Food versus Retirement

[maat55]

I have mixed feelings on that. My wife and I are both very good cooks. She is best at following recipes. I'm best at seeing what we have on hand and making a great meal out of it (although I can follow recipes, too). And when we have the time and energy, we really enjoy working together in the kitchen to create a meal.

That said, the prep time and clean up time always greatly exceed the actual eating time. Sometimes it is just so nice to sit down and be waited on and served a fine meal without having to do any work pre or post. Going out also gives me the opportunity to enjoy foods that I don't get at home. My wife is allergic to seafood so none ever comes into the house. To go to a fine Italian restaurant and have the waiter fillet a nice grilled branzino tableside and enjoy that along with a wild mushroom risotto and some freshly baked bread and roasted garlic is worth every penny. Finish it off with some homemade limoncello and you have the perfect evening.

I would really have to love cooking to enjoy the process, which I do not, so going out is the best way to enjoy food, IMO. My problem(but good for the waitor)is that I like to tip well, which increases my cost substantially.

[Scanner]

The Dept of Agriculture states the average American eats $7.00/day I think. Don't quote me.

[GREENBACK]

That said, the prep time and clean up time always greatly exceed the actual eating time. Sometimes it is just so nice to sit down and be waited on and served a fine meal without having to do any work pre or post.

I like to work with my hands and enjoy the preparation leading up to the finished product. I tend to view food preparation similar to any other home project but I do agree that it is nice to be served a great meal every now and then without the clean up afterwards.

[Ima saver]

My dh has been in construction (a licensed builder) for over 26 years. He takes his lunch every day. Sometimes soup or a sandwich, but most of the time, leftovers from dinner the night before. He has a microwave at every job site or in his van.
His workers go to town and eat out for every meal. They spend a minimum of $10 for a lunch, drink and a tip. plus they lose an hour's pay for going to town.

[scfr]

On the Today show yesterday, they mentioned that the McCaughey Family of 10 (including the septuplets) has a monthly food budget that is "sometimes as low as $300." That's $1 per person per day. Of course they can really take advantage of buying in bulk in a way many families can't, and I do not know if that figure includes the cost of their garden (they grow some of their own produce), and please note the word SOMETIMES. However, if they can do it for $1 per person per day (and remember that our own Jeffrey did it too), I would think $2-4 per person per day is completely doable for the average person (depending on caloric requirements).

Is my household food budget that low? Absolutely not. But this question seems to be asking what must be spent to meet minimum dietary requirements.

[SavingAdvice]

$100 a week would be a good budget for one single person.

[maat55]

$100 a week would be a good budget for one single person.

We spend roughly 150.00(including eating out), 100 seems high for an individual if he is trying to get out of debt or find funds for investing.

[wrk4lvg]

Food rivals my rent. I've struggled in this category for many years. Yes, I've been able to come down from the $600/mo I once spent. Some at work say I'm starving myself (my two supervisors really think I am...) and I feel that there is more fat (literally and metaphorically) to be trimmed.

I'm right around $340/mo for eating in and out. My M-F cost are fixed. It does not vary. I don't eat out of the snack machines.

I make my breakfast each morning at home (eggs, cereal, OJ, coffee) I get the eggs/cereal from costco in bulk. Milk comes from Kroger or walmart and coffee is made from a single serve coffee machine (about .35-.55/cup/day) We'll call it $2/day for breakfast (mostly because of the coffee)

I have a 1 gal. jug filled at publix each week @ .30/gal. I drink that during the day at work to help keep me full.

I then eat a Lean Cuisine steamer (bagged kind) that run me between 2.10-3.49/bag. When they go down to $2, I buy as many as they have of my two flavors. This is a "pre-lunch"

For lunch and dinner I pick up a 12" flatbread sub from Subway and more times than not only pay $2.73 for the entire sub and split that over two meals.

It's everything I've got to not eat even more than this. Sometimes I'll even scarf down an apple once I get home w/ peanut butter. But an attempt to cut my budget and caloric intake, I've not picked up either item recently.

So this puts me at roughly $8.5 (not exact math) per day. I honestly can't see how I can cut that down further giving the amount of times I eat each day.

That means, I'm spending most of the money these days on eating out. So I know how to better control that expense.

However, coming down from $600/mo to around my current $340 has been some feat. Taking my cardio regiment each morning, can somebody see alternative options? I've tried cooking lunch/dinner, but I couldn't eat for less than the cost of 1 bag steamer, and two 1/2 subs @ $1.37/half.

[himanshudpfoc]

Hi all thanks for a wonderful post. I really never thought in this way, the way you are actually thinking.
Till now i was so wasting so much on food but now i believe it is the time to stop my wastage and start thinking in a more genuine way.

[DebbieL]

We're in Canada, where unfortunately groceries (along with most other goods) cost quite a bit more than in the US (with the possible exception of Hawaii). For us - me, DH and DD18 (who doesn't eat much, and really isn't even home 1/2 the time) we are trying to limit our food spending to $400/month. I know we used to be much higher than this, but this is what we're trying to stick to now. So far (we only started this stricter rule this month) it looks like we are on track to meet our goal. DH and I are both pretty big eaters (I am a 6 mile a day runner, and DH is 6'6" and thin). DH is also a professional chef, which helps since we barely ever go out to restaurants. Our biggest expenditures are fresh fruit/veggies, cheese (it's way more expensive here in Canada - you guys are so lucky), chicken breasts (meat is also way more expensive here), dairy (milk/yoghurt) and juice. I figure if we can stick to $400/month we will be doing great (and far better than when we don't monitor our grocery spending).

This level of grocery spending comes to approximately 6.5% of our net income.

[snafu]

In our experience, most meals cost 2/3 more in a restaurant than if it was prepared at home BUT that doesn't take into account the time and effort to buy the makings or the work to make meal & resultant clean-up. I am very concerned about the chemicals in restaurant foods and how foods are managed + I like the creativity of cooking since my work is so structured. Too many restaurants now use pre packaged, frozen foods, just like frozen food bags @ Costco.

As I wait at grocery check-out, I am certain most shoppers have no budget, no plan, no list and buy items that appeal to them as they walk around. It's easy to see who is hungry while shopping...more than half their choices are convenience/junk food. If they took a moment to read the carton, they would quickly discover those 'Lean Cuisine' type boxes offer poor nutrition, lots of unpronounceable chemicals for a hefty price per edible ounce.

It's so simple to throw a whole chicken in a pan, sprinkle with spices at hand, perhaps a cup of wine and slide into the oven 30 min. per lb. [av. 1.5 hrs.] Half way through cooking, chunk whatever veggies you'll eat like potato/yam, carrot, broccoli, sweet pepper,zucchini, mushroom etc. sprinkle with a tiny bit of quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil & fav. spices or dry soup powder on a flat pan and slide that into the oven. While the cooking continues, tear up some salad greens, whiz a carrot, & celery stick. Adding a couple of cherry tomatoes makes salad. If you're ambitious, chunk a broccoli floret, a hunk of cauliflower, & a cup of frozen peas. Dump all in boiling water [called blanching] for a few minutes as this makes foods easier to digest. Drain, add a handful of cherry tomatoes & serve with whatever dressing you like. [It keeps hunger under control while you wait for your chicken to finish baking].

In under two hours, this can be stretched to four meals, and costs around $10. for example.

[PetMom]

We try to stick to basics. We have not had a restaurant meal since last spring - our once a year splurge.

We were adding more organic foods to our budget and I felt that was great.

Food does seem to be a big expense - but it can help a lot with family health.

I think the biggest waste is with flat out junk food: fried, sugar/salt laden,
processed (except on rare occasions).

[LivingAlmostLarge]

$280/month groceries and $275 eating out.

[My English Castle]

The heck with David Bach, I buy coffee every day that I teach. We eat dinner out between once and twice a month. DH gets lunch free at work (how's that for fabulous!), and I usually eat lunch when I go home after teaching. But we like to treat ourselves a bit; nothing very fancy unless it's our birthday or anniversary. But I don't think once or twice a month is excessive at all.
And don't argue with me about my coffee. I'm a Scandinavian; some things are sacred.

[maat55]

The real question should be: Are many unwittingly retiring broke/small egg while spending excessively on food and beverage throught out their lives?

At least smokers know they are choosing their vice over additional savings.