How much do you spend on groceries? - Page 2

[swimswamswum]

Right now, it is just DH and I (we're hoping that will soon change ) and we spend about $450/month on food (including eating out) and household/ cat stuff. We don't eat a lot of meat and we have a garden. We're probably at about 1/2 organic- more during the summer when we have farmer's markets around. We eat most things from scratch. I do like my fair trade, organic coffee and the occasional wine- DH likes soda once in a while.

I am really amazed at how little a lot of people are spending.

[calicokatt]

For one adult and four children, we spend about $550/mo. We eat very little convenience food, but do buy all organic dairy. I pack my lunch every day. It goes up about $25/week when dh is home.

[Herausgeber]

Yes, this is extremely variable depending on where you live. Cost of living in the D.C. area is high because of housing, but it seems we do have cheaper good food than a lot of other places. I feel very lucky to have so many good choices for buying good groceries, especially my co-op.

Once our housemate moves out, I actually expect our per-person amount to drop quite a bit. His juice, cereal and soy milk consumption represents about a quarter of our food budget. :

[member]

With the preface that we are on a very TIGHT budget this month and we have a fully-stocked freezer and pantry, we have $100 (visa gc actually) budgeted for all household expenses for August.

Typically, we have $150 or so for 2 adults.

[fanniefarkle]

We spend about $75-$100 a week for 2 adults and one kiddie. I live in the South.

[*andiflipping*]

We spend about $300/month for 2 aduts and one toddler. We buy what we can organic but it is hard since we have link and the only place that has organic meat doesn't take the card. I think we could get by on $200 if I planned meals better. We also eat at my parents once a week and at least once a week at inlaws...sometimes twice. This helps out a lot.

[msjd123]

ITA that location is everything. I doubt very much that those folks who are spending less than $300/month on food have to pay $3.69/ half gallon for organic milk. I'm always thrilled when it goes on sale for $3.50/half gallon. : In-season organic peaches were $4.99/pound when I was at the store yesterday. Gotta love LA. *eye roll*

[Herausgeber]

At the grocery store here, organic milk is $2.99-3.99 a gallon, depending on brand. My co-op has pasture-fed, organic milk from a local farm for $2.50 a half gallon! We have to return the bottle, though.

And msjd123, it is nuts that you are so close to the SOURCE of most of the organic produce in this country and you're having to pay those prices.

[Thalia]

We have two adults and spend between $75 and $125 per week between the grocery store and the farmer's market. We eat organic as much as possible. I'm in Chicago, and organic milk can be as much as $5.00 a gallon here, even at Trader Joe's. At the regular grocery store a 1/2 gallon is $3-4. We cook a lot and go out one night a week for date night, and usually go out for lunch after church.

[RiverSky]

: I believe we spend $600-1000 on food from grocery stores PLUS going out to eat more than we should (probably $400 a month, sometimes more). We are trying to lessen both of those amounts, drastically. 2 adults, 2 children. Pretty pitiful, right? We eat mostly organic, tons of berries, fruits, veggies, meat, cereals, etc. Raw cheese is usually in our house, also. We regularly have people over to eat though so some of that goes to feeding others.

We live in one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S. (according to housing prices, at least, I assume all other prices are high, too).

[Ruthiegirl]

We spend $500-550 a month for 2 adults and 2 children. The kids are veggie, dh and I are mostly vegan. Food is very expensive where we are and organic is crushingly expensive. I shop the sales, the bulk bins, cook from scratch a lot of the time and I cannot get our food budget any lower without compromising nutrition.

I really would like to get it down to $400 month, but don't see it happening. As it is, we buy no meat, very little dairy and base more of our meals around rice and beans. Produce runs me $40 a week and that is one area where I refuse to compromise. I just can't see limiting the amount of fresh fruits and veggies we eat.

And we are in Eastern Maryland, deep in farm country.

[GooeyRN]

About $75 a week for DH, me and a few(2-3) jars of baby food. We usually do not buy meat. (I am a vegetarian, dh is not but eats whatever I put infront of him. He does not mind going meatless) We buy a steak or burgers for him maybe once a month for on the grill. We do not buy organic. Its not sold here, and its way to expensive to buy it in the near city. (30 miles away... I am not driving that far for food!)

[DreamsInDigital]

For 3 kids and two adults we spend close to $500 a month. I know we could cut that down a bit but we get food stamps and so it's not money we're actually spending. Things will be rough in a couple of months when I won't qualify anymore.

[treehugginhippie]

Originally Posted by BathrobeGoddess

I budget $60 per week plus milk delivery which we pay monthy at about $30 a month. We buy only organic and plan everything. There are two adults and two children right now. We make lots of stuff from scratch.

Wow...that's great! I wish mine were that low and I cook everything from scratch too. I know I need to find a co-op for grass-fed meats. Just curious...is this a vegetarian diet?

[annethcz]

This month we spent about $300 for our family of 2 adults and 4 children. This does not include going out to eat. But that's not really typical for us, it's a much lower figure than usual.

Have any of you ever seen the USDA food cost guide? Even on the thrifty plan, it says that our family should budget over $700/ month for food (assuming we eat at home for every meal). I would not consider this thrifty, and WOW! I could buy a lot of convenince food for that amount of money.
http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/FoodPlans/U.../foodmay06.pdf

[whoamama]

Riversky is the first realistic post I've seen. For 6 people, we spend at least 1200 canadian on groceries per month. We eat well, but shop at a low-end supermarket. I have no idea how one could get by on 300 a month for a family. What do you eat?

[annethcz]

Originally Posted by whoamama

I have no idea how one could get by on 300 a month for a family. What do you eat?

I spent $300 for groceries this month for my family of 6. That did not include going out, which we did a few times (just because we wanted to ). But I did have food planned for the meals that we ate out. For me, making a menu is really important. I can't be frugal unless I know what we're going to eat. I'm not setting myself as the ultimate example of healthy or frugal eating, but here's what's on my menu this month:

Breakfasts: oatmeal or muffins during the week, cereal with milk on saturdays
Lunches: pasta salad, PB & J, grilled cheese, leftovers, tacos, enchiladas, mac & cheese with broccoli, hot dogs, taco casserole, sloppy joes, melt sandwiches.
Snacks (I plan both a morning and afternoon snack): flatbread with cinnamon sugar, carrots (with hummus), string cheese, muffins, popsicles (homemade with fruit juice), popcorn, apples, pears
Suppers: melt sandwiches, eggs & pancakes, sloppy joes, ranch beans, burgers, egg & cheese biscuit sandwich, pizza, hot dogs, spaghetti, soup & bread, lasagna, enchiladas, taco casserole, salsa burritos

Obviously many of these meals are repeated during the month. For lunches and suppers, I always serve veggies as a side dish- usually carrot sticks or mixed frozen veggies. Most of the time, I usually cut up a few apples for lunch too. I also often offer fresh salad from our garden. I make most everything from scratch. This month I made 9 dozen muffins (froze them, and pull out what I need for the next day). I also make all of our bread and tortillas from scratch. I haven't yet figured out how to make hamburger and hotdog buns that aren't as hard as a rock, so I buy those from the day old bread store. I just used up the last of the 25 lbs. of whole wheat flour that I bought this month- it wasn't quite enough, as we'll need more bread and tortillas for the weekend.

I am a vegetarian, and we eat mostly veggie at home. I did schedule a few non-veggie meals, nitrate free organic chicken hot dogs (twice) and bison burgers (twice). DH makes those on the grill for himself and the kids. We do eat mostly whole foods, and about 50% organic. But I stay away from processed and convenience foods. I do buy some canned goods- enchilada sauce, refried beans (they never taste as good when I try to make refried beans), pizza sauce.

Oh, and we usually drink water. This month I bought 2 gallons of milk and 2 gallons of calcium fortified orange juice. The milk was mostly for baking and cereal.

[HydeParkB]

We are in the $300-350 range for a family of 3.

Our more expensesive items are DD's organic cow's milk and organic yogurt. (I get the non-organic skim.) We also get crackers (Annie's cheddar bunnies), soy hotdogs, cheese, cage-free eggs, whole bean coffee. We shop Costco, grocery stores, discount grocery stores and Big Lots, in that order.

Our garden and CSA provide most vegetables. We buy fruits and onions at the farmers market or shop the sales. I pick up bread at the bakery outlet, or it is homemade. Meats and fish we buy on sale and freeze. Most of our cooking is from scratch.

We don't buy soda, cookies, chips at the grocery store, but DH will buy soda & a candy bar when he is out and about. We don't buy frozen dinners/lunches - we make those.

For breakfast, we'll have cereal, oatmeal, or homemade-from-the-freezer breakfast burritos. Lunch could be leftovers; sandwiches - ham and cheese, pbj, turkey; pasta. Today I have two tomatoes, chili from the freezer and a couple of tortillas. Dinner is wide open - DH cooks most of the time. Pizza, omlettes, thai, vietnamese, mexican, soups, are all fair game. We are cleaning out our fridge, so last night's dinner was omlettes with squash, zuchini, bacon, and cheddar cheese and an roasted eggplant/red pepper/artichoke spread on sweet potato bread.

Our big methods of reducing our spending were cutting out the junk food and prepared foods (making our own hummus and pizza crust, for example.)

[rainbowmoon]

Originally Posted by whoamama

Riversky is the first realistic post I've seen. For 6 people, we spend at least 1200 canadian on groceries per month. We eat well, but shop at a low-end supermarket. I have no idea how one could get by on 300 a month for a family. What do you eat?

really? I thought I was spending alot for me and 2 toddlers! ($300+) I was going to try to cut back to about $240 this next month..This is just for food..I don't include pet food,coffee,tea,soda, alcohol,cleaning supplies,detergent or other houeshold items in here.

here is an example of what we eat...(not everything in a month but you get the idea)

breakfasts

oatmeal
egg and cheese sandwhiches
fresh fruit
juice/muffins/sweet bread
pancakes
cold cereal
yogurt/granola
muffins

lunches

PB &J or veggie sandwich
mac ncheese
**usually leftovers**
or sometime we might just snack all afternoon and skip lunch

dinners

beans and rice/burritoes/enchiladas/wraps**we eat some form of beans nearly everyday**
lasangna,spagetti,mac ncheese,stuffed shells
pizza
chinese (stir fry/ eggroll/teriaki/etc)
soups/stews/chili
salad
various casseroles (I make these maybe twice a month and we have plenty for the freezer for leftovers)

snacks

popcorn
crackers/pretzels
cheese
hard boiled eggs
fresh fruit/ veggies -sometimes with a dip

I make muffins and sweet breads from scratch or a cake mix recipes (I have a cookbook full of these)which I LOVE! (this is my indulgance)

oh and I will make a desert once a week. (ie;brownies, cookies, cheescake,pie or cake)

[GracieBugsMama]

Wow, you guys are really inspirational!

For three adults and one toddler, plus a sometimes-5-yo (I babysit her anywhere from 1-4 days a week, and she eats two meals plus one or two snacks while here), we spend about $400-$500/month. That includes household supplies like laundry stuff, TP, etc. And usually we'll have to stop on our "off-weeks" (I do the big shopping trip once every 2 weeks, on payday) to get milk, cheese, and/or bread.

I do plan our meals, and have cut down my use of convenience foods. We certainly don't eat as healthily as we should, but I try. Especially now during summer, there are so many good things in season that I'm trying to load us up on them while I can.

ETA: We're in rural southcentral PA.