Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Kind of Random…but how much do you spend on groceries?
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January 5, 2009 at 4:28 pm #589340
beachdrivegirlParticipantSo I know this is a random post, but I was redoing my annual budget and just shocked @ how much I am spending on average for my groceries? So I was curious how much are others spending? And how many people are you feeding with that amount?
January 5, 2009 at 4:55 pm #653391
AnonymousInactiveYou first. We want to be shocked too :)
January 5, 2009 at 4:59 pm #653392
beachdrivegirlParticipantWell, I spend roughly $450-500/month but this includes household cleaners and alcohol. Food for my lunches, breakfast, and usually six dinners a week. And we dont really buy snack food unless we have guests in town. I swear that when it was just me, I spent $125/month. Not sure how I have managed to nearly quadruple what I was spending on groceries.
January 5, 2009 at 5:21 pm #653393
roundthesoundParticipant$30/$40 per week, and that’s just for me.
January 5, 2009 at 5:22 pm #653394
AnonymousInactiveIt is hard to separate out the non-food purchases. I shop almost exclusively at Costco and cleaning products, catfood/litter, books, coffee, etc are all a part of that. Probably $400 a month. Then I supplement with Amazon Fresh for things that we run out of quickly. Maybe another $100 there. Rarely go out to eat and make lattes at home, so this is total household living expenditures for 2.
January 5, 2009 at 5:31 pm #653395
beachdrivegirlParticipantWell JT, you make me feel a bit better becuase like you are expenditures are for 2. Still crazy though once you look @ it…
January 5, 2009 at 6:18 pm #653396
JoBParticipanteverything has gone up… i am spending at least 500 a month on groceries for 2 with eating out in the entertainment category:(
but.. we are making the commitment to buy local and that gets a little expensive.
my grocery budget 5 years ago was under 200….
January 5, 2009 at 6:33 pm #653397
SueParticipantMy expenses are probably somewhere between JT’s and JoB’s (also for 2 people). We buy a lot of organic/free range/grassfed/sustainable/etc. type food, cleaners, and spend a fortune each week at the farmers market. Yes, I could probably spend less for us, but I’d rather cut other things in our budget that mean less to us (like only having the limited $12 a month cable package).
January 5, 2009 at 9:45 pm #653398
JimmyGMemberWe spend way too much on food with probably 90% of it purchased at WS Thriftway.
For 2 adults I think we’re right around $600 a month and that’s with seafood as our only meat. Although this also includes my beer/wine purchases.
January 6, 2009 at 1:30 am #653399
LexMemberthats about average what you are spending. We have 2 teens in our house and OMG do they pack away the food. I dont get my groceries at one spot. Certain items I get at Costco (Meats) that I can seperate into ziplock packages and freeze. Fish I purshase at the asian stores in WS or the Great Wall in Kent. Great prices and fresh foods. I purchase my product not at the local grocery store but from local farmers or the asian stores again fresh and very reasonablly priced. Household clean ing items I go to Target or to Walmart in Renton. On occassion i take a trip to a Super Walmart (Kent has one or federal way) and do grocery shopping. I tell you Super walmarts have the BEST prices and I can save about $200 per month on groceries. I don’t worry about the drive because its my alone time.
January 6, 2009 at 2:13 am #653400
beachdrivegirlParticipantGlad to know that we arent nuts. Before I sat down and looked @ it I thought groceries shouldnt cost more than $200/month. Guess times have changed since I was 22; just out of college; and living off of the mere $100-125/month. Times have changed. :)
January 6, 2009 at 4:45 am #653401
hollyplaceParticipantI just made our new budget and we are spending $175 a week for 2 and a 1-year-old. So that includes diapers, coffee and wine. We eat out once a week. I figure that computes to a little under $3 a meal per person.
January 6, 2009 at 5:05 am #653402
angelescrestParticipant$250 a week, probably, includes 1 parent (and another, when in town), two teens and an eight-year old. We stick to all organic, and little or no meat.
January 6, 2009 at 5:12 am #653403
BonnieParticipantUsed to be about $800 a month for a family of 4 (and one VERY picky kid) but I’ve cut that back by budgeting and clipping coupons. I think it’s closer to $550 a month now but I’d like to cut it back more. I’m trying to meal plan weekly so I can use the stuff I’ve stocked up in my freezer that I bought on sale.
January 6, 2009 at 6:30 am #653404
JillParticipantbeachdrivegirl, I hear ya about the cheap ole days. When I lived alone, I was so thrifty, and actually one of my hopes for this year is to rein in the luxury food spending. A conversation with my mom recently led me to realize that we spend waaaay more at Thriftway, PCC, and going out to eat than I would ever spend on clothes.
January 6, 2009 at 4:30 pm #653405
JoBParticipantJill..
the money you spend on food is so much more beneficial long term than that you spend on clothes.. if you aren’t buying a lot of convenience foods…
i do shop around. i buy convenience foods at Grocery Outlet and Big Lots in Burien. I buy dog food and some staples at Trader Joes. I buy most paper products and household products at Costco…
and i pick up a lot on sale… every time i go into a grocery.. i walk the aisles and buy items we use that are on sale at that store…
but… we are buying local produce and meat whenever possible (with a preference for the Farmer’s market)… even to the point of buying milk at Morgan Thriftway because they stock the NW Organic Valley Milk (the one without the plastic screwcap) instead of that processed in Minnesota… and we are eating fresh as much as possible. you pay a premium for that.
I try not to purchase items that i can get elsewhere cheaper at Morgan Thriftway (my preferred grocery)… but often the increased cost for one item is less than the gas and time to purchase it elsewhere if i need it for dinner… and they have sales too.
I admit, i do stop by the deli too often… it would be cheaper to make some of the items i buy as convenience foods… but we are all human…
My mother-in-law often chides me for our grocery purchases.. but i’ve eaten at her house and i know the food is much healthier on almost every level at mine… and she cooks mainly from scratch…
i think it’s difficult to keep a balance between eating well.. and locally.. and budgeting.
I struggle with it all of the time.
January 6, 2009 at 7:43 pm #653406
ErikParticipantJust over 2 months ago I was a single guy with a dog.
Now I’ve got a gf who has 5 kids (4 teenagers) living in her house.
During the recent snow I drove her to Safeway for shopping…was reminded how much milk a 14yo boy can drink.
I still think buying a cow might be cheaper.
January 6, 2009 at 9:09 pm #653407
WSMomParticipantThis post makes me feel a bit better about how much we spend on food and sundries for a family of 5 — about $1000 per month. This includes paper products and cleaning supplies (mostly purchased at Costco). I make my own lattes (the Starbuck’s French Roast 2# bag at Costco used to cost $12.00, it’s now $20.00) and I shop sales at WS Thriftway and Jefferson Square Safeway. I try to not buy any pre-packaged or frozen foods…I mostly shop the outer rim of the grocery store. We eat a lot of soup, so I nearly always buy a whole chicken (especially when they’re buy one get one free as they are right now at WS Thriftway). I like to splurge on fish at WS Fish Company, the quality is so much better than at Safeway, no comparison, but very expensive. We get most of our milk delivered by Smith Bros, again a splurge but I love the convenience and the feeling of relief when there’s no milk for breakfast and the milkman arrives to save the morning. I also have a freezer full of berries (u-pick),jams, and tomatos from my garden. To prevent us from eating fast food when I’m too busy to cook, I make ahead a variety of soups and freeze them in quart containers to pull out for last minute dinners. Even with all this effort, I still at times go over budget. I used to be quite a junk food junkie when I was young, now I’ve gone quite over to the other side and can’t imagine stocking my freezer with Bagel Bites and such. :)
January 6, 2009 at 9:13 pm #653408
biankatParticipantYup – groceries alone (Safeway, TJs, Costco) runs about $500/month for my husband and I.
January 7, 2009 at 12:12 am #653409
JillParticipantJoB — ugh, I know, *why* on earth did Organic Valley add that plastic screw cap?!! Thanks for sharing that bit about the NW milk at Thriftway, I had no idea. Yes, I do buy the type of food you’re talking about. I don’t think of the prices being at a premium, either. From what I’ve read, they more accurately represent the cost of growing/raising real food ethically (which is a whole separate thread!).
January 7, 2009 at 12:28 am #653410
ZenguyParticipantKeep in mind too that we have some of the most chi chi grocery stores around (thanks to Larry’s) and that that adds a bit as well. When I travel to parts of California, I find stuff more along the lines of Albersons in White Center.
January 7, 2009 at 4:03 am #653411
JoBParticipantWS MOm.. smith bros??? this sounds very local.
zenguy… i have been trying to train myself to shop Alberstons White Center for that last minute or i just ran out stuff.. far fewer temptations will hopefully lead to lower grocery bills:)
January 7, 2009 at 4:12 am #653412
IrukandjiParticipantWe’re on the high end for two adults and little kid – around $800/mo for food only. Again, with Met Market, PCC and the Farmers Market we focus mainly on local and organic, but not wholly: this includes the need for sushi and Full Tilt minibinges. We’ve missed a lot of the new restaurants knowing that we’ll get there eventually. Good food at home is very important to us, and we’re lucky to be in a time and place where the access is easy.
I’d have to agree with Job: quality food is better than so many other luxuries: health and happiness are such gifts in the long run.
January 7, 2009 at 4:22 am #653413
changingtimesMemberwe feed a family of 3 plus relatives who seem to know exactly when dinner is done! lol! we love winco!!!!!
January 7, 2009 at 6:10 am #653414
hollyplaceParticipantwinco? where is winco?
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