What does the government want you to spend to eat each month??? - Page 5

[DreamsInDigital]

764.60 for the thrifty plan and 1431.90 for the liberal plan.

We actually spend about $500 a month.

[BetsyS]

Originally Posted by kijip

And we buy a lot of fish, which is expensive. And we generally have 5-10 servings of veggies and fruit each day. Not seeing how all that produce would be possible (esp on our small city townhouse postage stamp yard) on a much smaller budget.

At $400/month, for us, fish becomes a luxury. We eat canned salmon, canned tuna, catfish, and the occasional shrimp (like every 2-3 months). And, that's about it.

We put a priority on fruits and vegetables at that budget point, but not organic. I probably spend half that budget on vegetables and fruits. And, even then, I'd say it's 90% in season, and we garden, have a great local farmers' market, and my mom has a huge garden. Plus, in season, I buy huge amounts and preserve them.

I don't know if we eat larger than normal portions or what? Last week, I made a stew that served 5 portions. It included a pound of carrots, a pound of pearl onions, and a pound of mushrooms. That's probably about normal for us.

I struggle with getting as many vegetables/fruits as I want on a budget, as well.

[phathui5]

I've never been able to figure ours' out using that. We have two adults and children who are 8, 5, 3, and 1.

[amynbebes]

Thrifty per month is 865.35

Liberal is 1666.80


Good gravy on both accounts. We spend an average of 500-550 per month

[talk de jour]

$331.50 thrifty

$416.00 low cost

$509.30 moderate

$623.30 liberal

Umm... yeahh... we spend MAYBE 200 a month. Maybe 300 if we are doing crazy crazy stocking-up or something.

That includes the insane amounts of diet soda we are addicted to, too.

Did I mention there are only 2 of us??

[homeschoolAK]

We are supposed to have a budget of 813.20 for the thrifty plan. I actually spend an average of 500-600 a month. There are 6 of us,my husband and I and our 4 children ages 4,6,8,8. I am also a SAHM and Homeschool so we have lunches and full breakfasts in that budget. I thought we eat very well with meat at almost every meal, and a balanced diet. I do wish we could have more fresh fruit though, most of what we eat is canned... but that is not in the budget. More fresh salad would also be nice...

[momma of monkeys]

Thrifty-553.00
Liberal-1185.70

I don't think I have EVER spent 1100 on groceries in a month....and I shop farmers markets as well as grocery stores. wow.

eta-I actually spend ave. 500, sometimes less, almost never more....

[Shahbazin]

We end up in the liberal plan for a family of 4 - but I cook a lot of stuff from our groceries for DH's 80 yr old parents who we live with, & that also includes cleaning stuff & having 2 toddlers in diapers (DH doesn't want to use cloth).
We mostly just get fresh & frozen fruits & veggies (organic where possible), flour, pasta, bread, ground turkey or beef (DH doesn't eat red meat), chicken, milk, butter, cheese, yogurt; some canned/jarred stuff (tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter), a few convenience things & snacks (cereal, grahm crackers, Ovaltine, boxed mac & cheese - 1 toddler loves it-, walnuts), coffee & tea, & DH does insist on drinking this one really expensive kind of juice We have a few chickens, so don't buy eggs.

I have no idea how most people posting are keeping their groceries down so low! We don't have a freezer, & I go to the local Vons.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by CarsonBookworm

$420.60 for the Thrifty Plan.....and we're eating on less than $150 a month these days for the three of us.

I had to do the math on this one. I would also be very interested in seeing a sample of what you can do on $150/month. Discounting the little one completely who probably still breastfeeds mostly or takes small bites from your plate, that translates to 83 cents per meal per person or less than $2.50/day. It's amazing and kudos to you for being able to pull this off. I know I couldn't.

We spend right at the moderate amount that is listed. On the low end, about $600 and the high end $1150. We spend somewhere in the middle. We have three adults, though, because my mother lives with us. Only 1 kiddo. I do buy bulk staples, but I love to cook and tend to use gourmet items like truffle oil, french cheeses, good olive oil, etc. We budget for it, though.

[velochic]

Bump

[maciascl]

Holy cow! Thrifty is $527.10 & luxury is $1016.10. I live in a fairly high cost of living area & I've always figured about $500 a month including a meal or 2. I guess I am doing all right

[laohaire]

We're the exception here.

For us thrifty is $426 and we spend $450. And honestly, I feel deprived on $450. And we don't buy organic, no meat, no beverages (only water), no snacks, no breakfast (I only eat lunch and dinner). I make the vast majority of food from scratch (even the pasta sometimes).

I have been through this agony so many times reading this board, but I can only surmise we live in a high COL area. (Hard for me to really judge, because it's not consistent - fuel is VERY high here, but we have by far the cheapest real estate in the state - probably all because we're in a very remote part of the state).

[USAmma]

We would be spending about $500-600 month on the thrifty to moderate plan, which is about right for our family. That's about right. We have some food allergy issues as well as Celiac Disease, so we spend a bit more than most families. After our out of town guests leave (they are here for 6 weeks from out of country), I'm planning to cut way down on the food bill.