Who else is spending a lot on groceries, entertainment and dining out?

[Starsky]

If you have a big family, entertain a lot, and like to pay for everything, $40K isn't that much, especially now, when everything is pricier post-COVID.

If you're talking about Michelin outings, you obviously aren't on a budget; so $40K is really a pittance. Why be such a tightwad, Dad?

[skyking1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB I'm not worried in the least. The freezer has 4 SRF tenderloins, 4 pounds of King Crab center legs, 2 (14 oz) lobster tails and a pound of bluefin tuna. And 12 ounces of caviar will be arriving tomorrow -

whew, that sounded a little light for you, Robbie. Good thing there is a shipment inbound.

[daylatedollarshort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DawgMan As I mentioned in a another recent post, part of my retirement transition plan in 2020 was to take the governor off spending to see how we might spend money without a "budget". While we don't technically budget, I still track overall spending by certain categories. Three of the categories I somewhat merge together are groceries, entertainment, and liquor store. We do like to go out to dinner, but it's not like we hit steakhouses every night. We also do some entertaining, but generally are drinking $20 bottles of wine. Three of my 4 kids (all grown/out of the house) live nearby so dinner can include more than just DW and me. All that said, it looks like we have spent around $40K here so far this year! Man, that feels like a lot to me!! As mentioned, while there have been some special (i.e. more expensive) occasions lumped in here from time to time, I sure don't feel like I'm in complete BTD mode! Am I on an island here or are some you spending this kind of dough on this stuff?

We used to spend that much. Then we compared our spending to the Consumer Expenditure Survey and that was a wake up call for us to reign in our spending in some categories, especially groceries. We've been optimizing expenses ever since. The 80/20 for groceries for us was simply changing where we shop. Our neighborhood has gotten pricey over the years so we realized just changing where we shop can save 2/3 off the grocery budget. We still shop at Whole Foods, but I do that last. We go to a couple of less expensive stores first and often can get the same items as WF for a much lower cost. I've upped our spending to around $6K now on groceries a year, but that used to cost $18K for the same foods. A little extra effort is worth it to me to save $12K a year on food.

We don't drink a lot and what we do buy we get at Grocery Outlet. The ones near us have a lot of overstock wines from many of the Napa and Sonoma wineries at good prices.

For entertainment we buy a lot of annual passes, seat filler memberships, college event tickets, winery passports on Groupon, etc. so we can go to museums, plays and concerts a few times a week (pre-Covid) and it doesn't cost too much out of pocket. We do spend more when our kids are visiting on restaurants and entertainment or when we go out with friends or attend club events. Otherwise we're cheap dates. A college symphony, a Broadway touring play on free seat filler tickets or wine tasting with a passport bought during a Groupon sales are really fun outings for us.

[W2R]

I don't think I am spending any more than usual on groceries, entertainment, and dining out. That is partly because I'm still recovering and tending to rest more than exercise. So, I haven't been eating much lately. I haven't resumed cooking of anything more complex than a sandwich. Sometimes we just warm up some soup, or get take-out.

As for entertainment, there really isn't as much going on as there once was. Several local seasonal/holiday events have been cancelled.

Really, we hardly leave our house(s) these days. F quit his "fun retirement job" when it became less fun. We have slipped a little farther back into Introvert mode, I suppose. But, we're happy. Thank goodness we live next door to each other.

[Sojourner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DawgMan While we don't technically budget, I still track overall spending by certain categories. Three of the categories I somewhat merge together are groceries, entertainment, and liquor store. ... All that said, it looks like we have spent around $40K here so far this year! Man, that feels like a lot to me!!

Even though $40k seems like a lot to me, too, it could be a lot or a little, depending on your overall SWR. If FIRECalc says you can safely spend $200k/year, then $40k for entertainment, dining out, groceries, and liquor seems reasonable. But if your annual safe spend is only $90k/year, well that's a different story. It still might be fine, though, if you are being frugal in other areas to keep your overall spending in the "safe" zone.

What percentage of your annual safe spend does this $40k represent?

[tmm99]

I look at flyers and find produce/fruit on sale, etc, but I upped my grocery budget by $100 a week recently as we're eating more fresh seafood from seafood markets and buying more specialty items that tend to be expensive or can only be mail-ordered, etc. This gives an extra $5,200 a year and that so far has been working out well. I'm willing to up it even more if I feel the need. With the pandemic going on, enjoying food has taken more of a center stage.

[Teacher Terry]

I can’t even imagine spending that much money on groceries, eating out, etc. My son is staying with me and we don’t have a budget for groceries but usually spend around 400/month. Someone mentioned a thanksgiving dinner for 6 costing 300 at home while this year I spent 50 for 5. My friend brought dessert. No one drinks anymore but even when we did it wouldn’t add that much more.

Before Covid when I lived in the house we would have 20 people for dinner including alcohol and it never cost over 200. Yes food has definitely gone up both in groceries and dining out. My son and I had filet mignon that we cooked at home. It was 20 for a pound. It was delicious and very tender. My piece of meat plus sides was 2 meals for me and one for my son. I no longer eat that when I go out as it’s 50 and doesn’t seem worth it. Obviously if you can afford to do that it’s fine.

[2017ish]

We don't spend quite that much on those categories. Say 10k annually on wine and booze, and 7k each on groceries and restaurants? BUT, we travel for ~6 months of each year, and all restaurants, groceries, and wine/liquor purchased on trips goes into travel subcategories. That adds up. The most extreme example being 10 Michelin starred restaurants during a 6 week trip to Spain and Portugal in 2021.

In any event, the only 2 pertinent questions are 1) can you afford this aspect of your spending; and 2) do you enjoy it?

[DrRoy]

We don't spend anything close to that in those areas, but we do on travel.

[Badger]

If you are enjoying and can afford it then it doesn't matter what you spend. Go for it.

My wife doesn't drink and I only like to have one of my favorite beers occasionally so our annual expenses for food is going to be lower. We don't pay attention to grocery costs although I may buy a few extras of an item if it is on sale. Some habits are hard to brake. However, our annual food expenses is no where near what you incur. It isn't even in your ball park. Even if we ate lobster every night it still would not come close.


Cheers!

[DawgMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojourner Even though $40k seems like a lot to me, too, it could be a lot or a little, depending on your overall SWR. If FIRECalc says you can safely spend $200k/year, then $40k for entertainment, dining out, groceries, and liquor seems reasonable. But if your annual safe spend is only $90k/year, well that's a different story. It still might be fine, though, if you are being frugal in other areas to keep your overall spending in the "safe" zone. What percentage of your annual safe spend does this $40k represent?

About 13%...

But here's the rub... my experiment of "letting the dogs run wild" bumped my spending for those categories up by $10K (over my "budget", what I thought was plenty). Reflecting on the year, did I have $10K "more fun, better food"?? Not sure I really did, perhaps $1K - $2K better, maybe?? So my takeaway from my little experiment is I think we can/should be able to get the same "value" by being a little more conscious about spending. Not saying cut coupons and eat canned soup 5 days a week, but perhaps look at the prices before just grabbing all the top shelf items.

Like many here, I practiced relative frugality/value analysis in running my finances and budgets for so many years and flipping the switch to impulsive spending can be very weird and uncomfortable at times, despite knowing I have the resources. I'm slowly getting more comfortable, but I still have the tendency to run everything through a "value filter" at times.

I know, I know... Robbie is probably very disappointed in me...

[DawgMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starsky Why be such a tightwad, Dad?

Did my wife tell you to say that??

[iloveyoga]

I don't keep track of this, but you made me look and do an estimate. Weekly $160 on groceries, which includes alcohol. Another $60 or so on restaurant foods, we eat at home a lot and do some take out. We have really cut back on actually going out to eat. Any entertainment would be lumpy and I can't really think of much there. So I would round up to about $13,000 a year. What is important to me is that I don't have to worry about it and I can buy whatever I want at the grocery store.

[levindb]

I don't know how to answer this...

DW and I made "an investment" in an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic quite a few years ago. We now go there for about 8 weeks/year and our investment allows us to eat and drink for free while we are there...just paying tips.

For the 40 days we are here now, we pay a $10 tip for a decent restaurant meal EVERY SINGLE NIGHT (filet, lobster/shrimp, sea bass or salmon) with wine and an after dinner drink...based on what others are saying, our ROI on that initial investment is pretty good. These trips are normally 15-20 lbs for each of us...walking to dinner rather than taking a golf cart can help a little bit.

Net, $300/month for groceries, liquor, and eating out/entertainment for 2 months each year...or $0/month and call it all part of our Travel spending.

[athena53]

My grocery bill looks like it will be up about 3% over last year- I average about $100/week, just me, excluding alcohol, virtually no fish or meat. Lots of fresh vegetables and yogurt, most groceries from Costco.

Restaurant spending is way up but that was deliberate- BF and I have a favorite Mexican place and we've been going there almost weekly, I treat DS, DDIL and the kids to a meal at some of the good places here when they visit here and get takeout Thai at their favorite place when I visit them.

I can see the restaurant prices spiking, though. I planned the Garden Club lunch at a Hereford House and we selected from the cheapest menu options, which ran $32 per person with tax and tip but excluding adult beverages or desserts. The beef option for that was grilled meat loaf topped with bacon. The next-higher option was $8 more (x-tax and tip) and featured a 5 oz. "petite filet" for the beef option. (You could have another for an additional $6.)

We all agreed that the food was excellent and so was the service but that just seemed out of whack for meat loaf, and the salad was the same tired mix of chopped iceberg lettuce with shreds of carrot and radicchio that comes off of every Sysco truck.

[ElizabethT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by levindb I don't know how to answer this... DW and I made "an investment" in an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic quite a few years ago. We now go there for about 8 weeks/year and our investment allows us to eat and drink for free while we are here. These trips are normally 15-20 lbs for each of us...walking to dinner rather than taking a golf cart can help a little bit.

LOL. Thank you for your honesty! I can't handle weight gain, I just can't. So we'll never reach the level of expenditures on food that have been shared here. But. We enjoy good wine, and $35 is now our low bar. We enjoy good seats at live performances, and we'd much rather be out seeing something live than be at home, so our Entertaining budget is a fairly significant $10,000 a year vs our Restaurant budget of $6,000 vs our Grocery budget of $6,000.

Off topic a bit, but what we forego in weight gain I make up for in new clothing for DH and myself. We are pretty snazzy dressers

[Surewhitey]

Groceries and eating out for 2 (done very little the past 2 years) have been $8-900/mo.

If we want a killer meal, we do rack of lamb or prime ribeye & still spend less than $50 with a salad and side. I just don't find value in paying, on an inflated base cost, sales tax (9%), tip (20-30%) & the effort to get a mediocre meal from a restaurant. I can definitely cook as good / better as them guys... DW is the salad girl.

(we don't pay sales tax for groceries in Texas)

[PatrickA5]

So far, we've spent $16,384 on food.

I don't split out dining out from food bought from the store. Even though there are only two of us, about once a week we buy a meal out for the kids, grandkids and SIL, so we often pay for 7 or 8 people - which can add up. All grocery store food is purchased at Walmart - so no expensive groceries. Also, we don't drink alcohol.

We're a good 25% up from 2020 when we rarely ate out. Our food is easily our largest expense. We could cut it back big time if we wanted to.

[pacergal]

Agree with others, If you can afford it and enjoy it, no worries.

Our grocery and entertainment/eating out expenses are much higher than before, but still within budget. I shop bargains and sales, but buy better quality. We don't go over budget, so its not a big deal. I still stop and go whoa, but it makes me aware of prices. They have gone up quite a bit with the pandemic.

Heck, we were out running around and got hungry, swung through a fast food drive through, which we try not to do. Spent close to $20 just for burgers, fries and water!!

[Sojourner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2017ish Say 10k annually on wine and booze, and 7k each on groceries and restaurants?

So, $24k/year on food and drinks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iloveyoga Weekly $160 on groceries, which includes alcohol. Another $60 or so on restaurant foods, we eat at home a lot and do some take out. ... So I would round up to about $13,000 a year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatrickA5 So far, we've spent $16,384 on food.

Wow... kind of shocking to see how much some of you are spending on food and drink. Makes me feel like an absolute pauper over here. DW and I are spending around $8k, and that includes alcohol. We don't eat out very much, but we spend fairly liberally on groceries and alcohol for home. Short of simply buying more expensive wine (say, $35 bottles instead of $15), I just don't see us spending $13k or $16k... or $24k! It's a lot easier for me to imagine spending twice our current annual travel/vacation budget than doubling our food/drinks budget.