work the next day. Sunday is leftovers or out to eat. We are a family of 3.

jpagano113 · July 2014

I live in Montreal, Quebec Canada and for me & my hubby we spend about 500 a month. We buy a mix of organic and non organic produce and we rarely buy canned, frozen or pre-packaged food

Marialfc · July 2014

My husband and I usually go food shopping every three months or so. Having said that, when we go shopping we spend around $600 but we buy everything we might need.
We live in New Jersey and have a 5 year old.
My husband is a chef so he cooks for us pretty much every day. So we do go through food. But we buy lots of meat and chicken that can be frozen in portions as well as a lot of canned things, beans, pasta sauce, etc. then we spend another $200 between those three months in prouduce. He goes to the farmers market and gets as much produce as he can.

ashleykadlec · July 2014

1. I budget $450 just for groceries and that works well, we also budget $100 for restraunts for date nights and what not but if we don't spend it, it'll add to the grocery budget or get recycled for next month. (Use Dave Ramsey cash budgeting)
2. We live in Colorado
3. I do two grocery trips a week, one to Sprouta to get local organic fruits veggies and dairy and the other to our local grocery to get other items for the week.
4. YES our budget goes out the window if I don't meal plan. I plan for at least 5 meals, account for leftovers one night and we'll go out or something the other night. Pinterest helps a LOT, but I'm also a chef.
5. My husband and I and our 2 yr old DD

JunkieBrewster · July 2014

lol

)

^Apparently I was hacked by my kid.

sugarstar1784 · July 2014

1) how much do you spend per month on groceries.

Anywhere from $300-500
2) what state do you live in

Michigan
3) do you buy mostly pre-packaged foods, organic, much produce?

When we spend $500: we buy organic, mix of fresh and packaged. When we spend $300: it's all non-organic, mostly packaged. The total doesn't seem to change too much with produce amounts, only with organic.

4) do you meal plan

We have done it for probably a month total in 2 years. It is hard being pregnant not knowing what sounds good from one minute to the next. I'm sure it'd make life easier, but it's just not for us right now.

5) what is your family size?

2 Adults, 2 cats, 1 fetus

[Deleted User] · July 2014

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Marialfc · July 2014

bvsbabymomma said:

Marialfc said:
My husband and I usually go food shopping every three months or so. Having said that, when we go shopping we spend around $600 but we buy everything we might need.
We live in New Jersey and have a 5 year old.
My husband is a chef so he cooks for us pretty much every day. So we do go through food. But we buy lots of meat and chicken that can be frozen in portions as well as a lot of canned things, beans, pasta sauce, etc. then we spend another $200 between those three months in prouduce. He goes to the farmers market and gets as much produce as he can.
You only grocery shop every 3 months? Wow! That sounds like a skill that I'm not sure I could master. We go once a week, lol.

Hahahaha! I hear you but we really pull it off. I don't use any coupons or anything cause "ain't nobody got time for that" but we do plan it when there's a can sale or something like that.

We literally leave the store with 3 carts worth of food though but it lasts us a long time. My husband might have to go once every two weeks or so to get fresh veggies or stuff like that when we run out but meats and chicken lasts us a while.

mlee116 · July 2014

perfectlove09 said:

Working on setting up a budget. And I'm curious...
1) how much do you spend per month on groceries. We budget $75/wk (or $300) for groceries, not including non-food or eating out. We do pretty well with that #, except I need to be better about bringing lunch instead of eating out so often. We also have a huge garden every year so we freeze a lot of stuff and DH hunts, so that definitely helps!
2) what state do you live in Georgia
3) do you buy mostly pre-packaged foods, organic, much produce? (No judging! Lol it would be relevant to the amount you spend) Not many prepackaged foods. We buy a lot of staples, like raw meat, dairy and produce.
4) do you meal plan Edit to add... Yes and I think this is the only way I can stick to my budget. We also try to have "clean the pantry" meals regularly to use up any stuff we've had for awhile or we've used up our meal plans for that week. You'd be surprised what you can make a meal out of!
5) what is your family size? thanks! 3, going on 4

abcmom12 · July 2014

1) how much do you spend per month on groceries.
keep track of this and we ave. around $325 a month, but I'd run us closer to $350 but less than $400 for sure
2) what state do you live in
Alabama
3) do you buy mostly pre-packaged foods, organic, much produce?
mixture. I try to get the dirty 12 organic, but a lot of produce, not much meat other than chicken, and what pre-packaged is usually frozen veggies, sides, and such, plus pasta
4) do you meal plan
we're starting that back up again because I'm stick of being asked, "what's for dinner?" by DH every night. my brain is too fried to take into account what he's eating/not ontop of what DD eats
5) what is your family size?
2 adults, 1 toddler (2.4yrs)

StopTheRWord · July 2014

1) how much do you spend per month on groceries.

I budget $400 a month, I split that into $200 for fruits and veggies and the rest is meat and other necessities like oil, eggs, etc.

2) what state do you live in

Florida

3) do you buy mostly pre-packaged foods, organic, much produce?

We follow the Paleo lifestyle (although I have been much more flexible with this since getting pregnant) so we only buy fruits, veggies, and meat along with essentials like oils, eggs, etc. We only buy organic, free range etc. I belong to a farm co-op so I get my fruits and veggies from there. We get our meat in bulk from a local farm and also get our eggs from there. I garden a bit (as much as I can with a small yard) to offset the cost of the amount of produce we eat. By eating local and canning / freezing I am able to eat the best I can without going over budget. If I were to try to buy the same amount of stuff at Whole Foods I would go way over budget.

4) do you meal plan

I meal plan once a week when I find out what produce I will get with my co-op and then I cook and freeze a lot of meals so that I can save time after work on the weekdays. Eating clean means it takes a lot more time for me to prep so I like to do it on Sunday so I won't be chopping and peeling veggies on busy worknights.

5) what is your family size?
Just me and the husband

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