Food budget?

palomalou

Recycles dryer sheets
Joined
Dec 22, 2010
Messages
468
We have always budgeted, since we married 35 years ago and tracked every penny. We are fine financially, but in 2018 I was put on a low-(almost no) fiber diet. It has kept me out of the hospital but also kept me from including some budget-savers that we really like, such as bean soups, off the menu. Our food budget has been increased each year by the total inflation rate, usually about 3%. It seems that suddenly I am struggling not to go over the food budget. We could just increase it, but it is almost a mental game/challenge. However, I wonder whether my recent struggle is that we are finally being hit with the food-inflation-faster-than other categories, plus cheaper items that we can no longer eat. I have never tried to remember what I paid for individual items, so can't report anything but the totals. Has anybody else noticed this?
 
I have to admit I have not tracked food spending outside of eating out for years.

We used to have to pinch every penny and bought the cheapest of everything we could find. Once our financial situation improved to where it is now, I refuse to do that any longer.

I honestly do not even look at the prices, I just put in the cart what I want to buy. The only exception might be some cuts of meat, but we recently bought 1/4 of a cow so all our beef needs are taken care of for a while.
 
I have to admit I have not tracked food spending outside of eating out for years.

We used to have to pinch every penny and bought the cheapest of everything we could find. Once our financial situation improved to where it is now, I refuse to do that any longer.

I honestly do not even look at the prices, I just put in the cart what I want to buy. The only exception might be some cuts of meat, but we recently bought 1/4 of a cow so all our beef needs are taken care of for a while.
And for sure, one way I have tried to keep a handle on it is by eating out less, especially when we are in the US. Eating out is less appealing with my diet restrictions: it has become, "Is there anything on this menu that I CAN eat?" instead of what I might like to eat.
 
I've never budgeted or tracked food spending, but I've noticed really significant food inflation over the past 4 years. A couple of years ago we almost completely stopped eating out. The value is no longer there vs the pleasure. Being on a low carb diet is also a problem. It's difficult to find good choices at a restaurant - especially without wasting half the food (too many carbs.)
 
We rarely cook and I have noticed that the food inflation, particularly dining out has increased faster than generic inflation rates.
However we have a fairly large food budget at 18k yearly which is not typical on this site to my observance.
 
Yea, we used to eat out almost every day but rarely eat out more than once a month now. Part of it is the price vs value and partly it's no longer desiring to travel to a restaurant. We stay home a lot more now.
 
I love cooking, a passion I found after getting out of the Marine Corps and having more time on my hands.

We are still in the accumulation phase but my wife and I both agree I will not spend 10k less now just to have 10k more 5 years from now. So when it comes to eating what we like, we are going to do it
 
We were a family of 5 and we never budgeted for groceries even though finances were very tight. Food is cheap IMO and it was always a matter of getting some value/quality for money spent. That's where Aldi's comes in. The non-edible groceries (paper products, cleaning supplies, etc.) is what give me heartburn. My master spreadsheet has groceries at 5% of the budget for 2 of us but I really won't track it unless there is an issue. If you can't make substitutions due to dietary restrictions things can get complicated. I went into the spiffy new Sprout's Farmers Market that opened up in the neighborhood thinking I would get the one item I really needed and a few other items as "treats". I figured buying a few things just this once would be fine but I just could not bring myself to pay those prices. Thier offerings lean towards organic, less processed, higher priced options. OTOH they have some bulk items like oatmeal and nuts that are probably way cheaper than even generic pre-packaged version
 
High quality ingredients for meals has always been a priority and these past several years we do all of our cooking when not traveling, pretty much from scratch.

Our grocery costs have risen quite a bit over the years. I guess we just make sure there is plenty of room in our overall spending budget.
 
I love cooking, a passion I found after getting out of the Marine Corps and having more time on my hands.

We are still in the accumulation phase but my wife and I both agree I will not spend 10k less now just to have 10k more 5 years from now. So when it comes to eating what we like, we are going to do it
I agree that it's important to have a life as you prepare for retirement. I often say "You can do anything, you just can't do everything." SO if your "little indulgence" is a big food budget, even if that puts off retirement a few months, it is worth it - as long as you are aware of any trade offs. For me, it was travel/vacations. I could have saved even more (and faster) without taking nice vacations but it wasn't worth it to scrimp that much. YMMV
 
How much are you getting paid to make a budget? I’ll guess nothing. So you’re time is on this planet is worthless?

Stop having a food budget - problem solved.
I think it's more a matter of what you are most comfortable with. Some find a budget to be useful in controlling spending. I've never needed that but It may well be worth the time to some here.

Heh, heh, I could save a fair amount of time if I stopped posting here. :facepalm: :cool:
 
Good (healthy) food is something I will not consider in budgeting. We don’t eat out much and, due to health issues, have to eat a certain way. So, whatever it costs, it costs. It’s not that I don’t notice the cost increases at the store, it’s just that I’m going to eat the best I can for the sake of my health. Also, for the sake of enjoyment. I’m not going to eat rubber chicken just because it’s a few dollars per pound cheaper.
 
Before we knew that we'd be more than ok after my involuntary retirement, we promised ourselves that the one non-negotiable was that we would never scrimp on our food or drink. Turns out that we never had to, but....

Filet mignon at Whole Foods at $38 a pound? I'll take two please.
 
The DW tells me food prices have been increasing in the past few years but it's not slowing us down to eat what we want. I have noticed cost of eating out has gone up a lot (fast food or restaurants) since I pay that "per meal". Even McDonalds is over $20 for the two of us each time we go. Crazy.
 
IMG_3056.jpeg
 
I have always been really impressed by my big sister's food budgeting skills. She writes out a menu for 3 meals/day plus snacks for the week. The grocery list is generated from the menu. It is kinda fun staying with her since I am looking forward to the meal she has planned for two days ahead. She manages the freezer contents and has near zero waste. I'm pretty sure this is way more efficient than anything I could manage but it is activity that she enjoys like we enjoy spreadsheets.
 
I wonder whether my recent struggle is that we are finally being hit with the food-inflation-faster-than other categories
Food inflation is real. A dozen of quail egg had gone from 0.99 to 2.50 where I live. So 150% higher vs before 2020 or so.
 
Egg prices have nothing to do with inflation. Avian flu outbreaks mandated over 1 million chickens be killed this year due to the flu.
 
We rarely cook and I have noticed that the food inflation, particularly dining out has increased faster than generic inflation rates.
However we have a fairly large food budget at 18k yearly which is not typical on this site to my observance.
Our grocery bill is less than $2K but our dining out bill is around $30K a year
 
Our grocery bill is less than $2K but our dining out bill is around $30K a year
Nice. Our budget includes dining out costs.
A typical week includes 3 service delivered dinners, 3 pickup/delivery meals, 1 day cooking or leftovers. Go out to breakfast 2x weekly. Go out for lunch 2x weekly.
 
Nice. Our budget includes dining out costs.
A typical week includes 3 service delivered dinners, 3 pickup/delivery meals, 1 day cooking or leftovers. Go out to breakfast 2x weekly. Go out for lunch 2x weekly.
We lunch out every day at nice sitdown restaurants and once a week we go out for a very nice dinner. We usually have breakfast at home and a very light early dinner which we call "scrounging". No pick up or meal delivery for us.
 
Life it too short. If you don't have the budget for the healthy food you want, the answer is to ignore the budget, not the good food.

Assuming you aren't on a shoestring ER budget, I would really try to get past the struggle you have, especially given your dietary needs.
 
I always tried to buy/ make healthy, good quality meals for the family but we no longer budget "strictly" for food. Since food is integral to good health, to the extent necessary, I would rather make budget cuts elsewhere. That doesn't mean I want to waste money, i.e. if I can get the same quality food cheaper at one easily accessible store than other, I'll go to the cheaper store. Full disclosure, I still like sales.
 
I haven't eaten out since the start of the pandemic. Never had the urge.
 
Back
Top Bottom