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

[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]

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]

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]

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]

Say 10k annually on wine and booze, and 7k each on groceries and restaurants?

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

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.

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.

 

[tmm99]

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.

 

[PatrickA5]

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.

We could for sure save a lot of money by only buying at Aldi's and cooking from scratch. We could also not eat out as much or pay for the Kids/Grandkids meals. Who knows, at some point we may be forced to do that.

A few years ago, we stopped buying drinks when going out to eat (only water). Figured it was better for our health and saved 20% of our eating out expenses.

 

[audreyh1]

Spending lots on groceries as they have gone up and we are doing more home cooking than ever.

But if you are doing what you want and can easily afford it, why sweat about the spending?!?

My penny pinching days are over (I hope)!

 

[foxfirev5]

Thanks. I'm glad we're not alone buying top shelf, outer edges of the store colorful food. Really good for you with little regard of the budget. It's pretty basic and if you feel you can't afford to provide quality nutrition, you're really not FIRED or frugal. You're short term cheap.

 

[audreyh1]

Yeah, quality nutrition is paramount in our house.

 

[MRG]

No liquor. Our freezer is full of American Wagu, Berkshire pork, organic chicken and frozen king crab.

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

 

[Koolau]

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.

Once again, no criticism implied as I believe we should all spend our money on what brings us the most pleasure. Having said that, I'm quite content with frozen seafood, domestic cheeses, Costco's finest steaks, etc., etc. We don't eat out as much as we used to, so we tend to eat at a bit nicer places to make up for it. All in all, our food costs are fairly low though possibly above average due to living in a HCOL area. YMMV

 

[NW-Bound]

We eat a variety of food, and our food cost is so small we don't pay any attention to it.

Costco prime cuts are just as good to me as American Wagyu beef. Japanese Wagyu is 50% fat, and it will ooze out of your skin if you eat too much of it (I cannot). And I cannot eat steak every day.

I want beef stew, Hungarian goulash, Vietnamese pho, hamburger, beef bourguignon, osso bucco, braciole, etc... Many of these dishes are better made with inexpensive cuts of meat, and taste bad if made with filet mignon. And I want pork, chicken, shrimp, different fish, etc...

In short, when I eat a variety of food, I invariably use less expensive ingredients in my cooking.

 

[MichaelL]

I use an online budget program that reads from my bank and credit card accounts so I know just what I spend on everything without much effort.

I've spent $22,000 so far this year on bars and bottles, restaurants and groceries. I've been cutting back on going to restaurants given the restrictions and the increasing prices.

The breakdown is about $10,000 on groceries, $8,000 on bars and bottles, and $4,000 on restaurants.

I mainly drink wine and spent about $55 a bottle on average but as low as $25 but sometimes over $100. I have some Scotch at home which I drink now and again and it costs about $50 to $90 a bottle.

When I go out to bars I'll drink wine if they have something decent or maybe a Rye or a Bourbon as the Scotch is just getting out of sight by the shot.

It's just me and the live in girlfriend. We don't spend much on entertainment as far as shows and such but she spends some on dance classes and arts and crafts which I count as entertainment.

 

[tmm99]

Once again, no criticism implied as I believe we should all spend our money on what brings us the most pleasure. Having said that, I'm quite content with frozen seafood, domestic cheeses, Costco's finest steaks, etc., etc. We don't eat out as much as we used to, so we tend to eat at a bit nicer places to make up for it. All in all, our food costs are fairly low though possibly above average due to living in a HCOL area. YMMV

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!)