DH and I spend about 1k on groceries a month

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of four with 1 on the way. Our grocery bill at WF has shot up to about 450 a month from a steady 300 in years prior.
The difference is partially due to inflation, partly due to the fact that I am sending two school lunches every day now, and also I have gestational diabetes, so I'm having to buy a bunch of weird cauliflower substitutes and specialized foods for my meals.

It's a painful cost, but so far we aren't switching from whole foods because a) it's very close and convenient, b) the produce and meats are the best quality near me, c) i don't have time to make multiple trips to different stores, and d) the selection of organic food is more than anywhere else.

A month? or a week? If a month, you must eat carryout 6 days a week.

A week! My bad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prepared food is cheap. Frozen food is cheap. Anything in a can or a jar or that contains tons of preservatives is cheaper, some aren't healthy.
If that's what you are eating, of course you can spend even less than $500 a month for a family of 5.
Fresh food and produce are expensive. For example, we never buy tomato in a jar or can. We only buy fresh tomatoes and grind it if needed.
Same with beans. We buy fresh beans and cook it in a pressure cooker. Beans in a can are much cheaper but unhealthy. We don't buy it.

Most people here that think $1k for a family of 2 is too much are probably not eating fresh.

it's kind of the reverse, because sitting in the liquid leeches out those hard to digest things that Beano helps with. I use canned, and rinse in a strainer.

I would sincerely like more information on dried beans being healthier than canned. Maybe I need to switch.

[Anonymous]

Family of 3, ~$500/month. Costco for meat, cereal, pasta, beans, etc., Lidl for things that spoil like bread, milk, produce, and Giant or Wegmans for things that we can't get at either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Family of 3, ~$500/month. Costco for meat, cereal, pasta, beans, etc., Lidl for things that spoil like bread, milk, produce, and Giant or Wegmans for things that we can't get at either.

Do both adults work full time? I'd love to do that, but it would take an entire day out of my weekend.

[Anonymous]

Family of 4, and the grocery budget is $1000. It’s not extravagant, but I’m not cutting any corners either. We shop mainly at Wegmans, with some trips to Costco and BJs thrown in.

[Anonymous]

I would focus on waste. If you are not wasting food, and you can afford the expense, then I am not sure the amount of food spending is really a problem. Is it a lot? For sure. Could you easily spend less? Absolutely. But, I could also see a couple that really enjoys gourmet food and buys a lot of fresh sustainable seafood and organic produce spending this much and getting a lot out of it.

If you are wasting food, then figure out a way to stop doing that. Meal planning, more frequent shopping, paying attention to what you are not using, etc. If you need to cut back for budget reasons, then there are lots of options and you just need to pick your preferred one. Reducing meat/fish/alcohol. Shopping at cheaper stores. Buying in bulk (probably not realistic for DINKS0. Meal planning. Switching to cheaper versions/brands. Coupons. Etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prepared food is cheap. Frozen food is cheap. Anything in a can or a jar or that contains tons of preservatives is cheaper, some aren't healthy.
If that's what you are eating, of course you can spend even less than $500 a month for a family of 5.
Fresh food and produce are expensive. For example, we never buy tomato in a jar or can. We only buy fresh tomatoes and grind it if needed.
Same with beans. We buy fresh beans and cook it in a pressure cooker. Beans in a can are much cheaper but unhealthy. We don't buy it.

Most people here that think $1k for a family of 2 is too much are probably not eating fresh.

it's kind of the reverse, because sitting in the liquid leeches out those hard to digest things that Beano helps with. I use canned, and rinse in a strainer.

I would sincerely like more information on dried beans being healthier than canned. Maybe I need to switch.

I've always heard that the main benefits of dried over canned beans are texture and cost not health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I noticed we average at about 1k on groceries a month. We shop at WF. I think this is a bit much since we are DINKS.

What do you recommend we do to bring it down?

I spend that but for 3 kids and 5 people total. Meal plan. It sounds like you go in there and buy things you want without a list.

[Anonymous]

OP - why do you want to bring it down?