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

[Koolau]

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.

My tastes are not sophisticated enough to even consider purchasing most expensive foods. Then, the frugality that's been instilled in me from childhood would also interfere with any real increases in quality/price of foods.

I can afford fine dining, but never participate. I could buy whatever I desire at virtually any food store. Somehow, it simply does not occur to do so. I guess I'm hopelessly (still) stuck in pre-FIRE even though I've been FIRE'd for 16 years. YMMV

 

[levindb]

I figured out my problem....

We eat to live rather than live to eat.

DW is a very good cook, and if we dine out, it is more for the atmosphere, entertainment, or social value...so our liquid assets tend to keep growing until we BTD on something of value to us...normally an experience rather than a thing (edible or not).

 

[oiseux]

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.

snip

I know exactly what I mean. I cook pretty well but for certain ethnic foods as well as certain time-consuming specialty skills, I just often outsource. It often means sourcing a whole lot of ingredients that can go to waste (e.g., Indian food) or tons of leftovers. Or something like classic puff pastry is fun the first or second time, not so fun when you have a hankering for a pain au chocolate and don't want to spend a half a day and then eat a couple dozen.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

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





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.

+1. Our "all in" on groceries this year (includes Costco) is $8200 (vs $6300 last year) and we don't really skimp, either. I am not including dining out as that is another bucket and we haven't finished this year.

 

[meekie]

$15,600 on eating out, $7500 on groceries, another $5000 for alcohol. Plus Costco is in the shopping category, so it's a good percentage of another $5000. Oh and another $5600 in entertainment and only $4000 in travel because of the pandemic. So probably right at the $40k. We eat out or order in for 5-7 meals a week. We do a lot of leftovers from those restaurants and simple breakfast to keep costs down. I splurge on avocados every week, but got a great deal on a choice rib roast for xmas dinner. I try to go with reasonable limits and try to enjoy my spending, since this is what I saved for.

 

[Scuba]

Food, wine, entertainment and travel are things we enjoy so we do spend a fair bit. I haven’t added this year up yet, but in prior years we typically spent around $10K on groceries, $4-$5K on wine/liquor, and $12-$15K on eating out and entertainment such as shows, concerts, etc.

This year I suspect our spending on groceries increased a fair bit, as prices went up and we haven’t reduced our food quality or quantity. We may have spent a bit less on alcohol, partly because we drink less than we used to and partly because we are working through our inventory. Also, we have put more effort into finding $15-$25 bottles of wine we enjoy. What used to be a $15-$20 bottle is now $30-$40 and while we are ok with that for an occasional splurge, I’m not ok with regularly drinking bottles that are so expensive.

Eating out costs are definitely up from 2020 when most restaurants near us shut down for months, but vs pre-pandemic years, I’m guessing they’re somewhat stable. Costs per meal are higher by probably 15-20%, but we go out less frequently. We enjoy dining out, and used to do it often. We got out of the habit during the pandemic and now, when even a mid-range lunch is $50-$60, we’d just as soon eat at home. So we still go out for special occasions and when we just want a break or want to try a new place, but the day to day meals we used to eat at restaurants are not important enough to us to justify the higher costs.

 

[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.

I don't do a budget, but I looked at what we spent in December. $1558 or $18,696 a year. This included a couple of meals where we paid for our kids and grandkids. But I would say overall it was a good average and hight than what I thought. This does include household items from Walmart deliveries as I don't have a good way to split that out.

 

[NextInLine]

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.

Lenindb, I’m intrigued about your all inclusive investment. Do you mind to share more? I have traveled there about 3-4 times and I found it very pleasant, kids loved it.

 

[24601NoMore]

We always thought we ate really well, but our Food spend (just the 2 of us) came in at $5,800 last year against a budget of $4,800. Alcohol (which I probably imbibe way too much on) was $1,200.

Note that we did not eat out last year due to COVID. Everything is made from scratch and cooked at home. Takes a LOT of time, but saves a small fortune also.

I'll admit to being a bit mystified as to how someone can spend $19K a year on groceries and $5K on liquor. What on earth are you getting for that kind of dough? Imported Russian caviar? Prime Wagu beef? Heck, Wagu Beef Hot Dogs?

 

[Scuba]

We always thought we ate really well, but our Food spend (just the 2 of us) came in at $5,800 last year against a budget of $4,800. Alcohol (which I probably imbibe way too much on) was $1,200.

Note that we did not eat out last year due to COVID. Everything is made from scratch and cooked at home. Takes a LOT of time, but saves a small fortune also.

I'll admit to being a bit mystified as to how someone can spend $19K a year on groceries and $5K on liquor. What on earth are you getting for that kind of dough? Imported Russian caviar? Prime Wagu beef? Heck, Wagu Beef Hot Dogs?

I’m guessing the $19K includes eating out. With prices as they are now, it’s not hard at all to spend $1,000 or more per month on restaurants, plus groceries for the rest of the time. And if you entertain much, it’s easy to spend quite a bit on wine and liquor too. If you have 2 couples over for the evening, and all six people enjoy wine, it’s easy to go through 3-4 bottles over the course of an evening.

 

[pacergal]

We tentatively budget $1500 month for "Groceries/Dining out" , a rather generic category as I don't separate household goods/soaps/etc from food on my receipts, and dining out includes any drinks/food not cooked at home, Starbucks, etc.

 

[doneat54]

About $700/mo on groceries and $1500/mo on dining out and booze. We are foodies and place a high value on quality beverages and food/proteins. We enjoy dining out a lot.

 

[mountainsoft]

I just downloaded all of our account data and categorized our spending for 2021. We spent $8321 for groceries in 2021, compared to $8927 in 2020.

I group recreation and restaurants into a single category as it's sometimes hard to separate the two if we're eating at a theater or something. We spent $4304 in 2021 compared to $3099 in 2020. Of course, that includes hotel, airbnb, and a few other miscellaneous items, but most of it is dining out.

Short answer is we spent a bit less on groceries in 2021, but a bit more dining out.

 

[someguy]

Those with low total food spends, I'm curious to know what you're eating and how much? We try to eat very healthy -- a lot of fish, lean meats, organic fruits/veggies on those on the dirty dozen list, etc., and try to avoid highly processed options. But we are quite active -- I'm often looking for 4000+ calories in a day. Short of eating tons of processed carbs/sugars, I can't imagine being at $2000-$4000/year.

 

[Chuckanut]

I don't dine out much these days.

My one big concession to Omicron is protecting myself and others close to me b avoiding restaurants and other places where unknowable people don't properly wear an effective mask. Besides, I am a descent cook. And the cost of restaurant meals has hit the point where it's hard to justify $40 for the meat loaf lunch plus beverage, plus tax, plus tip, for two people. It's meatloaf, mashed potatoes, a veggie and a non-adult beverage after all.

 

[Sojourner]

But we are quite active -- I'm often looking for 4000+ calories in a day.

Are you sure you need 4,000+ calories/day? That's a lot, even for a very active person. I used the Mayo Clinic online calorie calculator, and I entered "very active" for myself (male, 5'11", average weight/build, late 40s/early 50s) and it said I needed 2,850 calories/day. Are you very tall (like 6'7") and very, very athletic? That's about the only way I could see you needing 4,000 calories daily. Most people (especially older folks) need fewer than 2,500 calories per day.

 

[someguy]

Are you sure you need 4,000+ calories/day? That's a lot, even for a very active person. I used the Mayo Clinic online calorie calculator, and I entered "very active" for myself (male, 5'11", average weight/build, late 40s/early 50s) and it said I needed 2,850 calories/day. Are you very tall (like 6'7") and very, very athletic? That's about the only way I could see you needing 4,000 calories daily. Most people (especially older folks) need fewer than 2,500 calories per day.

Yes, I'm sure. One or two days a week, I hit around 5000 kcal. Other days, it's under 4000 but usually not less than 3000. I use tech to track actively burned calories (cardio, strength, sports, walking, etc) and add those to my baseline (ie, no substantial daily activity). The real life double check that confirms this is weight+body fat %.

 

[Koolau]

Yes, I'm sure. One or two days a week, I hit around 5000 kcal. Other days, it's under 4000 but usually not less than 3000. I use tech to track actively burned calories (cardio, strength, sports, walking, etc) and add those to my baseline (ie, no substantial daily activity). The real life double check that confirms this is weight+body fat %.

Unfortunately, I think I'm down to needing about 1400Kcal. It's tough getting old. YMMV

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Those with low total food spends, I'm curious to know what you're eating and how much? We try to eat very healthy -- a lot of fish, lean meats, organic fruits/veggies on those on the dirty dozen list, etc., and try to avoid highly processed options. But we are quite active -- I'm often looking for 4000+ calories in a day. Short of eating tons of processed carbs/sugars, I can't imagine being at $2000-$4000/year.

In our city it is not so much what you eat but where you shop that makes a huge grocery budget difference. Our local area has gotten pricey so the same grocery items may be 3 - 5 times more than the discount stores in a less expensive suburb just 15 minutes away. We cut our grocery bill by more than half just by changing where we shop and paying attention to prices.


There is a difference between eating cheap food and simply not overpaying for healthy food. Safeway has some good sale prices and Whole Foods has good prices on their store brands, but otherwise they are pretty pricey here compared to identical foods at Walmart or Grocery Outlet.

 

[Music Lover]

Those with low total food spends, I'm curious to know what you're eating and how much? We try to eat very healthy -- a lot of fish, lean meats, organic fruits/veggies on those on the dirty dozen list, etc., and try to avoid highly processed options. But we are quite active -- I'm often looking for 4000+ calories in a day. Short of eating tons of processed carbs/sugars, I can't imagine being at $2000-$4000/year.

We cook most of our own meals rather than eating out. We share a side of beef once a year or so with a family member from a local farmer/butcher. Basically for the price of hamburger (per pound) we get every cut of meat from hamburger to sirloin steak to rib roast, cut and wrapped.

The beef is supplemented with chicken and pork which can still be found at reasonable prices if you shop around.

Plus we stock up on things when on sale, buy in bulk, and grow some of our own veggies.

 

[jollystomper]

We are not big on eating lots of food, as our biggest challenge in retirement is not to gain weight . Our total Groceries/Take Out/Restaurant Dining expense for 2021 was $8,196. Less than 2020, which was less than 2019. We are not budgeting, we just spent what we felt like.

We are extremely light drinkers. We spent about $150 on wine and liquor last year, and that includes wine DW uses for cooking. We do like to dine out, but almost always we end up stretching what is served to 2 or 3 meals.

We will spend more on recreation/entertainment as more of the entertainment we enjoy comes back from the pandemic, but even that has a limit given how much time one has.We have so many interests it is tough to spend more, as we are spreading out our time among our options.

We are going to try to focus more on driving trips to visit areas for a long weekend or a few days during the week that has some level of entertainment/recreation. We are cautious during the pandemic, but not all places are impacted equally and looking at county level numbers is one factor that helps guide us on places that should be relatively safe to visit.

 

[Sunset]

In our city it is not so much what you eat but where you shop that makes a huge grocery budget difference. Our local area has gotten pricey so the same grocery items may be 3 - 5 times more than the discount stores in a less expensive suburb just 15 minutes away. We cut our grocery bill by more than half just by changing where we shop and paying attention to prices.


There is a difference between eating cheap food and simply not overpaying for healthy food. Safeway has some good sale prices and Whole Foods has good prices on their store brands, but otherwise they are pretty pricey here compared to identical foods at Walmart or Grocery Outlet.

I've also found where I shop makes a large difference in the price. When I go to the grocery store that is 50% higher in price for food, it's a nicer looking store, and lots of BMW's parked there. Some are owned by the kids working there
When I go to the Aldi and FreshMart it's old cars and regular trucks parked there by the laundrymat.
It's full of regular low wage customers, with prices for them.

I buy milk at $2 /gallon regularly at Jewel/Osco
We eat a lot of chicken and some pork and some beef,
Chicken is $1.99/lb or less for boneless skinless chicken breasts, or under a $1/lb for a cut up chicken.
Just recently bought a ham with bone for 89cents / lb but we don't often eat ham as I think the processing is not healthy.
I like buying fresh vegies for cooking as they retain some crispness if not cooked too long.

DW doesn't like fish, so it's rare we get that.
I don't get organic food, not sure it all is organic, but I do enjoy our own garden in the late summer for tomatoes. Probably a 10x20 garden saves maybe $200 a year in food and is fun to grow.

 

[Koolau]

We quickly pay for our memberships at BOTH Sams and Costco JUST on food purchases. The other items we purchase are, well, "gravy."

A few items we buy only as loss-leaders at the regular grocery stores. Items like soft drinks are cheaper every-day at Sams or Costco, but every two or three weeks, the grocery stores discount their drinks to lower than Sams/Costco. Otherwise, virtually everything is lower at Sams/Costco. Unfortunately, their selection is limited, meaning we have to shop the grocery stores from time to time.

Food prices here are stunning the first time you shop. There are ways to manage, but whenever we visit the mainland, we shop at Aldi and our eyes bug out as we see milk for $2 instead of $5.50 at Costco. We'll occasionally find in-season blueberries for $1/pound instead of out-of-season (always) at Costco-HI for as much as $1/ounce.

You do get used to "ridiculous" food prices, but make it up in other ways (no heating or AC costs - we have neither in our building for instance.) We eat out less here and splurge when we get back to the mainland. It becomes a habit to shop carefully in the Islands. Just another cost of Paradise. YMMV

 

[flyingaway]

We quickly pay for our memberships at BOTH Sams and Costco JUST on food purchases. The other items we purchase are, well, "gravy."

A few items we buy only as loss-leaders at the regular grocery stores. Items like soft drinks are cheaper every-day at Sams or Costco, but every two or three weeks, the grocery stores discount their drinks to lower than Sams/Costco. Otherwise, virtually everything is lower at Sams/Costco. Unfortunately, their selection is limited, meaning we have to shop the grocery stores from time to time.

Food prices here are stunning the first time you shop. There are ways to manage, but whenever we visit the mainland, we shop at Aldi and our eyes bug out as we see milk for $2 instead of $5.50 at Costco. We'll occasionally find in-season blueberries for $1/pound instead of out-of-season (always) at Costco-HI for as much as $1/ounce.

You do get used to "ridiculous" food prices, but make it up in other ways (no heating or AC costs - we have neither in our building for instance.) We eat out less here and splurge when we get back to the mainland. It becomes a habit to shop carefully in the Islands. Just another cost of Paradise. YMMV

Last time I was in Hawaii, I wish the seafoods could be as cheap as the cabbages. Why not? you have oceans everywhere.

 

[W2R]

Last time I was in Hawaii, I wish the seafoods could be as cheap as the cabbages. Why not? you have oceans everywhere.

Half a century ago I grew up on Kailua Beach, in Hawaii. It was an idyllic time and place back then. Like many locals my cousins, brothers, uncles, friends, and I used to go spear fishing several times a week for fish, octopus, and so on. Such fun, and nothing like a free dinner! If we caught too much, I'd freeze it. If we didn't catch anything, well, then dinner would be something else. But we almost always caught enough for dinner, and often considerably more than that. We'd cook it over a fire on the beach, or take it home.

And then several times a year all the neighbors would get together and we'd get out the nets and have a hukilau and maybe then a luau after cooking in an imu, since that was usually a lot more fish.

This was more than half a century ago and times have changed, so I don't even know if spearfishing is still allowed. But it sure was fun and seafood fresh out of the ocean is such a treat. We seldom bought seafood at the grocery store, and I don't remember the prices although I do remember that it was always fresh too. I never noticed any that was frozen and re-thawed at that time.

I'd tell you about stringing leis out on our lanai afterwards to wear to school the next day, but that might be overdoing the Hawaiiana aspects of this post!