CuppaJoe
Moderator Emeritus
LOL, when I packed my own lunches for w*rk, I’d choose favorites like Alaska King Crab..., ate out more cheaply most of the time. Now that I’m retired, I do eat at home most of the time because my daily outings are about four hours instead of 10+. I try to overstock fresh fruits and vegetables and work around that. Today’s brunch was leftover roasted root veggies with some leftover corn to which I added canned mushrooms, some scallops for the main item, diet coke and coffee. Dessert was leftover apple and cherry pies a la mode. (It’s SO’s birthday week.)It's kind of a meaningless number unless we know whether you eat lunches out or in the cafeteria at work, grab Starbucks many mornings, eat dinner out a lot or pick up pizza or fast food, etc. Many people can save a lot of money by increasing their grocery bill, i.e., eating at home or brown bagging your lunch. I try not to go too cheap on groceries because I'm already saving by eating at home and feel if I reward myself I'll keep doing it....
After 16 months of RE, I’ve decided to spend more on groceries up front in order to have enough good healthy stuff stocked. The blender drinks made from fruits would shock me if I figured the cost. OTOH, I make slow cooked or blender soups that are very inexpensive. I plan to have the supermarket deliver twice a month until there is more stock on hand and for emergencies. I do look at everything the on-line store has on sale, stock up on stuff I use, and take advantage of free or reduced fee delivery offers.
OP, $400/month sounds really low. I have no idea what I spend on the grocery category, right now I’m just looking at the bottom line which is way under 4% of PF this year.