Whats Your Grocery Budget???

[liz-hippymom]

After doing our budget and going through last months grocery reciepts, i am totally bummed. i have been keeping track for a year now and it just seems like we spend so much on food!!
we spend between 500-600 usually, but it has gone higher. there are two adults and two toddler/preschoolers. i buy about 80 % organic, sometimes less.
what does everyone elses bill look like? and how many people does it feed and do you buy organic, if so how much???

[Wabi Sabi]

I generally spend roughly $100/ week at the grocery store. That includes DH and myself plus 5 children who eat here during the day but are not here for dinner or on the weekends. (I have a home daycare with 5 full-time children).

That $100 does NOT include eating out. We generally eat out once during the week and maybe twice each weekend. I know, we eat out waaay too much and it is something that we're really working on...

I predominately buy more "whole" foods. I buy organic when it is on sale, but can't afford it most of the time. I do a good portion of my shopping in the natural foods section of our local Krogers- they have a surprisingly nice selection at decent prices.

Overall, I really need to start spending less on groceries, but its just so darned hard...

[Harper]

I was excited to see this as I think that my dh and I spend way too much on groceries and now I can compare. We spend between $150 and $200 a week for three adults and one baby (ten months). This includes most toiletries and laundry detergent, dish soap etc. We do 90% of our shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joes and buy organic as much as possible. We only buy meat from Whole Foods. It always seems like an outrageous amount of money to me (especially since at Whole Foods you can spend $150 and have three bags!!). We also eat out once or twice a week.

[Kim]

Yep, we are spending around $100 a week (not including "out to eat" occasions). All at Whole Foods. We are 2 adults (1 pregnant ) and 1 toddler.

[Trishy]

I spend $150 or less a month on a family of one hungry man, one pregnant woman and a little boy who eats the same thing every day. I coupon heavily and only buy meats on sale. There aren't very many organic things available but I buy what I can.

[corrie43]

Trishshack, could you give a little more info on how you can get the budget that low. Where do you shop? do they do double coupons? do you buy generic? I would LOVE to get down to even 200 a month for a family of four.

[Parker'smommy]

I spend around $100- every other week. ANd then we go to Costco and spend around $150- a month there. SO, its probably around $350- a month. I'm gonna really try and get this less in the new year. Trishack- $150 a month is awesome...please share your secrets!!!!


And I agree that buying organics cost more, but worth it.

[Arduinna]

I typically spend about 800.00 a month ( eating out not included ) and that feeds 3 adults (dd is 14 ). I buy as much organic as possible.

[Joi]

We budget $400 per month including eating out. I try to buy as much whole and organic food as I can. (We usually go over budget by at least $25-$100 a month)

[Throkmorton]

We probably spend about $400/mo for the 3 of us. That includes my organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which are my special treat once a week, while DH eats his steak.
Currently, I am working on cutting that down quite a bit. It is hard, though, when produce starts at $1.99/lb

[magnoliablue]

I spend about 100 to 150.00 for the four of us, and that includes anything extra like cleaning supplies, etc... I do buy almost all organic, which means everything is probably about at least a dollar more than conventional..a half gallon of organic milk is as much as a whole gallon of conventional...I cringe sometimes, but it will pay for itself in the end if it keeps my kids healthier...in the summer my bill is less because I babysit an organic gardeners children, and he gives me all the produce and organic eggs I need. I know if I bought all conventional my grocery bill per week might be around 60 to 75, but I will keep buying organic..in the long run the more people that do this will make the price for organics go down.

[famousmockngbrd]

I'd say we spend about $60 - $80 a week on groceries, household supplies, etc. for 2 adults and a toddler. I shop mainly at Meijer, which is a KY Walmart-type store chain, and at the co-op. This doesn't include eating out or ordering pizza, which we usually do once a week or so. So add another $25, and another $20 for beer (hey, I like expensive beer, OK?? :P) Plus another $10 for coffee. So, what's that - $350, $400 a month? That's not bad, I guess. I'm probably underestimating the amount of money we spend eating out, though.

[Oklahoma Mama]

We spend about $200 a month on food and toiletries. I don't buy organic much though. We all enjoy grocery shopping so we end up going to 4-6 stores every other week depending on each stores sales. I don't really use coupons since we don't get the weekly paper, but we do shop according to what is on sale in the flyers. My dh is a big meat eater and I am a vegetarian plus we have a toddler

[MamaMonica]

We spend about $100 a week for two adults and two kids. We rarely eat out- like once every few months. We belong to a CSA and get organic veggies at a large savings and the only meat we eat is the chicken and the turkey I buy for ds- and we don't always get that. I spend a lot on organic- prefer to support that industry.

[MaShroom]

my dh is self employed so i squeeze out what i can from our bank account because who knows when we'll have money for groceries again. i think it probably averages out to about $150 a week for a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids.)

but we don't buy hardly any meat either. waaay too expensive at the store. my inlaws butcher a cow every year so we have a freezer full of beef. i don't eat it but dh is a confirmed carnivore and he seems to eat the lot of it every year. last year i hinted that we didn't want a bunch of dead cow in our freezer but he usurped my power and bought it anyway. now if he would just learn to cook it.:

ed bc i'm tired and can't spell.

[willibug]

I spend about $150-180 a week for my family of five(2 adults, 3 kids.) I make a weekly trip to the local chain grocery store and pick up bits and pieces during the week at our local co-op and the village general store. This budget includes all toiletries, cleaning supplies, disposable diapers and good quality beer. We do not eat out--well, maybe once every few months, so that doesn't really count. DH makes and takes his lunches to work and the kids are homeschooled, so this covers everything that goes into our tummies! I rarely use coupons, as there aren't many for the products I want to buy. I don't read the circulars either, but I do have a pantry shortlist which I take along. I used to carefully write out menus for the week, but now I only do it in my head. If I see something on special that we'll use, I'll buy it and incorporate it into our menu. Generally I have two week's worth of standard menus, but it does vary a bit. Oh, and we do eat meat and fish, and I buy the nicest I can afford--free-range, antibiotic free, etc, but sometimes it's just the "regular stuff." I get some organic produce--probably about half. During the summer I use the local farmer's market, and that's all organic--and affordable!