How much do you spend on groceries?

[DebbieL]

"But the health care money must come from somewhere!"

Not from groceries. That's what our high income taxes are for (I guess), lol. I'm in Canada though, and I still think $900/month for basically two people and a baby is a bit excessive (if they are wanting to save money - I have no problem with it if they have no problem with it). I live in one of the most expensive places that you can live in the Country and we have a teenage daughter, me and my 6'6" husband (who is a chef) to feed and do it for less than half of that. We buy lots of fresh fruit, veggies, etc. too. Eating healthy is more expensive than the junk, and we still manage pretty well on far less than what she is spending currently.

[herm4]

Interesting....

[Plassky]

where I'm living, things like milk are actually costing around 5-6 dollars... I think we're getting ripped off here.

[Lindahfx]

We are spending closer to $700 per month on groceries - if you see my blog. I think that May may have included a weeks worth of groceries from April. I know that we spend a fair amount on meats as my husband is a big eater and a big meat eater. I do clip coupons and try to use those whenever possible but as another Cdn mentioned, our coupons here just aren't the deals that you get in the US. And I take advantage of BOGO whenever I can. We buy a fair amount of fresh foods - very little frozen or prepackaged stuff. But I have to admit that I'm pretty brand conscious about some products. There is certainly room for improvement though. I do look at flyers but typically just for the grocery store that we frequent. I don't tend to shop around from store to store unless I'm going to be there for something else.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and comments.

[cicy33]

I have never spent more than $400 on groceries and that is with two adults full time and four kids every friday, saturday and sunday. We rarely eat out and we do not eat junk food. I don't even buy it very much! We eat alot of chicken (love it!) as well as veggies. As the kids get older (they are 9, 10, 11 and 12) I expect it will get a little higher. Our normal meals: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn. Spaghetti and garlic bread. Boneless chicken breast grilled, corn on the cob, pasta dish. Chicken and stuffing dish, Homemade stew, Hoagie sandwiches made with hot dog buns with ham, turkey, chicken, and cheese. Tacos are a favorite. Occasionally we eat pizza. I can actually count on one hand the number of times we have had hotdogs in the past year. Those are usually used at cookouts. Out of those meals, I used coupons on more than 3/4 of the items making some of it free and some of it really cheap. these are some of the dishes I have made over the past week. It is possible to eat well or at least not total fat junky food and save money and not break the bank! I buy a large bag of frozen mixed veggies at walmart for $5. Lasts through at least 3 or 4 meals. My kids "junk" on pickles, fruit, and stuff like that. The only junk food I buy is velveeta and tostitos. We love chips and cheese. I do not buy candy. I rarely make brownies, maybe once a month, and every once in a while I do buy oreos. my weakness! We drink iced tea and milk. I do drink soda personally but don't allow the kids any except for special occasions. Regular potato chips are not a popular item for us. I still have half bags left from the last cookout we had. and that was over 2 months ago, I think I need to throw them away!

[devils_advocate]

"Groceries" is a pretty generic term too. For me, groceries includes paper towels, toilet paper, soap, shampoo, cleaning supplies. I have a feeling some people are including these items and other people are not.

[kristieburke30]

hmm 2 adults and 3 kids (10/3/2) i include paper products and 2 packs of diapers a month and hygeian products. 140.00 a week. that is about the lowest i have gotten it and have it fill comfortable and not have to drop any meat anywhere and still get lots of veggies. this is much better then it once was before the budget... omg i don't know how we were managing before we started it!

my hardest thing to stop is the impulse book buy! i really need to go to the library more!

[Aleta]

Ok! How much are each of you just spending on food? Forget about the diapers, toileties, etc. You can include coffee, cocoa, or tea. Unless you start breaking down the purchases into groups, you'll never know how much you're spending on these different categories. Some years back, it surprised me how much I was spending on Household Supplies (cleaning products, paper products, deodorizing sprays, etc). You'll get a better look at how much you're spending on food.

Diapers should probably be under baby care.

[QuadSquadMom]

We are at $450/mo. Food only; (groceries +eating out). 2 adults (we count pet expenses in another category).

[MonkeyMama]

Originally Posted by Aleta

Ok! How much are each of you just spending on food? Forget about the diapers, toileties, etc. You can include coffee, cocoa, or tea. Unless you start breaking down the purchases into groups, you'll never know how much you're spending on these different categories. Some years back, it surprised me how much I was spending on Household Supplies (cleaning products, paper products, deodorizing sprays, etc). You'll get a better look at how much you're spending on food.

Diapers should probably be under baby care.

I have no idea and I don't really care. We don't spend much on anything but food so I just budget a set amount per month. I just don't have the time or wherewithal to track it all. I can assure you my $450 figure is mostly food. If you cut out diapers and cat litter/cat food and all that maybe $425/month. We don't eat out hardly ever so if we did I think we could cut this number. I think there are just so many variables. On the other hand we live in a high COL area. I think there is a lot of apples to oranges comparison here. (But interesting all the same).

[momof1in150]

Originally Posted by Aleta

Ok! How much are each of you just spending on food? Forget about the diapers, toileties, etc. You can include coffee, cocoa, or tea. Unless you start breaking down the purchases into groups, you'll never know how much you're spending on these different categories. Some years back, it surprised me how much I was spending on Household Supplies (cleaning products, paper products, deodorizing sprays, etc). You'll get a better look at how much you're spending on food.

Diapers should probably be under baby care.

If I start breaking it down to so many categories I won't track. The more of a hassle the less likely I will do it. I figure if I buy it at the commissary it comes out of the grocery budget. I don't call it a food budget because more then just food comes out of that category.

[Aleta]

I have been doing the tracking for years and don't find it to be a lot of trouble. Actually, I slowed down my spending on the other categories when I realized my percentage ratio to non food items were pretty high compared to my food spending. The tracking made me more aware of using coupons and its impact on my spending.

Everyone's finances is different and depending where you are; you will deal with it differently. For me, there was a time when there was little money and irregular income. Our circumstances can change the way we do our finances. But, I do appreciate and understand why not everyone is interested in tracking this. When we all started getting out of debt, we all tracked our spending to see where we were blowing.

I used to think I wasn't spending much on nonfood items until I started tracking it.

[cicy33]

my only nonfood items are toilet paper, freezer bags, trash bags and those are mild. no diapers here. I consider the freezer bags part of the grocery bill cuz I use them to freeze the bulk meat I buy. You can cut the chub kroger hamburger into sections and fit four of them in 1 gallon zip lock freezer bag and it is so much easier to just open bag and pull one out. I can see the point of saving money by only going to the store once a month, like in the article. But for me, I go frequently as there are sales and that is what allows me to have so much for so little. for example, kroger is doing a sale this week buy 15 participating items get $5.00 off your order. and you can use coupons. Depending on what you cook will depend if those 15 items are okay with you. Pillsbury biscuits, cereal, hamburger helper, old el paso are all included in this deal. If I only went shopping once a month I would miss this sale.

[Aleta]

cicy33: I have recently started reusing the freezer bags. When I went to my dIL's house, she had quite a few that she had washed. It's not really that difficult. You just turn them inside out and wash them and hang them upside down. Plus, you're helping the environment by throwing one less thing into the landfills. Those bags are not cheap.

[PrincessPerky]

I use containers, plastic, washable, straight sided..takes up a little more room in some ways, stacks better in others. regardless, totally recyclable when needed and easy to wash...in the dishwasher which is perfect for lazy ole me!

[Knows Money]

The two of us, mom and daughter - we can spend about $300 - $400 a month. Here's why. We do not buy lunch at work. I buy mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, hardly anything packaged. I buy fruits and vegetables once a week, we make our own juice (to cut down on the processed juice and high fructose syrup), we cook often and have great meals. This has cut down on our spending for headache medicine, going to the doctor, digestive issues, etc. AND, I dont' get caught sneaking to the vending machine to curb some kind of hunger. We fix our own salads, gourmet sandwiches, tea, etc. At first, it seemed like a lot, but then after tallying $6 - $8 a day on just lunch and a dollar here and there for snacks . . . oh don't forget some kind of breakfast sandwich from MCDeeeees. It has proven to actually save us money and health.

[leggzz66]

I spend about 500 a month. 3 kids at home and my dh and myself. that includes all his indulgence foods i buy and pack in his lunches. he uses a 12 pack cooler and a 2 liter bottle. He takes a few sandwiches to work, a chef salad, a pasta dish left over from dinners, a 2 liter filled with koolaid, 3 cookies, a small bag of chips. gums/tic tacs, he can keep in pocket, it curbs urges, cheap n cheerful and he comes home with nothing left over. he works 12 hour shifts, so having something for his lunch and 2 breaks keeps him running good at work. He can snack a sandwich while waiting his turn to heat up his pasta, or eat his salad during a break. we went to the dollar tree and got these 2 part dishes, one side is sandwich size and other side is side size. i put a sandwich in one section, and salad in the other. pasta in the big side of the other one and bread with butter on the other folded in half. both those containers came together, so it was both for one dollar total. I also bought a ten pack of the smaller squares, perfect for his dressings and mayo on the side, so that salad dont get limpy or bread get nasty by the time he gets to eat it. i bought a second set of those with a diff colored lid, to ration out shampoo and conditioner with my 3 younger kids. i think thats saved me lots on waste, was doing a bottle a week, now im down to 2 bottles a month for five people. dh uses it like 3 times in one shower is why we use so much, but he paints barges, he comes home with paint everywhere even tho they wear paint suits.lol

[LivingAlmostLarge]

$300-400/month for 3 adults.