How much do you spend on Groceries?

[SmallCityDave]

Currently we budget $400 for our family of 4, we have a teenager and soon to be teenager. We budget $100 a month on "date night" but in all reality it's more entertainment than actual food.


I estimate our grocery budget will be $300 when the boys are out of the home.


Whats your grocery budget?

 

[candrew]

Currently we budget $400 for our family of 4, we have a teenager and soon to be teenager. We budget $100 a month on "date night" but in a reality it's more entertainment than actual food.


I estimate our grocery budget will be $300 when the boys are out of the home.


Whats your grocery budget?

Wow, $400/month for a family of 4 - including a teen and pre-teen - is very impressive! When our boys were that age, we swore it would be cheaper for us to pay their rent than their feed bill.

For DW & I - we average about $525/month for food, including the occasional meal out.

 

[Carpediem]

We lump our restaurant and wine purchases into one category along with groceries - $1200/mth. We buy our wine at the grocery store so that's why it's included in the category.

Edit to add: Our grocery bill includes personal care items as well as household supplies (t.p., cleaning supplies, etc.).

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Just food and Grog for a family of 2, just DW and I. No Restaurants or outside snacking included. Averages for this year so far are:

Food: $510.63 per month. Food does include Soft Drinks, Fruit Drinks, soaps, cleaning stuff etc. as they are all purchased together from supermarket style establishments.

Grog: $120.11 per month. Beer, Wine and Liquor.

 

[audreyh1]

We spend a huge amount on groceries for just the two of us. Probably at least $1000 a month. Top quality groceries are a priority for us, and we eat almost all meals at home unless traveling.

 

[CaptTom]

For just the two of us, it's about $375/mo for groceries, plus $250/mo eating out. That's a 12-month average. We eat pretty ordinary stuff, not a lot of high-end meats, and we buy a lot of store brands.

That doesn't include household supplies, toiletries or personal care items, even if we buy them (rarely) at the grocery store.

I hadn't looked at the food budget since I retired. That's actually a lot higher than I would have guessed.

 

[Dtail]

About 600 a month for groceries for 2 people. However we eat out or order in 3 days a week for another 600.

 

[SmallCityDave]

We spend a huge amount on groceries for just the two of us. Probably at least $1000 a month. Top quality groceries are a priority for us, and we eat almost all meals at home unless traveling.

We are also eating better and I don't mean going to the grocery store and spending $5 on 4 organic bananas .



We try to eat more healthy by reducing chemical intake. We have chickens for eggs and meat, we produce our milk (obviously not for the financial benefit), we also hunt and fish so our meat freezer is full of trout, venison and elk.

 

[MRG]

About $600 a month for two of us and another $600 a month eating out.

 

[SmallCityDave]

About 600 a month for groceries for 2 people. However we eat out or order in 3 days a week for another 600.

Wow that's almost like real money


The more we eat out the more I like my wife's cooking and as a side benefit she really likes to cook.

 

[scrabbler1]

My best guess is $200 per month for one person.

 

[Midpack]

Just two of us, YTD we've spent $566/mo on groceries (food, liquor and household staples). But we have dinner out twice a week on average, at $501/mo YTD. We could cut back, but until we need to...

 

[Dtail]

Wow that's almost like real money


The more we eat out the more I like my wife's cooking and as a side benefit she really likes to cook.

We like to cook too, but do enjoy the pleasure of eating out and trying foods we can't duplicate cooking in the kitchen easily.

 

[davebarnes]

No idea.
We don't don't track our spending.

 

[Independent]

The annual US average for married couples, with no children at home, with both spouses over age 60, in 2013 (I think) was:

$4,296 for food "at home", and
$2,181 for food "away from home".

That's about $360 and $180 per month.

If we break that down between couples that rent vs. couples that own their house,

$4,562 and $2,378 for owners, vs.
$3,241 and $974 for renters.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/consumer-expenditures-survey-74306.html

Our "groceries, personal care, and cleaning supplies" line has been about $6,000/yr.
We spend about $400/yr on "food on the road" when traveling, and about $650/yr picking up the check when we eat out with the kids. So we're probably close to the average total, but we split it differently.


We have posters who spend a lot more and others who spend a lot less.

 

[lucky penny]

I'd been averaging around $225 a month (for one) but in the last year it's been higher since I decided not to scrimp on high-quality, healthy food (fish, fresh berries, etc). That's definitely been a big, positive mental shift (inspired in part by messages here): instead of trying to keep the amount low, I congratulate myself for spending wisely on myself.

That doesn't include meals out ($40-90 a month) or non-food items bought at the grocery store.

 

[O2Bfree]

DH and I are averaging $525 for the last 25 months, which includes booze and eating out a few times per month, more often when on vacation. I'm sure we could lower that, but DH prefers organic, non-GMO food, and free-range meats ($60 for our TG turkey! ). I'm not entirely sold on all that, but I do prefer prepared foods that have shorter lists of ingredients.

 

[athena53]

About $400/month for one person but that includes cleaning supplies, bird seed, etc. Alcohol is separate category.

Very little meat but lots of fresh fruits and veggies and "slow carbs" such as bulghur and quinoa instead of rice and potatoes. Very few restaurant meals- maybe one per month with friends and family plus stops at Subway on road trips.

 

[FIREd]

I budget $400 a month for one (includes cleaning supplies, paper products, basic wine and beer, etc...). But my food expenses have been dropping. I am simplifying my diet (I loved to cook a large variety of food when I was married but it is not so fun now that I am single). And I am lowering my meat consumption. The goal is to move towards a more plant-based, seasonal, and streamlined diet. But I still favor what I would call "high quality ingredients".

 

[Fishingmn]

We spend about $670/mo on groceries and liquor (not including dining out or buying groceries while on vacation).


We live in a smaller town with 1 grocery store 1/2 mile away. I could cut grocery bill if I planned dinner better and shopped at a larger grocery store. Normal routine is to plan dinner at around 3-4pm and go shopping for that night's items. Almost everything we eat is fresh food.

 

[ocdokie]

Made me look. Mint says that as of today (Nov.30), in 2018 DH and I have spent $377 per month on groceries, with $80 per month on eating out. There's just the two of us.

 

[COcheesehead]

About $500 - $600/month for two. Mostly shop at Costco. Don't really skimp on anything. Buy organics, quality proteins, lots of fish, but little in the way of prepared foods. I think those types of things can really escalate a food bill.

 

[Sunset]

About $321 for two per month.

 

[RetireAge50]

For 2 people we consume over 100,000 calories per month. I think we spend less than 1 cent per calorie.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Here is my Spreadsheet, Jan to Nov. Resp. I do not know how some of you can spend so little.

Jan. ------> Dec.
Food: 508.97 529.87 437.13 412.02 592.44 641.09 321.77 540.86 493.09 486.12 564.23 0.00
Jan. ------> Dec.
Wine & Liquor: 54.68 84.91 274.58 120.47 130.54 158.84 104.32 22.41 195.60 21.26 154.58 0.00