how much should I expect to spend on food per month?

[controversial]

Well, I'm probably moving off campus next year, and I need to figure out how much food is gonna cost me. I'm in Bellingham, WA, and will probably be doing a lot of my shopping at Costco. Any idea on how much I should expect to spend on food? How much a month?

 

[Ken g6]

My Mom used to budget $200 for a family of 3, so that's about a maximum. If you cook your own meals, and buy frugally, maybe $66/month minimum?

 

[Instagib]

66 a month yeah for Ramen

 

[AUMM]

im at college right now, and i spend about 30 bucks a week

 

[fatbaby]

hmmm, lets see

Ramen noodle packets cost like $.10 each if you buy it from costco

Just use tap water for the water

1 for breakfast, 1 for lunch, 2 for dinner

$.40 each

$.40x31 (a bit liberal here)

$12.40 a month, assuming you want to stay a bit healthy, add 2 arrowhead bottled waters from costco ($.50 for 2 i belive, bit liberal here too)

$.50x31=$15.50

$27.90 a month, and you are living la vida loca!

 

[Instagib]

<< hmmm, lets see

Ramen noodle packets cost like $.10 each if you buy it from costco

Just use tap water for the water

1 for breakfast, 1 for lunch, 2 for dinner

$.40 each

$.40x31 (a bit liberal here)

$12.40 a month, assuming you want to stay a bit healthy, add 2 arrowhead bottled waters from costco ($.50 for 2 i belive, bit liberal here too)

$.50x31=$15.50

$27.90 a month, and you are living la vida loca! >>




You can still afford plenty of Bread, Pbutter and kool aid

 

[badluck]

About $30-$40 a week, depending on how often you go out to eat, and whether or not you are going to pool together your food with roomates....(which I do not recommend)

 

[narzy]

Are you a heavy eater?
Light eater?
In between?
Do you like cheap food, or expensive food?
Ccanned or refriderated?
How often do you go out to eat?
Do you eat fast food often?

that will help to budget.

 

[waggy]

it also depends on what you like to eat.
also do you mind getting generic food? if so aldies (sp?) is cheap.
i prefer sams club. me and my wife get the big stuff there and hit wal-mart for the stuff that go's bad.

 

[BuckleDownBen]

I like to eat, and I like to eat out too. When I was in college, I spent $300/month. This would be 10 bucks per day. If you out, you can expect to spend 6 bucks. I wasn't pinching pennies, so you could probably shave some off my figure if you need to. I wouldn't budget less than 150 or 200 though, unless money was very tight. If it's someones birthday, you don't want your food budget to prevent you from going out to a nice restaraunt and sharing the cost of your friends meal.

 

[N8Magic]

<< hmmm, lets see

Ramen noodle packets cost like $.10 each if you buy it from costco

Just use tap water for the water

1 for breakfast, 1 for lunch, 2 for dinner

$.40 each

$.40x31 (a bit liberal here)

$12.40 a month, assuming you want to stay a bit healthy, add 2 arrowhead bottled waters from costco ($.50 for 2 i belive, bit liberal here too)

$.50x31=$15.50

$27.90 a month, and you are living la vida loca! >>



The medical bills from the massive coronary you would have because of all the salt would outweigh the money saved.

That being said, I spend about $50.00 per week on stuff from the grocery store.

 

[minendo]

<< That being said, I spend about $50.00 per week on stuff from the grocery store. >>


As do I. I do cook just about everynight and I cook decent meals. Such as bratwurst, barbecue chicken, steak, etc. I also tend to eat a lot of soup, but no ramen noodles.

 

[Fritzo]

I'm into gourmet cooking, and I do about $40-$50/week for food. I'd image around $30/week is probably normal.

 

[vi edit]

$200-$300 a month depending on how much you eat out, how much fresh meat and vegetables you buy, and how much junk food you buy.

Some ways to save big $$ is to buy all of your bread products from a bakery outlet. Also, pick up a sunday newspaper for $1.50 and cut out all the coupons you'll use. You'll more than pay for the cost of the newspaper, and then some.

 

[Smacksmackums]

<< My Mom used to budget $200 for a family of 3, so that's about a maximum. If you cook your own meals, and buy frugally, maybe $66/month minimum? >>


200 BUCKS A MONTH FOR A FAMILY OF 3? Damn, your mom must really know how to shop. A month of food for three people for only 200 bucks is unbelievable. Are you sure on that number? I think you must be mistaken or extremely poor.

 

[ZeroBurn]

i live with 3 roomates, we used to shop once every 2 weeks, we've since stretcthed it to about 4 weeks though. between the four of us we usually spend about $225 at costco. that's not including eating out though. i like to grab chinese every now and then or a burger here and there, my other roomate also has a meal card for 5 meals/week at the student cafeteria. i would say about $80/mo. for basic cook-at-home stuff. more if you like to eat out a lot.

 

[Bullhonkie]

<<

<< My Mom used to budget $200 for a family of 3, so that's about a maximum. If you cook your own meals, and buy frugally, maybe $66/month minimum? >>


200 BUCKS A MONTH FOR A FAMILY OF 3? Damn, your mom must really know how to shop. A month of food for three people for only 200 bucks is unbelievable. Are you sure on that number? I think you must be mistaken or extremely poor. >>



$200 a month for three people is impressive, but I would say it's entirely possible. My girlfriend and I regularly get by with around $300 or a little less a month for just the two of us, and I would consider ourselves pretty frugal shoppers (though it may help that neither of us really eat that much to begin with). We find ourselves throwing quite a bit of stuff out every weekend also, as we're not very good about finishing off leftovers. So I'm sure if we pushed it and made sure we got everything eaten we could get by with under $250 a month, maybe close to $200.

So I could see $200 working for three people if you watched what you bought, were creative about cooking so that things were all used before they go bad, and were good about eating leftovers.

 

[b0mbrman]

I spend about $250 but I eat quite a bit...

 

[peterparker]

Between my wife and I, about $300 a month or so, almost never eating out.

 

[Aceman]

$300 for 2-3 people????????


Geesh, I figure I spend about $800-$1000 for my family of 5! But I also eat out for lunch every day and that alone is about $150/month

 

[Mday]

i eat about 2 to 3 hundred a month.

cost of living is not cheap in new york. And because of school, i eat out more often than not. plus i am a pig.

This goes for all food btw, the essentials and extras (candy, chocolate, ice cream... chips and dips). as well as soft drinks and junk.

 

[GiGoLo]

i cook ALOT now and i save a shi*load of money.... i honestly spent close to $300 (about 10/day) on food when i was a freshmen, and now that i started cooking more, i'd probably say i spend about 30/week.

 

[Rob9874]

Definitely invest in a hot water heater that you can boil water in your dorm room (assuming you're in a dorm). My dad got me one, and it was so useful that freshman year. Raman, hot chocolate, etc.

 

[Mill]

I spend about 200-250 a month on grocerys. I spend about that eating out. Of course every damn thing is more expensive in Atlanta than Birmingham.

 

[LongCoolMother]

<< I spend about 200-250 a month on grocerys. I spend about that eating out. Of course every damn thing is more expensive in Atlanta than Birmingham. >>



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