Poll: How much do you spend *per person* on groceries monthly?

[Tracey in TX]

We have huge variances in our family sizes, so wondering if you would share how much you spend monthly on each person for groceries?

 

ETA: Tried posting a poll, sorry!

 

We spend $250 per person. That includes all cleaning supplies, meat, alcohol, personal products, and some spending cash. I've already cut back $600/mo and think we should probably cut back more. Will be watching thread closely...

Thanks!

Edited February 2, 2009 by Tracey in TX

[Jennifer in MI]

Mine is quite a range. When we're being very frugal (um, like right now - we just returned from our cruise and then there was Christmas, etc, etc), I can get it down to about $75/pp/month.

 

I usually keep it around $100/pp/month though.

ETA: This includes all toiletries (which I get free with coupons and CVS bucks), supplies for laundry soap (which I make), household cleaning supplies (again, I make), alcohol, etc.

Edited February 2, 2009 by Jennifer in MI

[KS_]

We have budgeted about $115 per person per month, but my grocery budget includes paper products, shampoo, cleaning supplies, etc. (anything I'd buy at the grocery store, the super Walmart, or Sam's). Occasionally, we have an additional expense - like over the weekend we stocked up on hamburger at Sam's because we saved an extra 70 cents a pound by buying bulk, and that didn't come out of the regular grocery budget - but that's not a common occurrence.

 

This also includes keeping the pantry and freezers stocked - I am a habitual stocker-upper :)

Edited February 2, 2009 by KH_

[TraceyS/FL]

Not more than about $70, and that is too high for the budget.

 

After the STBXH moves out i should be able to lower it a lot. He eats for 2 at any meal he is here for.

 

I really do think your food budget grows when your income grows - i don't have a lot of money each month to work with, so well, it has no choice but to be SMALL.

[Tap]

I spend $4-500 on a family of 5, so that averages almost $100 per person. If I cut out luxuries, I could easily feed us all for $300.

 

This doesn't include eating out, which adds about $2-300. Ds is a competative athlete so we eat on the run often and he eats 4-5 meals a day, consuming over 3000 calories. There is rarely a time that he isn't hungry. I spend extra money on him and his carpool friend buying burritos after practice 3 days a week. Dh and I try to have a date night at least 2 times a month right now.

[JudoMom]

Anywhere from $75-$100/person/month. This includes all household items as well (detergent, diapers, cleaners, shampoo, soap, etc). My budget it the higher amount, but I go lower and put money aside to supplement the homeschool/book budget or to buy any extras (like yankee candles, pretty dishtowels, etc).

[chickenpatty]

About $75 per person, but some of my little people don't eat very much yet.

[AnnetteB]

I really have no idea, so I pulled out December's bank statement thinking I would add up the Costco and Winco food totals and do the math. I had pushed it to the back of my mind how the well pump repair, mortgage payment, auto insurance, home insurance, major van repair, and Christmas were all on that one horrible statement! I think I have lost my appetite....

[Prairie~Phlox]

Our budget for the month for a family of 5 is $350.00 for Groceries and $50.00 for eating out. I coupon seriously and also have a garden, buy beef from my parents (they are beef farmers, so we buy a quarter when we need it) I also cook a lot from scratch. Before I started couponing and getting things so cheap, it was more like $650 a month for everything. Now I'm determined to keep it under $400, figured if we could reduce it by that amount, that's $3000 that could be spent elsewhere. http://www.couponmom.com is my favorite site.

[Tutor]

It's kind if hard to figure. We are a family of 6, but I watch two other kids during the day who eat lunch and snacks with us. Just figuring the 6 of us, about $40-$50 a month per person. That includes the gardening supplies as we grow a lot of the veggies we eat, but does not count the cost to run the chest freezer. This price my go down some as we expand our garden, save our own seeds, and begin bartering services for hunted meat or free-range eggs.

[Jenny in Florida]

Since my daughter is in and out of the house during the year, and even when she's here, I'm sometimes sending food to her.

 

However, as best I can tell, it looks like about $190 per person per month, which is a whole lot higher than I would have guessed.

 

It's frustrating, because I'm naturally frugal, but don't get a lot of cooperation from my husband or son. And, since we "can" afford to spend more, we tend to do so.

[usetoschool]

$75 per person per month!? Wow, you guys are good. Food and homeschool are where we spend our money on whatever we think is best (and leave our furnace around 60 most of the time, off at night) - we buy a lot of organic and things along those lines that cost more but grow our own produce in the summer. I also include all the paper products and cleaning supplies in my grocery money. For 6 people - 5 basically adults (one a teenage boy!) and a 10 year old we spend...$200 per person per month. Reading through this I am thinking there is a huge difference depending on where you live. Someone on the s/o under $75 post itemized her grocery bill and was talking about $1 something a gallon milk. Even at Costco milk where I live is over $2...and everything else is comparable.

Edited February 3, 2009 by jcooperetc

[Nayner]

We budget and spend about $150 per person. It would be nice to get it down somehow. We really don't buy a lot of junk. My kids, 8, 5, and 3 are thin, but BIG eaters! They eat more than me sometimes... and I can eat!

[Snickerdoodle]

200 per month per person.

 

I don't see how we could do it for less in the place where we live.

[Veritaserum]

~$100 per person (family of 7), which includes other household items.

[Carrie12345]

We're at about $85/mo per person right now, including everything but pet food. I'm still stockpiling, so I expect to see that go down to $60-$70 once I get my chest freezer.

[Amy loves Bud]

We were running about $200-225 per week, plus eating out a lot. We're staring some seriously reduced commissions in the face so we've given ourselves a budget of $150 per week for groceries, $75 per week for eating out (not including Bud's eating out expense related to work). That's for a family of 5, but Romy is only one. I can stay within our budget easily, but I do use it all up. That includes all the things you mentioned except spending cash.

 

So right now I would say around $120 per person per month for groceries, and $60 per person per month for dining out.

 

Edit to add:

 

This is what a week of meals looks like for us with this budget. I buy mainly organic meat, produce and dairy, as well as 7th Generation household products when available.

Edited February 2, 2009 by Amy loves Bud

[elegantlion]

We do about $400 per month for a family of 3, plus cat and dog. I spent about 30.00 on the pets, so about $125.00 per person/month.

[Closeacademy]

Beginning of 2008, we spent almost $250 per month per person on just food.

 

After learning how to really work coupons and sales, we are now a year later spending $100 per month per person on just food and we are now eating as well or better than before.

:001_smile:

[Lovedtodeath]

We spend an average of $40 per person per week. This counts toiletries and cleaning products.

[BritAnnia]

I budget $120 per month per person, (5 in the family. Dh, me, dd18, ds16, ds14... none of us eat lightly ;) )

This includes general household items such as cleaning products, toiletries, small items for the home such as lightbulbs, etc. It does not include pet food for which I budget seperately, nor does it cover eating out which we do infrequently. I feel with this amount we eat very well and my freezer and pantry stay well stocked with a variety of foods we all like.

[Jen in PA]

$100 per month per person is about what we spend for all groceries, toiletries, a couple of light meals out, and cleaning products. This amount covers large amounts of local dairy and produce, more meat and fish than we probably should eat, plus dark chocolate and wine, so I feel pretty spoiled at this amount:001_smile: If we cut out the luxuries I can bring this amount down to $75 easily, but I wouldn't enjoy cutting much more than that.

[phathui5]

$100/pp/month

[Pamela H in Texas]

I'd say $100/person. Many times we are more like $70-80, but when we're feeling less poor, we might go up to $120.

 

This week, my groceries (includes dog food, paper items, etc) was $110.

[laughing lioness]

$66 a month a person, including all household goods, paper products, animal food, etc.

 

 

[coralloyd]

Between $120- $110 pp. This is everything. We eat out less than once a month. So this really is all food and necessities.

[RoughCollie]

I spend $167 per person every month on groceries -- pretty much exactly $1000 for our family. I buy as much on sale as I can. I can get it down to $134 per person doing that, as long as I don't stock up on any bargains. Groceries are pretty high here. This is just for food. I keep track of everything else separately.

Edited February 2, 2009 by RoughCollie

[lynn]

roughly $130-$150

[vettechmomof2]

Breaking down our monthly budget it would be $73.75 / person(humans only) for all grooming needs and food.

[Pretty in Pink]

I spend 120.00/mo. on infant formula for the baby.

 

I average 120.00/mo for the other 5 of us, including toiletries, cleaning supplies, diapers, and mostly organic or natural dairy, produce and meat. This does not include pet food or eating out, which we budget for seperately.

[Desert Rat]

About $150 per personal including all paper, cleaning, and personal items as well as the food, of course. I can get it down to $75 a person but that is when I already have a stocked pantry. FWIW if I could grow a garden I would. Alas, gardens don't do well in the desert!

[elise1mds]

We spend about $150-$175/pp/month including meals out, toiletries, and our pets (four cats, one small dog, fish, and a tiny little turtle). I buy a lot of organic, but I also plan menus ahead of time based on weekly sales and stick to them pretty well. We also live in a cheaper part of the country. During the farmer's market seasons, that number drops a bit.

[Blessedfamily]

For just food, about $150/pp/month. Two of my kids are small, and don't eat much(relatively speaking), but we buy organic.

[Kay in Cal]

$150 - $200 a month on food. I think it's pretty low, really... I can't imagine $75! But food may cost more here in Los Angeles than in some other areas.

[JenniferB]

Probably about $100 conservative estimate. We don't usually spend $800 per month on groceries, but that's how much it can get up to on weeks when we have lots of "extras". We have 8 in our family, 4 adults and 4 children, + 1 day care child, not included in the 8. :)

 

Hope this helps you.

 

BTW - we shop at Costco, and we try to have 1 vegetarian night (dinner under $5), and 1 left over night (when we eat leftovers &/or scrounge), this cuts down on our dinner budget. For breakfast we usually eat a Costco muffin, or homemade pancakes, lunch is a simple sandwich, and dinner is simple home made dishes.

[HomesteadMommy]

We are 57.00 per person (family of 7). Now my youngest is just nursing, but I'm hungry all the time feeding him so make up for that. :tongue_smilie:

[Ali in OR]

I aim for $650/mo which is $130 per person (includes everything--toiletries, dog food, cleaning, paper supplies, food).

 

We managed to do January for $500 and that was with every meal at home except one take-out pizza. Dh did buy a couple of lunches, but he's trying to take his lunch most days. This $500/mo only works in months without a Costco stock up trip (about every 6 weeks).

[LibraryLover]

$300 per week, for everything. Pet food (dogs, cats, chickens, turkey rabibit), soaps etc.

 

So, $300 divided by 45 living beings.

[Barb_]

In Jan, it was $125 per person (not counting the baby) including household items, cleaning stuff and eating out. So about $1000. Food is our biggest expense after the morgatge. Thank God we have girls.

 

Barb

[JennifersLost]

We're at about $125 per person on the regular budget, plus dh gets $50 a month that he "blows" on brunches and a few extras during the month, so that's more like $133 per month, but we don't "need" that extra 50.

 

That includes all paper products, cleaners, soap, shampoo, socks (I tend to buy them at the wholesale store), and extra stuff for the kitchen/house (wooden spoons, measuring cups, tupperware, etc.)

 

BTW - this is Canadian dollars. I am super thrifty, but the cheapest milk I can get costs $4.19. Butter right now is $4.29 - 4.99 a pound. Eggs are $2.49 a dozen. Meat is astronomical. I can shop for waaaaay less when I visit the US.

[Once]

I have a budget of $775 for 6 people per month. Includes diapers and toiletries but not eating out (that is a separate budget of $200). So mine is about $130 per person per month. I buy organically when I can and we have a nice stock of extras in the basement.

[Susan in TN]

We're roughly $80-$100 per person (family of 8), and that includes diapers for 3, paper products, toiletries, etc. Also goats milk and rice milk for kids with allergies. We can get it down much further when I shop BOGO sales with coupons.

[SonshineLearner]

Not more than about $70, and that is too high for the budget.

 

After the STBXH moves out i should be able to lower it a lot. He eats for 2 at any meal he is here for.

 

 

 

I'm curious...what is the STBXH?

Stay there been ex husband is my hopefully wrong guess:bigear:

[StaceyinLA]

$650/month for a family of 6 (and we feed my mom supper most nights - she lives on our property). About $75 comes off the top for cat and dog foods, so we're about $575 for our food/toiletries, etc. This does NOT include eating out. We buy a good bit of organic. We buy our beef from my sister in quarters twice/year so meat is rarely included in our monthly expenses (except chicken).

 

Here's the thing though - 3 dd's really don't eat home much (one is gone during the week to school, the other 2 work and spend time away from home with their boyfriends) and ds is just still so picky that he rarely eats what I cook - he'll make sandwiches and stuff. He just doesn't really like anything with meat in it so if we have a meaty meal, he is not interested.

 

We eat out a fair amount, but are cutting that out right now and going to try and limit it to one nice meal out/month (my kids don't want fast food when we go out - they want Greek, Sushi, etc. - that gets expensive, so we're cutting it).

 

Anyway, that probably hasn't helped you much, but there it is!

[SnowWhite]

STBXH usually means Soon To Be Ex Husband.

 

We spend about $200-250 per person but I need to change my ways. I'll start a spin-off (without the S/O in the title, LOL) about a typical grocery list for you frugal gals.

[apmom]

We spend about $75 per person, but our children are little--6 and 3 (plus a breastfeeding baby who doesn't cost much!). We are very frugal, and shop at Aldi for a lot of things, a bread bakery outlet, and use coupons, too. This cost doesn't include the cost of our weekly meal out...don't know if that matters or not. Some weeks it would add $10 per person per week, others just the cost of a part of a pizza...

[myfatherslily]

Oh my goodness... no wonder I'm having a hard time keeping our monthly food expenses within the $240 total budget! That would be an average of $48 per person. I just told DH that I just HAD to start spending more, so we agreed to bump it up to no more than $300 total for all people for the month.

[TraceyS/FL]

STBXH usually means Soon To Be Ex Husband.

 

 

Yes, this one! :tongue_smilie: it's a lot nicer than what else a person can write....

[Guest]

Before I started couponing, we were doing over $100/mo. and felt like we weren't getting anything.

 

Now, I am doing heavy couponing and we're at $80/pp/mo. We're pretty good, too. Being able to buy some snacks and soda for the first time.

[LadyAberlin]

We spend $600/mo just groceries. It is a family of 4. The kids are just 5 and 2 and don't eat a whole lot. I do eat a whole lot. I have a very high metabolism.