Tips for curbing spending on food

[Anonymous]

My husband informed me that we are currently spending 40k a year on food, drink, takeout and restaurants when all is said and done. Family of 5.

Takeout is probably a big culprit - one night a week is pizza night and another 1-2 are usually Mexican, Chinese or Japanese.

We don’t eat out in restaurants often. Barely get Starbucks. WFH and eat homemade food.

Apart from takeout, how do you become more on top of food expenses and waste? What are some budget friendly meals that aren’t pasta every night? We don’t eat pork, shellfish, and rarely eat red meat.

I do spend a lot on organic fruits and vegetables every week. But we don’t really waste that.

Dh says there’s not really much to cut, apart from waste, because it averages out to 110 dollars a day for the family and that’s not so crazy.

What are you spending on food monthly/annually for a family of 4-5?

[Anonymous]

That's a LOT of takeout, both for $ and health reasons.

[Anonymous]

stop buying organic, it's a waste of money.

buy on sale and freeze when you can.

[Anonymous]

NP - two to three meals a week (out of 21 meals) is not a lot of take out IMO. It costs a lot for a family of 5 when all 2-3 of the meals are dinner.

[Anonymous]

I do

Sunday Steak and potatoes with veggies...usually salad or mushrooms... or kebobs with couscous
Monday: chicken/veggie/rice
Tuesday: Pasta with salad
Wednesday: fish with rice.. sometimes in curry or grilled, salmon with soy and honey or a white fish.
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Pizza (I get sushi)
Saturday: something fun

[Anonymous]

I would make frozen pizza instead of ordering. Pizza is just not worth the $$ for delivery anymore IMO. It costs at least $20 for one cheese pizza where I live. I would stick to two nights of take out but order more strategically (can you pick up one night instead of delivery?). Order from places with deals on Tuesday nights or that have family style options. I would try middle eastern food or places like nando's for family style chicken, etc. For breakfasts, you can get really economical with eggs, oatmeal, toast, make your own muffins, banana bread, etc. Make stuff on Sunday to use all week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's a LOT of takeout, both for $ and health reasons.

We get things like steamed chicken and broccoli with brown rice and sauce on the side, or sushi with veggies. Mexican and pizza are really the only unhealthier things.

[Anonymous]

And one to two meals a week should be beans and rice and a veggie (super cheap).

[Anonymous]

We don't ever get coffee out, unless it's a business expense. You can make pizza at home - get takeout for food you can't make or could but it's labor intensive. You can eat fish and chicken, and vegan meals. Rice, potatoes, etc. Buy in bulk - for three years, I shared a Costco membership with a neighbor and we'd split bulk items between the two of us. Lentil soups with sourdough bread are hearty.

[Anonymous]

Do you have an option of getting a Costco membership? If you only stick to food ingredients, you can save some money on groceries, for a family of five, especially for milk, fruit, vegetables.

Do you feel like you cook a lot from ingredients or buy a lot of premade items? The latter are more expensive.

[Anonymous]

Family of 5, and my best guess is we spend appx $1500/mo. on food.

Since January 2023, we stopped going out to eat or doing takeout for the most part when it is us alone (just our family of 5) - except for on vacation and special occasions. We will do take out or dine out socially with others - that’s not something I was interesting in giving up.

It sounds like you’re regularly doing 3 nights a week of takeout. You could try cutting to 2, for a while and then later to 1.

We try to use up what we have in the house. I see what we have before making the grocery list and try to do some meals that involve some things we already have on hand. I have been freezing more things before they go bad if it doesn’t seem like we will finish them.

I am not up to doing yet this but the people who really their spending on track have an inventory of their pantry and freezer items.

[Anonymous]

40,000 a year is $3,300 a month.

That's a tremendous amount, even for a family of 5.

What are you buying, and how much?

Expensive large quantities of meat and seafood?
Organic grass fed milk or just store brand organic?
How much fruit, in season?
Are you counting stuff like in-store sushi and pre-made things?
Drinks: alcohol? How much is a bottle of wine for you and how much do you drink?

I can not fathom what you are buying to get to that amount and I buy pretty much everything I want, for probably under half that amount. Plus we eat out more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:stop buying organic, it's a waste of money.

buy on sale and freeze when you can.

It’s not necessarily a waste of money. But the widespread fraud in organic labeling for produce and packaged foods right now certainly makes it challenging.

I agree with the sentiment mostly, but it’s oversimplified. You definitely get a higher quality product with organic/sustainably raised meats. Buying produce from small, local farms, particularly those that engage in restorative farming practices, regardless of organic certification will result in healthier and better tasting produce that is more ecologically responsible.

And, even if you don’t buy the health consequences of pesticides/herbicide contamination for human health (I happen to think it’s not a huge issue), the industrial use of these substances is a huge ecological issue for biodiversity, water quality, air quality.

So, I understand and share skepticism about “organic” particularly at large grocery stores with international supply chains - but buy local and sustainable when you can.

[Anonymous]

Make your own rice, cook your own chicken and broccoli. Replace one takeout meal with breakfast for dinner. Japanese is expensive. I bet thats over $100 for the meal. You cam buy a 1/2 a salmon side for $25 and cook it and do a side of veg n

[Anonymous]

How old are your kids? Three teenagers will eat you out of house and home.

Save your grocery receipts for a month and see how much you are spending on different categories. If you buy wine and beer at the grocery store, that may be adding to your total- especially if you have people over frequently.