How much do you spend on Groceries?

[GTFan]

Couple hundo a month for two, but I'm a good deal shopper and there's plenty of them here. Couponmom.com is my friend.

 

[Omega]

I'm not sure how you could read this thread and think that most here are frugal.


We try to buy some organic but more importantly we stay away from the chemical laden foods.


We are saving for retirement.

Haha! Good point, but I guess I was thinking of other threads like "Cutting the Cable" where members go to great lengths to save $100 a month on cable (pretty frugal!) but don't bat an eye to spend $1000 a month on food. Not judging at all, I just find it interesting.

 

[ragabnh]

We spend $600/month on Groceries and $600 on dining. We are just two and don't have specific budget for these two item, we buy what we feel like and dine whenever we want to.

 

[Scuba]

For those who enjoy Quest bars, Target carries 4-packs for $7.50 in So CA. Pretty good deal but limited flavor selection. I recently ordered Quest cookies. Thought they were just OK until I heated one up. YUM! Chocolate chip is my favorite but peanut butter and gingerbread are not bad. They are a lot of calories (250) but good for a meal replacement, and pretty filling.

 

[Scuba]

Haha! Good point, but I guess I was thinking of other threads like "Cutting the Cable" where members go to great lengths to save $100 a month on cable (pretty frugal!) but don't bat an eye to spend $1000 a month on food. Not judging at all, I just find it interesting.

It’s all about priorities. I could totally cut off TV and not miss it, but can’t say the same about Ahi Poke from Gelson’s or center cut filet mignon from Trader Joe’s.

 

[lucky penny]

For those who enjoy Quest bars, Target carries 4-packs for $7.50 in So CA. Pretty good deal but limited flavor selection. I recently ordered Quest cookies. Thought they were just OK until I heated one up. YUM! Chocolate chip is my favorite but peanut butter and gingerbread are not bad. They are a lot of calories (250) but good for a meal replacement, and pretty filling.

Hmm, if they're that good I probably shouldn't have them around. Too easy to indulge in one (or more) as a snack.

 

[W2R]

Amazon charges an arm and a leg for Quest bars but I order a box of them every month or two anyway.

For those who enjoy Quest bars, Target carries 4-packs for $7.50 in So CA. Pretty good deal but limited flavor selection. I recently ordered Quest cookies. Thought they were just OK until I heated one up. YUM! Chocolate chip is my favorite but peanut butter and gingerbread are not bad. They are a lot of calories (250) but good for a meal replacement, and pretty filling.

I just noticed that right now you can now get 12 of the mint chocolate chunk Quest protein bars on Amazon for $15.89. They used to be $20.99 IIRC. I don't need any more right now, oh well!

 

[audreyh1]

Haha! Good point, but I guess I was thinking of other threads like "Cutting the Cable" where members go to great lengths to save $100 a month on cable (pretty frugal!) but don't bat an eye to spend $1000 a month on food. Not judging at all, I just find it interesting.

It's all about priorities. Once you have enough income in retirement, you decide what you want to spend your money on, and what you don't want your spend your money on.

For us paying up for really good quality groceries is a priority directly contributing to our daily quality of life. In addition to shopping for the best produce/seafood/meat/wine locally, we order some great stuff online - some of that can be pricey.

TV content is a different ballgame. You don't have to pay much for some of the best content. And a lot of cable is crap. So finding a cheaper way makes a lot of sense. And you can be flexible and subscribe month-to-month for certain premium content when there is a series worth watching.

Yes, we pay way more for monthly food than TV content, because the TV content is much cheaper.

 

[audreyh1]

It’s all about priorities. I could totally cut off TV and not miss it, but can’t say the same about Ahi Poke from Gelson’s or center cut filet mignon from Trader Joe’s.

Exactly!

I want my occasionally King Crab* and a very nice white or sparkling wine to go along with it!

* A heck of a lot cheaper at home than in a restaurant!!!

 

[eastnortheast]

Family of seven. Three are currently at college, but I tracked expenses pretty closely both before and during the time they have been at college.

We have averaged about $1100/month for groceries (food only) and dining out. Typically, it has been about $800 for the groceries and $300 on dining out. Dining out includes if they buy lunch at school, any "date nights", etc etc.

 

[DEC-1982]

If you eat organic, would you still be doing so if you were still saving for retirement?

Yes. I am not sure why one wouldn't be, given that one is working while saving for retirement and (might) have more disposable income.

 

[Live And Learn]

I see these numbers and now have confirmation that living in Florida is NOT cheap anymore ! We spend $600 / month on food (very rarely eat out) for 2 and I shop sales like a madwoman. Imagine if I didn't ! Beer and wine is NOT included in that number. That comes out of our individual monthly "allowance" and is not tracked in detail.

 

[W2R]

I see these numbers and now have confirmation that living in Florida is NOT cheap anymore ! We spend $600 / month on food (very rarely eat out) for 2 and I shop sales like a madwoman. Imagine if I didn't ! Beer and wine is NOT included in that number. That comes out of our individual monthly "allowance" and is not tracked in detail.

Our groceries are high here in New Orleans, too, and I don't know why.

I have been ordering what I can online, and that seems to help to some extent. The prices are lower, and I don't buy as many impulse items.

 

[PointBreeze]

DP and I average $390/month on groceries, cleaning supplies, etc., $65 on wine and beer, and $160 on restaurants. We buy organic meat and produce when it makes sense, and do not buy much prepared foods.

 

[meleana]

I budget $600 (includes toiletries and alcohol and cleaning supplies, etc.), but we probably go a little over that and we are just 2 people. Then again I like to stock up on stuff. And we never eat out, except a couple of times on vacation and for the XMAS holiday. Maybe a rare Chinese take out.



But now that we are down to one paycheck, I have been cutting back a bit.

 

[Retire2013]

I have no idea how much I spend on groceries and/or on dining out. I really love cooking and also enjoy eating at restaurants. I shop at Whole Foods, Costco, Trader Joes's, Sprouts, and Asian grocery stores. I buy organic only if it's an item in the "Dirty Dozen" i.e., celery, all kinds of berries etc. Otherwise, I buy conventional. With meat and dairy, I buy organic.

I don't have cable, don't subscribe to Netflix, or Hulu etc. The only subscription is YouTube Red.
When I want to catch up on any interesting series, I just watch them when I go visit my daughter who is still working and she subscribes to EVERYTHING! Best of both worlds!

 

[Archman]

Currently we budget $400 for our family of 4, we have a teenager and soon to be teenager. We budget $100 a month on "date night" but in all reality it's more entertainment than actual food.


I estimate our grocery budget will be $300 when the boys are out of the home.


Whats your grocery budget?

$382/mo for items identified as groceries (2 people)

 

[NameTaken2]

About $9K annual grocery bill for me and DW.
DW is all about Organic Food -or Organic Anything.
As much as $3K of the $9K total supports DW's Addiction-
Also supports fine companies selling these products to keep us (and profits) so Very, Very Healthy.

 

[BlueAFMom]

We budget $750/month for groceries and $500/month for dining out--that covers my husband and I most of the year and our college-aged daughter when home on holidays and breaks (probably equal to 2.25 people). It includes alcohol and household items/toiletries.

We enjoy cooking with high quality ingredients and drink lots of fancy coffee at home. We only eat out 1-2x/week but live in a high cost area.

It seems like a relatively high %age of our income but reflects what we enjoy/care most about.

 

[Archman]

Instead of dollar amounts, I will say that our total food cost is a bit more than 7.3% of our total living expenses.

That's low compared to the 10% I have seen for the average in the US. I guess we either eat little or inexpensive food, or spend too much on other stuff.

I calculated that our grocery items for two account for 9.9% of our expenses.

 

[catii]

We love to cook

We spend $600/month for the two of us, but we eat VERY well, as I used to own a restaurant, & am trained as a professional chef.

 

[hotwired]

Organic

We spend approx. $1,000 per month (family of 3) on groceries AND anything we buy AT the grocery store (soap, TP, cleaners, shampoo, air fresheners, etc.). We've never taken the time to sit down with the calculator and break out the stuff we put IN our body from the stuff we put ON and AROUND our bodies. This does inlucd $1,470 we paid in late November last year for a half steer of which we still have 50 LBS of meat. Taking that out would only reduce our bill to $875 give or take. This doesn't take into accoun that my wife has digestive issues and eats 800 calories a day, 75% of which are from rice cakes!

I've read so many "Mr. Money Mustache" articles about families of 4-5 eating organically and healthy for pennies on the dollar of what we spend but we have not been able to find many discounts or coupons for the stuff we buy. NO processed foods other than the organic ramen noodles ($1.25 vs. $.10 per package), etc.

Love to hear some tips!

 

[SmallCityDave]

We spend approx. $1,000 per month (family of 3) on groceries AND anything we buy AT the grocery store (soap, TP, cleaners, shampoo, air fresheners, etc.). We've never taken the time to sit down with the calculator and break out the stuff we put IN our body from the stuff we put ON and AROUND our bodies. This does inlucd $1,470 we paid in late November last year for a half steer of which we still have 50 LBS of meat. Taking that out would only reduce our bill to $875 give or take. This doesn't take into accoun that my wife has digestive issues and eats 800 calories a day, 75% of which are from rice cakes!

I've read so many "Mr. Money Mustache" articles about families of 4-5 eating organically and healthy for pennies on the dollar of what we spend but we have not been able to find many discounts or coupons for the stuff we buy. NO processed foods other than the organic ramen noodles ($1.25 vs. $.10 per package), etc.

Love to hear some tips!

Here are a couple of tips:


We buy groceries at the grocery store not tp or soap, no sense in paying $3 for a $1 bar of soap.


When it's on sale stock up.


Know your prices, just because it's bigger doesn't mean it's less expensive.


Look at the per ounce cost to compare.


Organic is much more expensive so know when you want organic and when you don't care, certain items are more important than others.


Know when generic is okay and when it's not, I generally don't like store brand items but sometime it really doesn't matter.

 

[rafapark]

We spend $1300 in average for two but buy everything organic, grass fed. Whole Foods, Trader Joes, local farn markets. You will pay more eventually in medical bills because all the pesticides and poison that goes in regular groceries.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Some grocery stores are cheaper than others. We shop at winco and their prices are low. You have to bag your own groceries. We also stock up on sales.