Anonymous wrote:Wow some of you people must be really skinny!! We spend $1,000 for a family of 4 with 2. elementary school kids. This includes saying out but not toiletries, etc.

I think you may need to take a harder look at what you're spending your money on. $1K for family of 4 - and 2 of them are in elem?
You're a bit on the high side IMHO. Are you brand loyal and buy regardless of whether or not its on sale? Or do you buy a lot of processed and packaged foods?

Anonymous wrote:Wow some of you people must be really skinny!! We spend $1,000 for a family of 4 with 2. elementary school kids. This includes saying out but not toiletries, etc.

BMIs of 20-22 for the adults--I feel that is pretty normal, not particularly skinny. We spend about $500 a month on groceries for a family of 4, where the kids are ages 4 and 6. We eat as much as we feel like eating, and don't restrict portion sizes. Maybe we just don't have big appetites by nature. However, we do not skimp on quality. We eat seafood, beef, lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Rarely eat processed foods. We buy a lot of our stuff from ethnic markets which in general have much better prices. Also, about 75% of our dinners are some type of Asian ethnic cuisine (less use of steaks, chops and other large, expensive slabs of meat), and we don't drink alcohol at all, which I'm sure keeps grocery bills down.

Family of 4 (kids 2 and 4), $1000. We shop only at Wegmans.

Family of 3. $1,100 includes toiletries, alcohol, and pet supplies.

Family of four- $450ish maybe 100 more if you add paper goods etc.

We eat tacos, salads, pork chops, roasts in the crockpot, lots of chicken. Our sides are simple steamed or roasted veggies and we don't buy a lot of snacks other than yogurt and fruit.

Meals:

Tonight spinach and cheese ravioli and salad (greens, cukes, grape tomatoes, carrots).

Turkey burgers with broccoli and carrots

Salad with deli turkey, hard boiled egg and sliced almonds

Turkey tacos with fixings

The Amazing Tofu sandwich (NY Times recipe) and sides.

Family of 3, under $500 a month...shopping primarily at Aldi helps a lot. Lunches are usually leftovers. Breakfast includes the usual...eggs, oatmeal, cereal, yogurt and fruit...

We also don't buy alcohol or beverages other than milk and orange juice.

Anonymous wrote:During the summer when/if my college kids are home - about $1,400.

When it's just the three of us, about $1,000.

I shop primarily at Publix. Obviously we are not in D.C. right now.

I was just in Florida, visiting family, and did some shopping at Publix. I love the store, but the prices are unreal. I never thought that Safeway and Giant were any great bargain, but they are compared to Publix.

Anonymous wrote:Family size and your most used grocery store.

I would say $650. Family of 4. one teen girl and one tween boy. most shopping is done at Costco.

Family of 2, used to be $800-1100/mo, and that's with me cooking from scratch most of the time and occasionally eating out (maybe twice a month.) This included wine/beer but that's a fairly small percentage of groceries. We eat primarily fresh produce/fruit and meat from Trader Joe's, Costco, Wegman's, occasionally Whole Foods. Bake my own bread, make our own yogurt, buy bulk nuts from online sources. I also buy a lot of spices from Penzey's.

Trying to stay within the $600 range this summer with an advanced purchase of CSA veggies and eggs. Also put in a garden this year to grow what we can.

During the summer when/if my college kids are home - about $1,400.

When it's just the three of us, about $1,000.

I shop primarily at Publix. Obviously we are not in D.C. right now.

For a family of 3 with some leftovers sometimes:

Taco night for $10ish - 1lb of ground beef on sale, taco seasoning packet, bag of taco chips, some cheese, salsa, sour cream, beans, etc.

Baked potato night for less than $10- some unbreaded chicken tenders on sale, potatoes, salsa, sour cream, lemon juice, cheese, etc. fresh or frozen green beans.

Salad night less than $10 - head of romaine lettuce, cut up lunchmeat (turkey/ham etc), cheese, salad dressing, hard boiled eggs, etc.

Breakfast for dinner - $10ish eggs, bacon, cheese, toast, sliced tomatoes, fresh grapes, etc.

Sometimes we have sandwiches + chips + carrot/celery sticks. That's super cheap too.

We don't eat steaks, porkchops, etc. - not huge meat eaters.

In the winter I make a lot of soups that we eat with toast and some fresh veggies.

For those of you spending $500 or less on food please give me a sense of what your meals look like?

family of 4- around $1,200/month (includes wine&beer)

Family of 4 - food budget $450/mo (Food Lion); $250/mo for household stuff (cleaning/paper/toiletries, etc.). I pretty much buy store brands, whatever is on sale, and use coupons. We pretty much don't eat out.

Anonymous wrote:I think the price of groceries and paper products has gone way, way up in the last couple of years!

I'm sure it has. This is a valid question.. even if it has been asked before.