Anonymous
03/14/2012 22:55
Subject: Food Budget
Paleo with three adults in the house, about 6-700 a month. That's farmers markets, the local organic food cheapie place and the commissary. It doesn't count my rockstar habit.
When I lived in the area, I did a lot of my shopping at magruders---it was cheap and had better food. Now that we're in SoCal, I'm not sure anything is cheap except oranges.
When I lived in the area, I did a lot of my shopping at magruders---it was cheap and had better food. Now that we're in SoCal, I'm not sure anything is cheap except oranges.
Anonymous
03/14/2012 20:25
Subject: Re:Food Budget
Anonymous wrote:Threads like this are always interesting to me. I don't understand why people say "our budget is $500" but we also eat out, drink beer, etc. etc. You don't get to say you are only spending $500 (for example) when you are actually eating another $200 a month in other things. I think if you give a number, it should include EVERYTHING the entire family consumes in a month.
That said, all I know for my family is that it is way, way too much and I would love to get the budget under control. I shop at Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, Trader Joes, Safeway; but whenever I go to Whole Foods I wind up buying some very expensive specialty items (like salt for $12/bag) or some great simmering sauce for $7 that I wind up throwing half away. Plus DH eats every lunch out. Plus kids and I always go out for afternoon "treats". Plus we all go out to eat once or twice a week. Plus DH and I love good beer and wine. I would guess that our food expenditure per month is somewhere in the $1500 to $2000 range. RIDICULOUS. And, we are fat, lol.
Are there any resources out there that offer a meal plan for the week along with the shopping list for that week? I am so bad at meal planning and shopping that yes, I would pay for such a service.
I agree that the number should include all expenditures. Our numbers are roughly the same as yours--we shop at WF mostly, with monthly trips to TJ's, and trips to Costco and Safeway a few times a year. We tried just shopping at Safeway but we ended up spending more. In addition to liking good wine and beer, we really like good produce and dairy products. We are 2 adults and a toddler who is a voracious eater. We send all of her food to daycare, and we brown bag our food most days.
It is good to hear that we are not the only ones spending $1000-1300 or so on groceries. I too was beating myself up, but we cook from scratch, and our frig' is mostly bare by the end of the week. We also try to restrict meat to 1-3 meals. What gives?
Anonymous
03/11/2012 22:14
Subject: Food Budget
Oh just to add, we are also vegetarian which saves us food in some ways, but we also splurge on some things. Like $8 containers of vegan chicken salad from Whole Foods, $6 worth of portabello mushrooms etc.
Anonymous
03/11/2012 22:13
Subject: Food Budget
My husband and I have made an effort for the past few months to cut down on food costs a bit, but I am sure we could do much better. We used to have a nasty habit of going to the grocery store every other day and so and spending anywhere from $20-$50 or more each time. We also each bought lunch out almost every day and often went out to eat together on nights/weekends maybe 2-3 times a week. Atrocious.
Now we make a grocery list every Sunday and make our big grocery run that day. It has cost us anywhere from $75-$130 depending on the week and how elaborate of meals I make. We try 2-3 new recipes a week. I pack lunches every day now. We still go out to eat probably twice a week and I often make one mid-week mini grocery run. I'd say we are currently hitting around $700/month.
Now we make a grocery list every Sunday and make our big grocery run that day. It has cost us anywhere from $75-$130 depending on the week and how elaborate of meals I make. We try 2-3 new recipes a week. I pack lunches every day now. We still go out to eat probably twice a week and I often make one mid-week mini grocery run. I'd say we are currently hitting around $700/month.
Anonymous
03/11/2012 21:53
Subject: Food Budget
21:49 here. Our budget is $600/month for family of 3.
Anonymous
03/11/2012 21:49
Subject: Food Budget
Some ways we save on groceries:
-- not buying drinks such as juice, soda, etc. We mostly stick to water. Not exciting, but healthy and cheap.
-- whenever we go to Costco, we buy a rotisserie chicken for $5 and eat it with rice, and a veggie that night for dinner. You can also use leftover chicken or buy another one and make soup the next day.
-- Go meatless one day/week. Lentils/veggies/rice make a good meal, meatless chili, spaghetti w/out meat, etc.
-- Buy a few frozen (but decent quality) meals that we can eat on nights we normally might be tempted to eat out. For example, the other night I bought 2 packages of this: http://www.villabertolli.com/products/2200/tuscan-style-braised-beef-with-gold-potatoes.aspx. It cost me $12, cheaper than a fast food meal out with my family.
-- I buy pacakges of Trader Joe's sausages (chicken apple, fontina cheese, etc.) and throw them into a sauce or stir fry them with veggies. They are about $4 each, cheaper than buying chicken breasts or other meat.
I would love to hear others' ideas about cutting costs.
-- not buying drinks such as juice, soda, etc. We mostly stick to water. Not exciting, but healthy and cheap.
-- whenever we go to Costco, we buy a rotisserie chicken for $5 and eat it with rice, and a veggie that night for dinner. You can also use leftover chicken or buy another one and make soup the next day.
-- Go meatless one day/week. Lentils/veggies/rice make a good meal, meatless chili, spaghetti w/out meat, etc.
-- Buy a few frozen (but decent quality) meals that we can eat on nights we normally might be tempted to eat out. For example, the other night I bought 2 packages of this: http://www.villabertolli.com/products/2200/tuscan-style-braised-beef-with-gold-potatoes.aspx. It cost me $12, cheaper than a fast food meal out with my family.
-- I buy pacakges of Trader Joe's sausages (chicken apple, fontina cheese, etc.) and throw them into a sauce or stir fry them with veggies. They are about $4 each, cheaper than buying chicken breasts or other meat.
I would love to hear others' ideas about cutting costs.
Anonymous
03/11/2012 10:20
Subject: Food Budget
Anonymous wrote:Just curious, those of you who live in the DC area, how much is your monthly grocery budget. Our budget (for two adults) is $400, although we usually spend $275-$300. We have two nights a month that we go out to eat ($20 or less, for both of us)
No one else picked up on this? Where could you possibly go out for dinner for less than $20 for 2? Fast food?
Anonymous
03/11/2012 10:09
Subject: Food Budget
Our budget is between 1300 - 1500 per month. Groceries, veggie/dairy delivery, date night and take out once a week. Once a month we hit the Commissary for paper, cleaning products, meat. This is 2 adults, 2 kids and 1 au pair.
Anonymous
03/10/2012 10:45
Subject: Re:Food Budget
Gosh, I don't feel so bad. I am always beating myself up over our budget. We spend about $1000 to $1300 per month. We usually have take out 2 times per week. My husband eats out for lunch a lot.
Anonymous
03/10/2012 07:58
Subject: Food Budget
I posted earlier, but yes, milk and grapes(?) seem to be a bid expense for us. I say grapes becuase we must go through 4 packs of them a week. Sometimes the kids eat them all the day I buy them. But they are healthy, so I don't complain.
Milk is at least 2 gallons/week. Again, it's healthy so I can't complain, plus I like a big glass (or 2) with dinner myself.
Milk is at least 2 gallons/week. Again, it's healthy so I can't complain, plus I like a big glass (or 2) with dinner myself.
Anonymous
03/10/2012 07:23
Subject: Food Budget
I have been trying to stick to $1000 a month for two adults and two young teenagers -- this is a grocery store budget that includes things like toilet paper, detergent, etc.
This is a real stretch for me. I cook almost every night but we do use some convenience foods for busy nights with two sports practices, etc. and honestly, the amount of milk we go through is just amazing -- I think it's 8 gallons a month!
We are also trying to manage weight issues. I've found that the thing that works is to make a menu for the week, shop ONCE, and other than things like milk, don't shop again until the following week's trip. If we run out, we run out.
This is a real stretch for me. I cook almost every night but we do use some convenience foods for busy nights with two sports practices, etc. and honestly, the amount of milk we go through is just amazing -- I think it's 8 gallons a month!
We are also trying to manage weight issues. I've found that the thing that works is to make a menu for the week, shop ONCE, and other than things like milk, don't shop again until the following week's trip. If we run out, we run out.
Anonymous
03/10/2012 06:22
Subject: Re:Food Budget
Threads like this are always interesting to me. I don't understand why people say "our budget is $500" but we also eat out, drink beer, etc. etc. You don't get to say you are only spending $500 (for example) when you are actually eating another $200 a month in other things. I think if you give a number, it should include EVERYTHING the entire family consumes in a month.
That said, all I know for my family is that it is way, way too much and I would love to get the budget under control. I shop at Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, Trader Joes, Safeway; but whenever I go to Whole Foods I wind up buying some very expensive specialty items (like salt for $12/bag) or some great simmering sauce for $7 that I wind up throwing half away. Plus DH eats every lunch out. Plus kids and I always go out for afternoon "treats". Plus we all go out to eat once or twice a week. Plus DH and I love good beer and wine. I would guess that our food expenditure per month is somewhere in the $1500 to $2000 range. RIDICULOUS. And, we are fat, lol.
Are there any resources out there that offer a meal plan for the week along with the shopping list for that week? I am so bad at meal planning and shopping that yes, I would pay for such a service.
That said, all I know for my family is that it is way, way too much and I would love to get the budget under control. I shop at Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, Trader Joes, Safeway; but whenever I go to Whole Foods I wind up buying some very expensive specialty items (like salt for $12/bag) or some great simmering sauce for $7 that I wind up throwing half away. Plus DH eats every lunch out. Plus kids and I always go out for afternoon "treats". Plus we all go out to eat once or twice a week. Plus DH and I love good beer and wine. I would guess that our food expenditure per month is somewhere in the $1500 to $2000 range. RIDICULOUS. And, we are fat, lol.
Are there any resources out there that offer a meal plan for the week along with the shopping list for that week? I am so bad at meal planning and shopping that yes, I would pay for such a service.