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

[RobbieB]

Last night we had split pea soup with ham

Tonight will be 3 of those lovely crab legs I bought -

 

[Koolau]

Don't you live in Hawaii? Can't you get fresh seafood at reasonable prices where you are anyway? (Well, some people aren't into fish that much, and you said you don't mind eating frozen seafood, so maybe that's that...)

True that some people aren't all that picky about food. Live to eat vs Eat to live, etc. DH likes a variety of fish, but he also likes frozen meatballs and rice (with ketchup on top! Argh!)

Actually, we can get fresh seafood, but it's not as reasonable as you might think. Much of our fresh fish goes directly into the sushi markets (not cheap) as well as restaurant trade (not cheap). It turn out that frozen is more available (and cheap). YMMV

 

[NW-Bound]

Actually, we can get fresh seafood, but it's not as reasonable as you might think. Much of our fresh fish goes directly into the sushi markets (not cheap) as well as restaurant trade (not cheap). It turn out that frozen is more available (and cheap). YMMV

The last time we were on the big island, at a state beach park we saw a group of locals doing a cookout with big lobsters that made me salivate. I asked them where those were bought, and they told me they were fishermen.

 

[NW-Bound]

Had duck tonight.

We went to Aldi a week ago, and that was only the 2nd time we went there as it is 13 miles away. The 1st time was last year during the grand opening, and the store was super crowded during the peak of Covid. So, we did not linger long.

This time, the store was empty in the middle of a workday, and we saw the ducks at $13 for a big duck of more than 4 lbs.

My wife roasted 1/2 the duck, and that was plenty for a meal. Cheap but a good dinner.

PS. Yes, Aldi has come to AZ. I like the airy store, the display of merchandise, and the price.

 

[RobbieB]

The last time we were on the big island, at a state beach park we saw a group of locals doing a cookout with big lobsters that made me salivate. I asked them where those were bought, and they told me they were fishermen.

"How do I get in on this Hawaiian clam bake" Can I bring a keg of beer?

 

[38Chevy454]

It seems more costly to go out now than it was 1 or 2 years ago. Same for general grocery store bill. It hasn't changed the number of meals we eat out, or what we buy at the store. Just feel it in the wallet more.

 

[bluelight]

Our yearly total for groceries, alcohol and restaurants comes to a paltry 12K. DH hates going out for dinner and while I would love to go more often I acquiesce because he does all the cooking and I'm not much of a foodie.

We buy all of our meats and seafood from Costco and live near a liquor store who has the best prices around.

 

[teetee]

I noticed the groceries cost increase this year. With occasional takeout (twice a month avg), my food (groceries + takeout) totaled around 3.5k this year. Most of the groceries were from Walmart. I like the avocados when they are on sale ($.89 each).

No entertainment cost for me since I don't have any type of subscription.
I did make some medium sized purchase (a portable generator, a laptop, two mountain bikes).

But all that plus the rest will be below one third of my 2021 income tax so my expense is not out of line. I can safely say inflation is here, tax hurts, and I don't have a good feeling about the market for upper half of 2022.

OP consumed 10x more (40k) than I did just for the groceries, entertainment, and dining out this year. I am just one person though.

I am not a fan of traveling to begin with, and even more so after the pandemic started. My work don't rely on travel so why risk the health of people I care about and me is what I think.

 

[teetee]

If you eat fresh seafood more often, your grocery cost tends to go up A LOT. (When is the last time you ate fresh sea bass? Giant clam? Abalone?) If you eat imported cheeses... If you eat gourmet meats... I order a specific brand of sencha green tea from Japan and the cost of the tea isn't bad, but the shipping/handling/import fee just about doubles the total cost...

If you stick with regular supermarket food, not so much.

Salmon is a big ticket item for me but it tastes so good (cooked). I can eat it in every meal and would not be bored of it.

The wild salmon is my favorite after knowing they are safer than the farm raise salmon.

 

[bltkmt]

We definitely spend $3-4k per month on food and booze each month, easily.

 

[Koolau]

The last time we were on the big island, at a state beach park we saw a group of locals doing a cookout with big lobsters that made me salivate. I asked them where those were bought, and they told me they were fishermen.

Yeah, probably the best place to buy fresh was at "farmers markets" that dot the islands. It was not unusual to see a whole tuna (Ahi) sitting in a horse trough of ice where others were selling pineapple, veggies, greens, etc. It was always "catch of the day" availability (the occasional pig taken in a valley being someone's house.)

I'm not much of a poke eater, so usually passed on Ahi. (heh, heh, I don't have THAT many local friends to split a whole tuna but YMMV.

 

[financemups]

We don't drink, eat out or travel. Occasional falafel/shawarma take-out orders. Groceries are still holding steady at about the same cost, a little bit of an increase, but we make most of everything and I struggled with my weight but have dropped quite a lot of pounds since Covid hit so we mostly have chicken/fish and lots of veggies. Stuff will go out of stock here (like milk, dishawshing detergent, etc) and if inventory in stores goes low we have to pay more to buy a replacement.

 

[Sunset]

OP - That spending is too high for me..

We don't have a budget, never had, I do track all my spending here are our numbers for this year:

groceries: $3,500
Booze: $325 (DW doesn't drink, and I drink cheap wine).
Restaurants: $1,200 (all takeout as not eating in restaurants now).

Total: $5,500

Haven't gone to concerts or any entertainment like that due to Covid.

For Groceries we don't shop at: Whole [-]Paycheck[/-] Foods , and mostly shop at Aldi, and regular grocery stores.

 

[Sunset]

If you eat fresh seafood more often, your grocery cost tends to go up A LOT. (When is the last time you ate fresh sea bass? Giant clam? Abalone?) If you eat imported cheeses... If you eat gourmet meats... I order a specific brand of sencha green tea from Japan and the cost of the tea isn't bad, but the shipping/handling/import fee just about doubles the total cost...

If you stick with regular supermarket food, not so much.

Even with regular supermarkets, there is a great variety in price, just for stuff like hamburger !

Since you live in Ontario, I wonder if you really are getting fresh sea bass, as it's very common for sea food to be frozen and shipped, then thawed for display as "fresh".

Now there are many types of "Bass" and some are shipped live, others are frozen at sea on the fishing ship as it stays out for weeks.

https://www.seafoodsource.com/seafo...bigger than their South African counterparts.
"The fish is marketed in frozen form; “fresh” sea bass is nearly always “refreshed” product (frozen fish that has been thawed). "

 

[tmm99]

Even with regular supermarkets, there is a great variety in price, just for stuff like hamburger !

Since you live in Ontario, I wonder if you really are getting fresh sea bass, as it's very common for sea food to be frozen and shipped, then thawed for display as "fresh".

Now there are many types of "Bass" and some are shipped live, others are frozen at sea on the fishing ship as it stays out for weeks.

https://www.seafoodsource.com/seafo...bigger than their South African counterparts.
"The fish is marketed in frozen form; “fresh” sea bass is nearly always “refreshed” product (frozen fish that has been thawed). "

They do show fresh on labels. I used to live in Tucson, and the sushi restaurant I used to work at there got fresh fish from Los Angeles (that got some of their fish from Japan) by air twice a week. That's probably why the prices of some of the fresh are astronomical. To be honest, the frozen counterpart is also extremely expensive.

 

[kcowan]

We have increased our tipping due to Covid so eating out has increased by 5% plus the increases that the restaurants are passing on, another 5 to 10%.

But we are in BTD phase so OK.

 

[Helen]

We really watched our spending while we were working. Between our savings, pensions and inheritance we have more than we need. I usually tally what we spent at the end of the year to arrive at a ballpark number but we are so far down from the 4% rate that I don't stress about it.

We are upping our charity amount but are also mindful that we may need assistance as we get older. We don't have any kids and our families live a long ways away.

In regards to food, I follow a plant-based diet so that limits our dining options. My wife does buy meat at Whole Food types of stores though.

 

[grasshopper]

Two veggie heads, buying organic when we can groceries $7500 in 2021. Two winos $1200 in 2021. Dining Ms.G goes out with her girls 1-2 a month. I have only taken a friend out to eat once in 2021. Dining total $1200. Just shy of $10K.

 

[PaddyMac]

Well, here is what goes in the 3 different buckets...

Groceries: pretty much what you would think... Publix/Costco/Trader Joes/Whole Foods/local butcher (no beer/wine/liquor). This could be for just wife and I, include the kids over for dinner, or entertaining (i.e. dinner party)... about $19K (vs. a budget of $13.2K)

We're probably on track for $19K for all of 2021, once I enter the bills. That's for groceries & the odd take-out/eating out. We don't drink much, so I don't break out alcohol. There are just two of us, no kids. It's definitely more than we used to pay, but since Covid started, and eating out became a hassle, I stopped looking at prices and started buying quality over quantity. More organic food, better ingredients, etc.

Our retirement plan is on track for us to spend more than we are accustomed to or have in the past, so I'd rather spend the extra on good food.

We are also busier than ever with encore careers, so we treat ourselves to some Costco prepackaged meals which are not cheap but they are a better substitute than take-out. And with supply chain issues, and the fact that we live 30 minutes from Costco, we keep an extra freezer well stocked with food.

 

[Steeler75]

I really appreciate good food life's too short to cut corners.

And life’s too short to drink bad wine!

I like the “island” you’re on Dawg. All in about $36k. Wine budget higher than food. Bay Area grocery costs are up significantly this year. Also buying more fresh seafood which increases food costs. Not going out to fancy restaurants much, but home cooking great meals serving outstanding wine adds up.

 

[Magus]

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?

That's quite a bit and I enjoy fine bourbons, steakhouses and scotches. We spend more on alcohol (my friends all like fine whiskeys and I make and host the most) but a LOT less on groceries/dining out/entertainment. Have you tried Costco wine? Really good prices and similar in quality to $20 bottles in typical grocery chains.

When I do events like steakhouses, I try to match up with other specials (eg: $80 for $100 in gift cards from Costco for Flemings combined with one of their specials - eg: Tomahawk Tuesday for $135 for 2). This makes them a LOT more affordable and actually more food than normal. We use to do more couponing for restaurants but haven't in a while since we don't eat out as much as we used to do.

Groceries are similar - we are flexible so we like to buy whats on sale for proteins - if Ribeyes are on sale we'll get them. If NY Strips are, we'll get them, etc. We live so close to so many grocery stores though we are don't mind making multiple trips to grocery store every week. We stock up on 12 pack sodas when they are buy 2 get 3 free for 12 packs.

With family, we tend to alternate with my In laws, my parents and us so probably not quite as much hosting cost as you may have.

That said, if you have the $ and entertain a lot, why not?!

 

[Koolau]

We have increased our tipping due to Covid so eating out has increased by 5% plus the increases that the restaurants are passing on, another 5 to 10%.

But we are in BTD phase so OK.

Pre-Pandemic, we would have lunch at Old Spaghetti Factory and spend about $18/each with 20+% tip. Last week, the same meal was $26 with a bit better tip. Oddly (if we tracked it) our eating-out budget would be WAY down as we rarely go out since the pandemic. In the old days, we'd at least lunch out 5 days per week. Now, it's more like 3 times/month. So, the increased prices (and tip) are manageable. The overall effect is to spend less money on DawgMan's original list of expenses. Naturally, grocery prices have increased - quite a bit, even. But the savings on eating out more than compensate. YMMV

 

[oiseux]

I can see 35 to 40K a year in spending in those categories, as that is what we have budgeted (although we don't follow it). It is down during COVID-19 as it is tougher to spend that much eating out, and pricey fine dining loses quite a bit as takeout. (Although I was dining last week at a high well known steakhouse and was surprised at the number of Uber Eats/Door Dash orders being picked up). We actually don't eat big steaks or multi-star Michelin food that often (spouse is a vegetarian), and prefer a Bib Gourmand over a formal tasting menu at a **/***.

In Northern California, the level of food quality and cooking execution at good restaurants is very high. Even with purchased food, I have no lack of access to nice items, and this immediate gratification is bad for any budget. Even my corner grocer (not a supermarket) has a large selection of imported cheese and food stuffs (caviar, truffles, Iberico ham), specialty butcher counter (prime and uncommon meats), their own dedicated farm and baker. There are two even larger sized ones within 2 miles, plus all sorts of dedicated specialty shops, bakeries and fishmongers (who wholesale to the region's seafood restaurants).

And yet, we are still somewhat frugal. Not an unlimited wine budget, and I balk at certain prices. Perhaps I will get over this, like some of you have.

 

[brett]

We buy the groceries that we need or want. We do not really keep track of how much we spend on food. No idea what we spent on groceries this year, let alone what we spent on dining out, wine, etc. Nor we we see any point in keeping track of this type of spend.

What others spend on these items is meaningless to us.

We eat out as often as we want. In these covid days it is not very often.

We do not care what the cost of a restaurant meal is as long as the food is good, the service is good, and we perceive it to be a fair price.

Having said that, we stopped buying and consuming most fast food when we retired. Our health is worth more to us as we age.

 

[zippy2020]

We also live in Northern CA and although I'm an excellent cook, there are dozens/hundreds of restaurants nearby that offer specific dishes I will not bother to cook. Saves me time shopping, prepping, cooking and cleaning, which IMHO makes it well worth the price.

Not to mention this way Spouse gets what HE wants to eat and I get what I want to eat, LOL.....

We have always spent the majority of our discretionary income on food - both at home and dining out. We're fortunate that a healthy portion of our income is apportioned to that category.

No kids, have separate LTCi policies, regular saving acct transfers, etc., have all been accounted for (although we really have to update our legal docs, sigh).

Didn't dine out much during the lockdown, but have started to do so about half as often as pre-pandemic. We feel it's important to support local businesses and their staff. We've seen many places close up entirely; others have severely restricted hours/days open. They're really struggling to survive, and we've increased both our tipping and our charity donations.

Because we haven't been able to do our usual routine of driving trips, our expenses have declined over the past couple of years. We shifted that money to doing projects around the house that needed some TLC, or getting "wants" like whole house A/C - you know climate change is real when living in coastal NorCA needs A/C to deal with increasingly frequent heat spells!

We just came back from a weekend trip to Monterey/Carmel with 2 friends. 2 meals per day without tip cost, ran about $475. I splurged on the hotel as we were only staying one night, so that was $380/per couple.