Budget Frustration

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How in the world do you spend $1500 per MONTH on groceries?

Do you feed an entire football team?

That is my [b]rent[b] each month. RENT.

This isn’t about organic or fancy cuts of meat, this is us shopping at the grocery stores near us. We compared prices between Giant, Safeway, Moms, and Tj and they were all about the same. It’s when you go to further suburbs that prices drop, not when you pick the $1 tomato vs the $1.10 organic tomato. Also, things like Aldi, Lidl, Costco can help a LOT.

We go through a lot of fresh fruit, that’s expensive. Maybe to fruit baskets a week? 2 gallons of milk. 4 dozen eggs. 10 boxes of tofu. Then 3 heads of cauliflower, a box of spinach, romaine hearts, dozen tomatoes, box of cherry tomatoes, 2 boxes of celery, 2 loaves of French bread, 1 loaf of sliced bread. Two yogurts. That’s probably weekly staples.

Well if you refuse to give anything up, then one of you has to earn more money. It’s basic math.

My question was does that sound like outlandish grocery items, or just likely that the stores near us have higher prices? I haven’t driven to Germantown to comparison shop yet, but that is my impression. Or should we eat less fruit etc?

NP but how do you eat through 10 boxes of tofu a week? And 4 dozen eggs for 5 people, including one preschooler, sounds like a lot to me. We're a family of 4 and go through a dozen eggs a week. Maybe 18 if we're baking something. Not going to break the bank but sounds like a lot. We eat ~3 bowls of fruit/week. Apples/bananas aren't that $$$.

[Anonymous]

I've been with this thread from the beginning. I have responded a few times, always kindly. I've now decided OP is a troll just trying to keep the conversation going. How can he not see that there is no way around it. He has two choices. Reduce spending (yes, stop with the expensive groceries and crazy travel, and sell the house they can't afford) OR increase income. As someone else said, it's simple math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How in the world do you spend $1500 per MONTH on groceries?

Do you feed an entire football team?

That is my [b]rent[b] each month. RENT.

This isn’t about organic or fancy cuts of meat, this is us shopping at the grocery stores near us. We compared prices between Giant, Safeway, Moms, and Tj and they were all about the same. It’s when you go to further suburbs that prices drop, not when you pick the $1 tomato vs the $1.10 organic tomato. Also, things like Aldi, Lidl, Costco can help a LOT.

We go through a lot of fresh fruit, that’s expensive. Maybe to fruit baskets a week? 2 gallons of milk. 4 dozen eggs. 10 boxes of tofu. Then 3 heads of cauliflower, a box of spinach, romaine hearts, dozen tomatoes, box of cherry tomatoes, 2 boxes of celery, 2 loaves of French bread, 1 loaf of sliced bread. Two yogurts. That’s probably weekly staples.

Well if you refuse to give anything up, then one of you has to earn more money. It’s basic math.

My question was does that sound like outlandish grocery items, or just likely that the stores near us have higher prices? I haven’t driven to Germantown to comparison shop yet, but that is my impression. Or should we eat less fruit etc?

You are going to have to decide the nitty gritty of what you are giving up. No one else can decide that for you. Whether we think it’s “outlandish” or “expensive” is irrelevant. We buy organic milk and chicken breasts and no other organic. We eat lots of fresh conventional fruit and veggies. We do shop the sale flyer as well as Costco. But again, it doesn’t matter unless you are going to do those things too. You and your spouse have to jointly decide what you are giving up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How in the world do you spend $1500 per MONTH on groceries?

Do you feed an entire football team?

That is my [b]rent[b] each month. RENT.

This isn’t about organic or fancy cuts of meat, this is us shopping at the grocery stores near us. We compared prices between Giant, Safeway, Moms, and Tj and they were all about the same. It’s when you go to further suburbs that prices drop, not when you pick the $1 tomato vs the $1.10 organic tomato. Also, things like Aldi, Lidl, Costco can help a LOT.

We go through a lot of fresh fruit, that’s expensive. Maybe to fruit baskets a week? 2 gallons of milk. 4 dozen eggs. 10 boxes of tofu. Then 3 heads of cauliflower, a box of spinach, romaine hearts, dozen tomatoes, box of cherry tomatoes, 2 boxes of celery, 2 loaves of French bread, 1 loaf of sliced bread. Two yogurts. That’s probably weekly staples.

That is a lot of expensive food. If you want to eat healthy but eat more cheaply, try buying rice and dried beans in bulk and eating them at least 3-4 times/week. And make your own hummus. Also, if you want to eat healthy, why are you buying french bread? it is just empty calories.

Come on. At the point you're rationing your fruit and egg consumption, I think we can agree - get rid of the $1.2 million house. Get a house that is more affordable and you can eat as many tomatoes as you want! Who wants to cut back on tofu and cauliflower at this stage of life?!

[Anonymous]

Yes, it would require reducing expenses of gaining income and coming up with a workable budget as you stated OP.

I shop at ALDI and Lidl. We get a lot of fresh fruit and veg, that are not organic but we avoid the "dirty dozen."

I'd look at refinancing mortgage if you can versus moving but it might require moving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How in the world do you spend $1500 per MONTH on groceries?

Do you feed an entire football team?

That is my [b]rent[b] each month. RENT.

This isn’t about organic or fancy cuts of meat, this is us shopping at the grocery stores near us. We compared prices between Giant, Safeway, Moms, and Tj and they were all about the same. It’s when you go to further suburbs that prices drop, not when you pick the $1 tomato vs the $1.10 organic tomato. Also, things like Aldi, Lidl, Costco can help a LOT.

We go through a lot of fresh fruit, that’s expensive. Maybe to fruit baskets a week? 2 gallons of milk. 4 dozen eggs. 10 boxes of tofu. Then 3 heads of cauliflower, a box of spinach, romaine hearts, dozen tomatoes, box of cherry tomatoes, 2 boxes of celery, 2 loaves of French bread, 1 loaf of sliced bread. Two yogurts. That’s probably weekly staples.

That is a lot of expensive food. If you want to eat healthy but eat more cheaply, try buying rice and dried beans in bulk and eating them at least 3-4 times/week. And make your own hummus. Also, if you want to eat healthy, why are you buying french bread? it is just empty calories.

Come on. At the point you're rationing your fruit and egg consumption, I think we can agree - get rid of the $1.2 million house. Get a house that is more affordable and you can eat as many tomatoes as you want! Who wants to cut back on tofu and cauliflower at this stage of life?!

I agree but some others are willing to give up a lot to keep their expensive house. We know people who don’t travel or save for college but have a crazy expensive mortgage.

But doesn’t sound like OP wants to give up the house OR anything else. Maybe PP is right and OP is a troll. Or OP is not really seeking advice but just having a tantrum about his change of circumstance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How in the world do you spend $1500 per MONTH on groceries?

Do you feed an entire football team?

That is my [b]rent[b] each month. RENT.

This isn’t about organic or fancy cuts of meat, this is us shopping at the grocery stores near us. We compared prices between Giant, Safeway, Moms, and Tj and they were all about the same. It’s when you go to further suburbs that prices drop, not when you pick the $1 tomato vs the $1.10 organic tomato. Also, things like Aldi, Lidl, Costco can help a LOT.

We go through a lot of fresh fruit, that’s expensive. Maybe to fruit baskets a week? 2 gallons of milk. 4 dozen eggs. 10 boxes of tofu. Then 3 heads of cauliflower, a box of spinach, romaine hearts, dozen tomatoes, box of cherry tomatoes, 2 boxes of celery, 2 loaves of French bread, 1 loaf of sliced bread. Two yogurts. That’s probably weekly staples.

Well if you refuse to give anything up, then one of you has to earn more money. It’s basic math.

My question was does that sound like outlandish grocery items, or just likely that the stores near us have higher prices? I haven’t driven to Germantown to comparison shop yet, but that is my impression. Or should we eat less fruit etc?

Do you buy in season or do you buy the same fruits and veggies year round?

Have you tried H-Mart or LIDL?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you only bring home $6,200 a month of $150k salary? I make $124,000 and my take-home is around $3,500 each paycheck after paying the full amount to 401k. Do you have super expensive insurance coming out of your paycheck or something?

Same. I make $150k and take home $6,934/month after maxing 401k and paying for our family's healthcare. However, I'm guessing OP may have higher healthcare costs?

Hmm, I just pulled down my bank statement. I suspect I have the higher withholding to make up for spouses higher salary (I do the taxes and I know one year we had a penalty). We max our 401k of course too and I pay the FSA for medicine and daycare. I suspect that will explain, and means that hopefully it will bump up to $6900 at some point.

Healthcare is very normal, thankfully

If you're withholding FSA for daycare, then aren't you double counting that expense (subtracted out of take home and counted as an expense)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you only bring home $6,200 a month of $150k salary? I make $124,000 and my take-home is around $3,500 each paycheck after paying the full amount to 401k. Do you have super expensive insurance coming out of your paycheck or something?

Same. I make $150k and take home $6,934/month after maxing 401k and paying for our family's healthcare. However, I'm guessing OP may have higher healthcare costs?

Hmm, I just pulled down my bank statement. I suspect I have the higher withholding to make up for spouses higher salary (I do the taxes and I know one year we had a penalty). We max our 401k of course too and I pay the FSA for medicine and daycare. I suspect that will explain, and means that hopefully it will bump up to $6900 at some point.

Healthcare is very normal, thankfully

If you're withholding FSA for daycare, then aren't you double counting that expense (subtracted out of take home and counted as an expense)?

FSA covers a minuscule amount of actual cost of daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you only bring home $6,200 a month of $150k salary? I make $124,000 and my take-home is around $3,500 each paycheck after paying the full amount to 401k. Do you have super expensive insurance coming out of your paycheck or something?

Same. I make $150k and take home $6,934/month after maxing 401k and paying for our family's healthcare. However, I'm guessing OP may have higher healthcare costs?

Hmm, I just pulled down my bank statement. I suspect I have the higher withholding to make up for spouses higher salary (I do the taxes and I know one year we had a penalty). We max our 401k of course too and I pay the FSA for medicine and daycare. I suspect that will explain, and means that hopefully it will bump up to $6900 at some point.

Healthcare is very normal, thankfully

If you're withholding FSA for daycare, then aren't you double counting that expense (subtracted out of take home and counted as an expense)?

FSA covers a minuscule amount of actual cost of daycare.

$5k would buy some organic peaches I guess…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not cut the housecleaner -- divorce is expensive

Cut the travel.

Cut the shopping. I guarantee you don't need half the crap you are buying. Plus, it will help the environment.

A lot of the shopping is actually yard equipment as we cut our landscaper and had NOTHING.

Yard sales, estate sales.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How in the world do you spend $1500 per MONTH on groceries?

Do you feed an entire football team?

That is my [b]rent[b] each month. RENT.

This isn’t about organic or fancy cuts of meat, this is us shopping at the grocery stores near us. We compared prices between Giant, Safeway, Moms, and Tj and they were all about the same. It’s when you go to further suburbs that prices drop, not when you pick the $1 tomato vs the $1.10 organic tomato. Also, things like Aldi, Lidl, Costco can help a LOT.

We go through a lot of fresh fruit, that’s expensive. Maybe to fruit baskets a week? 2 gallons of milk. 4 dozen eggs. 10 boxes of tofu. Then 3 heads of cauliflower, a box of spinach, romaine hearts, dozen tomatoes, box of cherry tomatoes, 2 boxes of celery, 2 loaves of French bread, 1 loaf of sliced bread. Two yogurts. That’s probably weekly staples.

That is a lot of expensive food. If you want to eat healthy but eat more cheaply, try buying rice and dried beans in bulk and eating them at least 3-4 times/week. And make your own hummus. Also, if you want to eat healthy, why are you buying french bread? it is just empty calories.

None of that is costly. Lido has that. Asian markets for tofu.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How in the world do you spend $1500 per MONTH on groceries?

Do you feed an entire football team?

That is my [b]rent[b] each month. RENT.

This isn’t about organic or fancy cuts of meat, this is us shopping at the grocery stores near us. We compared prices between Giant, Safeway, Moms, and Tj and they were all about the same. It’s when you go to further suburbs that prices drop, not when you pick the $1 tomato vs the $1.10 organic tomato. Also, things like Aldi, Lidl, Costco can help a LOT.

We go through a lot of fresh fruit, that’s expensive. Maybe to fruit baskets a week? 2 gallons of milk. 4 dozen eggs. 10 boxes of tofu. Then 3 heads of cauliflower, a box of spinach, romaine hearts, dozen tomatoes, box of cherry tomatoes, 2 boxes of celery, 2 loaves of French bread, 1 loaf of sliced bread. Two yogurts. That’s probably weekly staples.

Well if you refuse to give anything up, then one of you has to earn more money. It’s basic math.

My question was does that sound like outlandish grocery items, or just likely that the stores near us have higher prices? I haven’t driven to Germantown to comparison shop yet, but that is my impression. Or should we eat less fruit etc?

NP but how do you eat through 10 boxes of tofu a week? And 4 dozen eggs for 5 people, including one preschooler, sounds like a lot to me. We're a family of 4 and go through a dozen eggs a week. Maybe 18 if we're baking something. Not going to break the bank but sounds like a lot. We eat ~3 bowls of fruit/week. Apples/bananas aren't that $$$.

We eat a lot of tofu but that is excessive. One box a day or meal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How in the world do you spend $1500 per MONTH on groceries?

Do you feed an entire football team?

That is my [b]rent[b] each month. RENT.

This isn’t about organic or fancy cuts of meat, this is us shopping at the grocery stores near us. We compared prices between Giant, Safeway, Moms, and Tj and they were all about the same. It’s when you go to further suburbs that prices drop, not when you pick the $1 tomato vs the $1.10 organic tomato. Also, things like Aldi, Lidl, Costco can help a LOT.

We go through a lot of fresh fruit, that’s expensive. Maybe to fruit baskets a week? 2 gallons of milk. 4 dozen eggs. 10 boxes of tofu. Then 3 heads of cauliflower, a box of spinach, romaine hearts, dozen tomatoes, box of cherry tomatoes, 2 boxes of celery, 2 loaves of French bread, 1 loaf of sliced bread. Two yogurts. That’s probably weekly staples.

That is a lot of expensive food. If you want to eat healthy but eat more cheaply, try buying rice and dried beans in bulk and eating them at least 3-4 times/week. And make your own hummus. Also, if you want to eat healthy, why are you buying french bread? it is just empty calories.

None of that is costly. Lido has that. Asian markets for tofu.

Yes, these are all good options when we have time to drive 20 miles for groceries or spend the weekends at yard sales rather than the home repairs and chores we now do on weekends. The whole reason we are spending so much is because we don’t have time to bargain shop or browse yard sales (and I’m skeptical of that, most have been just absolute junk).

[Anonymous]

I buy tofu at H-Mart and it can be on sale for 99 cents a pack, certainly no more than $1.39/pack.