How much do you spend on groceries a month?

[Anonymous]

i spent $1400 last month on cvs stuff like diapers, etc... plus whole foods and safeway. i never try to budget and the only reason i know is b/c i put it all on my credit card last month. i was shocked to get the bill but glad my husband can see i'm not blowing all the money on shoes!

[Anonymous]

To the PP that uses Polyface Farms - can you tell me how it works? do you shop at the farm, or just place an order and pick it up on the delivery date at one of the 'metropolitan buying club' locations on their website? is there a minimum purchase amount? Is there flexibility about when you can pick up your order? I believe that farm was written about in The Omnivore's Dilemma, and I'd love to try their stuff, but I dont have a handle on how to make the actual procurement happen! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think to get lower than $500 you need to eat a lot of beans and vegetarian dishes.

I spend less than this and the only vegetarian dish we eat is homemade pizza. Ground beef and ground turkey (either can be used in tacos, meatloaf, spagetti sauce) are not very expensive, and a pack of chicken breasts can last more than one meal. Wegmanns also sells really good stir fry beef for $3-$4 a lb - one lb makes a meal with leftovers for us. And fish/shrimp are also great options that don't cost alot.

OK -- I'll edit my comment -- I think to get around $500 you have to do a lot of vegetarian meals OR buy the cheapest cuts of meat (ground beef and turkey) and buy the family value packs and do the repackaging thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP that uses Polyface Farms - can you tell me how it works? do you shop at the farm, or just place an order and pick it up on the delivery date at one of the 'metropolitan buying club' locations on their website? is there a minimum purchase amount? Is there flexibility about when you can pick up your order? I believe that farm was written about in The Omnivore's Dilemma, and I'd love to try their stuff, but I dont have a handle on how to make the actual procurement happen! Thanks!

procurement, first things first, please review section 174 of the FAR... only in DC!

Yes, Polyface is the farm in Ominvores Dilemma, so if you've read that book you know just how GOOD that meat is for your body and our environment.

Their website is not so good. I drive down to the farm and pick up the extra large order for the beef and pig. I do not suggest this, unless you have an SUV type car and a lot of large coolers (or ones you can borrow). I love the drive and stop on my way in Stanton for lunch and make some fun of it. They also deliver via the buying club. I do use the buying club for my eggs and chicken. They are WAYYYY less expensive than our area farmers markets.

No minimum purchase amount and no commitment. The pick ups at the buying clubs happen during peak season (Spring/Summer/Fall) approx every 6 weeks. The owners DIL, Sherry Salatin emails you to get your order in by the deadline and you sign up for the buying club nearst you and do your pick up at the give date/time. Its the same place/time every 6 weeks. Depending on where you live some of the buying clubs are full. To get the full details, email Polyface and they will send you a bunch of paperwork and instructions on how the whole thing works.

I can no longer bring myself to eat grocery store meat. After having the farm fresh meat, the stuff from the store just grosses me out. It also does not help that I read Omnivores Dilemma and it transformed the way I think about and eat food.

[Anonymous]

family of 4 here, i spend about $550-600/mos on groceries and that includes household items (toilet paper, cleaning supplies)

cost cutting tricks:
trader joes for all cheese, dinner party items, snack food, nuts, frozen veggies/entrees
went vegetarian as of 1/1 and we're saving a lot
buy generic brand medicine for kids, canned veggies and beans, pasta, and other staples
use coupons
get some bulk items at target
always buy 2 of my sale items and freeze or store the rest i.e bread on sale, buy 3 loaves and freeze 2. kashi lean cereal on sale, buy 3-4 boxes
i almost always choose the sale item at giant when selecting food
use my CVS coupon $$ for toiletries

eating out these days consists of chipotle, pizza or other low budget places

[Anonymous]

family of 2 around 250 a month never more than 276

[Anonymous]

We spend about $1200 a month. Almost all organic, meat every night, lots of eggs. Mostly Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, and some mail-order foods. Nothing processed, no convenience foods. I make everything from scratch except ketchup. Trying to cut it back, but decided to cut back on eating out. Eating in is much healthier, IMHO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:family of 2 around 250 a month never more than 276

2 adults or one adult and one child?

[Anonymous]

procurement, first things first, please review section 174 of the FAR... only in DC!

hee hee, caught out (and posting from work, making it even harder to use normal people's vocabulary).

Anyway, thanks much for the polyface info - I've really been trying to move in that direction for health and environmental reasons, but there's only so much a full time WOHM can do! Maybe I can send DH to do the pickup... I'll email them.

[Anonymous]

I easily spend $800 to $1000 a month. I try to plan meals and use coupons (Shoppers Triples them once a month) but I also go to the store every other day rather than larger trips. I spent $80 at Trader Joes this week, $60 at Shoppers, $30 at Whole Foods this week. I try to get meat and fruit at Whole Foods so I find I go every couple days.

We also eat out or order in once a week.

[Anonymous]

we spend about $350 on groceries for two adults and $125 on baby formula for a 4 month old baby.
we try to buy more unprocessed foods such as fruits, veg and grains.
We found the cheapest fruits & veg at a place called H Mart (a Korean grocery store nr gallows & lee hwy)
we buy grains from whole foods & nuts from trader joes.
we buy meat and other stuff from costco, giant & safeway.
costco has the best price for baby formulas (and diapers).

[Anonymous]

Shopping in bulk at the Glut Food Coop will save lots of money!

[Anonymous]

I spend about $150 a week for my family of 3 (me, huband, 10 mo old). This includes wine/beer (& not the cheap stuff), dish soap, laundry detergent & things like that....but not diapers (I spend an additional $50 on diapers per month). I shop mostly at whole foods (sometimes trader joes) & try to eat mostly organic & when possible local fruits/veggies. My husband and I plan our meals for the week & shop on Sunday. We stry to do 3 dinners a week (with left overs) & try to pick a few key ingredients that can be used in mulitple meals (to cut down on ingredients & waste for the week). We like to do homemade pizza. It is amazing how much cheaper, tastier & healthier homemade pizza can be. We take lunch to work & make coffee at home. I breast feed my baby so that cuts out the cost of formula, but he also eats only organic solids. I try to incorporate what we are eating for his solids too. If we are having chicken, I will poach some for him...

[Anonymous]

We spent $875 last month for a family of three - that includes basically everything (alcohol, household supplies and cleaners, and other CVS type stuff) except diapers, mostly organic and many of our meals are vegetarian. We spent less than $100/month eating out, including a few Starbucks runs. Every few months we'll eat out someplace nice and that number will triple.

[Anonymous]

"About $1000 for a family of four. "

Holy moley, Batman! Does this include nonfood items? Is there an Olympic swimmer in your family?