Grocery shopping for one

[pbmom]

I was curious as to how much someone should spend on grocery shopping for one person. I spend around $120 every two weeks just for me and that includes lunches for everyday, meals for supper, and some cleaning products. Is that too much? I remember when I could spend $120 a month and that was for lunches and suppers. I just think this sounds really high for one person. What's everyone's thought?

[chiver78]

I think it's a little high, but I've been shopping (and planning) for one for awhile now. I can get away with about $25/week - but that doesn't include stocking up on sale items, or any cleaning products. if you can get yourself into a rhythm of checking sale flyers and planning accordingly, you can knock it down too. check out the grocery hounds thread, if you want to really knock it down. those ladies never cease to amaze me with all the ways they find to save!

here's what I do, so you can compare to your own system:
I purchase cleaning products when they go on sale, and I have a coupon. I will generally buy the quantity required for the coupon, and it will last until the next big sale. I shop exclusively at either Target or Walmart for this stuff, and TP/paper towels in bulk at BJ's - also with coupons.

I stock up on non-perishables when they are on sale, and I have a coupon. also, I pick up family size packages of chicken and re-package individually and freeze.

the $25/week includes fresh produce (varies by what's on sale) and milk each week, plus eggs/butter/bread when needed. it also covers quick trips to the grocery store closest to my house for "oops, I forgot X" for making dinner that night.

[Sam_2.0]

Its so hard to shop for just one person!! I remember spending almost as much for one as I do now for two.

Check out the Grocery Challenge if you have not already. The ladies there can help slash that amount down for you, maybe by as much as half. And planning meals around what's in the circulars is helpful too. That was the best money saver for me - sitting down with the fliers, seeing what's on sale, and coming up with meals I like that fit into those sale items.

AllRecipes.com and KraftRecipes.com will let you build a shopping list off of the recipes you choose, so you can just print one list & know you are getting enough to cover all of your meals. They let you change the serving sizes too - so you can do 1-2 servings & know you will have enough for you & not a small army.

[pbmom]

I haven't tried shopping weekly based on the ads. I usually shop every two weeks since that's how i get paid so I only can get what's on sale the week that I get paid. Maybe I should try breaking it up into weekly trips.

[CarolinaKat]

When I lived alone i usually could go shopping 1x a month. Actually, i usually put it off until i ran out of cat food or litter and went then because they needed it.

I didn't cook alot (hate cooking for only me) so i ate ALOT of cold cereal with milk for dinners. I ate out more for lunch b/c i didn't have leftovers, so it probably evened out. When I did cook, I always tried to freeze some of it in single serving portions. That worked pretty well if i could remember to thaw it out/could find it in the freezer.

I shop weekly now, using the ads. Its amazing how that can help

[Sam_2.0]

Well, you can base 2 weeks' worth of meals off of whats on sale that current week. Or split your $$ in half - $60 for each week. I tend to base my meals mainly around the meat that's on sale. This week it was ground beef - so we will have tacos, hamburgers, spaghetti, etc. The other components of the meal are usually a lot cheaper and things that I stock up on when they are on sale or free (pasta, rice, beans, etc). Veggies will be whatever is on sale - but I only buy fresh a few days at a time. Frozen I stock up on when they are on rock-bottom sales.

Really, just having a plan helps more than anything. And you don't have to be super regimented about it. I don't say that Monday is Tacos, Tuesday is Spaghetti, etc. I just make a list of the available meals. Then I let DH pick what he wants. That keeps him happy (since he gets to choose), and then we can just make what works best for that night. I also keep some quick things on hand for times when I don't want to cook (pizzas, frozen meals, etc).

[chicg]

THat sounds a little high, but it depends on your location too. I spend about $150 for myself in Chicago, a little more in the summer when farmer's markets open up, they're more expensive but I think the increased price is worth it. I can do $150 without too much work on a regular basis, including most household items. I agree, planning around sales helps, I shop for some things at Aldi to keep price down (Aldi is getting more expensive but I find I don't buy as many unnecessary things there then at the regular grocery store) and I also usually shop weekly. I don't have a set schedule but I find I buy less if I go more often and I don't have a problem with food sitting around that I forgot about. My trips are rarely more then $30-40 for a week, a little more if I find a stock up sale. Good luck.

[pbmom]

I live in North Carolina with two grocery store chains and a Walmart. One grocery store doesn't double coupons and the other is so high by the time they double the coupons its close to the same price as the other grocery store. I was thinking this was a little high for just me. I might try weekly shopping or planning for two weeks before shopping. I have a costco membership but I would really spend over $120 then.

[constanz22]

I am a big couponer and stockpile items when there is a great deal, and I spend less than $100 a month on food, HBA, cleaning items and pets.

[marvholly]

Its just me & the cat here also in metro Chicago which is NOT cheap. I spend $25/week on EVERYTHING: food, cat food & litter, paper goods, cleaning supplies, personal care stuff.......

I do have a LARGE stockpile of non-perishables bought on sale w/coupons in the basement.

I do a GREAT deal of my shopping at independent stores/specialty/ethnic vs. natl chains or Costco/BJ/Sams type stores. I find them WAAAY cheaper.

I do buy large pakg of $$ items like meats and either batch cook or break down to freeze.

Sam is right. This is a GREAT time to join the Grocery Challenge as its the start of a new month/thread. Let us know whereabout you live & what stores you have available including drug stores (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid?).

[sarcasticgirl]

It's been over 2 years since I lived alone, but I could generally get by with $100/month on groceries. I live in Chicago but had a great produce market near me that had great prices. I cooked from scratch and always took dinner leftovers for lunch.

Now that i live with DH... we spend about $400/month! men are expensive to feed! lol

[CarolinaKat]

Jun 2, 2011 10:01:45 GMT -5 pbmom said:

I live in North Carolina with two grocery store chains and a Walmart. One grocery store doesn't double coupons and the other is so high by the time they double the coupons its close to the same price as the other grocery store. I was thinking this was a little high for just me. I might try weekly shopping or planning for two weeks before shopping. I have a costco membership but I would really spend over $120 then.

FoodLion cycles through pretty good sales. You can sign up your MVP and they'll e-mail you the weekly flyers so you can look at it online

[dancinmama]

Jun 2, 2011 10:01:45 GMT -5 pbmom said:

I live in North Carolina with two grocery store chains and a Walmart. One grocery store doesn't double coupons and the other is so high by the time they double the coupons its close to the same price as the other grocery store. I was thinking this was a little high for just me. I might try weekly shopping or planning for two weeks before shopping. I have a costco membership but I would really spend over $120 then.

pbmom: Depending on whether or not you want to get into the couponing game (The Grocery Challenge type of shopping), the BEST thing that you can do to slash your costs is to shop weekly using the ads and plan your menus around what is on sale as best you can.

If you want to start using coupons on a regular basis, your store that offers doubled coupons can be a great advantage (I don't have one). You simply wait until they put something on ad that can be obtained for free or for pennies on the dollar after sale and doubled coupon and stock up at that time using multiple coupons (but not purchasing any more than you can consume or freeze before the product expires).

Playing the drug chain game is great for stocking up on non-perishables (toiletries, paper products, OTC meds, and many food staples, etc.) getting them mostly for free. It will take some extra time and effort on your part in the beginning to learn how to do it, but there are HUGE savings there.

Many of the gals on the Grocery Challenge will "work" to stockpile a year's worth of products that they use regularly and then they'll pull back a little bit for a while. When they see their supplies are running low, they'll jump back in to replenish a bit and then pull back again.

It's not for everyone, but it works. If you are inclined to give it a try, come see us on the WIRR Grocery Challenge thread; if not, just try using the grocery ads on a weekly basis - you'll still save a lot of money by just doing that.

[Sam_2.0]

Iggy - most true dollar stores (where all items are $1 each) won't accept coupons. Now the Dollar General and Family Dollar stores will, but they dont have all of their items for $1 each (its more like a cheaper version of Walmart). I don't know why they won't take them, but I have asked just about every one around (Dollar Tree and Everything's a Dollar are the two main franchises).

[Sam_2.0]

Yeah, Family Dollar definitely takes them. But they are funny about online printable coupons for some reason. You should be able to get a copy of their coupon policy on their website. Same for Dollar General.

[startsmart]

I don't think that's unreasonable for a single person, if you want to eat well it often costs more. I'd rather spend $1 on a head of lettuce than a freezer meal.

Ways to save:
Meat- comparison shop for the best deal and stock up when it's on sale, next big holiday wknd look for steaks and ribs. Learn to separate and freeze meats so they don't go bad. I keep a running list of meat so I can defrost something for dinner.

Vegetables- buy in season or the lowest price on canned/frozen. If you get a great deal and have room to freeze that can work too. When peppers are under $1/pound at the co-op I stock up and then slice and flash freeze. Then I can take out just what I need for fajitas or burritos.

Dairy- you can freeze milk (leave room at the top because it will expand), cheese and butter. I get the larger packs of cheese from costco and freeze in 1 cup baggies.

Grains- pasta, rice and lentils (also beans) will last a long time so you can stock up more when it's cheap. I keep mine in glass jars so I can cook as little or much as I want.

Another option is to make larger meals and then prepare and freeze your own smaller servings. Sure, sometimes it gets monotonious to have the same thing for lunch 5 days in a row but it's not the worst thing ever.

You may want to separate your budget for food and household to see where the money really goes. I don't buy paper towels or napkins anymore since I switched to towels and cloth napkins and make my own cleaning supplies. The most I need is new dish scrubbers every six months or so and dog food ($26/month).

[ambellamy]

When I was doing the single person thing a few months ago I budgeted $120 for a whole month. and about $50 a month for house products like laundry detergent and dish soap and hygiene supplies like shampoo and deodorant.

[mizbear]

I spend right around $40 a month on food for me. Cleaning supplies are bought on an as needed basis and honestly, they don't cost me much because I use a lot of natural and multipurpose cleansers.
I do a lot of on sale and coupon shopping. Also a lot of store brand. I have a few things that must be name brand, but my big thing in general is sticking to the what I need and how much I can spend.
One thing with my HBA supplies, I like to hit the big sales at the beginning of the year and see how much I can get BOGO with coupons and EBs or RRs. Last year I actually landed a whole supply of HBA without paying for most of it between coupons and EBs.

[DVM gone riding]

its definately higher then I spend for groceries/etc but I eat a lot of lunches out and buy only a little bit of fresh produce (tend to let it spoil) so maybe I am not a good example?? I have a hard time cooking for one but then when I do get it done it tends to be cheaper types of cooking.

[mizbear]

I will admit- I can eat al month for less than $50- even if I cook every meal at home- but- I do not eat frozen dinners. I buy pasta on sale 10/10 with $1 off coupons a few times a year (I especially pick it up when I can get the whole wheat varieties); I pick up bagged dry beans and lentils- less expensive per serving- although I do usually keep a few cans of beans on the shelf, I just rinse thoroughly before using. I buy my veggies frozen and on sale. We have a local packing plant here locally where in the summer, they sell overstock really freap. I can actually beat the grocery store prices on some veggies when I buy from there in the summer. I repack and stack everything until my freezer is packed out. When I buy chicken, I buy on sale bulk packs and bust it up. On the rare occasion I buy hamburger or other meats- hamburger goes into chili or tacos to stretch it (I make my own seasoning) and I buy roasts instead of steaks or chops and either put them on my meat slicer or take the cleaver or knife to them. I will butcher a piece of roast or whatever myself to stretch it and get a lower cost per serving.
Also, you can sometimes get a much lower cost per serving buying certain things from say, Angel Food Ministries- if you will use what is in the prepacked box. I like their veggie box.

[wvugurl26]

I think it depends on your area. Stuff is more expensive for me now and my fridge isn't as good as my last one either. I am done complaining to maintenance about it. I am just moving after I get my raise! If I let it run down to nothing it can cost me quite a bit to stock back up. I was out of almost everything and I think I spent around $200 to stock back up. I got good prices but I had nothing when I started. Now I have a bunch of meat in the freezer and stuff in the cabinets.

Which in hindsight might not have been my best idea ever. My freezer was empty of meat bc the day the electric company shut the power off for 4 hours the meat I had in the freezer thawed and then refroze. It was bad. I am done dealing with maintenance. According to them it is typical to have milk go bad within a week of opening and 5 days out from the sell by date

[constanz22]

wvu You definitely have an issue with your fridge/freezer. Meat should stay completely frozen for at least 48 hours when the power is out, as long as it is kept closed

[mizbear]

wvugurl- You would love my maintenance guys- they would be throwing that fridge off the balcony! They can't stand things that don't work properly.

I can't wait until I can afford to buy a house so I can have a deep freeze again. I could go hunting or fishing and have lots of meat stocked up. Healthy meat. Plus all those frozen veggies... and all the chili I could have made up...

[reeneejune]

Rather than using commercial cleaning products, I use diluted white vinegar for glass, and diluted bleach (1 part bleach, 10 parts water) for bathroom, countertops, etc. Two spray bottles, bleach and vinegar cost me less than $5 and it will last me 6 months to a year. Scrubbies from the dollar store (wash them on the top rack of the dishwasher every week or so), and dawn dish soap with coupons and sales.

[wvugurl26]

I am well aware that the fridge is an issue. I wasn't even home when the power was off so the freezer was not opened. Oh and when I called after the chicken went bad I was told I had the freezer turned too low which resulted in less air going to fridge. And that the chicken must have been bad when I bought it. BS it was a 6 pound value pack and the other 4 lbs were just fine. I'm tired of getting some bs song and dance about how it is in some way my fault. Interestingly the leasing office called today (on a Sunday didn't think they were open) and said they were randomly calling tenants to see if they had any maintenance items to submit. I thought about it for a second but why bother? Obviously they aren't going to replace it which is what it needs.

Last time after the chicken had gone bad, I was told that it was possible for milk to go bad that fast and that the fridge was only a year or two old. The stamp inside the fridge says it was manufactured in 2004. I'm done fighting with them, obviously they aren't replacing it so I'm moving. To somewhere that the fridge works and that doesn't send my allergies into the worst state they've been in 19 years.

I tried to pull it out to clean the coils but they are covered up by metal. With my previous fridge if I bought milk in a size smaller than a half gallon it froze. I could keep shredded cheese and stuff for months. Hunks of cheese go bad after two weeks or so (moldy and smelly) which is nice to discover after you've bought the expensive aged cheddar.

[mizbear]

wvu- You are so right- that fridge has major issues. Cheddar - especially the aged stuff lasts forever and a day.

[wvugurl26]

I was talking to a neighbor tonight. He says the fridges are cheap and don't last long. Mine's from 2004. I guess one of the first times the maintenance guys came out they were telling him I was keeping my milk on the bottom shelf and he told them it shouldn't make a damn bit of difference. And apparently the people beside me have the issues I do with bugs. I came home to another mouse in the trap and it had flipped over so mouse blood I had to scrub off the kitchen floor. I was p!ssed. I took pictures.

Maybe if I called and complained all the time I might get a new fridge but honestly I don't know that its worth it. Might be time better spent looking for a new place. I will call about the mouse and bugs tomorrow.

[mizbear]

wvugurl- I would start looking for a new place. I have lived in apartments my whole life- in fact my father was a maintenance super- you should not be having these issues and they should be dealing with them.

[wvugurl26]

I have been looking off and on. Trying to see exactly what my raise is and that's another month away. I know what my new yearly gross is so I can guess. I called again today about bugs and mice. They sprayed for bugs now I have dead bugs to sweep up. And the I had to open all the windows even though its 100 degrees and we have an air quality advisory.

The worst bug spray smell is in the kitchen. I had to put on one of the masks I wear while cleaning to be in the kitchen without coughing up a lung.

[Elderkind]

PbMom: I live alone and spend about $125 for the month which includes cleaning supplies, toiletries & pet supplies. To keep it down to this amount I do several things:

1. I use the envelope system which keeps me conscious of exactly how much money I have at all times.

2. I shop at CVS once or twice a month for sale items using extra care bucks & coupons... I can usually walk out with $20 worth of products for about $7.50.

3. I buy what I can at the Dollar General as it is usually cheaper. Not always and you have to check prices against the grocery store to be sure but most of the time you come out ahead. They are now offering store coupons and $5 off on a $20 purchase.

4. Coupon, Coupon, Coupon... This usually saves me at least $20 a month. MySavings.com has a great coupon site that I use several times a month.

5. I always have a grocery list and only allow myself to go $10 over my list on "extras". After that, I have to put something back on the shelf....

6. Stockpile when you have a few extra dollars left... I do this when there are sales on items such as cereal, milk (I will keep a carton of milk in the freezer), cleaning supplies...etc.

7. Balance wants vs. needs... This is where I used to get in the most trouble. I would want the extra ice cream & convenience foods but they were not needs... I allow myself a want only when I have a coupon for it and it's on sale...

8. I shop for my veggies, fruits & eggs at the Farmer's Market. It's a little more pricey but the produce lasts longer and tastes better. I buy just enough for two weeks and very little goes to waste... I only buy what's in season which is cheaper...

9. I try to make a couple loaves of whole wheat bread every month and my own desserts (cookies/brownies) & salad dressings from scratch so that I don't have to buy them. I use these for lunches at my job...

10. I separate my meat, fish & chicken into individual bags for easy thawing as I don't have a microwave in my little rent house. It's more economical and you know exactly how many meals you have sitting in your freezer.