We spend $1100-$1200 a month

[scholastica]

That's about what I spend for our family of six, as well. Two teens and one almost teen included. (And a nine year old) We rarely eat out. I cook from scratch, etc. We do eat a pretty healthy diet, lots of fruits and vegetables, limited processed foods, etc. The only way I could get that lower would compromise our health. Pay me now or pay me later. I'd rather pay now than pay with my health later.

[LucyStoner]

Y'all are right, said friend hasn't a clue what she actually spends. I texted her today and probed. I just had to really. I told her I want to get my grocery bill down like she does and I asked her how she shops. She puts $150 a week in an envelope. Ok great. What about your prime stuff? She is always telling me how much she saves by using subscribe and save, right? Her response? Oh yea, I never thought to count that (Bwahaha) and the order she makes with the co-op? Yes, that doesn't count in her budget either.

She's living on a different budgeting planet than I live on. Bless!

This is soooo common. My brother thought he spent $300-400 a month. Because that's what he dropped at Costco every month. Excluded from his estimate: quick trips to the store for things between Costco trips, the milkman and their tendency to get fast food lunches.

[Incognito]

FWIW, in our area chicken prices are on par with expensive beef cuts.  Pork is the cheaper meat.  After the avian flu thing the chicken prices never really went back down.  So, perhaps there are ways to save on meat if you re-assess what the actual comparative costs are nowdays.  I know I was surprised at how expensive chicken has become.

[LucyStoner]

FWIW, in our area chicken prices are on par with expensive beef cuts. Pork is the cheaper meat. After the avian flu thing the chicken prices never really went back down. So, perhaps there are ways to save on meat if you re-assess what the actual comparative costs are nowdays. I know I was surprised at how expensive chicken has become.

Here chicken prices have dropped bottom of the barrel. It's cheaper than it was in 2003.

 

Just another example about massive regional differences. Pork can also be super cheap but only certain cuts. Beef is reaching highway robbery levels but we don't eat a lot of it.

[Catalytic]

According to the USDA chart, for moderate meals for my family of 5, we should be spending $1407.30.  Sounds about right.

[Okra]

I haven't read all the replies.  But I would assume that the person that was aghast either

 

a) doesn't understand the amount of food teens can consume

 

b)doesn't actually know how much they spend on groceries.  OR, isn't including fast food purchases or restaurant purchases.  Maybe they spend less at the actual GROCERY store, but they are spending more on food from Fast food/ restaurants.

 

It doesn't seem terribly out of line.  We are a family of 7 and spend about the same, but don't have dietary restrictions.  I count in the money I spend for my public schooled kids to eat lunch.  Is this person not counting stuff like that.

 

Anyway, just keep plugging along, trying to save money where you can, and don't worry about others' opinions.

[melmichigan]

We are a family of seven, including three teens, and one pre-teen boy.  I think your doing fine!

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

According to the USDA chart a moderate level for my family of 6 would be right at $1500 a month. I'm guessing for a family of 6 with teens and dietary restrictions it must be quite a bit higher for your family. Sounds like you're doing pretty good!

 

As it is, I spend about $120 a month less than the thrifty plan for a family our size. That explains why grocery budgeting/shopping stress me out! We live in a high COL area of the country too. We budget with cash so when it's gone, it's gone. We also almost never eat out. I pack my DH two full meals and two snacks a day for work (he eats a ton - he eats another two meals and sometimes a snack at home before he leaves for work!). I took the kids through a drive through at a fast food place for dinner about a month ago and my 6yo said he had never had fast food before - he has but so seldom that he doesn't remember it.

Edited June 1, 2016 by 2ndgenhomeschooler

[BlsdMama]

According to the USDA chart, for moderate meals for my family of 5, we should be spending $1407.30.  Sounds about right.

 

 

Holy cow.... I wonder what it estimates we should spend.  My goal is $1200.  It's generally $1500.  This does explain why I feel like I can't hit budget..... :/

 

However.... we buy ground beef in bulk at Costco for $2.99.  We still have chicken in the freezer from last year's butchering and my dad is a pig farmer so I get pork for the price of butchering.  And I'm not counting chicken feed for the price of my eggs.  :) 

 

We essentially only shop in bulk and a focus on in season veggies.  AND we live in the Midwest.  PNW was far more expensive.

Edited June 1, 2016 by BlsdMama

[magic]

That is roughly what we spend and we have four teenagers- 3 are boys.  However, I do feed many of our teen's friends as they seem to be over at meal time.  I also am part of a freezer ministry where I make meals to be use for families during times of need.  We also live in an area where the closest grocery store is 40 miles away- the only thing closer is a Walmart and small family market so sometimes I have to purchase at a higher cost because I have no other options.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

....

Edited December 18, 2016 by *lifeoftheparty*

[SparklyUnicorn]

This is a big one for us, I've found! We used to only cook from scratch,me verything from several different CSAs or farmers, etc. Now I am too busy for all of that & just hit Sams club each week. I spend more than I used to. Of course, I do have teens now too.

We really needs to go back to cooking from scratch! And I want to try Aldi. But needing to go to more than one store per week can't happen for me & I've heard they are often out of stuff?!

I still will likely do sams for produce as we eat a ton of it & never waste anything from the big bags there.

I gave up on gardening & canning;)

 

If Aldi weren't so close for me, I'd probably hardly ever go there.  I do think they vary though because other people have said it's not like that at their local Aldi.  I hate going and being unable to get something super basic.

 

We are getting another one nearby.  It'll be further, but if they are not out of stuff as much, I'll drive further. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

I spend about that much too. No teens. Just a 12 and 4 year old. I think it's reasonable.

 

I don't compare grocery budgets with people anymore. I kept trying to get mine lower because I knew all these people who only spent $600-$800 a month, and I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong (besides shopping at Whole Foods too much). So I tried to only go to Trader Joes and/or Wegmans, stuff like that.

 

The more I talked to these folks, the more I realized I didn't have a problem, we just ate differently. Some of these people do not buy a lot of meat, they make lots and lots of pasta and rice dishes that stretch things out. Well, I have insulin resistance, I'm not supposed to eat pasta or rice, like, ever. So there goes that, lol.

 

Some people don't avoid anything in their diet, they have the "We're all going to die anyways," mentality, so quality is not even on their radar. Cheap is the only thing on  their radar. And hey, if that's how you roll- good for you, keep on doing you :)

 

But that's not us. We eat the nitrate free meats, no HFCS, no hydrogentated oils, no food dyes, etc. We are food snobs- that's what makes us feel good, and what we are accustomed to.

 

There is just absolutely no way we can eat the same way, and therefore, no possible way I can spend the same. And once I realized that, I stopped worrying about what I spend, and just resigned myself to the fact that that's what it costs to eat the way we want.

 

And yes, I have also known the people who scoff at my grocery budget, who spend half of what I spend- but come to find out, it's because they eat half their meals out!

 

So stop comparing yourself and budget to other people. You spend what you spend.

 

 

This (the bold) is definitely part of our problem.  While I am not able to buy all organic all the time, there are certain things we just don't eat - nitrates, food dyes, etc for us too are a no-no.  Once upon a time we ate a lot of beans and DH was sick all the time, he had terrible stomach issues.  He finally realized that legumes (beans and peanuts both) are a big no for him so we don't eat beans anymore.  Sunbutter is more expensive too.  2/3 of us have diagnosed autoimmune diseases and DH isn't even one of them, he has problems digesting things though and sometimes I wonder if he doesn't have a mild form of IBS or IBD.  Anywhoo----we are in the same boat.  If we lived on beans and top ramen we would feel horrible.  

[Ann.without.an.e]

If Aldi weren't so close for me, I'd probably hardly ever go there.  I do think they vary though because other people have said it's not like that at their local Aldi.  I hate going and being unable to get something super basic.

 

We are getting another one nearby.  It'll be further, but if they are not out of stuff as much, I'll drive further. 

 

 

It definitely varies.  We have two Aldi semi-near us and one doesn't have as great of produce or organic/gluten free stuff as the other one.  

[SparklyUnicorn]

Here chicken prices have dropped bottom of the barrel. It's cheaper than it was in 2003.

 

Just another example about massive regional differences. Pork can also be super cheap but only certain cuts. Beef is reaching highway robbery levels but we don't eat a lot of it.

 

Chicken is cheap here too.  Just saw boneless, skinless breasts for $1.59 a pound.  I don't ever pay more than 95 cents a pound for whole chicken (sometimes as little as 69 cents).

Pork isn't bad either. 

 

Beef..yeah ouch.  My husband doesn't like beef so once in a blue moon I splurge on something nice for me, but yeah I don't buy beef much at all. 

 

You know what I bought the other day that was so good and so inexpensive.  They are called pork blade steaks.  They are not the prettiest things, but they grill up like a steak and are very flavorful.  I got four good size steaks for about $3.50! 

[SparklyUnicorn]

It definitely varies.  We have two Aldi semi-near us and one doesn't have as great of produce or organic/gluten free stuff as the other one.  

 

Another not so great thing for me, because I lack self control, is when I go there I tend to just buy goodies.

[foxbridgeacademy]

We're a family of 5: 3 HS'ed teens, 2 adults. 2 of us are dairy free, 1 is GF (but I'm thinking about giving it a try too).  I spend about $600 on groceries per month.  The # 1 thing I do is shop sales or get it at Aldi's. I have a Kroger and a Publix, both are seriously overpriced on most things but they usually have great sales.  If I can't get it on sale at either of those places then I go to Aldi an see if I can find what I need.  Or honestly, we often go without something.  I don't buy a bunch of junk food and I don't buy organic or grass fed, although I wish I could (and like PP I probably will buy it when it's just the 2 of us or the kids start buying their own groceries).  Everyone has their "thing" they like. DS likes corn chips with salsa, DN likes Pizza Rolls, DD likes chocolate. So I make sure to get them their thing but that's it for junk food. (Almost) Everything else is "whole food", meat, veggies, fruit, and some grain stuff (bread and pasta). I cook pretty much every day and even send lunch with DH.  

 

ETA: DH is intolerant  to soy and wheat so I try to avoid adding too much of that to his diet

         DFGF girl is also vegetarian and doesn't like eggs (in stuff is ok) or rice (traumatic experience on a camping trip).

 

Meals around here are FUN!

 

*Unlike some people have suggested, I know exactly what I spend on groceries I keep very good track.

 

 

Edited June 2, 2016 by foxbridgeacademy

[gypsymama]

According to the USDA chart a moderate level for my family of 6 would be right at $1500 a month. I'm guessing for a family of 6 with teens and dietary restrictions it must be quite a bit higher for your family. Sounds like you're doing pretty good!

 

As it is, I spend about $120 a month less than the thrifty plan for a family our size. That explains why grocery budgeting/shopping stress me out! We live in a high COL area of the country too. We budget with cash so when it's gone, it's gone. We also almost never eat out. I pack my DH two full meals and two snacks a day for work (he eats a ton - he eats another two meals and sometimes a snack at home before he leaves for work!). I took the kids through a drive through at a fast food place for dinner about a month ago and my 6yo said he had never had fast food before - he has but so seldom that he doesn't remember it.

 

Haha! Not recognizing the fast food place made me laugh. We don't eat a lot of processed food here and my sister recently moved in with us (we ate nearly all processed food growing up). I made a beef pasta meal one day that my sister said was like "hamburger helper." My oldest was thoroughly confused about what a hamburger helper was. When my sister tried to explain dd finally got it and was like "oh yeah the boxes in the store with the hand on them." My sister got a kick out of it and asked what the heck I was feeding these kids  :smilielol5:

[The Girls' Mom]

I spend more than that for a family of 5.  Grocery prices are ridiculous.  

 

[6packofun]

I really, truly think that it only matters if YOU think you are spending more than you should.  You make the call.  Everyone's "budgets" are so varied and there are no true apples to apples comparisons about this with so many factors involved.  I have achieved my level of attempting to save money + convenience + healthy-ish eating and I'm not changing it for any reason unless new information sways me.  LOL

[texasmama]

I spend significantly less on groceries, but I am in a low cost of living area with access to a salvage grocery store.   I have some teen boys, and most of us are gf.  We drink almond milk.

 

However, one teen boy is trying to add muscle for his sport so dh has him on all of these protein powder shakes.  I don't even want to know what that costs.  I do read the ingredients to make sure it isn't full of artificial sweeteners and such.  (It's not.)

 

I think that the geographical area each of us lives in drives our overall grocery bill quite a lot.

[Mimm]

I spend about that much on food for a family of five, two teens. That does include toiletries, household cleaners and detergents, and dog food, but we don't have dietary restrictions. We cook a lot from scratch, but also keep some convenience food around. We have things like cereal, fresh fruit and veggies, etc. I buy lean meat but not a bunch of organic stuff.

[Catalytic]

Holy cow.... I wonder what it estimates we should spend.  My goal is $1200.  It's generally $1500.  This does explain why I feel like I can't hit budget..... :/

 

However.... we buy ground beef in bulk at Costco for $2.99.  We still have chicken in the freezer from last year's butchering and my dad is a pig farmer so I get pork for the price of butchering.  And I'm not counting chicken feed for the price of my eggs.   :)

 

We essentially only shop in bulk and a focus on in season veggies.  AND we live in the Midwest.  PNW was far more expensive.

 

 

Made a spreadsheet with the numbers for your family (I would croak at $2.99 ground beef)

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18mhR0FXgfgt6b8VAhHvfe8KVb5GpZzxlpb3JtNuAIw4/edit?usp=sharing

[linders]

Three teenagers. 'Nuff said. I only have one (the 2nd is technically a teen but hasn't started growing yet) and he eats mountains of food. It would be cheaper if I just threw junk at him, but he prefers healthy choices.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Made a spreadsheet with the numbers for your family (I would croak at $2.99 ground beef)

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18mhR0FXgfgt6b8VAhHvfe8KVb5GpZzxlpb3JtNuAIw4/edit?usp=sharing

 

That's amazing to see.  When I look at the USDA numbers, I always feel better  :lol:   I think the low category for us is around $1200 so when you take into account the special stuff we need, $1200 isn't too bad, right?

[Ann.without.an.e]

Another thought I've been having is the percentage of income that goes to food.  I saw a budgeting website that suggested 9% of net income should go to food.  So a family of six that only makes $40,000 a year can't even spend $300 a month on food?  

[PeachyDoodle]

"Mom-ables"  lol  Love it.  We are boring and just call it "bunch of stuff on a plate."  One of the things I love about it is that my two younger kids are really picky and having a lunch like that means that I can give them all something different that they like, without feeling like I am making 3 separate meals.  DD5 prefers bananas, where as DD7 prefers berries, and DS3 doesn't like either but he can have the last little bit of yogurt left in the tub, etc etc.

 

We call it "Muffin Tin Tuesday" and I dump various bits and pieces into a 6-cup muffin tin for each kid. They think it's a hoot!

 

I'll be honest: We spend about half what the OP does, and that includes paper products, detergent, and toiletries (we're cash-only, so when it's gone, it's gone). We eat out 1-2 times per month AT MOST. But, I only have two kids, and they are 5 and 11.

 

My only hope is that by the time ds hits puberty, dd will be flying the nest, so maybe we'll be able to afford to feed him!

[whitestavern]

"Mom-ables" lol Love it. We are boring and just call it "bunch of stuff on a plate." One of the things I love about it is that my two younger kids are really picky and having a lunch like that means that I can give them all something different that they like, without feeling like I am making 3 separate meals. DD5 prefers bananas, where as DD7 prefers berries, and DS3 doesn't like either but he can have the last little bit of yogurt left in the tub, etc etc.

We do this too. My kids call it smorgasbord :)

[Rockhopper]

I didn't read all the replies, so this has probably already been said. But when these threads (or conversations) come up, the thing I notice is that in addition to people usually not *really* knowing how much they spend on food, it really, REALLY matters where you live.

 

I say this as someone who has lived in the PNW, Texas, the Midwest, the South and the Washington DC area in the last 10 years. Geographic location has been *the* biggest variable in my grocery bills. For instance, in the DC area, we ate out far less than other places we've lived, and still spent substantially more in total on food.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Rockhopper

[QueenCat]

b)doesn't actually know how much they spend on groceries.  OR, isn't including fast food purchases or restaurant purchases.  Maybe they spend less at the actual GROCERY store, but they are spending more on food from Fast food/ restaurants.

 

Or they don't count dining out as part of the grocery budget but I'm not aghast at what the op spends either............. I don't count dining in our grocery budget, it's a separate line item in our budget. For purposes of polls, mostly here, I'll add them together but if dh asks how much is in the grocery budget, I tell him how much is in the grocery budget, not the dining budget. Our grocery budget does include paper products, cleaning products and toiletries though.......

[Tsuga]

on groceries.  There are six of us and three are teenagers.  To better define, I mean just food.  Not toilet paper, laundry soap, etc.  I have a completely separate category for those items.    Half of us are gluten free and all of us are dairy free.  We don't buy too many of the specialty items for this.  Almond milk is something we go through quite a bit of though.   I am pretty careful about what I spend.  I buy a good portion of what we eat at Costco, Sams, or Aldi.  Eating mainly chicken and fish, we don't eat steak or expensive cuts of meat.  I am a little picky about where my meat comes from but I don't buy organic unless it is on sale.  I will often buy the natural line of our local grocer for meat.  This came up in conversation the other day and someone seemed shocked that we spend that much.  Their reaction embarrassed me a little - they were appalled and asked what in the world we eat?  So please someone tell me what I am doing wrong?  I'm guessing it is just that we have 4 kids and a portion of our diet is specialized?  Almond milk is like double the price of cows milk, I think?  

 

No, that sounds right for a healthy diet for six.

 

We spend about $1100 and we have two over 12, one is a girl who doesn't eat a ton, and we buy fish often--sustainable fish, and organic meat. True, it's bison sometimes, but it's usually pretty nice meat on sale.

 

Then on top of that we pay $300/month for school lunches because the kids were bringing home too much wasted food, and the school will parcel out desserts only after salad is eaten, etc. It's a nice program. I get free lunch at work now, and my partner buys. So we probably spend $1600 on food altogether including what my partner buys at work.

 

Eating out goes in the entertainment budget. "Budget". We seriously need to get it back together, LOL.

 

Edit: I don't shop at Whole Foods. We do QFC (Kroger's), Fred Meyer (Kroger's one-stop brand here in the PNW), Amazon and Costco.

 

Amazon was cheapest.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Tsuga

[Tsuga]

Another thought I've been having is the percentage of income that goes to food.  I saw a budgeting website that suggested 9% of net income should go to food.  So a family of six that only makes $40,000 a year can't even spend $300 a month on food?  

 

Um. For us that would be an INSANE amount on food. And when I was in grad school, no, about 1/5 of my income was spent on food (so like twice that $300). Sorry charlie, not gonna sacrifice health. I would love to say "oh I soaked beans and baked my own bread while working and going to grad school as a single parent" but I think you guys will forgive me for just buying ready-made high quality whole grain bread and Amy's soups.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

We call it "Muffin Tin Tuesday" and I dump various bits and pieces into a 6-cup muffin tin for each kid. They think it's a hoot!

 

I'll be honest: We spend about half what the OP does, and that includes paper products, detergent, and toiletries (we're cash-only, so when it's gone, it's gone). We eat out 1-2 times per month AT MOST. But, I only have two kids, and they are 5 and 11.

 

My only hope is that by the time ds hits puberty, dd will be flying the nest, so maybe we'll be able to afford to feed him!

So adjusted for family size, you actually spend about the same as the OP, right? I think? If you had two more kids (and they were adult sized yet still growing, aka teens), your spending would have to double...apologies if this was your point but I missed it...

[Tsuga]

 

 

My only hope is that by the time ds hits puberty, dd will be flying the nest, so maybe we'll be able to afford to feed him!

 

Not to be snarky, but my partner keeps mentioning things like that. All I have to say was that the college meal plan was the worst deal ever and groceries in my college town weren't cheap either! I paid my own way but that was in the 1990s.

[Ausmumof3]

Oh another thing is if they are eating out more than you are. Or if either of them are buying lunch out for work. Or coffee. To me that counts towards the cost of food. I can buy 3 weeks worth of coffee for home for the same price as going to a fancy coffee place for three trips.

 

And if you want to spend $5000 on food a month because you like $21 a pound cheese that's your dang business.

This is a good point. When I cut the budget I mostly end up with less left overs and dh buys more lunches

[PinkTulip]

I haven't read all the replies, but I have a family of 6 with 4 teenage boys, one with extreme lactose-intolerance. I think you're doing really well!

[eternalsummer]

I think it is pretty frugal.

 

We spend a lot more.  But we don't eat out.

[mamiof5]

Gluten free, dairy free, 3 teenagers... I think you are doing great! Actually, just the fact that you know how much you spend in food a month is great! I might be able to give a close estimate.. maybe?

[Butter]

That sounds reasonable to me.  We have 6 people.  Two are teens.  One of those teens is a boy who eats ridiculous amounts of food (like 6 scrambled eggs *after* dinner).  Three of us have Celiac and because cross contamination is just hard for me (and I react to very little gluten), our house is 100% gluten free.  We also almost never eat out.  I budget $1100 a month.  We usually spend around $1000.  That does include paper products and whatnot.  BUT I live in a city with relatively cheap food (though everyone around here says it's expensive... but we moved here from MD and my parents still live there and it is MUCH cheaper here).

 

My friend's daughter has an ongoing fundraiser for band where they sell gift cards to the major local grocery store (HEB) for face value and friend's daughter get 5%.  I buy $800 a month in gift cards from her.  My friend was so happy when I said how much I spend on groceries.  They are also a family of 6, slightly younger than my kids, just one teen.  She spends similar to what I do.  Most people she asked spend less than $500 a month, BUT most of them are families with kids all under 8.  Grocery costs are a different world when you have teens!