How much do you spend on groceries per month?

[Eureka]

shopping isn't my main responsibility I still live at home thankfully, but I have tried to talk my mom into letting me do her shopping because I am positive I could cut our family grocery bill in half and I think she enjoys it too much to let me manage it.
even if it means saving a couple hundred dollars a month.
I've thought about offering my couponing and app talents to my neighbor she spends like $500 a week between herself and two kids, she is a HUGE impulse shopper.
I don't know how to make that offer though.

I am a bit odd I love grocery shopping. Some women can spend hours trying to find the right shoes, but I will sort through the whole basket until I find the onion I want lol

I love grocery shopping too. If my DH did the shopping, we'd be spending way more on food. He doesn't use coupons, shop sales or buy store brands. He just gets what he wants (and uses Target as a one-stop-shopping place, lol).

 

[DisneyHardin]

I live in NYC but he's some kind of coupon ninja, cause I've tried to grocery shop and can never get out for that little. He does all 3 meals at home. Work usually provides lunch for me and in regards to breakfast I'll usually eat a bowl of cereal during the week and weekends is usually pancakes or waffles or something. But he works from home so lots of time for him to eat. But yeah that's what we spend. Again I don't know how he does it. Cause every so often I'll throw something outlandish on the grocery list just to see if he comes back under budget and he always does. We also don't eat a lot of seafood because I'm very allergic which he thinks might be part of the reason we eat so cheaply. But we're always well stocked on fruits, veggies, protein, and my personal favorite Oreos.

Post a picture of one of your receipts if you can. I’d love to see what kind of deals he’s getting. I am a huge couponer/deal looker, but have never been able to get all our groceries for the week that low.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

Post a picture of one of your receipts if you can. I’d love to see what kind of deals he’s getting. I am a huge couponer/deal looker, but have never been able to get all our groceries for the week that low.

Will do next time he goes shopping!

 

[DisneyHardin]

Will do next time he goes shopping!

Thanks. I love to find new ways to bargain shop.

 

[superme80]

No, you can't cut back on Dutch Bros!. Now I want a Carmalizer!

Salted caramel iced coffee is my down fall. Sadly I have 3 boys who think they need a drink too! Adds up!

 

[lovin'fl]

Just DH and I in low COL area except groceries seem high (we just moved from high COL suburb of Balt Wash area where groceries were cheaper than here). We spend about $550 a month. We spend about $250 a month on carry out or eating out.

Also, groceries includes dog food, cleaning products, beauty/bath/health products, paper products, things like batteries, trash bags, light bulbs and greeting cards. Also I send care packages to college DDs, 1-2 a month. All bought at Food Lion or Super Walmart as that's all that's nearby. And includes wine....about 4 bottles a month.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

I love grocery shopping too. If my DH did the shopping, we'd be spending way more on food. He doesn't use coupons, shop sales or buy store brands. He just gets what he wants (and uses Target as a one-stop-shopping place, lol).

My dad is the same way, he shops maybe a couple times a year so he just buys whatever. He also has a problem with no brand products.
Which I get on some things, but I learned how to be cheap in college because it was a necessity lol

 

[pigletto]

My dad is the same way, he shops maybe a couple times a year so he just buys whatever. He also has a problem with no brand products.
Which I get on some things, but I learned how to be cheap in college because it was a necessity lol

I find for no brand products that some of them are terrible..but a lot of them are the same thing in a different can/box/container. For some things we just don’t care and that helps the budget. For other things I need to have a specific type so I wait for a sale or a coupon. I like a certain type of ketchup for example, but don’t care when it comes to dried pasta.

 

[grumpy28]

Salted caramel iced coffee is my down fall. Sadly I have 3 boys who think they need a drink too! Adds up!

This is why Starbucks is so expensive for me! I have 3 kids and if one (or all of them) is with me (which is most of the time), I feel way too guilty to just buy myself a drink when they love "special" drinks too! 4 drinks from SB = $$$$.

 

[aprilchem]

I am in the mid-Atlantic and my grocery budget is $150 a week for our family of 5 (me, DH, DS12, DS10, DS 8). I don't buy much processed food at all so the bulk of that is fruits, fresh vegetables, and meat. I keep a lot of whole grains on hand at home and buy it in bulk when we're running low.

ETA we don't eat out much, but when we do we often eat at the dining hall of the college where I work. That only costs us $6 for the whole family, so our dining out budget is VERY low.

 

[MomToOne]

We did have salmon 2 weeks ago. And as you referenced in your post, that was because it was on sale for $4.99 a pound (Atlantic salmon). We shop at two stores, Bel Air (owned by Raleys) and Walmart Neighborhood market. Funny thing is, about half our money is spent at Walmart each week, half at Bel Air, but we get three times as many items at Walmart. Funny you mention the Oreos. My wife is not a Walmart fan, but she says she saves enough just on a package of Oreos and a gallon of milk to make it worthwhile!. We don't belong to Costco, and at least the ones here when I have gone as a guest are a zoo. They make Walmart look sane.

Psst...TVGuy....check out WinCo or FoodsCo. The stores aren't as nice as Raley's/BelAir (or Safeway) but the prices are way better! There's a nicer FoodsCo down by Cosumnes River College...it's worth it for me to make the drive when I live just down the street from Raley's.

 

[tvguy]

Psst...TVGuy....check out WinCo or FoodsCo. The stores aren't as nice as Raley's/BelAir (or Safeway) but the prices are way better! There's a nicer FoodsCo down by Cosumnes River College...it's worth it for me to make the drive when I live just down the street from Raley's.

I have been to the new Winco at Country Club Plaza. Their prices were better than Raley's Bel Air, but not as good as Walmart. That store is in the old Gottschalks (the prior to that, JCPENNEY) store. It is laid out oddly.
Do all Winco's have the little signs on products with the price comparisons with Walmart? Most items I checked were only 5 to 10 cents more than Walmart, but I laughed at those signs for Cinnamon Toast Crunch that said "Walmart does not carry" when they do, but in a different size. CNBC did a story on how Walmart went to General Mills and asked them to add 2 ounces to each box, but make the box smaller just for Walmart but eliminate the air gap and fill the box completely full. It's a sad statement about cereal, but apparently what General Mills saved on cardboard on the smaller box, was more than the cost of adding 2 ounces of cereal to the box!
Since I live a mile from ARC, driving 40 miles roundtrip to a store near CRC doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

[Eureka]

I find for no brand products that some of them are terrible..but a lot of them are the same thing in a different can/box/container. For some things we just don’t care and that helps the budget. For other things I need to have a specific type so I wait for a sale or a coupon. I like a certain type of ketchup for example, but don’t care when it comes to dried pasta.

I don’t buy no-name for everything, I agree that some things are awful. But some basics like pasta are fine, and a lot of the Target or supermarket brand cheeses and sour cream, etc. are too. It’s defnitely a waste to keep buying store brand and tossing it bc it’s awful. Some things we always buy name brand bc we don’t like store brands are napkins, toilet paper (but the paper towels are fine, go figure), swiffer cloths (wet and dry), Lysol wipes, Frosted mini wheats and Honey Nut Cheerios. I’m sure there’s more but those are non-negotiable.

 

[kandb]

Family of 5 in Ohio (3 adults, 2 kids). Spend about $400 a month on groceries. Doesn't sound like much but we eat out
A LOT! None of the adults eat breakfast during the week. Kids might grab a granola bar or pop tart on the way to school. At my office we eat lunch out everyday. My husband has vending machines at work that he gets lunch from - very rarely does he pack a lunch from home. Oldest son eats lunch out everyday with the guys from work. Kids eat lunch at school. We always go out out to eat a couple of times during the week and at least once every weekend. We grocery shop about every 2 weeks. I will stop at the store in between to pick up fruits, veggies, milk, etc. when we need them.

Did you mean $400/week on groceries? From what you are saying, $100/week on groceries seems impossible for your lifestyle of 5 people.

Edit: Thought you meant you spent $400 month on food, not groceries.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Did you mean $400/week on groceries? From what you are saying, $100/week on groceries seems impossible for your lifestyle of 5 people.

Edit: Thought you meant you spent $400 month on food, not groceries.

I don’t think she is factoring the eating out into the grocery budget, and that’s why the grocery budget is so low.

 

[Liberty Belle]

We are a family of fourish (adult ds lives with us while he's in school and he purchases some of his own food) with two cats, two dogs, and a bird. To feed all of us (and including paper and cleaning/laundry products) we spend about $500 -$600 a month. That does not include any fast food trips or dining out, though it's very rare for us to eat out except for an occasional celebration or an occasional lunch during the work day.

 

[Liberty Belle]

We budget $2,000 a month for groceries and $1,000 a month for dining out. Family of 4 in Seattle. Half of our grocery budget is spent on wine.

You spend $1000 a month for wine?

 

[MillauFr]

You spend $1000 a month for wine?

Yes. We usually visit my daughter at college in McMinnville, OR several times a year. Seems like we end up buying 5 or 6 cases per trip. We love Oregon Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Many of the wineries have tasting rooms and sell direct.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Yes. We usually visit my daughter at college in McMinnville, OR several times a year. Seems like we end up buying 5 or 6 cases per trip. We love Oregon Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Many of the wineries have tasting rooms and sell direct.

Interesting seeing different lifestyles. We're only occasional wine drinkers.

 

[MillauFr]

Interesting seeing different lifestyles. We're only occasional wine drinkers.

Yep. I "waste" even more money on Disney trips and cruises. Those cruises and staying at the Grand Californian are not cheap.