How much do you spend on groceries a month?

[Anonymous]

We are a family of four--me, DH, DS 2.5 yo and DD is 10 months. We spend at least $600/month on groceries (this doesn't include diapers and I BF my DD so no formula). I usually shop at Giant and stick to sale items but stop into Whole Foods once a month or so. I don't buy much meat either. I feel like this is high for a family of four with two small ones.

How about you? How much do you spend, where and for how many?

[Anonymous]

I spend about $200-250 per week on groceries for a family of 2 adults and 2 toddlers, so I don't think you are high. I know we had this discussion on here recently and lots of people told me that I could spend less. But I work FT, and we use a lot of convenience foods to get through the week. My husband is home watching the children all day, and he isn't really very good at turning frozen chicken and veggies into a nutritious meal. Anyway, it would be nice to spend less money. I do my shopping mainly at Harris Teeter or Giant and shop the specials as much as possible.

[Anonymous]

We are about the same size family, me, DH, DD 5 and DD 17 months. I would suspect we spend about the same, maybe a little less, it varies. We generally shop at Trader Joes and then Whole Foods for produce and a couple of other things we prefer there. We do a lot of organic and that raises the prices.

[Anonymous]

I think we spend almost $900, easily. We are 2 adults and one 5 yr old.

that includes paper products like TP, but no diapers etc. We also don't eat out more than 5x a month.

We buy almost exclusively organic, grass-fed, free range, and local if possible. What I can't find at Costco or Trader Joe's or the farmer's market comes from Whole Foods and that is obviously where the $$ comes in.

Grocery (and top quality pet food, too) is a huge line item in our budget and it is worth it to us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we spend almost $900, easily. We are 2 adults and one 5 yr old.

that includes paper products like TP, but no diapers etc. We also don't eat out more than 5x a month.

We buy almost exclusively organic, grass-fed, free range, and local if possible. What I can't find at Costco or Trader Joe's or the farmer's market comes from Whole Foods and that is obviously where the $$ comes in.

Grocery (and top quality pet food, too) is a huge line item in our budget and it is worth it to us.

This. We don't do as much organic, but organic definitely drives our bill up. We also cook and eat at home most of the time, too. I'm trying to avoid preservatives and added salt and sugar, so eating out isn't great for us.

I'd like to get the cost down, but I'm also prone to buying prepackaged stuff for DC (like the 3 or even 15 pack of Horizon Milk boxes instead of just getting a half gallon container and filling a sippy cup). This is definitely one place I could make a big difference in cost.

[Anonymous]

We're a family of 4 (2 toddlers) and we spend about $1200 - $1400 per month. My wife buys all of this organic stuff that drives me crazy. She mostly shops at Whole Foods and I've started offering to do the shopping so we don't spend as much. I would love to have a bill under a $1,000 for the month.

[Anonymous]

I read recently that the average family of 4 spends $125/week on groceries. I'd like to see what they're eating and where they live. I think there's no way in DC - and/or it's either all bulk goods or pre-packaged/frozen junk!

We're spending at least $200-$225 week and that's only for 3 of us, one of whom is a toddler. We buy meat only at Whole Foods, and mostly shop at Giant or Harris Teeter or Trader Joe's or Yes! Organic. I cut coupons on Sunday when I can, but I find the food coupons aren't for fresh foods - they're mostly for packaged meals and sugary that I won't buy.

For babies using formula, add in about $100 month, depending on the age and that's if you're buying it at Costco.

This summer, I didn't find buying produce at the farmer's market any cheaper than buying at the grocery store; fresher & local-er, of course, but definitely not cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read recently that the average family of 4 spends $125/week on groceries. I'd like to see what they're eating and where they live. I think there's no way in DC - and/or it's either all bulk goods or pre-packaged/frozen junk!

We're spending at least $200-$225 week and that's only for 3 of us, one of whom is a toddler. We buy meat only at Whole Foods, and mostly shop at Giant or Harris Teeter or Trader Joe's or Yes! Organic. I cut coupons on Sunday when I can, but I find the food coupons aren't for fresh foods - they're mostly for packaged meals and sugary that I won't buy.

For babies using formula, add in about $100 month, depending on the age and that's if you're buying it at Costco.

This summer, I didn't find buying produce at the farmer's market any cheaper than buying at the grocery store; fresher & local-er, of course, but definitely not cheaper.

We only have 1 toddler, but I don't spend more than $125/week on groceries. We probably eat dinner out 2x per week (usually take-out.) I shop mostly at Wegmans (as many store brands as possible) and occasionally at Bloom (its walking distance from my house.) I feel like we eat plenty of meat and fresh fruits/veggies, but as much as possible I try to buy seasonal/sale items. For example, we are mostly eating apples and clementines right now, not strawberries! I plan dinners around what meats are on sale each week.

I do live in Western Fairfax, but I can't imagine its THAT much cheaper out here.

[Anonymous]

I'm about the same as PP, 2 adults and 1 toddler and we shop at Wegman's. We average between 100-150/wk, and that doesn't include diapers or anything we're better off buying at target or walmart. We buy organic when it makes sense, but for cereal, pasta, etc. we go for the regular stuff. I buy store brand and sale whenever there's an option.
Of course, hubbie doesn't eat lunch at home, though I do...and we stick to pretty basic meals (homemade pizza, ravioli, chili & cornbread, burritos, etc.). Nothing fancy or overly healthy, for that matter (if there's no veggie on pizza or italian night then no one complains). We also don't buy a lot of bottled beverages, we make our own iced tea and pretty much drink a lot of water. I limit the snacks to fruit and pretzels/cheese sticks/kid-lunch-friendly snacks and I never (if possible....granola bars an exception every now and then) buy individually packaged items. I also limit what I buy to just the upcoming week - so if cereal is '3 for 2 bucks', even if we'll eat it, if I can get the sale price with just 1 item (usually you can) then i only buy 1 box. But I always load up on fruit (mostly seasonal/sale) and buy enough for 4-5 dinners, within that budget.
We also eat out about 2 times a week so that cuts the bill (and adds it elsewhere).

[Anonymous]

Any meat eaters that want to buy no antibiotic, grass fed, etc. , but lower the price should check out eatwild.com, at relatively local farms you can buy 1/4 or 1/2 cow (and also, pigs, chickens, lamb, etc.), know how it is raised, and decide how it is cut up and really save a lot. Some farms also sell sampler packs. It is very good meat and very reasonable, I have purchased from westwind farms which is on the site. It takes planning though and you get all parts of the animal, not just the steaks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read recently that the average family of 4 spends $125/week on groceries. I'd like to see what they're eating and where they live. I think there's no way in DC - and/or it's either all bulk goods or pre-packaged/frozen junk!

We're spending at least $200-$225 week and that's only for 3 of us, one of whom is a toddler. We buy meat only at Whole Foods, and mostly shop at Giant or Harris Teeter or Trader Joe's or Yes! Organic. I cut coupons on Sunday when I can, but I find the food coupons aren't for fresh foods - they're mostly for packaged meals and sugary that I won't buy.

For babies using formula, add in about $100 month, depending on the age and that's if you're buying it at Costco.

This summer, I didn't find buying produce at the farmer's market any cheaper than buying at the grocery store; fresher & local-er, of course, but definitely not cheaper.

We had a family of four and spend 125/wk. We eat super healthy and absolutely NOTHING packaged. The secret is to use coupons, shop around for sales, buy in-season produce and use your leftovers. It's possible, not easy, but possible.
Oh, and stay out of Whole Foods.

[Anonymous]

We keep it at around $175 per week (family of three) and we tend to shop at Whole Food though not exclusively.

[Anonymous]

If you want cheap meat, but still good quality, check out the Latino supermarkets (Bestway, Panam, etc). It's not organic, but you can't find cheaper chicken breast anywhere else. Oh, and the fruit and veggie selection is generally better as well.

[Anonymous]

We spent about $130 for a week for 2 adults. Sometimes it is a lot less and sometimes more. We shop at WF and the farmer's market. Occasionally, we go to SF for things like vinegar and home supplies and TJ once a month to stock up on staples like coffee, olive oil, cereal. Save the occasional bag of chips, we don't eat processed foods, and eat mostly organic and local. Like other posters, eating well and eating organic are big priorities for us. We also do CostCo about 4x a year for home supplies. We try to only eat grass-fed and antibiotic meat and eat a lot vegetarian during the week. We are both accomplished cooks (which is good and bad when it comes to $). We eat most of our meals at home and brownbag it.

Are people including alcohol in their monthly grocery bills? For those who have low grocery bills, do you make separate trips for non-grocery items (that you could buy at the grocery store) e.g. alcohol, home supplies to other stores?

Also, we live in the city proper, and usually don't have access to a car. Our local SF usually has dodgy vegetables (it is hit or miss). We have found that if we are not buying a lot of packaged things, that we spent about the same money (or more) at Wegman's and SF/Giant (when shopping in the suburbs) as we do at WF.

I am impressed by those who spend only $125 for a family of four and still can eat a lot of fresh veggies (not frozen) and good quality meats. We don't buy the stuff in the sunday paper coupons, though I do use the WF coupons.

Oh, and I try to avoid shopping at Target, as it is hard to get out of there on $100 or less, even if you just went in for TP

[Anonymous]

I think the people that say 125 per week are not including paper goods or things like laundry detergent and the like. I would love to see your shopping list because in a lot of ways, I just don't believe it.