How much do you spend on groceries? - YouLookFab Forum

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How much do you spend on groceries?

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I'm trying to improve my budgeting and am currently looking at food costs. I used to spend a lot of time comparison shopping but in recent years have gone for convenience over savings. Do you have a grocery budget for you/your family? How do you decide what to buy and what to cook? Any tips and tricks you might suggest?

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35 replies

Latest reply was from Scarlet

carter

Veteran

Groceries have gotten so expensive in the last couple years. Irritates me to no end when they report inflation excluding groceries! California grocery prices are even worse than we have here. I feel your pain. A few years ago, I was very into coupons and managed to cut my monthly spend almost in half. If you have a deep freeze, Zaycon offers great prices (on large quantities) for ground beef, chicken, wild salmon and cod, talapia, bacon, etc.

A couple years ago we started transitioning to organic/grass fed/line caught, etc, so naturally the spend skyrocketed. I still shop sales and occasionally use coupons for paper and cleaning products, health and beauty items and the few processed foods my husband and son still "require". We bought a 1/4 grass fed cow back in February and still have several packs of meat still in the freezer. I buy frozen organic chicken, wild caught fresh ahi tuna, and frozen wild salmon and shrimp, and organic fruits and veggies from Costco. Not cheap, but better than Whole Foods. Whenever I have the time, I head to the big farmer's market where I can get a much larger assortment of organic fruits and veggies for much less than Costco. They also have tons of wild fresh fish, fresh organic chicken, grass fed beef and buffalo.

So, to actually answer your question:-), I don't have a budget, but I do track everything. My food category lumps together food, general groceries/paper/plastic, health and beauty items, wine and the occasional restocking of my FIL's fridge and freezer. With that in mind, I average about $1000/month for 2 adults, an 18 year old "starving!" son, a spoiled dog, and 3 stray cats. Back when I was couponing and eating more processed food, we were at about $600/month.

Runcarla

Veteran

Gosh! I spend a lot on groceries - $250CA every week. This includes things like TP, dish and laundry soaps, Q-tips, toothpaste, etc. I do get some loyalty perks such as points that usually get me a free monster shopping trip at the end of the year (Christmas) and discounts at the grocery run gas station (.10 cents off per litre).

We are DH, myself, and DS #1 and #2. We all do sports and are at healthy weights. I am a scratch cook, and we don't eat out much. DH and I pack lunches for work.

I usually base meals around the 'protein' choosing what is being offered at a good price. Also, will do large roasts so there are left overs for sandwiches or other meals (like the pork roast for Sunday dinner that becomes sandwiches with enough left over to make a pork based curry at the end of the week or the turkey that makes sandwiches, a pot pie, and soup). I do 1 meatless (vegetarian) meal a week. We eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and what isn't consumed by the end of the week goes into pies and soups made on the weekend.

When the DS's aren't around the grocery bills go way down!

qfbrenda

Veteran

We spend about $850 a month and we're feeding 5 boys ages 18 down to 8 years old.

anne

Veteran

In Australian dollars, I budget $240 a week. This doesn't include eating out/takeaway (we budget $20 a week for that, but it takes a few weeks to save up enough to get a family meal) or coffees/lunches that DH and I might spend (me - not very often).

It does include toiletries (including some kid related stuff), medicine, sanitary items and cleaning stuff - plus the odd kitchen item like containers.

It also includes feeding guests for an evening meal most weeks in the uni term (around $30, I think) and supper (ie snacks) about 80% of the time (around $20) On the other hand sometimes we get brought a meal by my very generous SIL. Doesn't include alcohol.

So if it was just for my family of 5 (3 kids who eat as much as DH and I) I think it'd be around $180AUS a week - that's an average.

In terms of guidelines, I plan my meals every week and then shop for them. (but will also pick up bargains if I see them) I only buy cheaper meat - eg minced beef (though not the fattiest!)and chicken at full price and other items only when when they are on special or on the reduced tray (and even then, I never buy steak etc).

I mostly buy fruit and vegetables in season (with some exceptions for vegetables). We often "pad out" our meat with beans or legumes. We don't eat dessert more than a couple of time a week. I save a lot by making yoghurt at home. I don't comparision shop though - I alternate between 2 supermarkets each week and buy what is better at each. I buy vegies, fruit and eggs at a separate shop which is usually cheaper than the supermarket.

Our more expensive items are gluten free bread (DD has taken to it) and other GF items,( though mostly we try to have rice and potatoes instead) occasional fresh herbs and individual flavoured tuna portions for lunches.

I am fairly convinced that food is more expensive where I live in Australia than many places in the US.

rachylou

Veteran

OMG, I spent $130 today!! Albeit I bought magazines, but still... My goal is to not enter a grocery for the rest of the month except for milk.

Summer

Veteran

I find I'm constantly reviewing my grocery budget as the prices go up and up. I'm quite a disciplined shopper so I manage to keep within budget most of the time - this would not be true if DH came with me, so that's my first suggestion: leave hubby and family at home!

I keep a running list in the kitchen so that that I'm only buying the things I need, buy own-brand essentials, such as flour and cleaning products, use coupons if available and bulk-buy non-perishable items that we use regularly.

Also, we grow much of our own veg. and fruit, freezing anything that can't be eaten straight away, and I make most of our meals from scratch.
It also helps that we are mainly vegetarian so we save a lot on meat (we do have free-range chicken and fish).

Of course, I could cut back even more if I banished desserts from the menu, but that's a step too far, I'm afraid.

Daria

I don't budget but track spending - we spend around $900 for a family of 4 in NYC area. I buy mostly organic (especially meat and dairy), and kids eat lots of fruits and berries (expensive even in season). Don't think I could cut much without sacrificing quality.

kerry

Veteran

I don't budget either. I do track spending but only once or twice a year (I do an average). We spend a lot. We are 2 adults and a young child (5). We buy some organic. We only shop at one grocery store and Costco. Schedules are just too busy to run around getting the best deal. On average we're spending $200 a week at Loblaws and $200-300 a month at Costco. This does include household items and some personal ones too so not just food.

ETA: I'd love to add a freezer chest (right now we only have the bottom freezer in our fridge/freezer combo). I'd like to do some batch cooking (use the slow cooker more too). This is less about saving money and more about saving time and eating more healthily. 9 times out of 10, I'll spend to save time!

Anonymous

I'm pretty much the same as Kerry, well, exactly the same in fact. We are 3 adults, and often one of the adult's equally adult boyfriend No budget, but I am aware of what I spend, which has skyrocketed this year. Our goal: work red meat out of the menu or at least cut it back to 1 or 2 times a week.

Lucy

Veteran

I think we are pretty expensive eaters, and food is quite pricey in Australia, but generally good quality.
There are three of us, and I like to think we spend $250pw but I think it is closer to $300 a lot of the time. We like good meat, and fresh food, so they are the priciest things. That price would include some cleaning stuff, toiletries and dog food for one big dog. We don't really eat dessert, and we bought a soda stream to do fizzy water. And I try to go to Aldi once a month for basics - this is the only really tried and true way I have found to get the bill down.
It seems a lot given we still eat out together at least twice a week at cafes, so add that to the bill, though takeaway is rare! And we do drink 3 bottles of wine every week

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

A LOT - and probably more than what has been mentioned here. And it's just the two of us - but we have dinner parties and guests quite frequently. We also have dessert each day and sometimes have starters too. Our house is full of luxury food - it's a priority that we have chosen to spend money on. A weeks shop at Whole Foods can cost north of $300, far too easily. And this does not include alcohol because I don't drink.

We are foodies. Food and nutrition is a hobby, so we spend more than most on the very best ingredients. But like all aspects of our lives - food is high-low at the Cox Castle too. I also shop at Safeway, Trader Joes and Uwajimaya. And a few food speciality stores. No Costco though.

I find groceries in Seattle VERY expensive (why???). Grocery shopping in Europe is so much more affordable. And in London too for that matter. I went shopping with family in June a few times and could not believe how cheap the most BEAUTIFUL products were. Good grief, we live in an expensive city.

Kimberley

Veteran

I spend a lot. We budget $275 a week, and there's never any $$$ left at the end of the month This amount also includes household spending on pet supplies/food, cleaning products, personal care products, etc.

Now in my defense, there are six of us, and our kids' ages range from 16 to 20, I am really feeding six adults. We always pack lunches for work/school and we rarely eat out/do take out (as in, only once in the last twelve months!). We lead active lives and like to prioritize our health.

We buy the best quality we can afford, and buy very little processed food. No mac and cheese, no canned soups, no quick side dishes of rice, no juice boxes, no granola bars, no bottled water. I have found that this makes a big difference.

I don't shop around at different places - the store I frequent is very good at price matching other store's sales, and it saves me driving all over the place to save a dollar or two.

I plan out meals for the week based on the protein source that's on sale and/or what I have on hand, then I make a list of what's needed, and I shop according to the list. I rarely divert from this list, unless I find an exceptional deal on something that I know I would have to buy later in the month. When I plan the meals, I try to use my crockpot/slow cooker as much as possible. Lunches are usually leftovers for adults and wraps, raw vegetables, fruit and nuts or cheese for the offspring.

I love the challenge of creating healthy, delicious meals within the spending budget!

MsMary

Veteran

I spend a ridiculous amount, given that it's just me and the occasional guest.

Back in the day when I had a family and a tight budget, the thing that helped the most was to keep a price book and shop the sales and stock up. Grocery stores have different things on sale at different times and if you can buy most of your groceries on sale you can save a lot. Also if you keep a price book it's easy to see which stores in your area are the least expensive.

If you google "grocery price book" you can find a lot of templates and articles explaining the idea.

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

I'm kind of relieved to see some of the prices quoted here because I thought for sure my grocery costs were more than anyone else! There's three of us (me, hubby and 6'4" 20-year-old DS - who eats like two adults, believe me!). We spend on average $350 per week. This includes everything though - meat, fresh produce, canned items, household items like toilet paper, etc.

We all eat breakfast from home and DS and I both take a lunch to work made from home. I cook from scratch every night except Friday (that's take out or restaurant). I love to cook and find it sooooo relaxing to come home from work, pop on a tee for cooking, pour a glass of red wine and start to create a slow and savory cooked dinner.

So I guess although my grocery bill is high per month, I use that food for three meals per day and nothing gets wasted. I have thought about doing the different stores for different items so that I can get the best price for things but honestly, my time is worth something too.

Staysfit

Veteran

For two adults and a 17 year old teen, we spend $300+/week easily. It was/is certainly more when my DD is around. We don't purchase any prepared or processed foods, and we eat lots of fruits and vegetables. If I see something or want something, I don't hesitate to purchase it. We do make a menu in advance for the week, but I'm not sure if that helps reign in costs as much as prevent food waste.

ETA: in the summer we belong to a CSA and get all our organic produce from them. It's $500 for the season. The rest of the year we go to the local grocery store.

cjh

(website)

Veteran

Most months I go grocery shopping every other week and each visit runs $90-150. A total of $300-350 per month, maybe? That includes wine, beer, paper goods and soaps. I do not have a budget per se; our habit is buy what we like and use it all - very little waste. That is for two adults, rarely eating out, cooking from scratch, minimal prepared foods purchased (mostly peanut butter and jelly, canned beans, salsa and cereal).

The biggest portion of the expense is for produce - we eat salads, fresh fruit and many other veggies daily, such as sauteed zucchini and squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, peppers and onions, avocado, mushrooms, cabbage. Meat is generally not a whole portion but part of a one dish meal, and can be chicken, grass fed beef (bought in bulk and split with daughter's family), pork chops, sausages. We eat salmon, tilapia, lots of milk, yogurt, eggs and cheese, pasta, rice, bread, and oatmeal.

I feel that food expense is fairly reasonable in our area. I don't use coupons or shop-hop, but I do stock up the freezer and pantry when there are sales on meat or canned goods.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I am glad that some other people chimed in, because the impressive penny-pinchers that posted first were making me feel profligate! I would guess that we spend $100-150 per week on groceries, and there's just the two of us. That's not counting eating out or delivery, which we probably do at least once a week. And it's not counting most of our paper goods or toiletries, which I tend to get at separate trips to Target or at drugstore.com.

Carter, thanks for the heads-up on Zaycon. We don't yet have a chest freezer but I'd really like to get one. It looks like they come to our area once a month. I've tried a few local options for organic/grass-fed meat. One was a nice monthly option kind of like a CSA, but then they switched to a delivery rather than a pick-up setup, and the third party delivery service were total space cadets who often left meat out on our sunny front porch in a plain cardboard box without adequate icepacks. I'm considering trying Prather Ranch (in case any Bay Area ppl have tried it) but it's a little pricier by pound.

I don't know if it's being in the hippie/hipster capital of the world (or maybe that's Brooklyn) but the farmers' markets here are anything but a bargain. Even organic veggies at Whole Foods are cheaper than the farmers' market equivalents. I like to know where my food comes from, but I also like to be able to pay my bills!

I've tried a few different CSAs and settled on Farm Fresh to You at the moment, which lets you change what you get in your box each time. With the 'traditional' CSAs from one farm, I found that I just wasn't using the veggies that I don't like that much, and they'd end up in the trash.

Jules

Veteran

It sounds like your costs are already within reason. When I think about getting serious about food costs, I know it would be a lot of work and I am not sure the cost reduction would be worth it. One thing I do naturally is cook cheaper proteins in large quantities (meaning larger then I need for one meal) then make really good use of leftovers. Pork shoulder is a very cheap cut that can be used many ways - my family can get several meals out of a 4-5 lb $10 shoulder, and I don't feel deprived at all. I also buy bulk packages of chicken legs and grill them. Contrast that with buying a "new" expensive protein like chicken breasts or decent fish for every dinner which can easily run $10-20 a pop - to me this is more effective savings than seeking out the cheapest brand of canned beans to save 20 cents, for example. But frankly, I do also enjoy the cooking challenge of making "something out of nothing" so it's not deprivation.
I do choose a lower-level store for basics, buy off brand when the quality is just as good, compare prices instore and stock up when things are on sale. But I'm also a foodie so it all goes out the window when I stop at the goat farm for cheese and then want the $6 crackers to go with it...

qfbrenda

Veteran

My number is low but I didn't include pet stuff, toilet paper, and other household stuff... just food. We eat very little processed stuff, but almost nothing gourmet with lots of fruits and veggies. I'm a pretty simple cook and cook from scratch, including baking our bread because it's so much cheaper than buying it. I don't bother couponing because I have yet to find coupons for things like bananas and apples. We spend a crazy amount at Costco every year.

Deborah

Veteran

Wow! We do have a budget but it's loose. Food is important and we spend what we need to. I estimate we spend about $350.00 per fortnight. We do our main shop at an Aldi supermarket which has proven to be much cheaper than the main stores. We buy the things we cannot get at Aldi at Coles. We buy our meat (we are very fussy re meat) from a wholesale outlet locally that has high quality meat and I buy fresh fruit and veg every few days as I find vegies are better cooked the day I buy them.

Summer

Veteran

Laura, I think your costs are entirely reasonable. Anyway, no one should feel guilty for spending more so long as they can afford it and they are not wasting too much. I have to shop carefully, but we still eat very well and enjoy our food - it's one of the great pleasures in life, after all.

Diana

Veteran

Probably 75-150 per week for two adults. We eat most of our meals at home (although J does go out for lunch at work) and I mostly cook from scratch. My cooking is very veggie-heavy, meat-light, and J's is the opposite, LOL. (But I am responsible for cooking 5 days a week and he only gets 2 (the weekend), so I think it's a decent balance).

There is a huge difference depending on which grocery store we go to. But sometimes convenience (or a desire not to be aggravated by the crowds and horrible parking lot of the cheaper market) wins out and we just go to the more expensive but more convenient one. When we have the time we drive out to a farmstand market to buy nice produce - in season stuff is very reasonable and why would I go to the farmstand to buy expensive imported greenhouse veggies anyway? And I also quite enjoy grocery shopping so sometimes we go to Whole foods for the experience, LOL.

We rarely use coupons but we do pay attention to what is on sale. I find that the sale produce is often the best anyway because it's what's abundantly in season at the moment. I don't stockpile in general because I don't have the space to store it and I tend to forget about things in the freezer, etc. I do have a well-stocked pantry but it has like 1-2 of each thing, not 15.

elpgal

Veteran

We spend about 250 USD per week for two adults and a toddler. We eat mostly organic foods, local as far as possible. Our only meats are fish but we buy frozen. The prices at our farmers market are much higher than at Whole Foods even though we are properly suburban. Our costs have skyrocketed after my DS was born. He gobbles a box of berries per day and it is easily $6.

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

Such a timely thread. DH and I have been trying to figure out an appropriate budget. We estimate at least $125/wk on food groceries, shopping at TJs, the local grocery store and Amazon. It seems so expensive, considering that we rarely eat meat/fish. Like many of you, we cook everything from scratch and rarely eat processed food.

Anonymous

I average about $400/ month with DD living at home about 4 months a year since she is in college. I am pretty much a "from scratch" cook and baker. I have an upright freezer in the basement and do a lot of stock up shopping when items are on sale. I will freeze flour, bread, rolls, bagels in addition to what one would normally freeze.

I grow a lot of vegetables, herbs, and fruit in my garden and freeze these as well. I had about 20 pts of blueberries this summer and froze about half to use througout the year.

I belong to a warehouse club for many of my non perishables and have an Amish market nearby where I buy my fresh meat and really reasonable prices. I also live near a dairy farm which carries fresh produce at phenomenal prices

Echo

Veteran

We easily spend north of $350 a week for the 5 of us, especially during the summer. We have lots of my children's friends over to the house, and I always feed them lunch. Given that I know the budget isn't there for some of their friends, I always try to have fresh fruit from the farmer's market for them in addition to lunch. A number of them have exclaimed that the fruit is the "best part" of lunch, and when I am serving "kid friendly" foods like pizza, it is saying a lot for their friends to prefer the produce; they just don't have access to it at home. : ( And I like to keep them happy when they come to our house because I prefer having them here as opposed to elsewhere where I cannot be sure of the activities and supervision they have.

During the school year, our budget contracts, simply because we shop less often. I plan meals for the week, shop once and that's that. There is almost no running to the store just to grab something (and ending up buying more than intended). We buy meat in bulk from a local farm (grain-fed, organic) and store it in a chest freezer. It actually ends up not costing much more than regular prices at the grocer, and it means that I rarely have to shop for meat at the store.

Jules

Veteran

I love Summer's response - and I agree it's entirely possible to enjoy food at different budget levels. Not to minimize the difficulties faced by those who are food insecure. But assuming "enough" income, you can be a foodie who buys the best spices, meat and produce and prepares them wonderfully to serve with artisanal bread, or you can be a foodie who makes wholly satisfying chicken broth from chicken carcasses and learns how to cultivate your own sourdough starter. Or both, of course

And yes to Diana on sale produce. I know when cherries have reached their peak because they are also at their cheapest.

Anonymous

I feel so much better about my grocery spending now, after reading others' responses. I always thought it was kind of high, around $800/month* for two adults, two dogs, and sometimes two kids. I don't budget, but I do track and try to decrease my spending, but it is hard.

We do a lot of out shopping at Costco, and deep freeze a lot of bulk meat. Husband and I are both into weight lifting and consume large amounts of protein in doing so, which means eggs, meat, dairy, etc. can be a large expense. We also enjoy craft beers (a lot), which start adding up quickly. I cook at home almost every night, which may or may not save money, as cooking is a hobby and I sometimes have to seek out expensive, specialty ingredients.

We did the 1/4 cow last year and enjoyed it - would totally do it again if we weren't waiting to find out about being relocated right now. I am also trying to grow veggies, but I have a black thumb - third or fourth year in a row killing stuff, lol.

My mother-in-law uses Zaycon and loves it. Once again, I would like to try it but fears of relocation prevent me from buying so much food at once.

*also includes household goods, from toilet paper to toothpaste to motor oil, as my budgeting software has no way of dividing transactions

Anonymous

About $200/ week for 1 adult and 2 school-aged children. We eat ground beef and chicken breast 6 out of 7 days/week. Cereal or toast for breakfast most days. 6litres of milk a week. About 6-8 eggs a week. Lots of those yogurt tube things, tons of fruit.

I shop at Costco for everything except vegetables, ice cream, club soda, and taco stuff. For that I go to the grocery store.

Eta: Also wanted to note that I wasn't always such a spending tracker, but I went through period of having very little disposable income a few years ago, and during that time, came up with a whole bunch of strategies for saving money. They sort of stuck.

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