What is your budget for food?

[johnt78]

Meal planning is great for saving time, but, ideally, it should save you money, too. And when you're on a strict budget, meal planning can be quite the task. If you don't have much grocery money to work with, and you're not sure where to start, use this guide for planning meals on a tight budget.The Department of Agriculture's recipe book urges users to make a beef pot roast according to its relatively simple recipe, then freeze half of it.Instead of buying hummus, grated cheese packages or frozen meals, make these items yourself to save money as well as cut down on sodium.The agriculture department recommends stocking up on food that keeps well, such as canned orange juice or dry goods. But be careful with buying a lot of fruits and vegetables, even if they're on sale, to prevent waste

[hamchan]

We are currently budgeting 5$ per person per day. My daughter is at her dad's sometimes, so that way it changes depending on how many people are here. This amount includes eating out or buying a snack or beverage while out.

[krantcents]

Our grocery budget is approximately $75-100 a week for 2 people (we live in Los Angeles). We use leftovers for lunches and dine out twice a week.

[Patrick_OG]

I'm single, and i do about $50 dollars a week, and that is usually too much. I try to avoid eating out as that increases the cost about three times what i would be spending.

[moneysma]

Two people in my household and our food budget is $300/mo. We make it a point to meal plan around sales to save the most. Plus I use a credit card that nets me 6% cash back on groceries so that helps save some extra cash. Note that the cash back isn't factored into our $300/mo spending.

[SuperSavingTips]

Our monthly grocery budget for two people in NJ is $350 with an additional budget of $25 for household items such as cleaning supplies, paper goods, etc. We cook most nights, but we dine out or get take-out/delivery about once a week and that budget is $175.

Sticking to our grocery budget requires careful planning around sales, using coupons, and keeping to a carefully crafted grocery list.