I’m really determined to work on lowering my grocery bill over this next year. It’s one huge area that can make or break a household budget. I don’t feel like I buy groceries needlessly: I do shop with a list; I meal plan; and I don’t buy my kids a lot of junk. I use coupons — though not obsessively. But I’m definitely not one of those hardcore coupon moms who goes up to the register with a stack of coupons and sales flyers and pays only $48 for $248 worth of groceries.
What is a “Reasonable” Grocery Budget?
A cousin of mine posed a question on facebook recently, asking people what they thought a reasonable grocery budget was for a family of six. Lots of people chimed in with their typical grocery bills for their own families… I offered up that, for a family of five, I think spending $400 a month on groceries is doing quite well.
Apparently, we haven’t been doing very well around here.
You’d think, going by the title of this blog, that I would be all over my grocery budget. But in truth, grocery shopping is a part of running a household that I simply don’t like. Okay… So I hate it. There, I said it. My family needs to eat, therefore I shop.
I sort of had an idea of how much we spent? But I never actually looked at the total numbers. Until five minutes ago, that is. Ooch.
You know how excited I was because I did the Pantry Challenge last month and only spent $200 ($198 to be exact, thankyouverymuch) on groceries? Yea. What I didn’t realize is how very, very low that number really was. At least, compared to how much Mint.com tells me we spent on groceries last year.
(I wish I knew how to do fancy graphs. If anyone can direct me to a site they like where you can make pretty charts and graphs for free, please do.)
For clarification, I define “Groceries” not only as food, but also personal items, various household items such that you find at the grocery store, pet supplies, vitamins, etc.
Total Spent on Groceries in 2009: $6600
Here’s the Breakdown…
- Groceries: $438
- Fast Food: $15
- Restaurants: $56
- Coffee Shops: $6.87
February:
- Groceries: $649
- Fast Food: $5.74
- Restaurants: $56
- Coffee Shops: $12.00
March:
- Groceries: $441
- Fast Food: $8.92
- Restaurants: $65
- Coffee Shops: $0
April:
- Groceries: $762
- Fast Food: $50 (traveling!)
- Restaurants: $58
- Coffee Shops: $24.00
May:
- Groceries: $461
- Fast Food: $15
- Restaurants: $98
- Coffee Shops: $0
June:
- Groceries: $584
- Fast Food: $3.41
- Restaurants: $20
- Coffee Shops: $7.09
July:
- Groceries: $515
- Fast Food: $73 (traveling!)
- Restaurants: $30
- Coffee Shops: $14.00
August:
- Groceries: $418
- Fast Food: $62 (traveling!)
- Restaurants: $33
- Coffee Shops: $0
September:
- Groceries: $721
- Fast Food: $0
- Restaurants: $0
- Coffee Shops: $0
October:
- Groceries: $412
- Fast Food: $0
- Restaurants: $0
- Coffee Shops: $0
November:
- Groceries: $643
- Fast Food: $9.60
- Restaurants: $30.00
- Coffee Shops: $0
December:
- Groceries: $556
- Fast Food: $0
- Restaurants: $16.00
- Coffee Shops: $0
(I added the eating-out categories because I think that helps present the full picture of our family’s food bill. Those items are not included in the $6600 total above.)
Since I’ve started the cash envelope system, I have allotted myself $400 for groceries each month. This “shouldn’t” be a problem while The Hubs is away… I am wondering, though, if this is realistic over time. To be perfectly honest, I am not sure how much time and energy I am prepared to invest in playing The Grocery Game. I will continue to meal plan and to use coupons — but I need to improve on combining coupons with sale items and stocking up accordingly if I’m really going to see some drastic improvement over time. Hmmm… We shall see. Baby steps, people.
How Much Do YOU Spend?
So here’s the deal. I am very interested to get some perspectives on how much y’all spend on your groceries for your own family. If you’re not comfortable sharing the ugly numbers, comment anonymously! Please include not only how much you spend but also the following information (my answers are in bold):
- Where do you live? (This can be general.) In Ohio.
- How many are in your family? Five.
- How old are your kids? 14, 7 (today!) and 5.
- Do you buy organic? Not unless it’s a really good sale.
- Does your number include any eating out? No.
I think your answers here could be even more interesting than the comments from my post asking y’all how much your heating bill was.
As I mentioned at the beginning, I don’t like grocery shopping. 
But I do like a challenge, and I am goal-oriented. Perhaps the challenge of trying to stay within the $400 inside that envelope each month will be what it takes to motivate me to drastically lower my grocery spending? We shall see…
Related posts:
- How I Did On the Pantry Challenge! (and how much I spent on groceries this month.)
- The Pantry Challenge: How Low Can I Keep My Grocery Budget This Month?
- How Much is Your Heating Bill? (And at What Temperature is Your Thermostat Set?) Pray Do Tell.
- How Often Do You Find Yourself Going Through the Drive-Thru?
{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
I just want to make an argument for NOT cutting your grocery budget. We did Dave Ramsey last year and are cutting everywhere we can and are getting out of debt as fast as we can. However, I have pledged that other than making a list to take to the commissary, I’m not going to TRY to cut grocery costs. Europeans spend like 25% of their budget on food — because they buy fresh GOOD food. Americans spend less than 10%. I know everyone is all excited about the $5 meal thing, but I want to feed my family GOOD FRESH PURE food as much as possible. I’m willing to go camping instead of hoteling on vacation to do this. I know I’m a bit of a food Nazi, but I really believe strongly in spending good money on healthy food instead of trying to skimp on food. The coupon-ing thing doesn’t work well for me because I just don’t buy boxed food and so many of the coupons are for that kind of thing. I buy staples — pasta, pancake mix, milk, cheese, etc, from the store — but I buy the majority of our food at farmer’s markets, etc. Ok, but to answer the question, we budget $500 a month for the commissary and $100 a month for the farmer’s market.
1. Okinawa, Japan (US Military overseas, so shopping at the more expensive commissary)
2. 5 in our family
3. Kids are 4, 2, and 7 months.
4. Yes, buy as much organic as possible
5. Does not include eating out
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 21st, 2010 at 12:36 pm
You are sooo right. Are you familiar with Michael Pollan? He’s written a few books about the food industry, my favorite is, “In Defense of Food.” I think he cites some 35% of income as how much Americans used to spend on food. I highly recommend reading him, it’s totally fascinating. Especially being the foody/organic-ly minded as you are. He’s all about eating locally.
Anyway!
If by the $5 meal thing you are referring to the $5 Dinner Mom… I just have to give my two-bits on her methodology, as she is a personal friend of mine. She promotes cooking from scratch and definitely does not feed her family from boxes. Her boys have had different food allergies (currently dairy is out) so she also has to spend more on rice milk, etc., so she coupons excessively for those items as well as to make up for what she cannot buy in bulk or otherwise find coupons for: e.g. fresh produce. She also plays the drugstore game (only possible in the U.S.!) so that very little if any of her grocery bill is going toward household items such as toilet paper and toothpaste, for instance.
Her boys are still young (all under five) so I imagine her $5 will become closer to $7 or $8 equivalent as they grow into teens! But her cooking is very healthy and I have learned a lot about utilizing dried beans, for instance, instead of canned ones, and cooking and freezing in bulk to help stretch the dollars.
You brought up a very good point about spending more when it means getting better food. I do think some people think to eat healthy means you have to break the budget, but that doesn’t always have to be true: I think many of those same people are missing some money-saving opportunities by not preparing anything by scratch. That’s obviously not true! I can also relate to living overseas and how much more that can cost you to try to buy locally, with the weak dollar, etc. I applaud your $500/$600 budget and think that is very reasonable myself. Truly, it’s all about choices, and I daresay some people who wonder why they can’t get out of debt are the ones who are spending more on their food budget and still staying in the hotels!
[Reply]
Thanks for doing this, I’ve really enjoyed reading what others do to make ends meet. We were put on a very tight budget when I had to come back home (after working fulltime) to care for our youngest daughter who has a chronic condition. This has been a huge leap of faith for us, and it amazes us how we have been able to make it work on one income. We gave up things such as cable and have cut waaaay back on luxuries. (sniff sniff how I miss driving through the coffee shops on a whim…)
As I’m reading other posts, it’s interesting to me how fickle the state of California is with prices and stores that offer deals double coupons or not. I guess I live in the “lucky” part. Our food bill on average has been between $200-$300 a month. Maintaining our budget has become my fulltime job, I coupon, shop the deals, stockpile, price compare to Costco, shop at a farmers market, and produce/healthfood stores. We eat little or no processed foods, also started a home garden this year (we live in an apartment but use our patio) you wouldn’t believe how easy it’s been to grow a small garden of lettuce, radishes, cilantro, spinach and swiss char (we use a “salad table”). We are adding tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers (in containers) Our kids really enjoy helping with this! (Granted we have beautiful weather all year round) I also do large batch cooking (my parents let us keep our chest freezer in their garage) and I am interested in learning canning to utilize our small garden and any really good deals from the farmers markets. I cook three meals and prepare two snacks a day. We eat out very rarely and make our own pizza’s on friday night…so much fun!
Where do you live? Southern California
How many are in your family? Four
How old are your kids? 11 and 7
Do you buy organic? Yes, when possible but only at a good price.
Does your number include any eating out? No.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
You don’t have to buy organic because you make it! You’re inspiring me to try pots again this year. (We do have winters.) It seems I’ve always been a tomato killer…
[Reply]
as usual, I’m impressed at how well ppl budget! It is expensive being a foodie…plus food prices matter. That makes me feel better, not like so much of a loser
seriously; I was reading a blog and their budget was so impressive but then I read a dozen eggs are 79 cents, easy to be cheap, etc. Here the median price for store brand eggs is $1.89 or so.
I thought I was doing badly, spending $55/wk when I first started paying attn, but then noticed my side trips for coffee, pet food, produce, gourmet counter food (which I count as grocery and not as eating out), etc…
[Reply]
1. Utah
2.four of us
3. husband, self, 17 year-old son and 10 year-old daughter
4.hardly ever
5. that’s a seperate budget of $60/month
I just wanted to say to everyone….it’s not easy, it takes time and practice but you can get your food budgets down! I used to spend around $1600/month. Last year I was able to squirm it down towards $600/month and this year (so far) i’ve been able to stick at $360/month –these totals include $’s for my husband to eat out for lunch (because he travels it’s hard for him to take his lunch). fyi…his lunch KILLS our budget because $160 is his lunch..$200 is our entire family groceries for a month and I do include ALL hba, cat supplies/food, household needs (filters, bulbs), etc. I stock up when things are on sale, I coupon a bit but nothing to really “brag” about, I stockpile, meal plan by the month so I try to only go to the store for one major trip and then a 2nd trip to replenish milk, eggs and produce. The pricebook has been a HUGE help for me. Last year I didn’t think it was possible to get any more wiggle room but the more you stick with it the better it gets!!! Keep up the great work of TRYING!
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
That’s VERY impressive w/out doing the Big Coupon Game. A pricebook is on my list of to-do’s…
[Reply]
I did the pantry challenge too! Spent around $200 also – good job!
I spend on average $400 a month. That doesnt include any personal items, household products, pet food or eating out.
Everyone faints when they see my total. This is an average. It includes stock up too. A big part of it is coffee ($30/mn) and vitamin water believe it or not ($30/mn), and water for work (I drink 3-4 qts a day).
Occasionally a blogger will record the price on each grocery. I’m the one fainting when I see how inexpensive many items are other places – esp. when combined with a coupon! I’ve also noticed around here prices have gone up noticeably. also note: my food bill went way up after I gave up eating out all the time. I spend $25-55 a mn on restaurants now instead of hundreds a month.
Where do you live? Maryland
How many are in your family? One
Do you buy organic? Depends. Some items absolutely, such as peanut butter and olive oil (well known for mucho pesticides/possible contaminates. It is the nature of so many pieces to make the whole) and some produce (think skinned stuff like apples and peppers). Also prefer organic diary and any poultry products. Other things, like cracker for example, I dont care so much.
Does your number include any eating out? No.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
That’s a lot of coffee! Is it all from the store you make at home? We spend at least $20 a month on coffee ourselves, just what we drink at home… I’m trying to really tone it down while the hubs is deployed to save what I can, while I can
[Reply]
FranticWoman Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
That’s the coffee at home. I go to a local roaster – it has gone up to almost $12/lb. I drink a pot a day at minimum – but I stopped my daily Starbuck habit!
No matter how poor I’ve ever been – I’ve never scrimped on coffee (just can’t!) or fabric softener.
To add: My coffee maker is partly to blame. It is designed badly and I have to use way more coffee for the same strength vs my old (broken ) coffee maker. My dad was v. ill months ago, and my coffee maker chose that week to stop working -ugh! I ran to Target at 9:00 pm away from my dad’s bedside and bought the first maker I saw – then ran back to the hospital. Huge mistake. I’ll buy another soon, but, that’s more moola. Stupid tax (but unavoidable sometimes).
[Reply]
FranticWoman Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Joylyn – if you do try to cut down your coffee budget and are hardcore like me, I’ll mix cheaper can coffee in with the strong good stuff to save some $. I can reduce my coffee output money wise by a 1/3 if I do that.
jolyn Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
We just get the beans at the store that you bag and ground yourself at $5.86/lb. If that tells you how much we go through! I think $20 is conservative; hubs is gone right now so probably less than that w/out him, but more when he’s here. We do like ours strong; it’s hard sometimes to drink what others pass for as “coffee”
There don’t seem to be many city people but here I am: Chicago central area (I.e more expensive), one person-large appetite (because of fast metabolism and am a runner), trying to eat out less. I spend between $150-200 but I like to eat healthy. Fruits, veggies, organic meat. I eat vegetarian at least a few times a week but I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks. Use coupons and shops sales. I am mildly lactose intolerant, so milk is more expensive. Next month I will try to shop at Aldi where I used to shop when I did not eat healthy. Must be a way to get me a mix a Aldi and Farmer’s Market for less than $125/ month. This is the new goal for 2010. Moms who can feed four on $200/ month I salute you!
[Reply]
Alice Reply:
February 14th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
Oh yeah and no bulk shopping since I have to walk/bus it to the grocery store.
[Reply]
I love reading all the posts! It is so interesting, and is giving me some great ideas. As for the questions:
1. Nashville, TN
2. Total family: 4
3. Kids’ ages: 16,boy (yikes!) and 19, girl (at college, but comes home most weekends)
4. I buy organic meats and ‘dirty dozen’ fruits and veggies
5. Does not include eating out (which runs about 100.00/mo)
I am very lucky to live in a city that has great stores like Publix and Harris Teeter, both coupon-friendly and great places to shop. I shop at Whole Foods (another great store) about twice a month, buying meats on sale (this week was chicken breast 3.19/lb, and ground chuck 3.49/lb), bulk items like spices, nuts and rice, and the fruits and veggies we love that are the highest in pesticide residue (apples, peppers, strawberries, peaches, etc.). I budget 50.00 for each Whole Foods trip. During the summer, we have a small garden that helps cut down on produce costs.
Then, I do the rest of our shopping at Harris Teeter or Publix, taking advantage of sales and coupons to keep my bill under 100.00/week. This includes health/beauty aids, pet food, cleaning products. I use the Dave Ramsey envelope system and set aside 250.00 every 2 weeks. If I don’t spend it all, it gets put back into the envelope and I withdraw less the next time.
I usually buy organic frozen fruits and veggies at Harris Teeter/Publix, which are generally cheaper than Whole Foods (but not always!). If I have Cascadian Farms coupons, it makes it even better!
So, to answer your question, I spend less than 500.00 a month on groceries. I just tallied up our January receipts, and I spent 460.09 total. I’m sure I could trim some more somewhere, and I am so impressed by some of the posters’ budgets! I’ve got some work to do!
[Reply]
1. Chattanooga, TN
2. two-fiance and self
3. no kids
4. buy organic sometimes
5. eating out falls under my entertainment budget line
I’m getting married in 5 weeks, so once we are under the same roof there will be 3 meals together a day vs. just dinner. I try to keep my grocery budget (hygiene, cleaning supplies, food) at $200/month, but that may increase slightly with both of us. I leave some wiggle room if there’s something special on sale. We’re vegetarians so there are sporatic sales on those items. We joined a CSA last summer and bought a 1/2 share for $400 from April-Oct. It was weekly organic fresh produce from a local farm. Not sure I will join again. May just do the farmer’s marget each week. Then you can choose specifically what you want. Some vegies we weren’t that excited about.
I coupon regularly. There’s a great website that covers 4-5 states down here and breaks down the weekly sales matches with coupons. We have Bi-Lo, Walmart, Food Lion, and Publix. I think there’s a Kroger somewhere, but not near me. And Aldi about a 1/2 hour away. I feel for the people who wrote in that have only expensive grocery store. I’m originally from Michigan, and am used to 3-4 store options. I’m liking reading your blog.
[Reply]
1. Seattle, WA
2. Me and the husband
3. None yet!
4. Yes, we spend $26 a week on an organic CSA program for produce, plus I buy organic meat and dairy
5. No-we put that under the entertainment part of the budget
We just got married in October and I had to convert the kitchen from its bachelordom state (lots of pasta and canned tomatoes). Also, I adore holiday treats. So I went a little nuts in November and December, spending about $400 a month for just the two of us. But in January I was very frugal and spent about $200 (including the organic produce). Sometimes I find it more difficult to create variety in the menu while still being frugal since we are just two people. I make batches of recipes and then freeze portions for lunches later so we don’t end up eating the same things all the time. And I’m making my own bread and chicken stock and such.
But cooking and baking is also my hobby, so in the future some of my personal “play” budget will likely be diverted to purchasing fun ingredients in order to keep our standard grocery budget at $200.
[Reply]
1. NH
2. There’s four of us
3. Kids are 11 & 13 and seem to eat non stop!
4. I only buy organic when it’s on sale, which is almost never
5. This does not include eating out which we do on Friday (under $30).
We budget $600 and almost always just squeeze in around that number. I cook everything at home, including the kids school lunches and some of the pet food (we have 3 dogs). I make one vegetarian meal a week and we usually have left-overs 1 night. We rarely throw food away because we only buy we are going to cook. We’ve tried but can’t get it down under $600. The prices here are high and I shop at the cheapest market in town.
[Reply]
I live in Florida.
Its just me and my husband and three pets.
We only buy organic if its on super-sale.
We budget eating out separately.
We budget $200-$225 per month for groceries. We include all household goods and pet supplies within that budget. The grocery stores where we live do not do any sort of doubling or tripling of coupons, which stinks! I do try to combine coupons with sales as often as possible and buy the generic brands to keep the cost down. Having the budget set at the beginning of the month has really created a sense of discipline in our lives. We enjoy going out to eat, we don’t feel guilty spending that money because we planned for it. And at the grocery, I try and make it almost a game to see how much I can save each week!
[Reply]
1. California
2. 5 plus large daycare 4-10 kids- 5 days a week 2 snacks and lunch
3. 12 & 15 daycare 1-8
4. no organic
5. yes try not to unless a special reason or very cheap
Budget $500 month $125 aweek(use coupons and stockpile and Sams club)went down from $200 a week and was always over before and didn’t have to much extras before coupons.
[Reply]
1. Where do you live? (This can be general.) Ohio
2. How many are in your family? Just me!
3. How old are your kids? n/a unless I have my 15 y/o & 9 y/o sisters with me for the week
4. Do you buy organic? Not usually
5. Does your number include any eating out?Nope
I try to spend about $100-$120/month. I don’t usually clip coupons but shop at Aldi and try hard to stick to a budget!
[Reply]
Where do you live? In Alberta, Canada
How many are in your family? three
How old are your kids? 11
Do you buy organic? very rarely
Does your number include any eating out? No.
I spend around $125 Canadian/week – I try for $100/week, but never seem to make it. I include paper products, personal care items, cleaning products in my grocery money, but not pet food. No stores here will double coupon, and rarely is there a sale on milk, but Safeway had a coupon for $1.50 off milk this weekend! Many coupons or deals I find are available only in the USA. My goal for this year is to bring the spend amount to $100/week.
[Reply]
This is so interesting to read! Thanks for posing the question!
I live in Colorado Springs, CO
We have a family of 5
The kids are 11, 6 and 2
I don’t buy organic
We have pizza night on Fridays which either comes from grocery money or just my “cash” for the week. But other then that we don’t really eat out.
I spend $350 a month on groceries. I try to use store sales and coupons to my advantage.A couple things I have learned is that I need to make sure to buy things we will use with my coupons. Even if it is less then a dollar if we won’t eat it then I should not buy it. And also, I seem to find a lot of deals on junk food and snacks but I need to remember to buy the “real” food too when it is a great price. There is a local blog that goes through the ads each week and helps me match coupons and sales and then I make my meal plan from that. That also helped my budget – making my meal plans after I see what is on sale.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
I actually stopped using coupons altogether several years ago because I felt like I was buying things simply because I had a coupon for it and therefore was spending more money that I would have otherwise! I started up again over the last year or so, and while I do sometimes use coupons as an “excuse” to get something, it’s usually something for the kids, for their lunches to take to school: I figure a little “treat” that makes my teenager excited about taking his lunch from home is still better than what he could buy at school.
[Reply]
wow, some of you completely make me feel ashamed. We spend around 700-800 a month, down from around 900-1000 because the last few months I’ve been trying to find ways to cut stuff out and I was proud of myself lol We do buy about 1/2 organic and 90% gluten free. Hubby and I are both celiac, but the kids are not, so they get a snack or two and breakfast non-gluten free. I budget 200 a week, we do go to Sam’s to stock up, and whatever is left weekly goes in savings, but it isn’t much. I do coupon as much as possible, not much available gluten free.
1. Rhode Island
2. 4
3. 10 and 6
4. yes, about 1/2 organic
5. we hardly ever eat out (it’s just too much work gluten free and I love to cook) but when we do, it does come out of our food budget.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
I think being celiac, or having allergies in general, presents its own challenges that can throw the usual budget guidelines out the window.
[Reply]
Tammy Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Okay, I can’t even imagine spending less than 800, 900+ at Walmart. Family of 5, kids ages are 15,13,7 and I don’t coupon or buy organic. I have friends who do the grocery game and make out like bandits, but I can’t even imagine having the time for that. I’m inspired by all of you and am going to try to budget and see if I can cut a little out of our grocery budget.
[Reply]
We average 300-350 with diapers and all household Items I coupon alot sometimes it can feel daunting but when you walk out of the store and the reciept says 80% savings that feels great. Looking forward to gardening this summer hopefully that will lower our food bill a little
1. Where do you live? Dallas, Texas.
2. How many are in your family? Four.
3. How old are your kids? 3 and 18 months..
4. Do you buy organic? Not unless within a few cents of reg.
5. Does your number include any eating out? yes
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
80% savings is very impressive; I have yet to see that number on my receipt…
Good job.
[Reply]
1. Where do you live? Kansas
2. How many are in your family? 6 that we’re feeding on a regular basis.
3. How old are your kids? The ones still living at home are 14, 13 (on Monday!), 11, and 8.
4. Do you buy organic? No.
5. Does your number include any eating out? No.
Thank you for posting what I was going to ask you to post sometime soon! I’m glad my facebook post spurred you on!
In response to the above post, I went back through Quicken month by month for 2009 and found my summer months were much lower while we were feasting on all our garden produce. Even so, we averaged $700 a month for 2009 plus an additional $125 for eating out. That last figure surprised me, because I didn’t feel like we ate out that much!! (That included eating out on trips.) I do everything you’re “supposed” to do – shop the sales, use coupons when I can, buy store brands, deprive my kids of sweets like cookies, pop, etc. – ha! I do NOT know how people are feeding a family of four on less than $200 a month! I am really going to try and cut my grocery bill this year. Thank goodness my kids like Ramen noodles . . .
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
Thanks for the inspiration! It was a topic I’ve thought about before; I feel like I’m finally getting enough readership to make it interesting…
I do think teenagers should count as two people! (HA!) Seriously, that is why I thought it important that people include how old their kids are, because a family of four with toddlers is a lot different than a family of four with teens, for instance.
I feel your pain! Can you believe some of these people? Impressive! (Don’t you wonder if some of them are fibbing just a little? heh-heh…
[Reply]
1. Where do you live? Utah
2. How many are in your family? 6 + dog
3. How old are your kids? 13, 8, 6 & 5
4. Do you buy organic? No.
5. Does your number include any eating out? No.
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
oooops!! I forgot to put how much I spent. I try to spend $400 a month on groceries. This includes all household cleaners, toiletries and dog supplies. I plan to start keeping better track of my groceries starting this month, I just started at mint.com and I’m hoping to take better control of our families spending habits.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
I think you’ll like mint. And there’s nothing to lose by trying it — it’s free! But I wish there were a way to see how much you spend by category for an entire year; I had to add up all the months to get our grocery total, for instance. If you or anyone else reading this knows there’s a way to do that on mint, please let me know.
[Reply]
Central South Dakota
8 (husbamd and I, brother 29, 5 kids, 11, 9, 6, 3 & 3 months
plus a home daycare 2-5 extra kids, breakfast, lunch & snack, 5 days
Organic is not available to buy here
not including eating out
We spend about 650 a month, not including diapers or household stuff. We live in an area that the grocery store is so small that it doesn’t accept coupons so things are a lot higher and there isn’t many options to save on many items. I do stockpile when there is sales, but you can’t be greedy and wipe out the store of the items. By Saturday you are lucky if you can get bread or milk, the store is open 8-6 Mon -Sat and only has Monday deliveries. We do make a Walmart run about once a month, it’s an hour away, for diapers and hba things. We could buy more groceries there but supporting our local store is very important, we don’t want to lose our store.
Our beef comes from my grandpa and the in-laws, (this is cow county! This is the best Christmas gift you can get!) and we butcher a pig, (local producer) plus have deer meat. I have a large garden and my mom loves to can.
Just a note about living in such a small place, our house cost $15,000.00 so we don’t have a house payment. So living in a rural area isn’t all that bad!
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
I am completely fascinated by your life. Definitely, there are perks to living in such a small, rural community! (I w/be curious how much you spend on heating your home in the winter;) That is a lot of people you feed for $650 a month! And I love how invested you are with your community, with the businesses and local producers: quite literally shaking the hand that feeds you. I bet it makes the food taste different. I can’t say that right now about anything we eat except our eggs. (And they are delish I tell you what.)
[Reply]
We live in Nebraska
There is 2 people in our family
No kids…yet
We don’t buy organic…unless its on sale
This DOES include eating out
Our grocery budget for the month is $200-$250, this includes all food, personal items, and cleaning supplies. I try to use coupons but rarely find coupons that I need, I’m not very good at couponing…so we usually just buy the store brand. I do my shopping at either Walmart, HyVee or Food 4 Less. I do shop sales and do price match (at Walmart). So that does help sometimes. I do try to buy lots of items that we use regulary when they are on sale and keep track of good prices that I have gotten in the past such as the cheapest price I pay for skinless, boneless chicken breast is $1.66/lb so when it is this price I buy 20 pounds. Also we do one big shopping trip at Sam’s Club about every other month and buy in bulk some items and also meat from there. As for eating out we try to eat out just once a month…however we do have a Discover card (we pay off each month) and earn giftcards with our points so about every other month we get a giftcard for a restuarant.
I am really happy you asked this question! I always wonder what other people spend on groceries but just can’t ask lol. I have really enjoyed reading the responses and seeing how everyone else shops!
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
Making a master price list is something I have been thinking I should do, too. Probably by the time I get it we’ll be ready to move again and I’ll have to start over…
But at least then I could say, “Wow, this stuff is cheap/expensive compared to the best price I could get in Ohio!”
I find I have to be careful about asking people what they spend: Truly, I’m not trying to put them on the spot! I’m genuinely curious, but it’s such a sensitive question.
[Reply]
Where do you live? White Mountains, NH
How many are in your family? 2+ (see below)
How old are your kids? 20 year old when home from college
Do you buy organic? Not unless the cheapest price
Does your number include any eating out?Yes
I had been budgeting $500-$600 a month which included household, pet and eating out. I live in an area where I drive 30 min. minimum to a decent grocery store and live in a tourist trap where prices are high. Nowhere here doubles coupons. 1-2 times a month I will drive 45 min – 1 hour and do a stockup for the next 1-2 months from a town where things are cheaper. I wish there were an Aldi or Costco around, but that would be a 2+ hour drive. This month I decided to keep track of everything we spent and go back to cash only for groceries. We’ll see how much I SAVE this month. Thanks for your great blog!
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
That is one part of the country I have never been able to visit! It sure sounds expensive! Is it ski country?
[Reply]
Where do you live? Southwest Ohio
How many are in your family? 4
How old are your kids? 2 boys, 15 and 12
Do you buy organic? No, but I have a comment about that below…
Does your number include any eating out? VERY rarely.
After participating in the Jan. Pantry Challenge successfully using $80-$90 for the whole month, I decided to try the envelope system for the next few months and see how it goes. I’m trying $200/month and will adjust that if necessary. This does include toiletries and paper/cleaning products since I rarely pay much if anything for those items anyway using coupons. Oh, I forgot to mention we also have 3 dogs and 3 cats!
I found the organic question interesting, because I haven’t read about a single person growing their own veggies! It may be Feb., but I’m already getting excited about planning this year’s garden with things like tomatoes, cantaloupe, peppers, cucumbers, etc. I just made a great batch of chili today using some frozen tomatoes from last year’s garden. Yum!! I am so thrilled you asked this question. I am finding it fascinating reading about other familes, and for those who don’t have an Aldi’s nearby, I feel for you. I LOOVE that store!
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Yea, I didn’t specifically mention gardening and obviously that could greatly affect your food bill! I haven’t had much luck in that area myself, but I do love to support local markets and such. They may not be “labeled” organic, but labels aren’t everything (have you read Michael Pollan?) and buying local is the way to go when possible, in my opinion.
[Reply]
We live in NC, our household is 3 people, one of them being a toddler. I work SO hard on using coupons, planning our meals around whats on sale that week etc but I still cannot get our grocery budget below $500 a month! I have read everything there is out there about couponing and saving money and it still comes out to this, i’ll take any advice I can get. Oh and we don’t eat fast food but maybe once a week.
[Reply]
1. Where do you live? Georgia
2. How many are in your family? Six
3. How old are your kids? 15, 10, 8 and 5
4. Do you buy organic? Not unless it’s a really good sale.
5. Does your number include any eating out? No.
We spent around $7400 in 2009 on groceries. That averages a little over $600 per month!!!! We were spending almost the same amount dining out!
This year we’re trying very hard to keep those numbers under control. I’m aiming for $400 a month for groceries and $150 for dining out (we love our local Mexican restaurant and sometimes it’s easier to dine out on the nights where the kids have school-activities). It’s hard to do, but I’m saving quite a bit using coupons and matching up sale items — built a nice stockpile on toiletries that way, too.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Ooh, good luck! Can you imagine what you would do with that savings? I’d love to know how you do meeting your new goals — and how you do it!
[Reply]
First off, I think $400 a month for your family is just fine, and totally do-able without much couponing.
My grocery budget is $200 a month (crazy couponer) and that includes household, hygene, etc. No diapers, though! Woot!
For me:
1. Where do you live? Oregon
2. How many are in your family? Four
3. How old are your kids? 6 & 3
4. Do you buy organic? No
5. Does your number include any eating out? Kinda. If we have grocery $ left, we use it to eat out. However, we do have a separate “Date Night” fund of $10 a month. We use gift cards, though, so the $10 is just going to build up until we need it after the gift cards are spent.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
You are a grocery budget-tess extraordinaire. You are in that elite league of couponers that I can only hope to one day half-way emulate!
[Reply]
Forgot to mention that I spend around $800 a month and that’s with coupons and shopping at Walmart.
[Reply]
1. Where do you live? Southern California.
2. How many are in your family? Four.
3. How old are your kids? 10 and 6.
4. Do you buy organic? No.
5. Does your number include any eating out? No.
[Reply]
Where do you live? Ontario, Canada
How many are in your family? 4
How old are your kids? 2 “kids” 18 and 17 and we have a dog
Do you buy organic? No
Does your number include any eating out? We don’t eat out
We spend between 400 – 500 Canadian. Our stores do not double coupon and certain things never go on sale like milk and eggs. Coupons are very limited but I do coupon when I can
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
Your budget sounds very reasonable to me accounting for two teens and a dog, if I’m thinking right on the exchange rate… That would be about $300-$400?
[Reply]
Oops, my budget also includes cat, dog and rabbit food! Sorry I forgot to mention that!
[Reply]
Our monthly grocery budget is anywhere from $160-$200, depending on if we need to stock up on things….this includes food, toiletries, diapers, going out to eat, health and beauty, the works.
1. We live in Utah.
2. 4 people in my family
3. My kids are 3 and 7!
4. Do you buy organic? Rarely…if it’s as cheap as non organic.
5. Does your number include any eating out? Yes, this budget includes all eating out as well.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
How do you do this??
[Reply]
Mary K. Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 8:49 am
I’m totally popping in to ask the same thing here. Do you include health and beauty and cleaning supplies in this amount? I’m super impressed. I stockpile meat when it’s rock bottom, don’t buy a ton of processed stuff, and really can’t get under $500. BUT, I include diapers, wipes, health and beauty, etc. Share your tips girl!
[Reply]
Mary K. Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 8:50 am
Sorry, I just re-read and you do include those things. My bad.
1. Central Iowa
2. Two adults and a two year old, 2 cats (include diapers and cat food in the grocery category)
3. 2 yrs
4.Don’t buy organic unless a really good sale, but do visit the farmers market in the summer time.
5. Don’t include eating out, but that is rare anyways.
My grocery budget is $260 per month that I aim for. Sometimes I go over if I am stocking up on something, but NEVER over $300 per month. I include all diapers, personal items, cleaning supplies, cat food, etc. I do use coupons regularly, meal plan, stockpile, price match and wait for sales.
Thanks for posting this I was really interested in what other families budget for groceries, but didn’t feel comfortable just asking friends.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Isn’t it funny how sensitive we are about how much we spend on things? Obviously, I don’t have that problem
[Reply]
Where do you live? King County, WA (Seattle rural)
How many are in your family? Six, plus a big dog and 5 cats and 2 hamsters.
How old are your kids? 12, 10, 9 and 7. They are really eating a lot more now!
Do you buy organic? Not unless it’s a really good sale.
Does your number include any eating out? No.
We spend between $500 and $600 a month. That includes all toiletries, personal care, animal food, etc. I shop Costco once a month and then whatever is left I spread out the rest of the weeks.
I have tried to cut it, but it seems impossible. I shop all deals, use coupons, etc. We rarely eat out, which is a seperate line item in our budget. In comparison to the friends and family who live here, I know we are doing well for the size of our family and for the price of things in our location.
3 years ago I was visiting family in Missouri and got to go to an Aldi’s. After that, I saw how easy it would be to feed a family of 6 for half of what I spend! We just don’t have those kinds of prices here.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
I think you’re doing very well. Those ages can eat you out of house and home, I tell you what.
[Reply]
1. Pennsylvania
2. 4 people in our household
3. 2 kids ages 4 and 6
4. I always buy organic
5. We never eat out
My grocery budget is $400 a month that includes cat food, cat litter, cleaning supplies, detergent and personal care. I buy all organic, including milk, meat and poultry. Organic meat and poultry cost more but I make a few meals out of one purchase. We also have meatless nights where its some kind of legume dish. I defiantly plan my meals and make a list before I go to the store and use coupons. One trick with dinner is, I make a little more so the husband has a free lunch to take to work with him the next day. We dont eat out or go to fast food places. We used to buy coffee from a coffee joint but realized we were spending way to much so we bought a Keurig coffee system and we love it!
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
$400 for all organic? Color me impressed. Do you find it difficult to find coupons for your organic purchases?
[Reply]
jaimee Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
I work at Wegmans a grocery store in Erie, Pennsylvania. They have an area of the store called Nature’s market, they are way cheaper in price then the Whole Food Co-op. And my thing is I buy just what I need for the week, I would rather buy smaller amounts of quality food. The brands I like, Kashi, Green Works, Annie’s,ect I seem to able to find coupons for online or in the paper and then I wait for them to go on sale. Good Luck you’ll learn your own tricks to the trade.
[Reply]
Where do you live? Southern CA.
How many are in your family? Four
How old are your kids? 2 and 7
Do you buy organic?Yes, currently 1/2
Does your number include any eating out? No.
We spend about $300 a month through 2 different food co-ops. Then another $25-$50/week on personal care, pets, and cleaning supplies. So, about $500/month total.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Buying that much organic? That’s impressive. By co-ops, is that like sharing a cow or a pig with someone? Or splitting up fresh produce from a local garden? I’m pretty excited that we get our eggs fresh from a friend’s farm, who has free-ranging hens in the truest sense of the word. She started out charging us $2/doz., but quickly raised it to $2.5 when she got more business. I’m not complaining. They taste soooo much better than store-bought. (And are so much better for you, too.)
But right now eggs is the only true local food we buy. Come Spring I will try to frequent the local markets for our produce. (This is Ohio, not southern Cali
[Reply]
1. Ohio
2. 3 adults
3. Actually 2 adults, my 20 year old son & 4 days a week his 2 year old son. Also on Sundays feed my other children & grandchildren (9 more)
4. No
5. No
I usually spend at least $700 a month & I do use coupons!
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
That’s a lot of people!
[Reply]
When I have a full stockpile, we usually spend $250 a month on groceries. Easily $300 if I’m including diapers and toiletries. If I am stockpiling, I’m usually getting things that are free or under $1 after coupons.
Where do you live? Virginia
How many are in your family? Four
How old are your kids? 2 and 3
Do you buy organic? No, but we do have to buy Gluten Free items, which are NOT cheap.
Does your number include any eating out? No.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Do you find yourself stockpiling as you go? Or going through your stockpile, then making a point to build it back up?
[Reply]
I’m currently living in Egypt (since last August) and I have realised fast that buying the same products I am used to brings a hefty grocery bill…. So I am trying to buy local as much as possible.
Today I spent 100egyptian pounds in the supermarket and 50egyptian pounds at my local veg stall. I do this kind of shop between 2-3 times a month and in $$$ it’s about $28… So for two people I guess I spend $60-$90 a month on groceries.
I do spend a little extra on eating out here and there but it varies wildly from month to month.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
So now I am completely fascinated. Thanks for sharing your experience, though I do wonder how “buying local” differs from buying from specialty stores that cater to Westerners? (At least I’m assuming that’s what you were doing?) I think some of us want to move to Egypt now.
[Reply]
Hi! I’ll estimate around 200 -250 a month, and this includes diapers, and all household stuff. It fluctuates a little based on what is on sale. I do stock up when particular items that we use often are on sale (to avoid paying full price for anything).
1. Idaho
2. 4 in my family
3. Kids- 4 year old and almost 2 year old
4. When on sale
5. This does not include eating out…but we rarely eat out anyway
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
You, too, are doing a really great job!
[Reply]
I try to keep my grocery budget around $250 a month. This includes cat stuff for 2 cats and some, but not all, health and beauty and cleaning supplies. So probably $275 for all that together. I’d love to get that even lower, but it probably won’t happen.
Where do you live? Central Ohio.
How many are in your family? Three.
How old are your kids? 15-year-old boy/girl twins.
Do you buy organic? No.
Does your number include any eating out? No.
Carolyn
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Wow, you are doing great! Especially with two teens!
[Reply]
I gave you an award on my blog! Stop by to pick it up.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Thanks, girl! I’ll get to it soon…!
[Reply]
My budget is $500/month. This includes eating out, pet supplies, house supplies, diapers, and health and beauty. I usually go over. It’s more like $600. This is the first month though that I’ve really tracked it. We’ll see where I am at the end of the month.
1. We live in GA so not too bad on the cost of living.
2&3. There’s 4 of us, including two lovely girls: almost six and two.
4. I also don’t buy organic unless it’s on sale or as good a deal as “non-organic”. I’d love to buy more, but I just don’t.
5. Yes, because we used to eat out a TON. So, I’ve put eating out in our food/household budget so we have to be careful with that. It was a total budget buster for us.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
I feel like you are a perfect representation of the average family, not spending a lot, but not going crazy with the coupon gaming, either. I think we would all be surprised to learn how much that many families out there spend eating out on a monthly basis. (And how much of that is put on a credit card…!)
[Reply]
Before I started keeping track, I was easily spending $500-$700 on “food” (I include health and beauty items in this amount, too. It was horrible. Since I’ve been keeping track on Quicken (I bought it in August 2009 and I LOVE Quicken and I think I only paid $30 for it at Costco and it does lots of cool graphs and reports for you), I have brought my spending down to around $400. Last month I was under $400 which was SOOOO awesome for me. I do coupon, but mainly couponing helps me with health and beauty items and toys and clothes…not so much for groceries. I do use coupons for grocery items at CVS and Walgreens when I can get a great deal. I wish I lived in an area with a Publix or Safeway or Aldi’s. It’s so funny…I asked this same question on Rachael Ray’s website once because (before I had my daughters), I was addicted to the Food Network and loved to watch cooking shows and wondered…how much do people spend on groceries? It can get pretty expensive when you’re a “foodie”. (Not that I was a true “foodie”…I didn’t really make a lot of neat food, I just loved watching other people do it.) Anyway, the average answer was like $400, but I remember one response was like $700+ and it was just for a couple with no children!
1. California (Land of No Doubles)
2. Four
3. 2 and 4, but I also run a small daycare from my home, so I feed an additional 3-4 kids for breakfast and lunch 5 days a week. This is included in my food budget.
4. I never “purposely” buy organic or seek out organic foods.
5. This does not include eating out.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
That is great progress! Especially keeping a daycare in your home. I think that kids’ snacks is often what puts people over the edge…
[Reply]
1. Seattle, Washington
2. Two, but we also feed 3 other immediate family once a week.
3. Two adults no kids, but sometimes four adults and a 3 year old!
4. If it’s a decent price
5. No–eating out is pretty much impossible.
My family’s grocery spending bill is an interesting situation. We’re only a family of two: I’m a recent college grad living with my mom. However, our grocery bills tend to be a bit high. Mostly because I have so many food allergies that buying pre-made products is virtually impossible. Everything in our home is made from scratch.
Generally, I spend from $250-$350 on groceries for the family. It’s probably pretty outrageous. However, this month there are a ton of bills, which means I can spend less than $50 this month. I’m only buying fresh produce for the week and living out of the pantry. $10 a week is pretty much the goal. But I live in an area with excellent food prices and a great Asian market, so I’m pretty fortunate.
[Reply]
jolyn Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Some people would say that making everything from scratch keeps the food budget down? But I suppose it depends on what your allergies require you to buy! That’s a tough one.
I worked on my pantry and freezer a lot last month, and I still have a ways to go, so I’m hoping that will help me keep within my budget — and even under it — for a while longer…
[Reply]