How much do you pay for groceries?

[alkemyst]

About the same here, but is just the wife and I.

Maybe a bit more on side trips for odds and ends during the week.

$125-150 a week for a couple is about right in line with moderate USDA food costs.

Many underestimate what they truly spend not accounting for bulk items and staples/etc.

When I was a couple I'd spend about that as well, but we'd go out as well a couple to few nights a week.

 

[alkemyst]

$1500 a month for 5 of us, including alcohol.

I was spending about $15 a day on alcohol...now I am down to $15-30 a week (not counting going out)

 

[Coulrophobia]

I probably spend 200-300 a month on wine and beer.

 

[Slew Foot]

How much is a pound of salmon or ribs where you live?

Ribs are around $3/lb salmon is $7/lb or so.

You may be underestimating costs or amounts. The guidelines above would not support a family of 4 eating tons of meats and fruits at only $500 a month.

Guidelines are made by idiots for idiots. i know exactly what i spend on food

 

[madoka]

I posted this is the Food Prices thread, but it may be helpful outside it to know what everyone actually spends and the size of their household. This is just food. Healthcare, toiletries, detergents and the like are not part of this.

I spend about $10-$30 per month on groceries for a family of four. That's mostly for snacks, ramen, ice cream, etc. I eat at home about 3-5 times a year. Otherwise I always eat out.

 

[LevelSea]

No idea, wife does all the shopping.

 

[alkemyst]

Ribs are around $3/lb salmon is $7/lb or so.



Guidelines are made by idiots for idiots. i know exactly what i spend on food

Piles of salmon per day at $7/lb doesn't work out to $500 for family of 4.

Are you the only one eating it?

I am assuming you are not counting lunch costs.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It's hard to tell, it really depends what I'm in the mood for the given time. Sometimes I'm in a junk food mood and end up buying way too much junk food and other crap and that's actually the stuff that can add up quick. I don't really keep track but I'd say I spend maybe 200-300 per month in average. If I was smarter about it I'm sure I could cut that down. I really need to force myself to learn to cook more instead of buying premade/processed stuff. I do make my own meals every now and then but I need to make that more the norm not the exception. It's hard when single though, to justify the time it takes.

I also eat out way too much, I need to cut down on that, it's not good for me and cost a lot more per meal.

 

[DrPizza]

Just on groceries, we spend quite a bit. Maybe once a month, I'll venture down the frozen or boxed aisles. But it's mostly perimeter of the store stuff. I love when things are on sale, but have no issues with spending for pricier stuff like king crab legs. We probably go through 5 pounds of ribeye, NY strip, or filet for every pound of hamburg.

But, we eat out frequently, so that pushes our total food budget fairly high. But, on the other hand, most red meat is purchased when on sale. Thusday night, we spent about $350 on groceries; all on sale. 8 cases of water, 2 complete NY strip loins - had them cut one into 1 inch thick steaks, and the other into 1.5 inch thick steaks. Nice marbling. So, about 30 pounds of steak. Plus, trimmed up about 20 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast.

 

[olds]

No idea. I don't use a budget for anything.

 

[jlee]

Just on groceries, we spend quite a bit. Maybe once a month, I'll venture down the frozen or boxed aisles. But it's mostly perimeter of the store stuff. I love when things are on sale, but have no issues with spending for pricier stuff like king crab legs. We probably go through 5 pounds of ribeye, NY strip, or filet for every pound of hamburg.

But, we eat out frequently, so that pushes our total food budget fairly high.

Yup. T-bone is on sale for $6.88/lb right now, I think. 73% ground beef is ~$4/lb ($5-6 for better stuff, IIRC). Might as well get a steak at that point.

 

[ponyo]

I spend about $10-$30 per month on groceries for a family of four. That's mostly for snacks, ramen, ice cream, etc. I eat at home about 3-5 times a year. Otherwise I always eat out.

That's pretty sad. I love food too much to eat out all the time.

Just on groceries, we spend quite a bit. Maybe once a month, I'll venture down the frozen or boxed aisles. But it's mostly perimeter of the store stuff. I love when things are on sale, but have no issues with spending for pricier stuff like king crab legs. We probably go through 5 pounds of ribeye, NY strip, or filet for every pound of hamburg.

But, we eat out frequently, so that pushes our total food budget fairly high. But, on the other hand, most red meat is purchased when on sale. Thusday night, we spent about $350 on groceries; all on sale. 8 cases of water, 2 complete NY strip loins - had them cut one into 1 inch thick steaks, and the other into 1.5 inch thick steaks. Nice marbling. So, about 30 pounds of steak. Plus, trimmed up about 20 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast.

I don't like buying steaks and freezing it. I only buy enough to eat that day. I don't see the point of freezing and holding inventory when we live so close to so many stores.

 

[chin311]

It depends how much we eat out but on groceries probably $75-125 a week for the wife and I. Probably $20-40 a week on liquor and beer.

 

[Jumpem]

$600 to $700 for two adults and two young kids. This also includes other "household goods" as I tack it including paper products, bathroom products, dog food, etc.

 

[Slew Foot]

Piles of salmon per day at $7/lb doesn't work out to $500 for family of 4.

Are you the only one eating it?

I am assuming you are not counting lunch costs.

fish is twice a week though we sometimes substitute shrimp or something else. we arent very big people so we arent eating gigantic quantities. i weigh 145, the wife weighs 100, and the kids are under 40.

i go to costco once a month for meat and spend around 200, trader joes once a month around 50, and the wife goes to the farmers/asian market once a week for produce spending around 50 each time. we dont drink alcohol and cook almost all our meals at home.

 

[waggy]

on average we spend about $150 a week. though we do get free eggs and i buy a couple hundred lbs of meat every year. Also in the summer we have a pretty large garden for fresh veggies.

 

[MustISO]

I'm not exactly sure but I would guess it's at least 1000/mo for two of us. I've got all our statements so it would be easy to figure out although I'd rather pretend it's not real. So much money...

 

[RandomAhearne]

For just the two of us we spend over $200 every two weeks give or take. The odd thing is that the more healthy we eat the more it costs.

 

[alkemyst]

fish is twice a week though we sometimes substitute shrimp or something else. we arent very big people so we arent eating gigantic quantities. i weigh 145, the wife weighs 100, and the kids are under 40.

i go to costco once a month for meat and spend around 200, trader joes once a month around 50, and the wife goes to the farmers/asian market once a week for produce spending around 50 each time. we dont drink alcohol and cook almost all our meals at home.

That explains a lot. I am going to start using our Farmer's markets and the asian market (which happen to be within 100 yards of each other) more.

The asian market has the Oolong tea I like for like 1/4 the price of publix and a bigger quantity. The Farmer's market is very good yet a bit uncomfortable during the summer months. They have things like Brocollini (sp) and the like you can't get at my grocery store, plus almost everything is fresher and better quality for cheaper. The added bonus is nothing has been waxed or preserved, now that could be a disadvantage to some if they don't eat things quickly. We usually buy fresh veggies every week and our meats in bulk every two to three weeks.

I want to invest in separate freezer, I am just debating where to put it. My workshop vs the interior of the house. Being I live in south florida it would probably cost me 2-3 times to run it in the workshop or more.

 

[alkemyst]

I'm not exactly sure but I would guess it's at least 1000/mo for two of us. I've got all our statements so it would be easy to figure out although I'd rather pretend it's not real. So much money...

I'd do the math, I had no clue myself. What prompted me was seeing us throwing away so much food (esp bags of chips the kids would open, take a serving and then not seal up...with Florida's humidity things go almost instantly stale...I was seeing sometimes two bags of nearly full chips in my trash each week....at like $2.50 to 4 a bag, that's just bullshit). Then I hit up the USDA site and went through my bank transactions for food.

It's more than my mortgage payment. I am not a foodie. I want my kids to be happy, but things have got to change. I have a baby coming, a 16 year old that will be starting college soon and a 12 year old right behind him. I just inherited this family I need to do some quick catching up for savings for everyone. Fortunately with the baby we have state pre-paid college funds. It just dropped from $350 to $175 per month this year for newborns. Pretty much a large bag of chips a day

 

[mikeford]

Three large carnivores, $400/mo groceries, $1200/mo out/del/pu.

 

[John Connor]

I can easily spend about 2 grand on groceries a month! I need to plan meals and clip coupons FFS!

 

[HOSED]

I use coupons, (stacked when possible), comparison shop (4-6 hours / week shopping in stores) and take advantage of many tricks to save money [fraud edited out.] Still I spend ~$600 per month including vitamins. 2 people and a well stocked 90% organic pantry here. (Very little meat and NO GMO tainted products)

We do not support posting ways to commit fraud here.

Perknose
Forum Director

 

[tcsenter]

No idea, wife does all the shopping.

Pics of wife shopping?

 

[LevelSea]

Pics of wife shopping?