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[quote=Anonymous][quote=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. 
[/quote]

I couldn’t even tell you how we’re spending it. We eat very little meat. Twice a week i make a chicken dish or ground turkey dish with a grain, and make extra portions that usually last for a couple of nights each. Once a week is a meatless pasta dish. Then there’s pizza night and Asian/mexican/salad bowl night. Sometimes Mexican is even just chipotle.

Every week i make a big batch of soup and dh and i eat that along with salads and leftovers for lunch. Kids lunch foods are all meal prepped 1-2x weekly- pasta, grains, veggies, fruits. I make big batch of organic vegetables throughout the week- fresh and frozen.

As mentioned in my original post, i spend around 185 dollars a week at Whole Foods on our fruits, veggies, breads, milk, plant based milk, grains, etc. I buy meat, cheese and some school snacks at a different store, and probably spend 125 dollars there weekly. We have a babysitter and buy her food to have throughout the week at our house, so that is another 100 dollars or so. Around holidays or when we’re entertaining that adds up. So I guess groceries alone are running us around 400-500 per week, and then there’s takeout and restaurants. We probably don’t eat out more than 1-2x a month with our kids, maybe a date night once a month for us, but this sum also includes vacations where we eat out each night.

Breakfast is oatmeal, fruit, quinoa, sometimes muffins, or toast with peanut butter. Always fruit and berries.

All to say- I don’t watch what we spend on food, but we’re not eating filet mignon and caviar on the regular, if ever.  My biggest luxury is buying lots of organic fruit and vegetables, which we eat and don’t want to change.

Wine is nothing crazy. Often we share a bottle throughout the weekend, and buy more around holidays when we’re entertaining.

But some other good advice here about being more intentional to use things up. Pantries are full and I’m usually replacing things and never emptying. Breakfast for dinner is also a good one.

Just don’t know what I’m doing wrong or how I can significantly watch my spending. 
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