Grocery budget

[ediva]

I spend about 180/month for two adults for household items, food, and personal care items. I also have enough extra that I could live for a year without having to go to the store except for fresh foods - milk and produce.

I am a crazy coupon lady, though, so my budget is probably not realistic for most unless you are willing to put in the time.

We also spend $150/month on dining out. That is a weekly lunch at work for my husband and a weekly date night at a wing joint, plus a little cushion to go out with friends every once in a while.

[breezy]

I spend $300 a month for 2 adults. I don't coupon.

[alsmez]

We live in Queens, NYC. HCOLA, obviously, but the stores around us are much less expensive than Manhattan stores, and we have a car so can do the bulk of our shopping at Costco, which is a LOT cheaper for most things, especially meat.

I spend around $500 a month for two adults, which includes food (2 meals a day for each of us - he doesn't eat breakfast but brown-bags lunch and my job provides my lunch), approximately 50% of our household supplies and probably 90% of our beer/liquor purchases. I probably spend another $50 a month on household and pet supplies (one small cat). We are low-carb, so we eat a lot of meat and fresh produce - no significant savings to be had from coupons so I don't bother. The bill goes up around $200/month when my husband's children are around (2 teenage girls), but they are carbaholics so it's much cheaper to feed them than it is to feed ourselves. We rarely eat out (maybe once every couple of months), but when we do we generally go to nicer places and spend at least $50/pp, sometimes more like $100/pp.

Most of what we eat is perishable so I don't really have much of a pantry/emergency stockpile, although I do keep some non-perishable carbs around just in case. My freezer is usually full of meat, too. I do buy paper products and other household supplies in bulk so we could probably last a year on our current stock of toilet paper, LOL.

[Deleted]

I was spending about $300 a month on food, til I moved in with roommates. One of the roommates is pretty much broke all the time and keeps eating my food. Grocery costs have gone up for me, still trying to figure out how to fix this little problem. I've confronted and hinted several times that my food is not free game for everyone, but he doesn't stop. Maybe I'll offer to make him a budget...yeah right, that won't work!

[Gardening Grandma]

still trying to figure out how to fix this little problem. I've confronted and hinted several times that my food is not free game for everyone, but he doesn't stop.

If you haven't already tried this, you could try labeling everything with your name on it. Also, don't hint - come out and say "I can't afford to feed you, so please stop eating food you haven't paid for"...

[Cookies Galore]

Don't hint, TELL him. I'd also have no qualms about hiding my food.

[alsmez]

Jan 4, 2011 14:22:27 GMT -5 @noablaenglish said:

I was spending about $300 a month on food, til I moved in with roommates. One of the roommates is pretty much broke all the time and keeps eating my food. Grocery costs have gone up for me, still trying to figure out how to fix this little problem. I've confronted and hinted several times that my food is not free game for everyone, but he doesn't stop. Maybe I'll offer to make him a budget...yeah right, that won't work!

I have had roommates with this problem too, and there's no way to stop it short of a direct "stop eating my food" conversation. I also had to institute a "household items fee" with one roommate because he would never, EVER buy toilet paper, paper towels, aluminum foil, baggies, trash bags, etc. Very annoying.

[lulu]

I spend an average of 100/150 a week for a family of 4. This includes diapers, wipes, all meat, cleaning & paper goods, and snacks for both kids for school. Our eating out budget is usually around 100 a month, depending if we have a beer bar run one night.
Our meals are simple, once a week we eat beans, then chicken, then some sort of ground beef dinner (spaghetti, chili, empanadas, etc).
I don't really use a lot of coupons just for specific items I can't buy generic (like danonino yogurt or newton apple crisp). I take advantage of the weekly sales & BOGO items (if the unit price makes sense)
I eat leftovers at work, every day.
When we go out to eat DH & I split a main dish and get an appetizer, we drink water and very rarely eat dessert. If we go out to eat as a family I usually get a dish I can split with the kids or I get an appetizer for them to split. And we know of the places that have kids eat free offers. Eating out it's usually ethnic places we can't reproduce at home (thai, indian, german, etc)
We love to cook and try to create ethnic dishes at home.
We are potty training so diapers and wipes expenses should be gone in a month.
Dishes we eat: lentil soup, butter bean soup, baked pot. soup, palomilla steal & black beans & rice, chick pea curry, chick pea burgers, chili, jambalaya, spanish potato & chorizo tortilla, gnocchi, spinach & ham crepes, thai peanut butter noodles, etc.

[bobbysgirl]

Jan 4, 2011 14:22:27 GMT -5 @noablaenglish said:

I was spending about $300 a month on food, til I moved in with roommates. One of the roommates is pretty much broke all the time and keeps eating my food. Grocery costs have gone up for me, still trying to figure out how to fix this little problem. I've confronted and hinted several times that my food is not free game for everyone, but he doesn't stop. Maybe I'll offer to make him a budget...yeah right, that won't work!

Can you put things in your bedroom closet. Maybe set up a little fridge in there too. But only after you directly tell him to stay away from your food.

[bobbysgirl]

Jan 3, 2011 19:10:41 GMT -5 @angel33 said:

Bobbysgirl, I have beans, rice, tomatoes, pasta, spaghetti sauce, some canned fruit, flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar, canned tuna, canned broth.

So yeah..I guess I do have some stuff for emergencies. I do use SOME canned things, but for the most part I guess I wouldn't last too long in a real emergency.

I was just wondering. I assumed there was some plan for families who don't use canned goods on a regular basis.

I love fresh garden tomatoes, but don't see a problem using canned if I have to. I know the big name companies can their produce the same way I do and they do it soon after the items are harvested. I'm thinking very large green man... ho ho ho.

[dividend]

Jan 3, 2011 17:40:53 GMT -5 @bobbysgirl said:

Just one question for the posters who buy only fresh foods. Do you have a stocked pantry for emergencies?

We have six months worth of storable food in sealed plastic buckets. The stuff has a shelf life of like 20 years. Plus a minimally managed rotation of water, and fuel. DBF believes that being prepared for the collapse-of-industrialized-civiliazation type scenarios are part of good EF planning. And that's fine with me, since he also saved a huge cash EF in 2010. Although it was funny when he called me up and said, "Hey babe! I bought a year's worth of storable food!" I said, "That's great! For both us?" Long pause. "Hey babe! I bought six months' worth of storable food!" It's not something I would have bought (and it doesn't come out of the grocery budget, for sure), but I feel a little bit more secure knowing that it's there.

But, I assume you're talking about more mundane emergencies like job loss or illness. In which case, I think alot of the"only buy fresh foods" people are being hyperbolic. I would mostly describe my shopping the same way, but it's supported by a pantry full of tons of pasta, brown/white rice, canned tomato products, canned beans and chickpeas, crackers, peanut butter, etc. and a freezer full of meet, butter, breads, and frozen fruits/veggies, the likes of which could support weeks worth of decently nutritious, if monotonous meals if push came to shove.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I would mostly describe my shopping the same way, but it's supported by a pantry full of tons of pasta, brown/white rice, canned tomato products, canned beans and chickpeas, crackers, peanut butter, etc. and a freezer full of meet, butter, breads, and frozen fruits/veggies, the likes of which could support weeks worth of decently nutritious, if monotonous meals if push came to shove.

Read more: notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=finance&action=display&thread=729&page=3#ixzz1AHLPX6s0


What she said.

[Poppet]

Anyway, they'll all be gone and living on their own by the time they're 30, LOL, so I might as well enjoy them while I can!


30!? Golly, that could be a 15 yr sentence. ;D

I hear you, though. Enjoy them. I've got one left.

[kinetickid]

Dec 31, 2010 7:33:41 GMT -5 @daphne87 said:

But I've seen some enormous grocery costs posted here and on some of the other NotMSNMoney boards of late. We budget for $300 a month in groceries and household expenses (including toilet paper and laundry detergent, but not including Home Depot-type items). Last month we were under our budget. This month we're slightly over.

I know we're just a family of 2 with no animals, but we do not clip coupons or utilize any warehouse-type stores.

I guess my question is: What do people typically spend on groceries and what size family are you feeding?

Our family is 2.5 people big. We spend around $500/month on groceries NOT including toiletries, household cleaning agents, diapers, etc.

Yeah, a gallon of organic milk is $5.99 BUT IT'S WORTH IT!

And I much prefer to get the antibiotic-free, free-range meats if I can, even if it means paying twice as much per pound.

[kinetickid]

Jan 3, 2011 19:23:10 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

I have to wonder what kinds of restaurants people are going to if they think they can make it better at home. Chain restaurants, I can see, but a really great ethnic place or high-quality restaurant? I'm a good cook, but some things can't be replicated as awesome.

This is true. But to get really great food that I can't replicate at home, we'd spend over $100 for one meal for the two of us. Unless it's a special occasion, I just cannot spend that amount of money on one meal. Most of the time, when we eat out, it's because I just don't feel like cooking; we'll eat at a chain restaurant or a brew pub (we like the food and atmosphere there).

Yeah, we have a GREAT Indian restaurant a few blocks south of us--and it's relatively cheap, too! There's no way I could replicate that at home.

Sushi is also restaurant-only for us. Fortunately, there's a good, cheap sushi joint in Westwood we really like.

I will say, for us the cost of eating out--which we rarely do anymore--comes from [glow=red,2,300]babysitting[/glow] and not the meal+parking. At $15/hour, babysitting expenses quickly add up.

Finally, the one chain restaurant that Hubby and I enjoy is P.F. Chang's. That place is super yummy.

[mrsgords]

We spent an average of about $800/month on groceries for just the two of us (me and my husband) in 2010. Our goal is to get this down to $600/month or $150/week, which includes just food bought at a store. We're off to a good start. We spent $110 this week. (The $800/month we spent in 2010 did include alcohol and beer; this year's budget does not include these items. That's now a separate category.)

We budget separately for pet expenses (dog and cat), for household supplies (cleaners, soaps, and paper products), and for meals out. We don't eat out very often, unless we're on vacation. My husband is an excellent cook, and my preferred restaurant is my own house.

[wvugurl26]

I was eyeing the aged gouda but cheese at $17.99/lb doesn't work well for the checking account the same month I'm going to Vegas. Sadly that price was $5 off per lb. I blame my stepbrother for me even looking at the gouda. When I was there at Christmas he did a cheese tasting.
I did get some parmesan reggiano on sale too. I meant to mix the aged cheddar and the raw milk cheddar but shredded too much of the aged stuff. Mac n cheese was still really good. Just did it tonight.
I made bacon mushroom swiss burgers Friday night. I definitely don't think they were healthly. Tasty yes, the healthiest thing I make? Not a chance.

[The J]

Bacon mushroom swiss burgers are good. They can be healthy enough.

One of my favorite cheeses for mac and cheese is smoked gruyere.

[zibazinski]

When I get the huge group of kids I do CICI's pizza. For about $4 a kid they can eat until they barf for all I care!!!! No way could I feed those MOUTHS for less than that!!!!

[973beachbum]

No way am I posting my food bill here!

I have tried to do coupons. The most I get out of them are a couple of coupons a month for toothpaste and brownie and cake mixes, which my store always doubles. Although it was nice when my DD had football season for the marching band I made brownies for the entire band every Friday. I got most of the boxes free or really close. Which while nice isn't exactly a big help with my actual grocery needs.

As far as what I spend if I can get milk for close to $4.00 a gallon and bread for 2/$5.00 I consider it a win. And this week I paid $4.99 for a dozen eggs. And no that isnt organic free range anything.

[bobbysgirl]

Oh my Gosh. they're going to start fleecing us on eggs now. AA last frontier.

[sapphire12]

I live in the DC Metro area. It's just me, one female adult. My food budget is $200 month; that's on the high end and it includes going out to eat. For the month of January, my actual spending will be closer to $100 for groceries. I don't drink milk or eat eggs or red meat for the most part. Dinner is fish, which I buy a 10 lb bag of trout for about $23 once every 6 weeks. Most of my grocery shopping is done at Trader Joes. Fresh fruit is the other major part of my budget. Ice Cream is my vice so there is ALWAYS ice cream in my freezer. My fav brands are Turkey Hill and Edy's Vanilla and Chocolate. I stock up on these when they are on sale. I don't do coupons as they are mostly for processed food, which I severely limit. I cook once a week. I bring my lunch everyday, unless I must go out to eat for lunch at work. My grocery budget is just food, no toiletries or paper products. The only paper products I use are tissues and toilet paper. I stopped using paper towels and napkins a few years back when I decided to do my part to go green. Toothpaste and deodorant are bought on sale most of the time, but I refuse to stock up as if the apocalypse is coming. I buy enough to last about 3 months.