Grocery Money - Food Only

[Katsmeow]

I don't know why people on food stamps can't do the same. I just don't get it. Honestly, many people of my mom's generation ate a lot of beans and cornbread and were very healthy. They spent their own money for that and that's all they could afford.

This article I think gives some insight into the different food habits of people at different places in the economic scale.

It is a very long article (which I coincidentally read yesterday) but it gives some insight into these things:

How Junk Food Can End Obesity - David H. Freedman - The Atlantic

 

[martyp]

$600-$800/month for 2. However, I'm a foodie. Seasonal/local/organic/grass fed meat . . . and all that. The only cutbacks when I ER'd was wine purchases and very expensive restaurants. I cook from scratch a lot and we go out a couple of times a month. If I was interested in doing it differently then I have no doubts I could cut back a couple of hundred dollars and eat well enough and stay healthy.

It sounds like you are mostly interested in why food stamp recipients shop the way they do and can't make ends meet. Lot's of studies but no one has figured out how to fix that one.

 

[rodi]

We spend about $950/month - mostly at costco, but some Sprouts, Vons, and the local farmers market tossed in. This includes sundries and impulse items at costco. It also includes beer/wine/booze from Costco.

We're a family of 4, 2 being pre-teen/teen boys who eat AMAZING amounts of food. We also buy organic when possible. But prices on organic have been coming down a lot in the past few years. We cook from scratch mostly - but do buy the take and bake pizza's from costco for the nights that we need a quick solution...

 

[Walt34]

Incidentally, the 'measly' lunch the mayor said he ate was a turkey sandwich, chips, apple and something else I don't recall. That is my typical lunch and that is about what I carried for lunch when I was working.
HMMMM..

I did that for decades, worked out of a car and I still have that little Igloo "Lunchbox" cooler - $15 then and it saved me thousands - had a sandwich, fruit, and a bottle of tap water. Later when microwaves became common I'd also make rice and a portion of grilled chicken chopped or shredded in it.

We budget $800/month for "groceries" now which includes a lot of non-food items but admittedly there is a lot of discretionary spending there. The main staple is a big salad that I mix up in one of those giant Tupperware bowls and usually some grilled chicken and a bit of shredded cheese. We make something with hamburger or steaks maybe two/three times a year. Nothing with wheat, oats, or barley because of my gluten intolerance.

I don't drive all over town looking for the absolute cheapest items because I have to wonder if the fuel costs outweigh the savings. And grocery shopping is not on my list of "fun things to do".

Restaurants maybe once a month and then someplace inexpensive. Once or twice a year someplace very nice and correspondingly expensive.

 

[Dawg52]

And I thought I was eating oatmeal because it was cheap

For me oatmeal, some raisins, maybe some banana slices and little honey is less than $10/month. I don't use milk, maybe that's where difference is.

I'm not much on oatmeal except during the winter. But when I do I use blueberries. I have a freezer full given to me from a neighbor who has several bb bushes. Sometimes I will just eat a small cup of bb with low fat whip cream and some fiber one sprinkled on top. A nice desert and not bad for breakfast.

I spend maybe $175/mo for groceries. I eat out a lot though.

 

[Independent]

Thanks for the stats. So I guess our approx. $5 per day per person is close to the average. .57 x 9.09 = $5.18.
Since we retired we typically spend about $20 on eating out a week. When we were working we ate out more and used the cafeteria and vending machines some. I know we're saving a few thousand dollars a year now and the food is better grade.

If I did the math, I'd recognize that your "at home" food budget covers all your food for the day, while the $5.18 for the average person probably just pays for 2/3 of their total. So you're thriftier than your calculation suggests.

But, I agree with the general comment. Eating at home is usually cheaper than eating away from home. That can be a big money saver. When I was working, lunch was often soup, fruit, and yogurt at the company cafeteria. It was cheaper than the typical restaurant. No that I'm retired, I often have soup, fruit, and yogurt at home. Even though I buy canned soup, I'm sure that I spend less.

 

[winger]

We have a $600 per month budget for groceries, and $300 for eating out. We track it on Mint, which can show any way payment is made.

For us, groceries is broader than just food. Cleaning supplies, paper products, etc are part of groceries.

We travel different parts of the country during the year(s). Location makes a difference in whether making budget is easy or nearly impossible.

Easy= South Texas
Hard= Northern California

 

[calmloki]

Quicken says $5587 for food and $1129 for dining, or about $560/month for the two of us. That's a bunch of shopping at Costco and much less shopping at Winco/Walmart. Very obvious difference wheeling out of Costco with packages of frozen lasagne @ $12 and other frozen pre-made meals scattered in the bottom of the giant cart adding up to over a hundred bucks vs shopping at Winco and leaving with bags of bread flour and oatmeal and veggies - way more weight and volume - and spending $40. Hard to beat a Costco chicken for ease and cost/meal though - or Costco $1.50 hotdogs or pizza for that matter. $10 or less for a pizza that will serve four foundering quantities. Lotta sundries and wine in the Costco "food" bill as well.

Add us to the oatmeal brigade - bulk old fashioned with fresh blueberries or strawberries or mango or raspberries and a dab of butter (maybe some cinnamon in the boiling water). Man! Mango is cut, need to get the water boiling and get the girl up!

 

[haha]

I eat at home ~90% of the time. Once or twice a week I have a guest, and once or twice a week I am invited to someone else's house. I spend $375/month, which involves lot of conscious cost control. I have brought it down maybe $75 since I first came on this board about 10 years ago.

The concept of millionaires eating on less than poor people has never had much appeal for me.

Ha

 

[Meadbh]

I have spent an average of $327 per month on groceries during the first 10 months of this year. That includes non food items*. My estimate for food alone would be $290, for one person, and includes entertaining. It does not include groceries I bought on vacation, which I classify under Travel. I am cooking at home a lot more than I used to when I was w*rking and my diet is healthier. I am avoiding processed food, eating local and often organic, purchasing direct from farm markets when the opportunity arises, and minimizing waste. For example, orphan vegetables become delicious soup and a basket of too-sour plums became a gourmet plum sauce that was great with meat. I don't add any salt during cooking and now I really notice the excessive salt added in many restaurants.

*If we are looking at excluding non-food items bought at a supermarket, I can see why toothpaste, deodorant and laundry detergent should be excluded, but what about things like tinfoil and ziplok bags? These items are consumables used to support food production and storage so perhaps we should include them. But who's counting? This is not a test!

 

[Rena]

We typically spend about $6oo per month for groceries, non-food items, beer and wine. This is for 2 of us and I'm sure we could cut if we tried. This doesn't include eating out or entertaining.

ETA: After I posted I realized this does contain some over lap for entertaining.

 

[MooreBonds]

The concept of millionaires eating on less than poor people has never had much appeal for me.

Ha

Well, I could afford various organic produce/animal protein. Guess I haven't reached the point of making that choice yet.

As far as conventional food goes, I don't deprive myself by eating substandard items or processed crap - I eat reasonable amounts of food which I cook at home and freeze in individual portions that is delicious, with plenty of flavor and seasonings. Just as I look to minimize my costs with any aspect of my life, I minimize my grocery bill too.

I don't see a need to pay $3.00 for a 16oz box of saltine crackers at Walmart when I can pay just $0.99 at Aldi.

 

[Katsmeow]

I was a little interested in your food stamp question so I looked up some information that I didn't know.

Eligibility

Apparently for SNAP (food stamps) there is a max amount for food stamps that is actually a low but not awful amount. For 2 people it is currently $347 a month. For 4 people it is $632 a month. However, I would guess lots of people don't get those amount. This is because 30% of the person's net income is deducted from the max amount. The example given is that if someone had $1143.50 in net monthly income (which is about $13716 per year) then it is expected they would spend $344 of their own income on food. So a 2 person family with that income would get $3 a month in food stamps or a 4 person family would get $288 in food stamps. My guess is that the idea that a 4 person family with $13716 in income (or a 2 person family) would be spending 30% of that money on food is a fantasy. I would guess that an awful lot of $1143.50 a month would go to other basic expenses such as a place to live, transportation, etc. The only people who would actually get max amount of food stamps are those with no income whatsoever.


I read that the actual average benefit is $133.85 per person per month (actually this number will be slightly lower going forward as the benefit was cut on Nov. 1).

 

[dunkelblau]

Mine is a bit less than 15 bucks per week groceries, and I don't eat out. I don't budget, but I can see it from my ATM withdrawals because I always pay cash for groceries. I don't eat meat or dairy for health reasons, and this knocks it down quite a bit. B12 supplements aren't expensive if you ignore what's on the label and take the RDA instead. I also try to avoid processed and canned food because they usually contain too much salt.

The concept of scaling spending to income doesn't appeal to me. I've met people who believe that doing otherwise is "cheating", but I don't see why. I would agree that maintaining a wide gap between income and expenses allows one to build up savings that eventually can aggravate income inequality, but I see this as a matter of individual choice that is within the bounds of acceptable behavior.

 

[HappyOutsourced]

I eat at home ~90% of the time. Once or twice a week I have a guest, and once or twice a week I am invited to someone else's house. I spend $375/month, which involves lot of conscious cost control. I have brought it down maybe $75 since I first came on this board about 10 years ago.

The concept of millionaires eating on less than poor people has never had much appeal for me.

Ha

Interesting. I just finished reading the Millionaire Next Door book. Apparently thrift is a big part of the success of first generation entrepreneurial type millionaires.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Interesting. I just finished reading the Millionaire Next Door book. Apparently thrift is a big part of the success of first generation entrepreneurial type millionaires.

I love that book. If you haven't read it yet, Thomas Stanley also has a blog with more current writings, though the basic message is the same -

Thomas J. Stanley | Official Blog

 

[WestcoastRN]

We're around $400/month for the 2 of us, including eating out (which has become very rare). The monthly bill could be lower but we buy organic, non-GMO, and support local growers through a co-op. Not included in that total was a quarter-hind grass fed beef from a local farmer as it'll last us over a year as we use meat almost as a condiment anymore. We also have several raised garden beds in the backyard, grew tomatoes, peppers, onions, boysenberries, pumpkins, acorn/butternut squash, etc. Even though it took some work to get the tomatoes roasted and in foodsaver bags, when there's 4 feet of snow outside and it's 10 degrees I'll cherish every bite of that tomato basil soup I made from scratch.

Did not include the $$ we spend on red wine as it comes out of a different budget category.

 

[fulm]

$400 per month - each

We spend $400 per month each on food - so $800 for the two of us. We try to buy simple, inexpensive, but healthy food. Fresh fruit is relatively expensive (even here in California) and not high in calories, but healthy. We ride our bicycles a lot of the time (road and trails) for entertainment - but based on the other food budgets here, I think it is an obvious conclusion that cycling is not "free" entertainment! That is not including bicycle repairs either...

 

[sdawson]

Hmm,

While I agree that eating on $4 / day is a challenge, this reporting (I had to google a few stories) is abysmal.

"The mayor said he quickly learned one must plan meals really carefully on a limited budget"

Really. He's the mayor and did not know one must plan meals carefully on a limited budget.

Also, the snap program is a SUPPLEMENTAL program (That's the S), it is not meant to be the sole source of food dollars for the recipient, but is intended to supplement their food dollars. What we used to call food stamps and now call snap has morphed from assistance to full support in news articles such as this (and by many politicians).

 

[misty57]

We spend more than $5 a day..............buying expensive fruit and veggies.

But we have a .99 cent store......cheap lettuce and veggies.....that helps. just over $100 per week for 3 of us.

We love the 99 Cent Store. It has become our go-to place for produce. Yesterday I bought a bunch of asparagus, a watermelon, a 1-lb. bag of mini carrots, and a pint of grape tomatoes for $4. The same items would have been about $10 elsewhere.

What we spend monthly varies from one month to the next as I have a well-stocked pantry and freezer. I buy on sale to re-stock. We don't eat a lot of boxed or frozen processed foods, but occasionally DH likes a box of Rice-A-Roni rice pilaf when we have salmon.

 

[gcgang]

I don't know. Being FI, to me, means I no longer have to do the type of budgeting I used to do. However, I still cringe when I hear my wife and 12 year old daughter are going to Whole Foods.

 

[Ready]

I don't know. Being FI, to me, means I no longer have to do the type of budgeting I used to do. However, I still cringe when I hear my wife and 12 year old daughter are going to Whole Foods.

I just went there today...I know what you mean. I enjoy good food, but my goodness, where on earth do they come up with those prices? I'll stick with Trader Joe's and Costco for 95% of my food purchases.

 

[imoldernu]

Pretty funny....
Grocery Money - Food Only

I was wondering how much others spend on groceries per month. This doesn't include non-food items.

 

[RetiredAndFree]

I don't know. Being FI, to me, means I no longer have to do the type of budgeting I used to do. However, I still cringe when I hear my wife and 12 year old daughter are going to Whole Foods.

I get this, and it speaks to what each of us prioritizes I think. As an earlier poster said on this thread, in our particular case, we eat to live, we do not live to eat. We do, however, live to travel, and so in our case, for every $$$ we don't spend at the supermarket, I can add more days to our travel schedule.

I will admit that there have been times my husband has accused me of having a depression mentality when it comes to our household spend, but that's another discussion altogether!

 

[Ready]

I get this, and it speaks to what each of us prioritizes I think. As an earlier poster said on this thread, in our particular case, we eat to live, we do not live to eat.

Speak for yourselves folks...I live to eat!