Grocery Bills - Those who eat healthy would you share

[rafiki]

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[wy_kid_wrangler04]

We spend about 350 every 2 weeks. That will be increasing as my boys get older, its already starting to go up. That is for lots of fruits and veggies (we are out by about a week or so into it though, my kids devour fresh fruit and veggies like candy) NO processed meats (excepts turkey hotdogs :blushing:) I do not buy anything prepackaged except whole grain noodles. The rest (even bread) is homemade. We drive an hour and a half to get to a grocery store also. If we were to go here in our little rinky dink town it would EASILY be doubled, if not a little more than double. It is by far worth it for us to go to the bigger city in South Dakota, even with having to pay taxes on food in SD.

Edited August 3, 2010 by wy_kid_wrangler04

[Snickerdoodle]

With some processed meats and virtually no other processed food we are averaging between 60-75 dollars a week per person.

[FaithManor]

That's really hard for me to answer because we have a large garden and I do a lot of canning, dehydrating, and freezing which probably keeps my actual grocery bill far lower than most. I even buy chicken at the twice per year $1.59 a lb for boneless, skinless, chicken breast sale at the meat market and can that. I can one venison per year and we raise a pig which gives us 150 lbs of yummy meat for approximately $175.00 of investment. If I had to buy all of our meat a regular price from local meat markets or supermarkets, our grocery bill would be a lot higher.

 

We have six in our household and my guess is that I spend about $100.00 per week in addition to my home pantry/freezer. This is because we eat mostly organic which is more expensive. We also board a cow at a local farm so by the time I pay her boarding fees and milking bill (we don't milk her, the farmer does this for us), I spend $5.00 per gallon for milk sometimes less when she first freshens because all of the milk we can't use goes to the farmer to offset our bill. The $15.00 per week for milk would be included in the above. I guess that the last time I went Meijers, I spent about $150.00-175.00 and that was for two weeks. But, I wasn't out of yogurt, sour cream, Cheddar Bunnies, celery, potatoes, or mushrooms yet so that may account for the lower amount.

 

If you don't garden, put up produce when it's cheap, or raise an animal for food, then I am not certain that one could feed a family of six on really healthy food as economically as we do.

 

Faith

[fairfarmhand]

About 100 per person per month, six people in the family. However that does include everything I purchase at the grocery store, including diapers, cleaning stuff etc...

[KS_]

your family size and average bill?

 

By healthy I'm meaning low/no prepackaged, lots of fruits and veggies, and non processed meats.

 

I realize that it will depend on the area, but would like a general weekly number - $50 per person? $75 per person? higher? lower?

 

What do you think it can be done for?

 

I budget $430 a month for 4 of us for groceries and other stuff that I buy at the grocery store. We do eat ham, sausage (no MSG), bacon, and very occasionally, lunch meat (the naturally preserved kind), but I cook from scratch and we eat a lot of fruit and veggies (I will only buy organic for produce listed on the "Dirty Dozen" regarding pesticide levels, and try to buy other produce organically when I can). I will be buying 1/4 of a grass fed beef this fall - I'll take some of it out of the grocery budget, but will probably pay for some of it as an extra expense.

 

We also just started participating in Bountiful Baskets, and I can see that lowering our produce bill if we continue with it.

 

http://bountifulbaskets.org/

[Tap]

I don't formally budget, but would I know I spend $200/mth at regular stores like Safeway/Winco etc. I spend $200/mth at TJ/Whole Foods/New Seasons. I spend $100-200 at Costco. An extra $100-200 on fresh fruit in the summer to freeze and or Farmer's Markets. $500 on a beef each year.

 

I would guess it averages about $600/mth for 5. I don't coupon shop and we throw away a bit more than we should.

[lettucepatchkids]

We're a family of 5 (living in a high cost of living area), eat no prepackaged food- cook from scratch, 90% organic, traditional foods etc

 

I budget $600/month... and as long as I take out cash I can stick to it ;)

 

So that's $150 per week- or $120 per month per person :001_smile:

 

ETA:

to break it down more... of that $600 I generally put $400 towards Trader Joes/Costco/meat, $100 towards Azure (natural Food co-op) and $100 towards Farmers Market

Edited August 3, 2010 by lettucepatchkids

[dani3boys]

We spend about $50 a person each week. We are a family of five.

We have a garden and make most bread from scratch.

[NancyNellen]

We are a family of 7 in the L.A. area. I spend, on average, $40 per person per week on food. We receive a $36 co-op box w/ fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs each week. I have a garden which helps. We have also recently purchased 1/2 an organic, grass-fed cow. I do occasionally buy sausage, bacon, and standard whole chickens to cut costs a bit. (I feel compelled to partake of the 59 cent per pound whole chickens!)

 

Milk is my biggest cost. Organic milk here is $5.49/gallon on sale ($6/gallon w/o sales), and we consume 3-4 gallons per week.

[MariannNOVA]

I do not keep close track of it, but I would say that I spend $150/wk in Wegman's and Whole Foods - no processed foods, tons of fruits and vegetables, and we recently cut out coke zero as dh and I have stopped drinking it.

 

I also have a weekly delivery from an organic farm and they bring milk

(in glass bottles) and I get most of my meats from them - that bill runs $50. - $100. or thereabouts per week - if it is just milk they are bringing, it is $30.00 for 2.5 gallons of milk.

 

And, there is a wonderful organic farm near here and IF I remember, I will place an order from her (chicken, broth, butter) and pick it up at a nearby organic restaurant on a designated pick up day. Items from her (I always order the same thing - chicken) run about $70.00. I will usually order from Elaine once or twice a month. If I don't buy chicken from her, I get it at Wegman's, WF or SMC (the milk delivery people).

 

We are five people - two adults, an 11 year old, two 9.5 year olds.

 

We live in an area with a high cost of living, and by taking baby steps approx three years ago, we are now eating the highest quality foods.

[Lovedtodeath]

Including toiletries, cleaning products and paper goods we are spending $190 per week for a family of 4. We have one night a week where we get what we want... usually pizza and dessert. Se do not eat out, not for lunches, not fast food, that money is all for groceries.

 

I don't buy white flour and white sugar. I get organic milk, etc. I will balance the price with the quality in my mind. Is it enough of a price difference to go with the non-organic this week?

 

I go to 2 stores. I don't have the time and inclination to go to 3 different farmer's markets and 4 different stores to save money. Coupons usually save about $5 per week at the most, as we don't buy a bunch of junk that coupons are typically for.

 

I keep track of every dollar. Most people underestimate how much they spend on groceries if they do not actively budget for them. I have always believed that and DR recently said the same thing.

Edited August 3, 2010 by Lovedtodeath

[elise1mds]

We live in a fairly low-cost area, and I spend about $150/week on groceries. I buy largely organic, if it's available, and if it's not, I at least aim for nonprocessed/preservative-free. I don't buy organic meat yet simply because I don't get into town often enough to purchase it, but I'm working on it. I make a LOT of my own stuff instead of using convenience foods. Tonight, for example, we're having burritos. I'm making the tortillas, combining my own taco seasoning, and the tomatoes are coming out of our garden. I may also make my own refried beans.

 

It pays off. My kids get sick MUCH less often than their friends do, and I strongly suspect it has to do with the foods we eat. Vitamins help, but they can only do so much. Healthy living does the rest.

[yarrow]

$250 week for a family of 5 including a teenage boy who eats a lot. That figure does include the annual side of grass-fed beef & roasting chickens. We buy from a farmstand during the summer & I buy cukes from them to pickle, & tomatoes to can. We don't buy processed food with the exception of organic granola bars & corn chips. One of the reasons my figure is so high also is due to extensive food allergies - I buy a lot of different flours that are more expensive. Also, any boneless chicken breast we buy from the store is organic.

[Jen in PA]

We spend between $75 and $100 per week for a family of four. That includes very little organic, but lots of local produce and cheese. I buy what is in season and/or on sale, so some weeks I get very little if I don't like my options, and other weeks I really stock up. I make most of our baked goods, and I buy in bulk when possible.

[Michelle in AL]

OK, I'll make everyone feel better for not spending too much.

 

We spend $1400/month on food for a family of 4 :confused::banghead:

 

This includes anything bought at Target or Walmart, so all household products. We buy mostly fresh fruits veges, some packaged foods, snacks and organic meats.

[Snickerdoodle]

Sometimes I almost can't believe these threads. I always seem to be spending much more on food than most people.

 

I just can't imagine how we have an obesity epidemic in this country if people are spending 100 dollars a week on food for four. We spend about 3 times that and we are all thin as rails.

 

Something doesn't add up. :confused:

[Pretty in Pink]

We spend $800.00/mo for our family of 6 (plus the dog). We do lots of fresh produce (all purchased as we have no garden), organic dairy, organic beef/poultry, no HFCS/preservatives/artificial anything, etc.

 

I do buy some convenience foods like marinara sauce and breakfast cereal.

 

My total includes cleaning supplies and toiletries.

 

ETA: I shop almost exclusively at the base commissary.

[kewb]

I spend $100 - $150 a week feeding my family of 4. Lately my children have been eating me out of house and home.

[DawnM]

Oh my goodness......that would be around $1500 for us per month. There is no way we can do that.

 

Dawn

 

With some processed meats and virtually no other processed food we are averaging between 60-75 dollars a week per person.

[Jen in PA]

Sometimes I almost can't believe these threads. I always seem to be spending much more on food than most people.

 

I just can't imagine how we have an obesity epidemic in this country if people are spending 100 dollars a week on food for four. We spend about 3 times that and we are all thin as rails.

 

Something doesn't add up. :confused:

 

I assume the variation has to do with local prices. DH and I have discussed what we would buy if we suddenly had twice as much to spend on groceries. I really can't imagine, aside from stocking up even more. He would probably want steak more often (I usually make it twice a month) and I would drop big bucks at the cheese counter at Whole Foods. :D When I see the higher amounts in these threads I always assume that folks are shopping in stores with much higher prices than we see around here.

[Snickerdoodle]

Let's see, I just came from the store.

 

I bought liverwurst, avocados (5for$5), a small piece of blue cheese, strawberries (on sale 3 for $5), ammonia and toilet cleaner and spent 35 dollars.

 

I can't imagine having only 65 dollars left for the entire week. What would we eat?

[Mom0012]

For a family of 5, I spend $100 a week. This isn't easy for me to do, but I use The Grocery Game to help me figure out the best deals for the week and then I plan my menus around whatever meat is on sale. I don't even bother with the coupons any more because 90% of the time, the coupon that is supposed to be in my flyer is not or the item that goes with the coupon will not be on sale even though GG says it is. Still, having the list really helps me out.

 

We eat pretty healthy because my son has allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, gluten and dairy. We do not eat as many fruits and veggies as I would like though because of the expense. I do include household supplies in the $100 though.

 

We live in Northern Virginia and it is a pretty expensive place to live.

 

Lisa

[Mom0012]

Sometimes I almost can't believe these threads. I always seem to be spending much more on food than most people.

 

I just can't imagine how we have an obesity epidemic in this country if people are spending 100 dollars a week on food for four. We spend about 3 times that and we are all thin as rails.

 

Something doesn't add up. :confused:

 

Maybe it is partly to do with the types of meat you buy? I rarely buy anything that is over $1.99/lb. I could easily spend 20% of our food budget on one meal if I were to buy rib eye steaks. We never have seafood. Also, I am not able to spend much on produce. If you buy a lot of that, it is good for you, and shouldn't cause weight gain, but it's very expensive. Just a thought.

 

Lisa

Edited August 3, 2010 by LisaTheresa

[kokotg]

In theory, my budget is $400/mo for 5 people . In reality, I'm not great at keeping track of it. But I think it comes out fairly close to that anyway. It's hard to keep track of because so much of what we buy isn't from a regular grocery store. Historically we buy a side of beef, but I found a farm nearby with reasonable prices by the cut for beef and pork (and raw milk), so I think we might start making a monthly trip there instead. We buy apples in bulk at a local orchard when they're in season. I buy grains, et. al. from Breadbeckers a few times a year. I have a guy I get honey from. Eggs come from my backyard :). My newest plan (I have a new plan every couple of months, it seems ;)) is to keep my grocery store budget to $50/week, leaving $200 month for all the other stuff. At the grocery store, I use lots of coupons, and buy stuff like breakfast cereal, pasta and sauce, whatever produce we don't get elsewhere, butter and cheese, and snacks for the kids (as much as I tell myself I'm going to start planning ahead so that I always have wholesome muffins and homemade graham crackers around to bring to the park, it's not really going to happen ;)).

[Pretty in Pink]

Well, if I only had a hundred bucks to spend for the week I would just make it work. I would buy whatever fruit was on sale, buy only frozen veggies, cook dry beans, and not serve meat every night. I might ration the milk and cheese if I had to, not buy orange juice or yogurt that week, and serve popcorn for snacks. I would clean with vinegar and water and use homemade laundry detergent. There are ways to make it work if you want/need to.

[Snickerdoodle]

Maybe it is partly to do with the types of meat you buy? I rarely buy anything that is over $1.99/lb.

 

I don't think I have ever seen meat that cheap.

[Liz CA]

3 people in this family - 2 of them MEN and they eat like men.

I buy organic and we are members of a buying club, but I'll see if I can average it out.

I think it would come to about $150.00 $ 175.00 a week (for all of us), excluding special events etc., but including all toiletries - we get shampoo & soap filled at the local co-op instead of buying new bottles.

We have the advantage of a TJ's which brings down the cost for some organic items and ds is sometimes not home over an entire weekend.

[Snickerdoodle]

Sigh..

 

I guess part of it is COL and the other part is just having kids who are allergic to everything.

[Audrey]

That's really hard for me to answer because we have a large garden and I do a lot of canning, dehydrating, and freezing which probably keeps my actual grocery bill far lower than most. I even buy chicken at the twice per year $1.59 a lb for boneless, skinless, chicken breast sale at the meat market and can that. I can one venison per year and we raise a pig which gives us 150 lbs of yummy meat for approximately $175.00 of investment. If I had to buy all of our meat a regular price from local meat markets or supermarkets, our grocery bill would be a lot higher.

 

We have six in our household and my guess is that I spend about $100.00 per week in addition to my home pantry/freezer. This is because we eat mostly organic which is more expensive. We also board a cow at a local farm so by the time I pay her boarding fees and milking bill (we don't milk her, the farmer does this for us), I spend $5.00 per gallon for milk sometimes less when she first freshens because all of the milk we can't use goes to the farmer to offset our bill. The $15.00 per week for milk would be included in the above. I guess that the last time I went Meijers, I spent about $150.00-175.00 and that was for two weeks. But, I wasn't out of yogurt, sour cream, Cheddar Bunnies, celery, potatoes, or mushrooms yet so that may account for the lower amount.

 

If you don't garden, put up produce when it's cheap, or raise an animal for food, then I am not certain that one could feed a family of six on really healthy food as economically as we do.

 

Faith

 

 

We are only a family of 3 and I honestly don't know how to budget for food like non-farm people (which is why I hardly post in these threads). I just wanted to say "good for you" because I don't see too many folks on here doing it the way you (and we) do.

[phathui5]

6 people.

 

$175-200 a week.

[FairProspects]

Sigh..

 

I guess part of it is COL and the other part is just having kids who are allergic to everything.

 

I hear you on this! We spend at least $600 per month for a family of 4 (lately more like $700 per month with all the gluten-free items). $35/per week is our CSA which is year-round, and about $100 per month is Costco. We also live in a high COLA.

[kokotg]

Sometimes I almost can't believe these threads. I always seem to be spending much more on food than most people.

 

I just can't imagine how we have an obesity epidemic in this country if people are spending 100 dollars a week on food for four. We spend about 3 times that and we are all thin as rails.

 

Something doesn't add up. :confused:

 

Well...I spend a lot of time figuring out where to put my grocery money and how to save money some places so I can spend more where it's important to me. I spend up to $6/lb on chicken because we don't buy factory farmed meat (beef and pork is generally cheaper, but only because we get cheaper cuts and go to the farm to pick it up). I try to do all my own baking, and I buy grain in bulk, so it's cheaper than getting whole wheat flour at the store and much, much cheaper than buying pre-made whole wheat bread without HFCS, et. al. On the other hand, I read couponing/sale sites compulsively, and never spend more than $1/box or so on cereal (and I'm fairly picky about what cereal I buy, but not as picky as some. We eat a lot of Cheerios, but we don't eat Cap'n Crunch). Next week I can get whole wheat pasta for 40 cents a box at Publix; I'll buy 20 boxes, and that will last us until the next time I can get it for at least that cheap. I try to buy organic produce when I can, but I don't always.

[Snickerdoodle]

I I try to do all my own baking, and I buy grain in bulk, so it's cheaper than getting whole wheat flour at the store and much, much cheaper than buying pre-made whole wheat bread without HFCS, et. al. On the other hand, I read couponing/sale sites compulsively, and never spend more than $1/box or so on cereal (and I'm fairly picky about what cereal I buy, but not as picky as some. We eat a lot of Cheerios, but we don't eat Cap'n Crunch). Next week I can get whole wheat pasta for 40 cents a box at Publix; I'll buy 20 boxes, and that will last us until the next time I can get it for at least that cheap. I try to buy organic produce when I can, but I don't always.

 

My kids are gluten free and they've never eaten (cold) cereal in their entire lives. Oatmeal we used to do but had to cut out for health reasons.

[kokotg]

My kids are gluten free and they've never eaten (cold) cereal in their entire lives. Oatmeal we used to do but had to cut out for health reasons.

 

Yeah, if we had to do gluten free it would certainly drive our grocery bill way up.

 

Cereal, though, is not a cost cutter no matter how cheap I get it (well, unless it's almost free, which happens occasionally). I'm pretty sure it would always be cheaper to make homemade muffins or oatmeal or even (homemade) toast and eggs (from our chickens). The cereal's because I'm lazy, not because I'm cheap ;)

Edited August 3, 2010 by kokotg

[Mom in High Heels]

We eat really well and groceries are pretty expensive where we are (Germany) and I probably spend $35-40 pp/per week (including toiletries, water-you don't drink German tap water-dog food/treats and wine). Tonight we had pasta with Ahi Tuna, caprese salad, bread and wine. Last night we had chicken with pineapple and cheese, lima beans and potato wedges and wine. Tomorrow we'll have seared scallops, salad and corn on the cob (and probably wine :D ). We eat a lot of seafood (fairly expensive in a mostly landlocked country) and high quality foods. We don't eat a lot though and maybe that makes the difference? I almost never make enough for leftovers, so I'm only cooking what we need. Also, I make a menu and shopping list for an entire week and shop only from the list. Oh, and I don't do desserts.

[hornblower]

I use an accounting software & track it. Last year we spent $255/week for a family of 4. We buy lots of veg & fruits, mostly organic. Not a lot of meat as two of us are vegetarian.

 

This includes non consumable things like detergents, soaps, shampoos, toilet paper etc. Also includes bakery, farmer market, deli & all special meals for holidays - anything I bought ingredients for & prepared, & cleaned up the family to eat presentably & cleaned up the kitchen afterwards.

 

Does not include dog food or prescriptions.

[rafiki]

.

[Mom2J112903]

We are a family of three so we spend *much* less than what I am sure some of you are used to.

 

I spend $200 a MONTH on groceries and we eat *very* healthy. Until very recently that included a gluten free and soy free diet. Now we are about 50/50 gluten free, we do not buy the dedicated gluten free foods any longer (like bread items) but we still eat many naturally gluten free meals/foods.

[rafiki]

.

[Lara in Colo]

I spend about 100-120 a week (including DH's costco run). This is my everything budget. Toiletries, birthdays, (not clothes) school supplies (not curric). Basically everything at Walmart. I buy the meats on sale, I buy the veggies on sale. (this week Brocc, grapes, bacon and mayo was on sale--today I made a huge brocc salad) I don't do a lot of processed stuff, some canned items (tuna, beans, toms, tom sauce, cereal--really need to kick the cereal thing)

I am a big time couponer. In the last two weeks I got 10 free Crest toothpastes, 5 free deodorants, 2 free shampoos. When its free or cheap I get all I can and stock up. That's probably a years worth of toothpaste and deodorant. We own a business so I never know if I am gonna have 200.00 for groceries or 25.00. I try to have as much in the freezer and pantry as I can. I would love to afford organic, but am not able to. I am however trying to reduce my meat usage to 3-4 lbs a week for the whole family (6)

 

Lara

[Mom2J112903]

Care to share any tips on keeping the bill trimmed? We are egg, dairy, nut, soy, wheat, and fish/seafood free. We also just skip bready stuff vs buying alternatives flours. We can't eat any legumes.

 

Gosh, I remeber being soy,wheat, dairy, bean and nut free. It was a bit more expensive then due to the fact that we *did* get J some almond or sun butter.

 

The BIGGEST factor in my grocery budget is the simple fact I keep a stocked, completly stocked pantry-at all times. So, I run out of something, it gets placed on the grocery list. I keep either 2 or 3 of everything, learned this from un-expected happenings which led to no income for many months. Have a "stock pile" and your grocery budget will slowly decrease.

 

We do NOT get junk foods minus Mommy's 100 cal snack packs, which two boxes last me a month-if I am a good girl ;)

 

Aldi's has great prices on produce, if I can not get to the Farmer's Market of course.

 

I do not get anything that is not on my list and we only use cash for groceries.

 

A stocked pantry, for me at least, is key.

[TKDmom]

My budget is $600/month on groceries for 6 people (4 very small children who eat like birds). I'm also spending about $200/month on building a 90-day food supply (this is necessarily lots of processed food). I don't eat organic (too expensive), but we buy lots of produce. My kids raid the closet where I'm storing my emergency food, so in practice, I'm spending more than my budget for groceries.

 

I think regional prices make a huge difference. When we moved here from a state with a big dairy industry, the price of milk doubled for us. I've also never seen boneless meat here for less than $2.50/lb (unless you buy a case of meat at Sam's). Usually meat at the local grocery store is $4-$5/lb.

[tofuscramble]

Up until recently we had been spending $140 per week. We are pretty healthy, we grow our own lemons, apples, bell peppers and some herbs and spices (hopefully we will have oranges next year too!).

 

We want to spend even less though, we went to Costco and bought a fortnights worth of food on the weekend. I am freezing things so we don't have so much waste, we are eating lots of leftovers, we are prepping foods in bulk. We want to see how much we can save and still be healthy. The Costco shop was around $150. We will no doubt have to buy Organic milk once or twice but if we pull this off we will have almost cut our food costs in half.

 

We are a family of five. Four of whom are boys/men who like to eat!

[Lovedtodeath]

OK, I'll make everyone feel better for not spending too much.

 

We spend $1400/month on food for a family of 4 :confused::banghead:

 

This includes anything bought at Target or Walmart, so all household products. We buy mostly fresh fruits veges, some packaged foods, snacks and organic meats.

 

Sometimes I almost can't believe these threads. I always seem to be spending much more on food than most people.

 

I just can't imagine how we have an obesity epidemic in this country if people are spending 100 dollars a week on food for four. We spend about 3 times that and we are all thin as rails.

 

Something doesn't add up. :confused:

 

Let's see, I just came from the store.

 

I bought liverwurst, avocados (5for$5), a small piece of blue cheese, strawberries (on sale 3 for $5), ammonia and toilet cleaner and spent 35 dollars.

 

I can't imagine having only 65 dollars left for the entire week. What would we eat?

LOVE LOVE LOVE! Did you see my comment about Dave Ramsey? He says and I quote: "always budget high for groceries because if you usually don't budget them carefully you will underestimate how much you spend." ;)

 

I don't think I have ever seen meat that cheap.

Yes. I often buy chicken thighs and legs for 99 cents on sale, ground chuck for 1.86 and bnlss skinless chicken breasts for 1.99. I try to get my roasts on sale too. I don't buy organic anymore, but I never spend more than $3 per pound on any kind of raw meat.

[Lovedtodeath]

I spend about 100-120 a week (including DH's costco run). This is my everything budget. Toiletries, birthdays, (not clothes) school supplies (not curric). Basically everything at Walmart. I buy the meats on sale, I buy the veggies on sale. (this week Brocc, grapes, bacon and mayo was on sale--today I made a huge brocc salad) I don't do a lot of processed stuff, some canned items (tuna, beans, toms, tom sauce, cereal--really need to kick the cereal thing)

I am a big time couponer. In the last two weeks I got 10 free Crest toothpastes, 5 free deodorants, 2 free shampoos. When its free or cheap I get all I can and stock up. That's probably a years worth of toothpaste and deodorant. We own a business so I never know if I am gonna have 200.00 for groceries or 25.00. I try to have as much in the freezer and pantry as I can. I would love to afford organic, but am not able to. I am however trying to reduce my meat usage to 3-4 lbs a week for the whole family (6)

 

Lara

Not to pick on you, how do you know how much you spend if you are stocking up? I mean, do you spend more on the weeks that you stock up? Same question for those who buy some things in bulk. Are those budgeted in or are you guessing? I would love to slash our bill some more, but I don't see it happening...

[Snickerdoodle]

Yes, I agree. If you keep a well stocked pantry, that at some point had to involve a pecuniary outlay. Do you factor that in as well?

[Snickerdoodle]

I forgot to add grapes to my above list.

[forty-two]

I spend ~$400/mo, for essentially 3 people (my 21mo doesn't eat all that much yet). So probably $30/wk/person. Seems a bit high to me, but I don't do much wrt couponing or shopping sales.

 

We buy $50 worth of Ghiradelli chocolate each month (blessed sanity :lol:), and probably $50 worth of cheese. We keep peanuts, almonds, and cashews, along with several kinds of dried fruit, around for snacks - probably another $30-40/mo. We also keep cereal around for snacks - about $10/mo. Maybe $60/mo for meat. $40/mo for junk (anything premade/processed). About $15/mo each for milk (~6 gallons), juice(~3 gallons), and yogurt (one/day) - ~$50 total. $10/mo for bread, $10/mo for pb and jam. Last $100 or so is split b/w fruit/veggies and noodles, rice, and assorted spices, condiments, and baking supplies.

 

WRT stocking up, it depends how much I have left over after buying/budgeting for all the monthly needs. If I caught a good sale, or we didn't eat as much of something as usual last month, so we have some left and I don't have to buy as much this month, then I use that money to stockpile a bit.

[KS_]

Not to pick on you, how do you know how much you spend if you are stocking up? I mean, do you spend more on the weeks that you stock up? Same question for those who buy some things in bulk. Are those budgeted in or are you guessing? I would love to slash our bill some more, but I don't see it happening...

 

I'm a stocker-upper. We have *a lot* of food in the house. Since I've been doing it since we moved here 10 years ago, it's not an added expense - just a habit. My bulk buying (for the most part) is included in my budget. There are a few instances, though, where I'll stock up on something and have to take the extra money out of savings, but that's not a regular occurrence.

 

I may have to add a little to our budget in the future, though, as we are trying to switch to grass fed beef and free range chickens. . .but I don't know yet. It may work out, since I won't be stocking up so much on meat on sale at the grocery store. We just may have less meat in total in the freezer at any given time.