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How much do you spend on groceries?

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  • #31
    Today 900.00 Canadian = 855.26 USA

    We do not budget, but I just tallied up that we spent $449 on groceries for 3 people last month. We generally do not buy cleaning items, personal care or cosmetic items at the grocery. Individually our food items may be very cheap, moderately priced, or even expensive. I'd say in the last couple years we buy a lot more expensive items than we used to. We shop at two very low price groceries where they usually have no brand names; at the biggest chain grocery in the area which has many, many choices, but run of the mill prices; at an import grocery which has superb prices, especially on bulk items like lentils, rice, nuts, all kinds of grains; and at a store which calls itself a farmers' market, but really is not--we get great produce prices there when we buy in bulk on whatever fruit and vegetables are th4e current special. We usually have to freeze portions of the vegs, lest they spoil before we get to them. We also shop at an ethnic grocery in our neighborhood and spend, relatively, a lot of money for some things, but the quality is unbeatable.

    We also have a garden and get vegetables from it, and some fruit most years, but not this year. That makes our summer produce spending lower, but not much lower at all the rest of the year, as we usually do not have enough to can or preserve. WE might have enough sweet potatoes under the ground this year to live off of exclusively for a month, though.

    We also buy wine, not counted in to the above because we apparently were still using what we had stocked up on from Costco from a previous month. I think we had lunch out about six times, just two of us, not the three. That would have been fast food. I don't think we went to a real restaurant last month. But that is not counted into the groceries, either.
    "There is some ontological doubt as to whether it may even be possible in principle to nail down these things in the universe we're given to study." --text msg from my kid

    "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." --Frederick Douglass

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    • #32
      Our grocery bill runs right at $400 per month for 2 adults. We live in a high cost of living area and the bill includes bulk paper products, and a few hygiene items like shampoo. I know we could cut, but it fits in our budget, so I don't bother.

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      • #33
        Well its just myself, I get free food all week, then i buy meat, and snacks to eat on the weekend, i spend usually 50 a month. Gotta love my george foreman

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        • #34
          My suggestions for cutting down the grocery bill:

          *Make a price book. Scope out the prices of things you normally buy at several of the local stores. You may be surprised by the variety of prices at different stores...and find that the prices at your favorite store may not be as good as you thought.

          *Read the weekly ads. I go through them and see what's on sale or a good deal. I know if it's a good deal because I have a price book. I'm personally not quite to the point where I plan meals based on the sales, but it is a money saving tip.

          *Use coupons. You can find coupons in the paper, from online coupons sites, in the stores, or trade for them. I was surprised to find coupons for some items like meat and produce. All coupons help...provided it's for something you normally buy or it replaces that normal purchase.

          *When you find something really cheap, buy a lot of it (aka stockpile)! It's even better when you can combine coupons with sales. This means that when pasta goes on sale you buy 4 lbs (or more!) rather than the 1lb you'll use for tonight's dinner.

          Slowly but surely as the stockpile grows and your awareness of prices grows, you'll find good deals and your grocery budget will shrink.

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          • #35
            Adding to KTMarvel, it becomes a greater savings with coupons when it is a buy one get one free. You're only paying for one and using a coupon, which reduces it even further. Also, check out the newpapers for coupons offering items for free. About two months ago, I got a great Soleil razor free with 2 blades with it. I believe it was about a $7.99 coupon. Two weeks ago, Hershey's had a coupon for a free bag of chocolate up to $2.99.I have gotten free cat food ( 3.5 lbs) Last week, there was a coupon for a free can of dog food.

            If I shop right, I have only to buy when things are on sale, because you can stock up as the above poster said. There are some items that will not go on sale, so you have to know that.

            I used to have a price book before I knew there was a need for one. I need to do that again. I'm seeing too many different prices for the same things in the same stores that I shop.

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            • #36
              Here in Canada, coupons aren't quite what they are in the US. We do get some, but usually for products that are already the expensive ones, or things I don't use, etc. There aren't double coupon type deals or anything either. I find it is usually less expensive to buy the no name of something than to buy something with a coupon that is for the name brand product.

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              • #37
                I spend anywhere between $70 and $80 a week for groceries (for 2 adults). Paper products and toiletries I generally buy at CVS with coupons and my CVS card. I have to say, I do better at CVS than with groceries.

                I use coupons for groceries and read the flyers weekly but I still usually end up only saving about $4 - $6 a week in coupons. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong?

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                • #38
                  canadian prices

                  Man--my sympathies to you Canadians out there with the grocery prices.
                  We just returned from a trip to Canada, and I found the prices on many things really much much higher than in the Midwest US.
                  But the health care money must come from somewhere!

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                  • #39
                    $800 to $900/month. (Wife, myself, 2 kids and a dog).

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                    • #40
                      About $300.00, for two adults two kids, two dogs.

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                      • #41
                        "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.

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                        • #42
                          Interesting....

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                          • #43
                            where I'm living, things like milk are actually costing around 5-6 dollars... I think we're getting ripped off here.

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                            • #44
                              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.

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                              • #45
                                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!

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