S/O-how much do you spend per person per day on groceries (including toiletries, paper products, etc.)

[IHaveNoIdeawhatIAmDoing]

$2.86 per person per day. We're vegetarians though.

[daffodil]

About $4.50 per person per day, but my kids are young.

[Pretty in Pink]

We average $5-6 per day, per person. We are a family of seven.

 

This includes cleaning products, pet food, basic toiletries, diapers/pull ups -- things you can buy at a supermarket. I did NOT include the cost of eating out, which we do about once per week.

 

We have cut back on our organic purchases over the past month or so. With the boys getting older and eating so much more it just got too expensive. :/
 

[Sherri in MI]

I know this is an old topic, but our grocery budget is really on my mind today, so I thought I'd chime in.  $4.44 to $5.55 per person per day, normally.  Not including any non-food items.  There are 3 of us.  But lately, dh is only giving me only $150 every 2 weeks for food and gas, so a lot less than that now.  I use $50 for gas.  That's for one tank, and I often need one tank per week, not every other week. 

 

The only reason we are making it on $50 per week for food is because someone from church has been giving us some food almost every week from a food pantry her friend runs.  He gives her the stuff that they can't give out to families at church.  That has helped stretch our food budget tremendously.  Mostly its canned & boxed goods, but it has also included produce in the summer and once they even gave us a turkey & another time a boneless ham!  Without that we wouldn't be making it. 

 

It's been really tough for a long time.  But God is good - we've never gone hungry.

 

We eat mostly pork & chicken, because both go on sale a lot in our area ($1.99/lb).  Sometimes I'll buy beef on sale.  I try not to pay more than $2 to $3 per pound for meat.  When we had more grocery money, I tried to have fish one night a week. Everything I'm saying, though, applies to when I had $400 to $500 per month for groceries.

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

$650 a month with 10 of us... we eat at church on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening as well as 2nd Sunday supper and have many Sunday lunches at my mom's.

We also get Pizza out on Friday and it varies from $20-$35 depending on where we get it. Some organic, it all depends on the price and season.

 

We try to grow organic veggies to eat fresh all summer and freeze and can some. Thankfully we had tons of cantaloupe (organic french melon) that was so sweet and delicious I am missing it terribly!  

And we had a calf slaughtered (Grass fed) $1200 

[Sherri in MI]

Ds & I do eat Wednesday supper at church.  And dh eats out for breakfast & lunch during the week.  But my figures included the assumption that he was eating at home & did not include the money he spends on meals out.

 

Also, I just noticed the OP said to include tp, paper products, etc.  I estimate about an additional $60 for that, but we often do without.  Toothpaste can usually be bought cheap & lasts a long time.  But I'm always running out of t.p., soap, shampoo, before I have money to buy more.  I rarely buy paper towels or napkins.  I buy baggies, but reuse & I use bread bags too for food storage, as well as plastic containers.  Sometimes though, you just need a baggie (meat, packed lunches, etc.)

[Ali in OR]

But lately, dh is only giving me only $150 every 2 weeks for food and gas, so a lot less than that now.  I use $50 for gas. 

 

Why such a low amount? What else is going on--job loss, low work hours? Why is he still eating out for breakfast and lunch every weekday if there isn't enough money to feed the family? It's a lot cheaper to eat food from home.

[Sherri in MI]

Why such a low amount? What else is going on--job loss, low work hours? Why is he still eating out for breakfast and lunch every weekday if there isn't enough money to feed the family? It's a lot cheaper to eat food from home.

 

Low work hours.  I agree it is cheaper to eat at home.  It's an issue.   I don't know exactly what he makes each pay period (I know it's not a lot) - it varies & his checks are deposited in his personal account & he transfers over my "allowance" to our joint account.

[Catwoman]

Low work hours. I agree it is cheaper to eat at home. It's an issue. I don't know exactly what he makes each pay period (I know it's not a lot) - it varies & his checks are deposited in his personal account & he transfers over my "allowance" to our joint account.

You get an "allowance?"

 

That wouldn't wash in my house. It's all OUR money, not HIS money or MY money.

 

IMO, allowances are what parents give to their kids, not what a husband gives his wife.

 

FWIW, I think you she should seriously consider becoming far more involved in the family finances. Why wouldn't you know how much money your dh makes?

[Mrs Mungo]

Low work hours.  I agree it is cheaper to eat at home.  It's an issue.   I don't know exactly what he makes each pay period (I know it's not a lot) - it varies & his checks are deposited in his personal account & he transfers over my "allowance" to our joint account.

Here we have 2 joint accounts. One is for "his" portion of the budget and spending, the other is for "my" portion of the budget and spending. He travels so much (and works so much for that matter) that we had problems in the past with one of us spending money that was allotted in the other person's budget and we had to move money around from savings and stuff to fix it. So, it's easier for us to manage when we have separate accounts that we're working from. However, we are both on both accounts. We can both see money that goes into both accounts and how that money is spent.

 

I make breakfast burritos, breakfast casseroles, baked oatmeal and things like that on the weekend and freeze them. DH takes that stuff to work and reheats it for breakfast. He takes leftovers a lot of times for lunch. I would be really upset at the sort of arrangement that you describe. It is very selfish.

 

He would be helping come up with 2 weeks worth of meals that would feed the family with $100/week. Even if he only spends $5 for breakfast and $5 for lunch during a 5 day work week (which is unlikely), then he'd be spending $100 for 20 of meals that just feed him, leaving you $100 to feed 58 meals for 2-3 people? You need to write this out in a way that he can understand.

[momto10blessings]

Under $4 per person each day, including diapers, toiletries, etc

[Deb in NZ]

$8-10/person /day (depending if dd is on shore leave or at sea).  This includes all $ spent for groceries, not only food.  I need to get this lower, but bread & milk alone add up to over $30 a week & that's for the cheapest milk & bread.  Most meals are homemade & lunches are made up of mostly left-overs.  When dh is finished our building work, we plan to get a couple of sheep & a few chickens.  This along with ds#2's fishing & our veggie garden should help to bring down our food bill.  With dh & both boys leading very physically active lives, we can't skimp on food or eat junk.  Organic isn't in the budget, but homegrown is better IMHO anyway.

 

 

[Aelwydd]

You get an "allowance?"

 

That wouldn't wash in my house. It's all OUR money, not HIS money or MY money.

 

IMO, allowances are what parents give to their kids, not what a husband gives his wife.

 

FWIW, I think you she should seriously consider becoming far more involved in the family finances. Why wouldn't you know how much money your dh makes?

 

For sure!  I'm the sole wage earner in the family now, but when dh was the one working, and then later, when we both were working (me part time), we always knew what each other made, and did financial planning and paid bills together. And like Cat said, it's OUR money, no matter who brings it in!

[Aelwydd]

To answer the OP's question: we average about $6 a person for everything, food, toiletries, etc.  There are three people in our family.

[Carrie12345]

We average about $6, give or take. In the summer, I grow a nice amount of our produce, so I don't feel all that bad about doing a mix of organic and pesticidey in the winter. We mostly cook from scratch, but there's certainly the occassional frozen pizza. We want to eventually do the whole "reserve a whole/half pastured animal" thing, but we don't have the storage space.

 

Breakfast tends to be quick cook oats and yogurt, and most of the kids know how to make eggs.

I've been slacking on making bread, so lunches tend to be leftovers or things smeared on tortillas or english muffins.

We lean toward chicken-based dinners b/c the 6yo seems to have sworn off red meats and I don't do double dinners.

[DawnM]

Right about $5-6 per person per day.

 

I am about to lower ours again.  Dh got a good raise recently with his promotion, and we have been just getting whatever we wanted for food and eating more expensive foods like steak, salmon, shrimp, etc......which I used to keep limited to once per month.

 

I have used this book to help:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Feed-Family-More-Less-Month-ebook/dp/B00710A0V6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1384608475&sr=8-2&keywords=how+to+feed+a+family

 

I pick and choose what to follow from her ideas, but it is helpful.

 

I can cut back to $500/mo including toiletries and dog food IF I HAVE TO!  I don't prefer it, but I can.

 

 

[Sherri in MI]

You get an "allowance?"

 

That wouldn't wash in my house. It's all OUR money, not HIS money or MY money.

 

IMO, allowances are what parents give to their kids, not what a husband gives his wife.

 

FWIW, I think you she should seriously consider becoming far more involved in the family finances. Why wouldn't you know how much money your dh makes?

 

 

Here we have 2 joint accounts. One is for "his" portion of the budget and spending, the other is for "my" portion of the budget and spending. He travels so much (and works so much for that matter) that we had problems in the past with one of us spending money that was allotted in the other person's budget and we had to move money around from savings and stuff to fix it. So, it's easier for us to manage when we have separate accounts that we're working from. However, we are both on both accounts. We can both see money that goes into both accounts and how that money is spent.

 

I make breakfast burritos, breakfast casseroles, baked oatmeal and things like that on the weekend and freeze them. DH takes that stuff to work and reheats it for breakfast. He takes leftovers a lot of times for lunch. I would be really upset at the sort of arrangement that you describe. It is very selfish.

 

He would be helping come up with 2 weeks worth of meals that would feed the family with $100/week. Even if he only spends $5 for breakfast and $5 for lunch during a 5 day work week (which is unlikely), then he'd be spending $100 for 20 of meals that just feed him, leaving you $100 to feed 58 meals for 2-3 people? You need to write this out in a way that he can understand.

 

 

For sure!  I'm the sole wage earner in the family now, but when dh was the one working, and then later, when we both were working (me part time), we always knew what each other made, and did financial planning and paid bills together. And like Cat said, it's OUR money, no matter who brings it in!

 

I agree with you all.  It's been an ongoing issue the last couple of years.  We used to keep all OUR money together in the joint account.

 

(Edited my post.  Previously I shared TMI.  :blush: ) 

[LucyStoner]

Someone who eats out twice a day and gives you a fraction of what the USDA says the cheapest "thrifty" food plan costs isn't being a decent husband or a father. You deserve better.