Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What on earth are you buying? We shop at WF (supplemented by Costco for things that aren't available at WF) and spend $500/mo but are a family of 4.

Now tell us how often you eat out/takeaway. Because I fail to believe you're feeding four people three Whole Foods meals a day that each cost less than $2.

I made spaghetti once and made the mistake of buying everything at WF. That one meal cost $86.

I make spaghetti all the time. There’s no way you spent more than $20 even if you made everything from scratch.

I read this yesterday and the $86 was too high. Likely $8.60 based on WF actual prices for 4 adults.

We're at 800/month including stuff like paper towels etc. Mega amounts of fresh produce and unprocessed food. It could go down to 500-600 just by flipping some seafood, removing specific brands of junk food [no substitution], no specific brands. No diaper or incontinence product ages needed for 3.75 adults [added .75 since some here partially]. Excludes alcohol and stuff for take to work lunch. WF can have lower price points than standard grocery stores on certain items or specific brands.

Before the WF fee we used to get some deliveries and spend less even with the tip than a actual drive to store [price points and better cash back]. WF was always food only. That $9.95 for a 2 hour window means no WF unless the total would still be cheaper. If you need a 1 hour window it's $14.95.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What on earth are you buying? We shop at WF (supplemented by Costco for things that aren't available at WF) and spend $500/mo but are a family of 4.

Now tell us how often you eat out/takeaway. Because I fail to believe you're feeding four people three Whole Foods meals a day that each cost less than $2.

I made spaghetti once and made the mistake of buying everything at WF. That one meal cost $86.

I make spaghetti all the time. There’s no way you spent more than $20 even if you made everything from scratch.

They must be including the wine bottle.

The most expensive spaghetti I make costs about $100, but that’s because its basically 90% langoustine and 10% spaghetti.

Family of three, around $600/month. We are vegetarian so that helps.
- Weekly veggie CSA
- Costco every six/eight weeks
- Aldi/Lidl every other week
- Occasional run to Yes! or Safeway
- Occasional stop at Trader Joe's if we're near one
- Friday pizza delivery night

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What on earth are you buying? We shop at WF (supplemented by Costco for things that aren't available at WF) and spend $500/mo but are a family of 4.

Now tell us how often you eat out/takeaway. Because I fail to believe you're feeding four people three Whole Foods meals a day that each cost less than $2.

I made spaghetti once and made the mistake of buying everything at WF. That one meal cost $86.

I make spaghetti all the time. There’s no way you spent more than $20 even if you made everything from scratch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What on earth are you buying? We shop at WF (supplemented by Costco for things that aren't available at WF) and spend $500/mo but are a family of 4.

Now tell us how often you eat out/takeaway. Because I fail to believe you're feeding four people three Whole Foods meals a day that each cost less than $2.

I made spaghetti once and made the mistake of buying everything at WF. That one meal cost $86.

How?

I know. I could easily make spaghetti from WF for 4 for under $5 and have leftovers.

Well, I’m assuming it wasn’t a jar of Ragu and a box of pasta, but fresh ingredients and homemade sauce, maybe a meat — but yeah, $86 is insane.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What on earth are you buying? We shop at WF (supplemented by Costco for things that aren't available at WF) and spend $500/mo but are a family of 4.

Now tell us how often you eat out/takeaway. Because I fail to believe you're feeding four people three Whole Foods meals a day that each cost less than $2.

I made spaghetti once and made the mistake of buying everything at WF. That one meal cost $86.

Does anyone else not give a s**t about this and value the convenience of shopping in one place, ordering some takeout, etc. more than the $1,000/month that you'll save??

Wow!!! You all eat a lot. Maybe this is why America is obese. Eat less. Eat fresh. Try growing your own food when you can. Order from farms and get produce and meat boxes.

Anonymous wrote:Hire a personal chef. That person can make sure you aren't buying food that you're just throwing away.

Wouldn't that end up costing more that the $1000 they are spending now?

I am so confused. We spend $600/month for two adults and an ES kid, and that includes all "grocery store" items, like pet stuff, spices, most toiletries, household cleaners and so on. We do shop Aldi/Lidl 2x/month, but shop WF 1x/month and TJs or Giant 1x/month PLUS I'm including CVS, Penzey's, Amazon and so on. I even include alcohol in this (Total Wine, corner store, etc.), but we have cut down on that.

To spend $250 on 2 people/week means... just a lot of fancy items AND prepared foods (or lots on alcohol?) And I feel like we spend plenty on prepared foods!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, the obviously answer is don't shop at Whole Foods. And don't buy organic.

No. My husband used to think that WF was for rich people and shopped at our neighborhood Giant. Produce was always wilted and I hated it. I had to make an excel spreadsheet of all the prices of things we usually bought in both stores for him to accept that Whole Foods was in the same range of cost as what he bought at Giant.

Whole Foods becomes expensive when you give in to temptation and buy the luxury food items. But if you don't, and stick to unprocessed staples, it's perfectly reasonable. We've gone there for years now and our budget for 4 people is lower than OP's.

This is what we do too. Unprocessed foods, not that much meat=healthy and not that expensive.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think that is all that much.

I easily spend $400-500 per week on groceries for our family of 5.

That’s where we are for four.

Anonymous wrote:1k a month for two is not a lot. If you spend less, you are probably eating junk food and you are fat like too many people around here.

Thank you for saying that - I've been cringing all evening wondering where I've gone wrong.

1k a month for two is not a lot. If you spend less, you are probably eating junk food and you are fat like too many people around here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What on earth are you buying? We shop at WF (supplemented by Costco for things that aren't available at WF) and spend $500/mo but are a family of 4.

Now tell us how often you eat out/takeaway. Because I fail to believe you're feeding four people three Whole Foods meals a day that each cost less than $2.

I made spaghetti once and made the mistake of buying everything at WF. That one meal cost $86.

Exactly. I spend at least $1000/month and we're empty nesters. I shop at Wegmans, Harris Teeter, and sometimes at Trader Joes or another store. Groceries include beer for DH, and meat every night but not much processed foods. I enjoy shopping for deals and stock up during sales. I'm talking about our usual bills not including current high prices due to supply chain issues. Our bills are still over $1000/month even with following the sales!