Monthly Grocery Expenditure

[Morricol61]

You asked about groceries: I spend about $600 per month on groceries which includes fresh fruit & veg; meat and fish, dairy; frozen, tinned and dry goods; cleaning supplies; TP and pet food. Our household is composed of 2 adults, one small dog.

 

[pc95]

We separate out Costco, Amazon and "Groceries" in our tracking, although about 60% of the items from Costco are probably classified groceries excluding gas/various others, and my wife spends 70% of her spending on Amazon on groceries (lots of food powders). That said, combined we spend $500-$700 combined per month on 'groceries'. Related, we count gas at Costco as a separate gas expenditure.

Our grocery (food) split probably goes something like:

24% Sprouts
16% Amazon
05% Vons
07% Other/Ethnic
42% Costco

We goto Costco ~ twice a month. We spend more at Costco than any other single place by far especially if including non-grocery items - (gas, gift cards, electronics, tires, clothes, furniture, kitchen/houseware, appliances, bedding misc).

 

[gamboolman]

We budget $1,200 for Groceries

We budget $1,200 for Eating Out.

We rarely spend the full amount, but we also take #1 Daughter out to eat fairly regularly.

We also help her with Groceries since she had our first Grandbaby a little before Christmas

 

[Winemaker]

But does your wine tab go under groceries or hobby?

Grapes, grape and fruit (cranberry) juice costs go to hobby, about $5000/year, but not all born onto me. Depending on variety, it runs ~$2500-3000 for an annual ~59 gallon barrel. I have friends and neighbors that come to the house during wine season and we process the grapes over a 4 week period. Each couple gets a 5 gallon share that they pay for and invest their sweat equity. I have some smaller barrels that may or may not be part of the w*rk/share program. We have 2 parties in August discussing the future vintage, harvest times, and w*rk schedules. And of course, wine and lunch after the sorting, crushing session, and after the pressing session.

Wine club, beer and liquor go to grocery.

 

[Winemaker]

Yes, I cannot figure out some of the low costs, but then I eat a lot. I've been 6"5" and 230-240# since ~1991. The DW is a little lighter than when we married in '83, but she has had some parts removed. We don't eat junk food and don't eat out much.
I'll make a 3 jumbo egg omelet with either salsa, veggies, bacon, ham chunks, sausage pieces every other day, alternating with a cup and a half of oatmeal with fruit and nuts. When it's warm, it's Cheerios. For lunch, it's leftovers. For every dinner, a salad or a plate of veggies(carrots, green and colored peppers, celery sticks, cucumber slices), an entree with a small starch portion, and a side of veggies. Always.
And we always share a bottle of wine.

 

[meleana]

I am curious what people on this site spend on groceries (food/beverages) each month. Our household of 2 spends approximately $540/month excluding household stuff like laundry detergent, paper products etc. I don't have a set budget, but I get the staples and the occasional splurgy item.

Also, when this topic comes up among friends and family, I find that the male partner is the one who typically does the shopping. I love to shop; my wife not so much!

How about you?

I alot $700 per month. That's with cleaning stuff, alcohol, toiletries, vitamins, etc. Seems crazy for two people but I do stock up a bit. And I buy a lot of store brands! Prices are out of control!

 

[Pellice]

Single cook here, and I budget and spend about $375/month on groceries, including household items and cat food for 1 cat. That also includes eating out, which I do maybe once a month. Cooking is one of my hobbies, so, although I buy some high-priced ingredients, it balances out because I often cook to stretch meals (former poor graduate student), and I don't mind eating leftovers for days. (Doubt a family would agree to this!). One thing I do NOT buy is bottled water. I have drunk tap water for all my life. It's inspected regularly, and I'm fine with it. And now that plastics are coming under so much scrutiny, I'm doubly glad. Of course, there's no avoiding plastics. I can't even imagine how we'd have a society without them. But I suspect that future historians will look at us as we do the Romans and their lead pipes and lead glass, and shake our heads over the amount of lead they must have ingested.

 

[catii]

Not sure this info is useful. The $520 we averaged each month in New Orleans doesn't go very far here in Hawaii. More than double for less.

Pick one item & compare. We consider $6.50 for a gallon of whole milk to be a bargain at Safeway or Target.

 

[Sunset]

Not sure this info is useful. The $520 we averaged each month in New Orleans doesn't go very far here in Hawaii. More than double for less.

Pick one item & compare. We consider $6.50 for a gallon of whole milk to be a bargain at Safeway or Target.

Ouch.... we pay $2.50 per gallon if you buy 2 gallons at Jewel, otherwise it's $2.49 at Costco.

We buy skim milk , to get 2% or whole milk at Costco add ~20 cents per step up.
Jewel is the same price for any.

 

[connor77]

Two of us and our monthly grocery bill is now averaging $1,100/month. It used to be closer to $600/month but we have switched to organic produce and grass fed meats. I'm actually shocked to pay what we're paying for grass fed meat. It's considerably more than Prime grade meat (ribeye and sirloin) at Costco which is what we used to buy. We're also eating a lot more fish including salmon which is expensive. We stopped eating out because we don't really have any great restaurants in our area and we both like to cook. We have completely eliminated any processed foods and we shop more frequently now. Eating healthy is way more expensive but we're saving a bit by not eating out. Eating out was getting ridiculously expensive for very mediocre meals and subpar service. Our $1,100 monthly average is food only. Other stuff goes under "Household" for us. We can leave a healthy food store with 2 average sized bags and spend $170.

 

[FlaMariner]

We (two of us) average $683/month on groceries.....and $286/month on eating out. (exact numbers from the bofa budget tool).

We also have a summer vegetable garden and we eat fresh and can/freeze to enjoy all year...Not sure it saves $$$ but consider it a hobby and the vegetables are so good.

As for the chief supply officer, that would be me. Her Majesty does not look at prices when she shops and that is something I do very well.

Eating out has really been curtailed....way too expensive and not great...just not a value anymore for us....Also, Her Majesty is a great chef....but really have to watch the grocery trips...prices are way, way up....and not sure I will ever get used to $5 cereal and bread.

 

[TrvlBug]

....and not sure I will ever get used to $5 cereal and bread.

I haven't seen $5 cereal in years and years. Last time I bought a box....wait for it... ...$8.49!!! As to bread, we eat very little and I buy an 'artisan' style baguette which lasts us for the week. I think it's $6.50 or so a loaf. We do eat a lot of wraps and I buy the low carb ones.

 

[Dtail]

Single cook here, and I budget and spend about $375/month on groceries, including household items and cat food for 1 cat. That also includes eating out, which I do maybe once a month. Cooking is one of my hobbies, so, although I buy some high-priced ingredients, it balances out because I often cook to stretch meals (former poor graduate student), and I don't mind eating leftovers for days. (Doubt a family would agree to this!). One thing I do NOT buy is bottled water. I have drunk tap water for all my life. It's inspected regularly, and I'm fine with it. And now that plastics are coming under so much scrutiny, I'm doubly glad. Of course, there's no avoiding plastics. I can't even imagine how we'd have a society without them. But I suspect that future historians will look at us as we do the Romans and their lead pipes and lead glass, and shake our heads over the amount of lead they must have ingested.

Keeping the Plastics part of the conversation to the side, I buy the BJ's version of purified water which costs 10 cents for a 16.9 fl oz bottle. Pack of 40 bottles.

 

[kjpliny]

I downloaded our credit card activity for 2023 and filtered for grocery and dining places we frequent. Looks like around $1500 per month for the two of us. About the same as our property taxes but less than health insurance. NY ain't cheap.

 

[audreyh1]

OK, I finally looked at our grocery expenses for 2023 in Quicken and even surprised myself. I only accounted for 10 months because we traveled for 2 months in total and we track travel groceries separately.

$1,750 per month. This includes groceries including from Costco and Amazon, wine and liquor, general household supplies, supplements, toiletries, etc. 2 adults no pets.

For dining (not including travel dining) we spent a whopping $83 total in 2023. This was a single take out right after returning from an overseas trip.

We still underspent our theoretical budget but we keep creeping closer.

BTD!

 

[LateToFIRE]

Two adults, no pets, I budgeted $1700/month based on our typical $400/week grocery receipts. This would exclude alcoholic beverages, but would include paper goods and cleaning supplies.

Why so high? We split our time between two homes, which leads to a fair amount of waste as something always gets left behind and unused before it can go bad. Also, makes it harder to plan meals. Our homes are in VHCOL areas. We buy meats, fish, eggs, produce from organic grocers - cha ching!

But, really, I have no idea how some of you manage such low grocery bills.

 

[braumeister]

Simple to figure for us. Two people but mostly DW's eating preferences.
For me, she just buys the 50 pound sacks of Purina Hubby Chow and pours some into my bowl down in the basement.

 

[MarieIG]

Simple to figure for us. Two people but mostly DW's eating preferences.
For me, she just buys the 50 pound sacks of Purina Hubby Chow and pours some into my bowl down in the basement.

 

[aja8888]

simple to figure for us. Two people but mostly dw's eating preferences.
For me, she just buys the 50 pound sacks of purina hubby chow and pours some into my bowl down in the basement.

 

[Retch The Grate]

I'm not sure why ours seems so out of whack with everybody else. We live in the bay area, and food has gotten a LOT more expensive the last two years, if we go to Safeway our cart is regularly $350-450 now, which is easily 2x what it was a decade ago, and about $100 more than it was before inflation spiked. We guesstimate at least $400 a week on groceries, though I bet if I tracked closely it is higher. We're trying to control it by ordering online for delivery as much as we can which eliminates a lot of impulse buys.

 

[CardsFan]

I originally said I had no idea. After seeing all these high numbers, DW and I gave it some more thought. It is certainly under $500/month (this is for 2). Probably between $300 and $400. We eat out maybe 5 meals a month.

DW is a coupon and sale shopper, and we freeze items on sale.

For an example, we had 2 other couples over for dinner last week. We had a 12lb turkey bought after Christmas for about $10. The whole meal for 6 was less than $40, and we had 2 more turkey dinners and have turkey soup for 2 more meals for us.

The most expensive thing I buy on a regular basis is Cottage Cheese, at $10 for 3lbs ( I only like a particular brand, and it is the most expensive locally). That is my breakfast at least 5 days a week.

 

[Digger1000]

I havent had food from a restaurant since 2019. I eat all my meals at home and I get all my groceries from Aldi and I always get them delivered. My groceries have always been way under $200 a month my whole life. I get all my paper products from Aldi.

I get my Aldi delivery every 2 weeks, the only thing that I consume that I dont get from Aldi is coffee and I get that shipped from Walmart(free shipping and not a member) every 3 months.

Here is the total cost of each grocery delivery from Aldi this year including delivery fee and tip. My next delivery will be between Apr 3-5. The below does not include the $99 a year membership fee which would add $25 to the below amount in the 1st Qt of 2024.

72.51
51.96
87.53
81.96
70.62
93.34

Total for 3 months 457.92

Add on $25 membership fee for 3 months and total is 482.57 for 3 months.

 

[tmitchell]

I havent had food from a restaurant since 2019. I eat all my meals at home and I get all my groceries from Aldi and I always get them delivered. My groceries have always been way under $200 a month my whole life. I get all my paper products from Aldi.

I get my Aldi delivery every 2 weeks, the only thing that I consume that I dont get from Aldi is coffee and I get that shipped from Walmart(free shipping and not a member) every 3 months.

Here is the total cost of each grocery delivery from Aldi this year including delivery fee and tip. My next delivery will be between Apr 3-5. The below does not include the $99 a year membership fee which would add $25 to the below amount in the 1st Qt of 2024.

72.51
51.96
87.53
81.96
70.62
93.34

Total for 3 months 457.92

Add on $25 membership fee for 3 months and total is 482.57 for 3 months.

Wow this is amazing to me. I'm not even sure we could achieve this at the dollar store here. Curious what items you're able to get for these prices?

 

[Digger1000]

Wow this is amazing to me. I'm not even sure we could achieve this at the dollar store here. Curious what items you're able to get for these prices?

I dont cook other than grilling turkey burgers on the Foreman or making eggs.

I eat 2 meals a day, usually 10-11AM and 4-6PM. For lunch I eat either oatmeal or 6 eggs. Usually 5 days a week oatmeal and 2 days eggs.

For supper I'll either eat 3 small turkey burgers(nothing else with the burgers including no bread) or I'll eat processed food out of a can or frozen pizza, sometimes processed meat. Not healthy.

I usually eat 2 snacks, 1st one is either a bag of frozen broccoli,cauliflower,carrots or 3 bananas. The 2nd snack is pretzels. I sometimes eat an apple and orange early in the morning.

 

[tmm99]

OK, I finally looked at our grocery expenses for 2023 in Quicken and even surprised myself. I only accounted for 10 months because we traveled for 2 months in total and we track travel groceries separately.

$1,750 per month. This includes groceries including from Costco and Amazon, wine and liquor, general household supplies, supplements, toiletries, etc. 2 adults no pets.

For dining (not including travel dining) we spent a whopping $83 total in 2023. This was a single take out right after returning from an overseas trip.

We still underspent our theoretical budget but we keep creeping closer.

BTD!

It's easy to creep closer as everything is so much more expensive! We upped our weekly budget by 30% a while back (during the pandemic?) as we decided to eat more fresh seafood which tends to be more expensive. And that upped amount is not enough to get a lot of fresh seafood anymore.