800 bucks a month on groceries. crazy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I spend around $60/week at the grocery store (may include other items beyond groceries such as personal products or dog food) and about $200 at Costco every month to 2 months. We have 2 adults and 2 school-aged children. I think your grocery spending is really high.

What do you eat?

I shop strictly by sales and use coupons. Before anyone says,bleh...it doesn't take that long and coupons are not just for junk food. For fruits/veggies/meats, I shop by in-season and sales. For meat, I buy in small bulk when on sale (ex. buy a beef tenderloin when on sale and ask the butcher to cut it up - filet mignon for close to half price).

I get everything from pasta, butter, cereal, oatmeal to condiments, salad dressings, and baking supplies for pennies on the dollar (no more than 20 cents a box for pasta, butter is frequently free). Getting stuff for free or close to free allows more room in my budget for some organic veggies and fruits. I make a lot from scratch and freezer cook some meals to help with weekday dinner madness also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you eat meat several times a week, how do you avoid paying that much?

Let's say every week you have 1.5 lbs chicken breast, beef of some sort one time, and pork tenderloin. If you don't buy on sale, that's got to be $40 or $50 right there.

Fresh vegetables are also really expensive.

Whoa. Where are you buying your meat?

OP - look at your grocery bill. If you're buying a lot of premade or frozen meals then you are overspending. Cut those out and you save a lot of money. Also look at dairy products - spending $6 on a gallon of milk (like someone else mentioned) is ridiculous - Whole Foods 365 brand is probably half that cost and if you buy it elsewhere it's probably even cheaper. Buy frozen veggies to cook with, they last longer. We typically only buy onions, garlic, celery, potatoes, and tomatoes fresh. How much do you spend on meat? We buy organic prepackaged from Wegman's and it's about $5-9 for 1lb or 1.5lb. Balance meat based meals with non-meat based meals.

I get organic chicken -- that's about $8 a pound @ $1.5 lbs = $12.
Pork tenderloin for 4 people -- $10.
Some kind of beef (not ground) -- $10 for four people.

So ok, closer to $30 a week. But still ...

Where can I shop to get cheaper meat that's still good quality? And WHole Foods 365 brand organic milk is NOT $3 a gallon!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, no. Food prices have really gone up too! I paid $6.69 for a gallon of organic milk last week at Giant. 4 sticks of butter was $4.99. That is really high.

A gallon of milk at Whole Foods or Trader Joes is $3.49 and it's better quality. Why are you spending $6. 69 on milk? Even butter is under $3 at Trader Joes.

THis is not for organic. I have always bought organic milk -- we don't do everything organic but I think this is important. However, it is between 5 and 6 dollars a gallon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the posters that point out that quality food, fresh vegetables etc. are just plain expensive. I refuse to eat boxed anything. We do eat out on the weekends and our grocery bill is around $900 (meals only) for the 3 of us.

We're the same. Prepare most meals at home, using organic/good quality ingredients. We're frugal about other things (no cable, old cars) but I'm willing to spen the $900/month on the food we put in our bodies.

[Anonymous]

We spend about $700 for two children and two adults. There are certain things that add up so quickly for us-milk and berries. Two gallons of organic milk and 2 containers of raspberries and 2 of blueberries. DD eats a whole container a day, unless their is a sale we are spending about $20 a week on berries alone for one child. I don't think $800 is ridiculous at all I think it where we will be in a year or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you eat meat several times a week, how do you avoid paying that much?

Let's say every week you have 1.5 lbs chicken breast, beef of some sort one time, and pork tenderloin. If you don't buy on sale, that's got to be $40 or $50 right there.

Fresh vegetables are also really expensive.

Whoa. Where are you buying your meat?

OP - look at your grocery bill. If you're buying a lot of premade or frozen meals then you are overspending. Cut those out and you save a lot of money. Also look at dairy products - spending $6 on a gallon of milk (like someone else mentioned) is ridiculous - Whole Foods 365 brand is probably half that cost and if you buy it elsewhere it's probably even cheaper. Buy frozen veggies to cook with, they last longer. We typically only buy onions, garlic, celery, potatoes, and tomatoes fresh. How much do you spend on meat? We buy organic prepackaged from Wegman's and it's about $5-9 for 1lb or 1.5lb. Balance meat based meals with non-meat based meals.

I get organic chicken -- that's about $8 a pound @ $1.5 lbs = $12.
Pork tenderloin for 4 people -- $10.
Some kind of beef (not ground) -- $10 for four people.

So ok, closer to $30 a week. But still ...

Where can I shop to get cheaper meat that's still good quality? And WHole Foods 365 brand organic milk is NOT $3 a gallon!

How much is it at Whole Foods now? And at which one? I seem to remember it being around $3 when we used to go there (obviously was not $3 even). They have their 365 brand which is less expensive, and the other organic milks which were always around $5+

We do most of our shopping at Wegman's now. Like I said - organic ground beef and organic chicken is about $5-8. Occasionally the chicken is more expensive, but if you look around enough you can find cheaper packages. We do 1-2 meat based meals with leftovers a week. I shop every 2 weeks, which helps with impulse/overbuying.

[Anonymous]

This is the Silver Spring WF. 365 is around that but it is not organic unless is specifically says so, in which case it is over $5.

Wish I were near a Wegman's!

[Anonymous]

We spend about $800/ month for our 3-person family. We're in the District, so no Wegmans. Maybe 75% of our food comes from Trader Joes (which has the best selection/price balance for organic produce), 20% from Yes! Organic Market, and 5% from whatever else may be convenient when I need something.

Our veggies and dairy products are usually organic, because DD has some health concerns that have driven me to desperation and the faint possibility of an advantage is enough to justify the cost for me. We rarely buy meat, but do purchase some pre-packaged foods that no doubt contribute to the cost. Still, the fact remains that fresh food is expensive these days.

[Anonymous]

"2 containers of raspberries and 2 of blueberries. DD eats a whole container a day, unless their is a sale we are spending about $20 a week on berries alone for one child"

Might you consider offering a different type of fruit when berry season is over? $20 will buy you two weeks of fresh fall crunchy apples.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frugal Poster here...

What are you buying?

Frugal Poster, I missed you.

And I knew right away, when I saw this thread, that you'd be here.

FP, I missed you too!! Why so quiet? Please jump in and advise OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We spend about $700 for two children and two adults. There are certain things that add up so quickly for us-milk and berries. Two gallons of organic milk and 2 containers of raspberries and 2 of blueberries. DD eats a whole container a day, unless their is a sale we are spending about $20 a week on berries alone for one child. I don't think $800 is ridiculous at all I think it where we will be in a year or so.

Buy fresh fruit in season: Apples, pears, bananas, citrus. Melons in the summer. Raspberries and blueberries are spoilage prone and ridiculously expensive. There's no call for a kid to be eating "treat" food every day. If you want smoothies, buy frozen berries.

Bread: It's $3 (yeast, oil, flour and sugar or honey) for 3 loaves and takes 2 hours on the weekend. Better than anything you can buy.

Organic milk just means the cows eat organic silage. Not worth it.

I feed a family of 3---all adults---and company 2-3x weekly for $150 every 2 weeks.

[Anonymous]

$600 of organic food (Whole Foods) and toiletries (online) for 2 young children and 2 adults.

We buy on sale and in season and cook from scratch.

I will gladly spend my hard-earned money at WF, because they have fresher food and really pay attention to their sources. Also I have had nothing but good service there, especially at the Silver Spring one, which is my favorite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I spend around $60/week at the grocery store (may include other items beyond groceries such as personal products or dog food) and about $200 at Costco every month to 2 months. We have 2 adults and 2 school-aged children. I think your grocery spending is really high.

What do you eat?

I shop strictly by sales and use coupons. Before anyone says,bleh...it doesn't take that long and coupons are not just for junk food. For fruits/veggies/meats, I shop by in-season and sales. For meat, I buy in small bulk when on sale (ex. buy a beef tenderloin when on sale and ask the butcher to cut it up - filet mignon for close to half price).

I get everything from pasta, butter, cereal, oatmeal to condiments, salad dressings, and baking supplies for pennies on the dollar (no more than 20 cents a box for pasta, butter is frequently free). Getting stuff for free or close to free allows more room in my budget for some organic veggies and fruits. I make a lot from scratch and freezer cook some meals to help with weekday dinner madness also.

how do you get free butter and pasta for no more that 20 cents oer box? Can you share your tips? Thank you!

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone for your feedback! To put things into perspective, our combined income is about 80,000 a year. There are things that we really need to cut back on so we can start putting more money in savings. Ideally I would like to spend no more then 600 a month on groceries. But I DON'T want to sacrifice quality... and with a family of five (plus a dog) it's gonna be a challenge. I'm not the most organized when it comes to meal planning, so maybe I should start with that... and perhaps start making some meals in bulk and freezing them. Thanks again for the advice!

[Anonymous]

We spend about $900+ a month on groceries for a family of 3. I would never admit that number publicly.