As I was looking at my historical budgets the other day, I saw something interesting. We've spent $400 per month on groceries for about the past five years. It's a steady number, not varying much from month to month. That makes budgeting easy. But then I began to wonder...
How does this compare to what I SHOULD be spending on groceries? For a family of four, is $400 good, bad or average? I'm not sure. As a percentage of our income, it's a small amount, but that doesn't tell me much either.
So I'm asking you: how much should I be spending on groceries every month? Leave your thoughts below -- I'd appreciate the input.
I spend between $30-40 every two weeks and I'm just shopping for myself. Plus all those times that I order pizza instead of cooking. So it sounds about right to me. The important question is how much do you spend eating out on top of your grocery bill.
Posted by: Easy E | March 20, 2007 at 07:10 AM
"The important question is how much do you spend eating out on top of your grocery bill."
Now you're getting personal!!!! ;-)
Probably not much -- my wife doesn't like to eat out. We spend probably $50 a month on eating out (FYI, my wife makes her own, homemade pizza, so we save a ton on eating out right there.)
Posted by: FMF | March 20, 2007 at 07:46 AM
I have been reviewing my budget the last few days and noticed that we are spending around $500 for a family of 6. We rarely eat out so this number covers almost all meals. The scary thing to me is that my first 3 children are active boys age 11 and under ... I get scared just thinking about what my food bill is going to be when they hit the teen years.
Posted by: buhler | March 20, 2007 at 08:39 AM
My wife and I spend about $250 a month on groceries for ourselves. It used to be about $200, but then I discovered this Italian grocery store in town with amazing cheese, pasta, bread, and pizza dough. It's well worth the next $50 a month.
Posted by: Patrick | March 20, 2007 at 08:44 AM
I have a family of 3 1/2 (my wife and I, an infant, and my brother-in-law lives with us, thus the 1/2 as we cover most of his groceries). We are currently spending $440/month, which includes formula, diapers, and dog food (2 mini schnauzers). So purely looking at groceries we are probably pretty close. Our downfall is eating out, as we spend anywhere from $40 - $60 a week eating out, $10 - $20 of that is for 1 or 2 lunches during the week, and the rest comes on the weekend. Hopefully spring will mean more grilling out, thus less eating out.
Posted by: BB | March 20, 2007 at 08:45 AM
For a family of 3, we spend about $350-$400 a month on groceries. It goes down when eating out goes up, but stays pretty consistent over the past year or so.
Posted by: donna jean | March 20, 2007 at 09:16 AM
In our house we spend between $200-$250 a month on groceries for two people. But, it's also important to consider where you live. I put Washington DC (my location) into this CNN cost of living calculator http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html and compared it to a few smaller cities and DC costs upwards of 20% more for groceries than many other places.
Posted by: Elizabeth | March 20, 2007 at 09:23 AM
We spend $400 per month, including eating out at restaurants, dog food and diapers for my family of four. Kids are 4 and 2 (almost out of diapers!).
Posted by: Greg | March 20, 2007 at 09:25 AM
With a wife, two kids, and another baby on the way, we have budgeted right at $350 per month. And we could never hit this target consistently without having moved to a cash-only system. The difficult thing is that this includes diapers and baby wipes, a hefty $30-$50 per month.
In addition, we average ~$50/month eating out, but we allocate this under the "miscellaneous/entertainment" category in our household budget.
Posted by: Jonathan C | March 20, 2007 at 10:04 AM
Why not set a limit of $375 (arbitrary number) next month and see if your 'quality of life' goes down measurably? If not, try $350 the following month. [You could try 5% increments instead.]
Posted by: tinyhands | March 20, 2007 at 10:04 AM
I forgot to mention our "Eating Out" family secret...
It isn't flashy or fine cuisine by any means, in fact some folks might consider it a little low-brow. But we have found some great enjoyment from the local Sam's Club cafe. A kosher hot dog and soft drink will run you $1.50, and we share a giant pizza slice and ice cream, so the whole family eats for under $6.00!
Cheers
Posted by: Jonathan C | March 20, 2007 at 10:08 AM
FMF - I'm impressed with the $400 number. We budget $600 a month. We used to budget around $400 and it was a struggle to keep enough "good" food in the house. We are trying to eat healthier, and sometimes that involves spending a little more. As my income has increased, we made the decision to put a little more toward groceries. The $600 amount really allows us to eat well and not feel like we have to start eating dog food toward the end of the month.
I have two kids in school so all that lunch stuff adds up pretty quick too. We sometimes feed family members and contribute to the food at our family's weekend cabin so that can add up quickly as well. We don't include out-to-eat in that number, and we don't eat too many steaks. My wife compared the grocery store, Wal-Mart, and Costco on just about everything we regularly buy. Grocery store was out - too expensive. She now goes once a week to the Wal-Mart and then Costco.
But all in all, $150 a month per person is not that bad - basically $5 a day.
Posted by: Terry | March 20, 2007 at 10:32 AM
What you eat is one of the most important aspects of your health. Consider it an investment and buy the veggies and healthy food. $400 for a family of four sounds like you're living off hamburger helper. I'm a health nut have a family of 5 and struggle to meet my $800 budget and haven't yet, actually.
BTW, love your site and have gotten lots of great practical advice. Thank you very much.
Posted by: Kris Rafferty | March 20, 2007 at 11:13 AM
My small monthly budget of $50 (just for me) will probably make people think that I'm starving. But it's quite the contrary. My secret is knowing how to cook with the basic ingredients, rather than all the pre-packaged stuff. Sometimes it takes a little longer, but it's usually healthier, tastier, and more affordable.
I often have enough leftover to freeze or share with friends.
Posted by: Mira | March 20, 2007 at 11:22 AM
We spend about $400-$450 per month on groceries and do all of our shopping at Whole Foods or Trader Joes, depending on what we need. It has been pretty consistent for a few years now. And this is for a family of 2.
Posted by: david | March 20, 2007 at 12:12 PM
great topic, interesting comparisons... I am a single twenty-something that has a $120 grocery budget and $120 eating out/bar budget per month... Approx 6 months ago I had $200 budgeted for both and thought I was spending way too much. So I cut it down.
My current budget seems to be right on for my active lifestyle and cut out a lot of the uneccessary spending.
Good tip to is always shopping around the perimeter of a grocery store (freshest and neccessities). If you need something in an aisle leave your cart, you'll only grab what you need. Plus, cooking extra for leftover lunches saves me close $30 every week!
Posted by: chris | March 20, 2007 at 12:17 PM
My wife and I have $45 a week budgeted which works out to about half of what you're spending a month. I suppose you could argue that it should be a tad bit lower considering you have kids and they probably aren't eating as much as you. But then again maybe they are. On the other hand, my wife is quite health conscious (which I'm supportive of) so our grocery bill is probably a little higher than it could be if we bought the non-natural items and so forth (i.e. whole grain bread not white).
Posted by: Rob | March 20, 2007 at 01:18 PM
$400/month groceries. I am tracking it carefully now. But this includes all toiletries, cleaning supplies, dog food, etc for 2 people, 2 dogs. We also eat out $400/month but that is very variable. Sometimes it's very low, but sometimes it's really high because people are visiting.
Posted by: LivingAlmostLarge | March 20, 2007 at 02:21 PM
hmmm...
I budget $300/month for grocery store expenses and I'm always struggling to keep it contained at just that. That's just for myself and my dog (I spend a lot on his food).
I emphasize fresh produce and cooking from scratch myself, and buy very little pre-packaged food, so I'm sort of in awe that Kris can do that on $50 a month. I usually have already spent $30 by the time I leave the fresh produce section.
Posted by: db | March 20, 2007 at 02:39 PM
I think it is important to remember that the goal here is not "who can spend the least per person", but making sure you are spending wisely. If you have a money problem, you need all the tips to save money possible. Hamburger helper used to be very great!
BUT - If you spend less than you earn, save well, and have a good budget - you should be able to spend more on groceries. That is one of the perks and rewards of doing you good financial planning. As my income as increased, I have made a decision to increase my spending on food. That allows me to have an occasional steak, shrimp, fish, and even name brand peanut butter! To me that is my reward that I am entitled to. Do I blow my money on those things? Nope, sure don't. I plan for them.
Posted by: Terry | March 20, 2007 at 04:21 PM
Our family of 4 spends about 700 per month. We buy probably 90% organic, unprocessed food like produce and vegetables and use no coupons. I have to say, this sounds like a splurge, but we love to eat good food and it seems difficult to find coupons on organic products. If anyones knows of a source please pass it on.
Posted by: todd | March 20, 2007 at 06:01 PM
$650, 3 people, wholesale/sales when possible, few coupons, expensive organics, northeast region.
Posted by: lorax | March 20, 2007 at 06:57 PM
Using my Quicken reporting capability, my wife and I (no kids) have spent almost exactly $500 per month on groceries over the last 12 months. This is defined as any food purchased at a grocery store or Costco, only includes stuff that can be eaten, not household items. We often buy in bulk at Costco, including lots of meats from their butcher section.
This does not include dining out, which includes restaurants, eating out for lunch at work (rare--I usually have leftovers), and any spur-of-the-moment vending or snacks. This is about $300 per month, but I sometimes use this as a catchall category when I'm trying to track down missing cash from my wallet. Additionally, this sometimes includes picking up the tab for our visiting family members.
Looking at other's numbers, we must eat a lot, or just eat expensively! However, we also exhaustively keep track of every penny via categories; some other respondents who aren't as obsessive as I would tend to under-report.
We live in an expensive area, too.
Posted by: SteveK | March 20, 2007 at 07:36 PM
We're around $400/month with a family of four. I've found it very helpful keep our pantry stocked and make a weekly meal plan - this way I can make a lists of exactly what we'll need to buy for the week and keep the extras to a minimum. This also removes the crazy coming home from work and don't know what to make for dinner temptation to get fast food.
Posted by: Jessica | March 20, 2007 at 09:53 PM
I spend $620.00 per month on grocery's This includes all paper,soap and cleaning supplies and all drinks for 3 adults and 3 children. I am a coupon hound and use them vigorously. we eat a good fillet or t-bone steak once a week and Cod fish once a week, I shop Walmart for non-food items and shop the sales for food items. We eat very good. the answer is coupons and sales. and not sticking with one store. I keep track of my expenses. and know this figure to be correct. We stay out of restaurants. but do order out Pizza or chinese food several times a month. and this is included in the monthly average.
Posted by: Don P. | March 21, 2007 at 04:46 AM
I budget $600 for "household" (I have a very simple budget). This basically includes everything except bills, debt payments, savings, and daycare. I am guessing we spend about $350 - $400 on groceries and the remainder on gas, household products, clothing, and an occasional lunch out. This is for a family of 4 - 2 adults and 2 kids - ages 1 and 3. Meal planning makes all the difference. We are not tempted to eat out during the week because our meal is already laid out for the evening. I am sure I could spend less - there is always a few "extras" in my cart when I check out. Also - we eat beef for free. My dad is a farmer and gives us a side of beef every year for christmas that lasts us most of the year.
I rarely use coupons since I normally just buy store-brands. I have tried coupons, but they don't seem to work for me. Either I forget they are in my purse when I check out or they encourage me to buy something I didn't really need (normally junk food).
Posted by: Julie | March 21, 2007 at 11:03 AM
A $100 / month per person is very good as long as you don't spend a fortune eating out. It is difficult to get lower than this, but quite easy to go higher by buying more expensive foods. I usually save that for when I do eat out. If you really want to know how average your expenses are, visit http://firecalc.com/real-cost-of-living.php
Posted by: Lord | March 21, 2007 at 10:16 PM
Family of 4. Mostly organic. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Diapers for 2. Formula for 1. Toiletries for all of us, cleaning supplies, etc. Some convenience, pre-packaged items. All meals - every day. Maybe take out 1 or 2 times a month.
We spend between $800 - $900 per month. I use coupons occassionally and always use my club card. I always feel that I am overspending and it looks that way from the posts I am reading, but I feel like we eat healthily and have excellent variety. I wonder if other people are underestimating what they spend. We make coffee at home every day, etc. We don't go out for such things.
Posted by: Ruth Gilbert | March 26, 2007 at 09:17 PM
Family of 4. Kids ages 6 & 4. We eat all organic meat,vegetables,free range chicken, organic milk, the whole nine yards. I can tell you It does not cost a little more, it costs BOOCOOS more. My wife and I have interesting discussions on what we spend at the grocery store. We budget $300/wk for groceries/"living" expenses. I would say about $225-250 is groceries per wk. I think eating healthy is great, but I think the gas pump is not the only place we are getting gouged!!!!
Posted by: Mark | April 13, 2007 at 08:12 AM
We have a family of 3 and spend about $100 a week on groceries.
Posted by: Scruffy Moo cards | July 03, 2007 at 08:27 AM
I just analyzed my budget and found that for Sept 07 my family of 5 spent $900 for groceries. But this includes the fact that my parents were visiting for the month.
Posted by: Gerard | October 02, 2007 at 10:21 AM
We are a family of 4, plus 3 pets, and manage pretty comfortably on $400 per month. I buy most meat at CostCo as the quality is excellent and the price good. I also buy pet food, cat litter, butter, and eggs there. On almost everything else, you can pay far less at the grocery store by stocking up when it's on sale and you have a coupon. Most hygiene and household items can be picked up for free, or almost, if you shop carefully at the grocery & drugstores.
Posted by: Lisa | October 02, 2007 at 11:45 AM
Lately I've been wondering why I've been spending so much on groceries for a family of four so I purposely googled this question. I used to budget $800 and dropped it to $700 and am having a very hard time not going over. I have a 17 year old son, 12 year old daughter and my husband and I. I recently started shopping at Wal-Mart and I buy my meat at B.J.s. I cook dinner most nights. My question to all of you is, do you find you spend less money if you shop weekly? I shop for two weeks at a time, I plan menus and know exactly what I need to buy. Of course there are always those little trips during those two weeks also. I live in the Atlanta suburbs.
Posted by: Lynne | February 24, 2008 at 12:12 PM
After adding up our monthly food bills from June 1 through today, the 25th, I was horrified to find that we've spent almost $550 on groceries and $250 on eating out! And it's just my husband and I! Granted, I've been learning how to cook so I've been buying a lot more ingredients at the grocery store, but are you kidding me?! That's why I googled how much people spend on groceries and found this site. Our new goal is for me to pick recipes with simple, cheaper ingredients and for us to only spend a maximum of $75 per week (we grocery shop for the week each weekend). And we need to cut out our eating out! It's bad for us and our finances. Thanks for all your helpful responses.
Posted by: Traci | June 25, 2008 at 11:04 AM
After adding up our monthly food bills from June 1 through today, the 25th, I was horrified to find that we've spent almost $550 on groceries and $250 on eating out! And it's just my husband and I! Granted, I've been learning how to cook so I've been buying a lot more ingredients at the grocery store, but are you kidding me?! That's why I googled how much people spend on groceries and found this site. Our new goal is for me to pick recipes with simple, cheaper ingredients and for us to only spend a maximum of $75 per week (we grocery shop for the week each weekend). And we need to cut out our eating out! It's bad for us and our finances. Thanks for all your helpful responses.
P.S. I live in the Washington D.C. suburbs.
Posted by: Traci | June 25, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Our family of four spends around 800.00 a month, I use coupons and we do not buy junk food and we buy organic milk only. We have a half of a cow (beef) in our freezer, so I rarely buy meat. I am shocked because I never had a budget and I just checked, what the heck have I been buying??? I am sick to my stomach..
Posted by: lisa | July 21, 2008 at 01:41 PM
I googled a question of "how to only spend $350 a month on groceries" primarily because I am trying to get my grocery bill down as much as possible. Last month I spent $574 for 2 adults & a one year old. And that was cutting it back from my usual $650-700 per month. I usually shop for every two weeks but sometimes I have to go in the store in between to grab necessities that we run out of , milk, bread, etc. So I'm wondering if it is better to just budget going to the store once a week? I buy everything I can on sale & try to eat healthy. I'll do a mix, for instance I like the frozen veggie lasagna that you can pop in the oven, we'll have that one night with a salad, the next night I will make stir fry from fresh veggies. I know my veggies and fruits are what really kick me in the but with my bill, but I feel it is important to give my daughter as much fresh fruit and veggies as possible and not all frozen or canned stuff. Plus, for me & my husband too. I pretty much buy all of our meat in the discounted meat section for over 50% off, we get good top sirloins for 50-70% off this way! I'll buy several and then freeze them. So we do eat well, but I do try to watch how I spend my money at the same time without having to eat hamburger helper or Smack Ramen Noodles every night.
Posted by: Kim | September 08, 2008 at 02:42 PM
Wow, I can't believe how little people here are spending on food!!!! Do you not buy vegetables???? I have trouble keeping my monthly food budget below $400 (for just MYSELF!!!) I live alone in Boston. I shop at Stop and Shop b/c the better grocery stores like Whole Foods are way too expensive. I keep detailed records of what I buy at the grocery store. I make my own coffee at home to save money and I eat very little pre-packaged food (no chips, little sweets) and lots and lots of frozen veggies. And I try to shop store brand. There is very little waste here. I even buy frozen chopped onions because I can't eat all of a fresh onion before it goes bad. I think part of why it's expensive for me is because I use a lot of spices (though I do grow my own basil) and buy vegetarian meat replacements like tempeh and garden burgers. I have NO idea how you people keep your budgets so low unless you are living on unhealthy carbs (white breads, pasta, white rice) and cheap factory-farm chicken and hamburger meat.
Posted by: Lisa P | October 12, 2008 at 10:57 AM
I agree with Lisa, I don't understand how some of these budget amounts are so low. I refuse to feed my family the lowest quality of every food item to save money, it's not worth it. I buy LOTS of veggies and fruits and wholesome food, not 'organic'.
We live in a major city in Illinois. I am trying to futher lower my grocery bill by shopping at 2 stores instead of 1, but for my husband and I, and our toddler (who eats a good amount of food!) we spend about $130 a week on just groceries (no paper towel, etc). It used to be $115-125 but groceries prices recently went up 15-20%. So if you consider 4 weeks in an average month, $130x4 =$520 a month. But we RARELY eat out at all, no expensive Starbucks coffees, NOTHING. Maybe if we're lucky $10 per month in eating out.
My husband brown bags lunch every day while other coworkers buy every single day ($5-7)!
Some of these low figures ($250 a month for 2 people + a kid), I wonder how much you eat out?? Or do you farm and have 'free' food that way? Living in a major city with no farming possibilities and not eating out, it adds up.
On the flip side $130 per week is not bad considering $60 mommy, $60 daddy, $10 child. I have a small pop addiction but everyone has something.
Posted by: T. | October 21, 2008 at 06:04 PM
My family three plus one on the way spends $100 per month on groceries. We buy roasts and cut them into steaks, tips, and smaller roasts. We compare regular meat prices with frozen meat. For example, Stoufer's lasagna is cheaper than making your own. We get 10-lb tubes of ground beef and cut them into 1-lb increments. Whenever I make something involving ground beef, I add a can of Northern Beans to make things stretch farther. We get lettuce and one kind of filler every week for our vegetables, and buy frozen or canned veggies for casseroles and such. It may not be the healthiest, but our doctor always says our toddler looks healthy.
I make supper every night out of habit, from scratch (unless it's hamburger helper or mac and cheese with tuna, which I keep down to once a week). My husband brings leftovers to work, my daughter is fed at daycare, and I brown bag it because I don't have access to a microwave at work. Hope this helps other people bring down their grocery bills. Oh, yeah, and we only buy brand-name mayonaise, unless it's cheaper than the store brand.
Posted by: Tarah | October 28, 2008 at 10:17 PM
On food & household items for 2 persons & a small dog, I spend $200/m. That includes toiletries/makeup. We eat very, very well. I buy meats once a month at Sam's or BJ's, vacuum seal them, and no worries. We have things like beef tenderloin, chicken cordon bleu, & pork tenderloin with caramelized apples & onions with a cider gravy! Not bad meals. We do go out to eat, but on a "normal" basis we spend about $60/m. How? Those entertainment books that have bogo coupons! Some months, we don't go out to eat, only b/c we don't feel like it, especially when we are either super busy, or snowed in. Then we will go to a fine dining restaurant and actually spend $75-100 which doesn't bother us in the slightest!
Some tips others may find useful:
Grocery store salad bars:
Use the salad bar for some ingredients: IE, a recipe calls for 1/2 bell pepper. Well, a few slices is just that...& instead of paying 99 cents for a full one, then only about 30 cents is spent. Need 1 tbsp capers or sliced black olives? They are on the salad bar, spending only 20 cents instead of $3.39 for a small jar of capers or $1.29 on a small can of black olives, that will probably just sit in the fridge for eons.
Bulk or "loose" spices:
Go to places that sell "loose" spices. These stores have canisters in which the consumer is allowed to scoop out only what they need/want into plastic bags. Many spices I buy cost me very little. Buying a jar of spices for $3-$5 is ridiculous, especially for a spice less used. As we evolve in our cooking, making meals that require a spice that is not normally used (but recipe is better to use it instead of omitting it) can be quite expensive. IE: ground corriander sells for $4.50, I only needed a tsp, so I bought "loose" & it cost me 19 cents for about 3 tbsp! The last time I bought garlic granules, it was only 50 cents instead of $2.50 b/c I am not paying for the container! I have kept all my own spice jars & just refill as needed.
Convenience foods or boxed meals:
Forget the boxed meals such as hamburger helper! I just saw in a sales ad that Hamburger helper was $3.25 a box. Remember, have to buy ground round at say at highest $3.59/lb? The dried pasta by itself can be bought for a mere 50 cents? Add to the meat & pasta, a can of diced tomatoes (59 cents), some spices, and half an onion (50 cents), viola! Goulash at $5.28 instead of $6.84! That saves $1.56 not to mention that it's better health wise b/c of not all the preservatives, flavorings & other garbage that's in those boxed meal helpers! Buying Hormel's pot roast at $9 is a real waste. Serves maybe 3 persons & again, loaded with "garbage". Buy a 4/lb pot roast for same price, and for 2 persons, can get 5-6 meals out of it. OR go to wholesale clubs for meats!
Wholesale clubs:
Better yet, go to Sam's, Costco or BJ's and get beef! Can buy 3 roasts at 3/lbs each for $15. Freeze 2 separately. That's another 2 meals. Don't want 3 meals of pot roast in a month? Can cut up one for stew, and the other for beef tips over rice, etc!
Food storage to save money:
Invest in a foodsaver vacuum sealer! This also will allow to buy meats in bulk from the wholesale clubs, vacuum seal & it won't get freezer burned for up to a year or better. Unlike the regular plastic freezer bags...where meats can get freezer burned within a month! Do any of you find that you buy perishables that you mean to cook, but for some reason don't get around to, just to find you have to throw it out b/c it went bad? Either buy only what you need for a week or can even use the foodsaver!
Weekly produce shopping:
If you have a farmer's market, where produce may be cheaper (here we have West Side Market), that is the place to utilize. I only buy what will be used in 5 days. It is only about 5 miles from my home. Anyway, I can get all our produce needs such as tomatoes, broccoli, squashes, beans, corn, fresh herbs, onions, potatoes for a mere $15. Cannot do that in the stores, not even with competitor ad shopping. Oh, don't have such a place?
Bakery thrift stores:
These can be gold mines! Bread I usually buy in the stores go for $2.79/loaf...I can get it for a $1 less, plus other items I buy are on the cheap. Last time there, I bought 3 loafs bread, hoagie rolls, breadsticks, sponge dessert cakes, 2 loafs raisin bread, and croutons for $3 only. It was 10% off day, plus I had a coupon for half off. I froze 2 loafs bread, 1 loaf raisin bread, half the hoagie rolls, breadsticks & the sponge cakes. Why freeze? B/c I only go to that particular store when I am in the immediate area which is usually twice a month. Besides, cannot tell that the items were frozen anyway.
Using foods wisely:
Rotisserie chicken tonight? Pick rest of meat off carcass, and can make soups, casseroles, chicken alfredo, chicken salad and the list goes on! Boil the carcass and rest of bones...chicken stock! Can freeze the meat for later & the stock as well.
Competitor ad shopping:
Walmart honors all competitor ads! Bring the sales guide in, and if Wally World's price is higher, they will sell it at the advertised competitor's price. One stop shopping...means less gas used & time spent! They will also take all coupons even if it's "in-store only" coupon.
Coupons:
Coupons can be a saver but only if the product is normally used AND not having to buy more in quantity just to save 50 cents! IE: ketchup is not something we use a lot of. Why buy two 32 oz bottle if I know for fact that a 32 oz bottle will not get used up before the end of 4 months? Also, some brand name companies make the store brands...way cheaper but the taste is exactly the same. Manufacturers know that producing a coupon WILL entice a person to buy the product simply b/c there is a coupon for it. The consumer justifies it with the "just trying it" to see if we will like it. That only increases the food bill.
Happy shopping! Does this sound like way to much hassle? Don’t have time to menu plan, hate shopping, or not that good at cooking? Just to busy for it all? Check into having a personal chef. For a family of 4 the cost would be roughly $450 for 5 meals. Many of these personal chefs have different package options, like a bi-weekly or monthly basis. Some will scale down the servings with pricing to match. The personal chef does all the menu planning based on their clients preferences or dietary needs, does the shopping, comes out to the client’s home, prepares all the meals at once, then stores in fridge. They will leave easy to follow heating instructions. Easy, breezy. Google personal chefs, and you are on your way. (I recommend American Personal & Private Chef Association’s find a chef listing. Easy to find a reliable competent personal chef in your area)
Posted by: JA | January 27, 2009 at 11:29 AM
My husband and I have been trying to get a sense of whether our spending is in line with reality. This is a very helpful discussion! I am a graduate student and my husband is a freelance illustrator with variable income, so it is important to stay within a budget. Looking back over our records, it looks like we average about $12 per day for the two of us - or about $300 to $400 per month on groceries.
We don't go out to eat too often - but we do try to budget for that too, as it's a nice treat. We've been spending between $50 and $100 per month for one to three nights out (we don't choose really expensive places).
I think it's a good idea to include some luxuries if you can afford it, but also to track which ones can be cut without damaging your health/quality of life if you need to.
I'm not sure exactly how we would reduce our grocery bill much more - currently we don't buy much meat, but we do buy a lot of fruit and yogurt. Also coffee, which is a luxury I suppose, although cheaper than buying it at Starbucks!
There is also the issue of time. Since my graduate program keeps me busy about 80 hours a week, it means that real cooking is just about out of the picture for now (though I miss it).
Have discovered the virtue of frozen vegetables. They are actually quite high in nutrition and more affordable and better to buy if you don't really know when you will be able to cook them. Highly recommend, but stock up when they are on sale.
Posted by: Chris Ing | March 14, 2009 at 02:09 PM
My husband was complaining that we spend too much on groceries each month, but I can't see where to cut the budget since he won't give up his wine a few nights a week. So I thought I would see where our family falls in the American grocery budget. There are 5 of us, plus a large dog, a cat, and some fish. We are spending about $200 per week, and maybe a meal out once a week for about $50-60. But, that $200 includes toiletries, pet supplies, and household items like soap, batteries, TP, etc. I try to use coupons, and save my small coupons for the store that gives double coupons and the item is on sale. Two of our stores also offer gas rewards (earn 10 cents off per gallon for $50 spent at grocery, or earn actual fuel card dollars for buying certain items each week). Last week I earned $4 in fuel, and I only bought one extra item for about $1.60 that was a "splurge" (okay, my daughter just got braces, so I bought her some pudding cups to pack in her lunch for the first week). We're waiting for the garden to start producing green beans, squash, and tomatoes in the next month or two, so maybe we won't be spending as much on produce soon.
It sounds like we might be about "average", but I'll try to squeeze a few more dollars out of the weekly groceries!
Posted by: Meg | May 17, 2009 at 10:42 PM
I spend somewhere between $800-$900 at grocery type stores (including Costco) just south of San Francisco. That is for a family of 4 (2 adults, 4 year old and 2 year old). I thought I was spending way too much, but seeing what others spend, makes me feel a little better.
I buy organic milk and snacks. I also buy organic if the regular has high fructose corn syrup (I read all my lables). In that total is included diapers, wipes, paper towels (have cut way back since I've been using wash cloths to clean kids after meals), toilet paper, etc. My cleaning supplies consist of vinegar and baking soda (saving a ton of $) and a steam mop. (I do have bleach and other toxic stuff for "emergencies").
I brew coffee at home and we dine out maybe once a month (with two kids, it's just easier to eat at home). I always try to make my meals last at least two days (bake chicken breasts on Monday, have enough for Tuesday and make chicken enchiladas for Wednesday).
Posted by: Márcia | August 03, 2009 at 02:58 AM
My boyfriend and I live together and spend around $200 between the two of us. He eats meat, but I don't
I live near a drug store (shoppers drug mart) that sometimes has insanely good deals (cereal $2, crackers $1, frozen 'health pizzas' for $3) and I find that stocking up really helps. I also live across the street from a small locally owned grocery store that sells mostly produce, and going three times a week and buying smaller quantities really prevents things from going bad and being wasted.
We make a lot of food from scratch, and soups that can freeze and last for weeks.
Posted by: Sarah | September 04, 2009 at 09:09 PM
I spend around 100$ monthly on groceries for family of 2. We dont have kid yet or any pets so total spending is very less. The key to keep groceries spending low is to find good stores. Most of the stores gives discount on certain items on weekly basis, Because of this those items are way cheaper then Costco prices. Also the veggies are very costly at american grocery stores, never buy them there, instead go to non-american grocery stores (I prefer Indian grocery stores). I usually find most of the veggies, fruits at almost 1/2 to 1/3 price. The other thing is that I never buy soda or chips, they are bad for health and increase your grocery bill to almost 25$ per month.
Posted by: neo | September 25, 2009 at 07:07 PM
I have a question for all of you....when you say groceries, are you just talking food? What about health and beauty products? Toilet paper, shampoo, dish soap, that sort of thing? Are those things included in the monthly total? I noticed several of you included dog food but I am wondering about all of the other necessities for running a household?
Posted by: Jodi | October 02, 2009 at 06:45 PM
I'm a 29 year old guy, just me and the cat- I eat healthy, take in 2,000 calories/day and I drop around $250.00/month on groceries (not including household items), I eat out maybe 4-5 times a month and that isn't included in the $250.
Posted by: Reeser | October 17, 2009 at 06:56 PM
I am in awe of most of you who can feed your families for so cheap. I too googled this because I am spending WAY too much on food for a family of 6. We never eat out, I pack lunches every day, and buy 90% organic, including household cleaners, meats, produce, etc. All that organic stuff is EXPENSIVE, but I feel worth it for my family's health. A lot of our health problems have gone away since eating clean and healthy foods! Plus, we are all losing weight. I am not going to put how much I spend per month here, because I am embarrassed by how much I am spending. It is comparable to Lisa above who spends $400/mo on just herself... I can see that. x 6 and we are almost there. Grass fed beef, organic milk, whole grain breads and pastas, organic chicken, omega eggs, etc... it is just EXPENSIVE, and no coupons for that stuff! I cut back everywhere else, because I believe it is more important that we are fed healthy. It is paying off! I used to spend about $600/month... but that is what made us all in such poor health! It would be hard to go back to that.
Posted by: kathy w. minneapolis | October 26, 2009 at 05:30 PM
My husband and I live in the Pacific NW, and spend $600 a month on groceries for the two of us (no kids, 2 cats). Sometimes we manage to spend less--the $600 is where we top out. This includes all toiletries, cleaning and household supplies--paper products, trash bags (all recycled and bio friendly), etc. We shop at Trader Joes, Fred Meyer and co-ops-we buy very few things at Whole Foods, but purchase most things at Joes. The vast majority of what we buy is organic, we eat a whole foods, veggie based diet--LOTS of produce, not much meat at all, and it is NOT cheap. We are in total agreement, though, that eating well is an investment in our health--we won't eat low quality, processed foods. At this point we are spending $100 - $150 eating out each month, and it is extremely rare to do take out--all meals are prepared at home, husband makes coffee at home, no Starbucks habits, etc.
On the other hand, we also save a ton using public transpo and biking to our jobs. We share one 10 year old car, no car payments, and only need to fill the tank once a month at the most (we don't even use the car every day).
We also enjoy VERY good health as a result of our healthy diets, and very rarely suffer from full blown colds or flu.
Posted by: Carolyn | October 26, 2009 at 10:00 PM