no more than $35 per week for family of 3... we coupon. Eat out just once a month to save $$$$

Anonymous wrote:Just looked back our bills since Jan and on average, we've spent:

$662/month on groceries, including a farm share
$342/month on eating out, including cafes & delivery
$177/month on household items, including cleaning supplies, decor, trash bags, make up, TP, light bulbs - essentially anything we order from Amazon, Soap.com, or pick up from a pharmacy

So $1004/month on all food & drinks and another $177 for other household items. 2 adults & 1 toddler. We could spend a lot less on food and probably half on household.

Just to provide some context though on why our budget is so high - DH is on a very specific diet. Low carb - no grains, no rice, including no pasta. My go-to quick meals all involved bread, rice or pasta - cheap & ready in less than 30 minutes. I could make a big lasagna over the weekend and freeze it in individual servings.

But to cook a proper piece of meat & veggies every night takes time and it costs more in groceries. When we don't have time, because we had to run a quick errand after work, we end up eating out because I can't just make a grilled cheese & salad dinner like I otherwise would. We used to spend $400-500/month on groceries and eat out a lot less. I feel better on this diet but I'm not sure it's worth it honestly.

$150-200/week for 3 people for just the food, not counting the paper goods and so on. I use online coupons, buy loss leaders, stock up on meat and staples when they're at a rock bottom price. Very rarely go out to dinner or get takeout, maybe once a month or not even that.

I don't believe in organic -- I like the idea, too, but I think it is often marketing-nonsense.

WF conditions folks to certain expectations and so they don't save money at a normal store.

A good cook really doesn't need super-high end ingredients -- they are generally a luxury.

WF et al cater to folks to imagine they are somehow advancing their progeny with the "best" or most "wholesome." They'd probably be better off saving the $$ for them.

Of course, DW shops there and it drives me bonkers so I vent hear; my wfie does not listen to this so you may not want to, either.

Send your wife to Wegmans. They have all sorts of nice roasts and stews for $10-$15 each where you just shove the tray in the oven for two hours and multipacks of marinated chicken breast you can bake on a foil lined tray, about $20 for enough for 2-3 meals. In the fresh veg section they have pre washed veg you can just nuke in the bag and fifty different sorts of pre washed lettuce.

Or you can just keep passive aggressively sniping about her on anonymous forums. You know, like a douche.

Anonymous wrote:wish i could show this to the wife, she is a stay at home mom (on diability for depression) but her idea of cooking is open box and nuke it

Maybe if you weren't such a douche, posting about her on DCUM, she wouldn't be so depressed?

wish i could show this to the wife, she is a stay at home mom (on diability for depression) but her idea of cooking is open box and nuke it

Just looked back our bills since Jan and on average, we've spent:

$662/month on groceries, including a farm share
$342/month on eating out, including cafes & delivery
$177/month on household items, including cleaning supplies, decor, trash bags, make up, TP, light bulbs - essentially anything we order from Amazon, Soap.com, or pick up from a pharmacy

So $1004/month on all food & drinks and another $177 for other household items. 2 adults & 1 toddler. We could spend a lot less on food and probably half on household.

I posted $1,200/month for family of four, conceding that it's high. One of the reasons we justify that is working full time with two preschoolers, we don't get out much, so the big grocery spend amounts to an affordable luxury.

Family of 3. We spend 1000-1200 a month. Including toiletries and household cleaning supplies. Vegetarians. We buy high quality food, no cheap junk, lots of veggies, fruit, fish, expensive bread, organic milk products.

Anonymous wrote:I think many people underestimate how much they spend on groceries.

Family of four. We easily spend $1,200 a month, but that includes paper goods / bathroom stuff. Maybe more.

It's our third biggest expense after mortgage and daycare.

I'd say we spend about as much money on groceries as we do on our property taxes (which is our biggest expense, since we have no more mortgage or daycare costs - hallelujah!).

I think many people underestimate how much they spend on groceries.

Family of four. We easily spend $1,200 a month, but that includes paper goods / bathroom stuff. Maybe more.

It's our third biggest expense after mortgage and daycare.

To the PP whose husband spends too much on drinks, let me tell you what I found works for my husband (who pretty much only likes to drink Gatorade or beer--luckily he homebrews the beer). Wegman's sells the powdered Gatorade in a large tub that costs about 8 dollars. My husband makes pitchers of it and 1 usually lasts him 1-2 months at least. You might have already tried something like that, but if not I recommend!

Anonymous wrote:We easily spend $1000/month shopping at WF exclusively for a family of 4. I've tried shopping at Safeway and Giant and find that I don't really save any money.

This is us too! I don't save any money when using Giant. Not sure what I am doing wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of these budgets seem really high to me. We spend about 100/week for 2 adults, 1 small child. I think we eat fairly well, but we always have a couple of meals per week that are extremely inexpensive like pasta and marinara and crock pot black beans with rice.

One thing I am very strict about is drinks. If I didn't watch him, my husband could spent 40 bucks a week on soda, juice, teas, bottled water, Gatorade etc. Sure it's great to grab a Vitamin Water out of the fridge anytime you get thirsty, but how do people justify the expense?

Keep in mind that not everyone has the same budget. I am the one spending $700-$800 a week, and I justify it by saying I can afford it, and we enjoy great food. We'll go out to sushi one night, a steakhouse another, etc. We'll have a family over and serve nice bottles of wine or something. If we couldn't afford it of course we wouldn't be spending this way. Everyone has to do what works for their family.

Ok, understood. I wasn't trying to be snarky. I just feel that certain items are so incredibly overpriced. I have no problem splurging on ribeyes and nice wine when we're in the mood for steaks, but I want to scream when my DH spends 2 or 3 bucks on a bottled tea. I gotta get over it!