FANOFJESUS
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
$450 for 2
To spend $5 a day for 2 people is extremely low, particularly if you don't eat out often.
1) More meat for us . When did you become vegetarian and why if I might ask? DD is on her 23rd year without meat, since 7th grade. From toddlerhood she did not like meat and a class reading of "The Jungle" put her over the edge. She is active and healthy but has to watch her iron levels. She is not vegan, though. Yet.
4) This is exactly my go-to meal for DD and her family, including salad and bread (but I just use a jar of good vegetarian pasta sauce w/o adding veggies to it)!
I spend $400 a month for one person. Sounds obscene but I try to eat healthy lowfat food that I like: fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish and shellfish, wild salmon, organic milk and chicken, top sirloin, Fage yogurt, Lundgren rice, good coffee, etc. I buy fish, meat, cereal, and a few produce items at Costco. Also buy low sodium items and lower calorie items if possible. All these "specialty" items and buying in small quantities probably adds up. I take my lunch to work and spend less than $100 a month at restaurants unless on vacation. I've just accepted this cost as controlling my weight and blood pressure is more important than money.
Finally, someone I can relate to, as I don't think $400 is that much, I don't know how many get so far under. I eat oatmeal mixed in with fresh strawberries and walnuts daily, and that just itself including the milk is almost $100 a month for breakfast. And that is the cheapest meal of the day for me. I have to have meat at least once a day. I am a fit person, but if I tried to quit eating meat I would eat all day and gain weight. I have to have that rock sitting in my stomach to feel full.
I eat very similarly at breakfast, but I don't spend anywhere close to $100 a month to do it. Shall we do a Bobby Flay throwdown and compare costs item by item? Trader Joe Steel Cut Oatmeal - 17 servings: $2.49/$4.98 for 34 servings Strawberries - 1 lb: $2.50/$12.50 for 30 servings Milk (Coconut milk for me): $2.99 1/2 gallon/$11.96 for 30 days worth Walnuts - 1 lb: $7.49/$14.98 for 30 days worth TOTAL: $44.42 Calories: Oatmeal: 150 per serving Strawberries: 75 per cup Coconut milk: 50 per cup Walnuts: 140 per 1/4 cup 415 total calories Add a banana for an additional $5.70 a month, at .19 ea (Trader Joe price), and you have a total of $50.12 and 500 calories at a per breakfast cost of $1.67.
I got sales tax included in mine and all my food I have to get at walmart as it is the only store in town outside of a crap hole. Ya when you refer to walmart as the nice place in town, selection is limited! 10 quarts of strawberries at about $3. ( have to go to store every 2-3 days to buy them as I only like them fresh and they spoil fast) 4 -16oz bag of walnut pieces about $9 a bag. 4 gallons of milk about $4 per gallon. 2-3 containers of oatmeal a month at about $3. So that's around $90 ish...Yes, I love eating the fresh strawberries. Makes the oatmeal taste a lot better since I don't put any sugar in it, and I love sugar!
Just a tip that might save you a little on the spaghetti meal. It looks like you're spending about $5.33 / lb for lean ground beef. Often they put London broil or sirloin tip roast on sale here for $2.99 /lb When they do, I buy a bunch and ask the butcher to grind it. Makes great spaghetti, meatloaf, etc. (but too lean for hamburgers.)Just making something as simple as spaghetti for 2 people is not dirt cheap.
3/4 Pound of 93% lean ground beef $4
Jar of sauce $2
Half a pack of thin noodles $.75
Partial bag of Costco salad $.40
Salad dressing $0.25
Parm cheese $0.40 (I like cheese)
Garlic bread $0.50 (the frozen texas toast type makes for small servings)
Ok, it is pretty cheap but that is one meal. $8.30
Anyway, we spend about $450 a month just on groceries for 2 people. Sometimes we make more expensive meals like ginger and garlic covered grilled salmon.
\I eat oatmeal mixed in with fresh strawberries and walnuts daily, and that just itself including the milk is almost $100 a month for breakfast.
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.According to the Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average for two person families in the US is:
$6,634 per year, or $553 per month, or $9.09 per person per day.
57% of that is "Food at Home", and 43% is "Food Away from Home".
Their lowest income groups spend about $3,800 per year. (But, "income" is kind of slippery in the CEX.)
Average spending varies a little by age, with the 75+ couples spending $5,781 per year.
The ratio of (food spending) / (total spending) is about 12% overall. It varies by income group, from about 15% for the lower income groups to 11% for the highest ($70k+) group.
Consumer Expenditures Survey (CEX)
We'll tag your's the high living breakfast, and mine the on-the-cheap version. Something for everyone!
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 put applesauce and cinnamon or canned pumpkin with cinnamon and nutmeg in my applesauce. I'll have to try the strawberries, that sounds great.