Five years ago, I posted the first-ever “Ask the Readers” question here at Get Rich Slowly. “How much do you spend on food?” I asked in a short post (the likes of which one never sees around here anymore). For five years, people have been posting their food budgets for others to see.
Shauna wrote earlier this week asking for an update:
Would you consider doing an update to the “How much does your household spend on food?” post from 2006? This is a constant point of contention in our household budget.
- On the one hand, my husband and I are sort of “foodies”: We love to cook, experiment with new ingredients and recipes, share that food with others, etc.
- On the other hand, it’s a significant part of our budget and I feel like the general theme of most of the food-related posts on GRS is on how to spend the absolute minimum on food.
Many of our friends have cut back in other areas of their life (cheaper housing, cars, etc) in order to be able to spend more on food. They budget for eating out at new restaurants once a month, shop at the farmers market because they enjoy the experience, etc. None of those things are possible for us, even though we are supposedly spending more on groceries than most of the other folks on GRS, if the comments from your 2006 posts are right.
Our “groceries” budget is $750 per month, but that includes food, household items like paper towels and laundry detergent, personal hygiene items, etc. Basically everything we would buy at a grocery store. We live in the inner downtown core of a medium-sized city. We both work, and we take our lunches with us every day. We cut coupons where we can. We maybe eat out once or twice a month at low-cost places (pizza, happy hour, etc). We do grow some of our own produce (lettuce, tomatoes, etc) but there’s really only a four-month window when we harvest significant amounts.
My question is: Are we really spending a lot more on food than most people? Or are we just using a budget that doesn’t tell the true story? I’d love to hear what number others come up with, and the factors that influence it (eating at home vs. eating out, living in a city vs. a rural area, both partners working vs. one staying at home, buying organic vs. regular, etc) so we can actually compare apples to apples.
If I weren’t vacationing in Alberta with Kris’ family, I’d share our food numbers too. Looking at the most recent summaries of my discretionary spending (2008 and 2009), I’d guess we spend about $500/month on groceries and $300/month on dining out. That’s for two “foodie” adults in Portland, Oregon. These numbers are both about $100/month more than what we were spending five years ago.
The restaurant dining is an ongoing issue, and one that I’ve tried unsuccessfully to address. On paper, we can afford to spend that much dining out, but I don’t like it. It feels wrong. I’d rather use that money for something else. On the other hand, I’m okay with our grocery budget. Like Shauna, that number includes various household goods. It also reflects an increased focus on healthy foods in the past eighteen months. I used to buy junk food from Safeway. Now I buy things like organic chicken sausage from the local health-food store.
So, five years farther on — and facing ongoing price pressure at the supermarket — let’s look at the same questions I asked in 2006.
What does your family spend on food in a month? How much of this is for groceries? How much for dining out? Do you make an effort to control food spending, or do you simply buy what you feel like? Do you use coupons? Do you grow your own food? Is eating organic important to you? What other considerations do you make when spending on food?
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We spend approximately $1100 a month on food. About 20% of our income. Mostly organic. Little processed food. Me, DH, and college aged son. Shop at Whole Foods and Costco. Crazy and scary expensive.
We live in a major metropolitan area.
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I’m a single female living in an urban area (Dallas city) and I spend $375 a month on groceries at Whole Foods. I buy primarily organic produce but also organic dairy and meat which ups the bill considerably. And I throw in the occassional “specialty” item like the $9 bag of organic exotic dried fruit, the $12 sushi tray, etc.
I also spend another $375 a month on restaurants/alcohol but that I consider to be “entertainment” expense as my meals out are my primary social/entertainment spending.
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Groceries and household necessities like toilet paper, cleaning products, etc are a big part of my household budget and there are only 3 of us in the house.
Food I find fluctuates depending on the month. Some months we entertain more than others; holidays, summer…but if I was going to average it out, I would say we spend about $600 a month on food.
Household supplies also fluctuate a bit because I buy most of that stuff in bulk when it is on sale. Again, averaged out it would be about $150 a month.
We don’t eat out very often, special occasions only for the most part and we cut back in every other area we can. I wish the food prices were lower, but that is not the reality and we won’t sacrifice on quality food to save a few more dollars because to me, that is not living.
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Me and my girlfriend live together no kids
i keep it simple
Mon-Fri i dont eat out at all (this includes breakfast lunch & dinner)
on the weekends i eat whatever i want
this equates to about $30 Mon-Fri and maybe $40 Fri Sat and Sun
So i spend about $280 a month
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I must add i live in Major Metro area Philadelphia
$280 a month is STRICKLY on food not including things like paper towels etc
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I am a single parent with an 11 y.o. child working in a professional occupation. On average, I’m spending close to $800 per month – TOTAL, for all food and toiletries and consumables.
That’s 2 trips to the grocery store per month at roughly $200 each, and a couple of follow-up visits to the grocery store for fresh meat and veggies, + about $70 a week for lunch at work (over 5-day work week).
We tend to throw away a lot more food than I’d care to admit. usually because our schedule is so hectic with work, commute and horrid traffic patterns, plus other activities that it doesn’t allow us to have a predictable schedule to follow.
We don’t drink alcohol, but we do seem to use a LOT of soft drinks because no one drinks coffee. I will frequently switch out to iced tea throughout the spring and summer.
We tend to buy the typical foods that match our lifestyle, so not a lot of things that tend to spoil immediately. I’ll usually shop twice for non perishable goods, and then buy the perishable goods in alternating weeks.
Food now represents a sizeable portion of my monthly budget. Adjusting our variable expenses are the only way that we will be able to balance our budget and remain in the black. Everything else is spoken for, financially speaking
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I spend about $20-25 a week on food. I buy primarily fresh produce, some cheese, and a bit of meat. I’m trying to get the most nutritional bang for my buck and see food as medicine as well. That having been said, 3-4 times a year I will splurge on wine & chocolate.
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Since November of 2008
Groceries $14,494.67
Restaurants $10,497.55
Fast Food $7,389.85
Snacks $351.42
Alcohol & Bars $73.36
Coffee Shops $28.25
Food & Dining (Other) $10.03
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This is an interesting one for me. Food is one of the few things I’m truly willing to spend on. I LOVE food but I hate cooking so I’m willing to spend to eat out. I don’t usually have the budget to do so though so it’s a constant internal dilemna. I’m in LA and I’ve spent $100 a month on food and I’ve also spent around $500 a month for food. Groceries tend to be $100-200 and eating out from $50-400. I shop usually at Trader Joe’s, sometimes a local grocery store buying stuff like eggs, bread, tortillas, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, apples, berries, ice cream, a few frozen meals, pasta, stuff like that. And for eating out, I go to coffeshops (more for food though), once in awhile fast food and restaurants spending $8-20 for a meal. It all adds up but I looove getting to try new kinds of foods and new restaurants. Once I spent $100 on my favorite restaurant and I felt soooo guilty but it was the best meal I ever had so it was worth it.
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I stumbled across this thread and just had to post. I’m currently in school and have been studying food and agriculture from a sustainability perspective with particular focus on the American industry. I, too, like to keep a tight budget, but I’ve come to be more flexible when it comes to food. I live alone and spend $400-500/month on food, combo restaurant/cooking. Sure, it’s tight on what I make, but of all the things I could be spending money on, the fuel that makes my body and mind work right is a top priority.
As some of the non-American contributors to this thread of expressed, food here in American is CHEAP. Artificially cheap, mind you, because the industry is loaded with government issued subsidies that keep our food prices extravagantly low compared to the rest of the world (which, if you think about it, means you’re also paying for your food with higher taxes).
Even among developed nations, our food prices are ridiculously affordable. However, in America in particular, you get what you pay for. A lot of the food at conventional grocery stores is mass produced with significant debate as to its health content. There have been movements for whole food, organic diets, but of course this comes with a cost. The less industrial influence you want on your food, the more you’re going to pay for it…for now. Until “organic” and “whole food” become industry standard, if you want quality food to fuel your self then you do need to pay a premium. However, the way I reason it financially is this: I could spend less on food by buying lower quality products, but in the long run I’m putting my health at a disadvantage by loading it up with less than adequate foods. If I were to spend more now on high quality food, then I avoid long-term health costs associate with a poor diet. Goodness knows we have a huge problem with rising health costs in this country. Look at paying for your food as less of an in the moment cost and more of a long term investment, for yourself and your family. When it comes to food, do not skimp on quality.
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We live in Tennessee in 2006 we had a real income and we spent about $2000 per month on all household items we ate very well ! I like this budget. We lived in Florida at the time.
Fast forward to 2012 we use at least 40 a week in coupons we have lost almost all of our income and we now are on diets that are almost all fruits and veggies, all household items diapers, cleaning supplies, drug store items everything runs $125 per week and I can not get it any lower.
We don’t buy anything! I use everything that is donated to our family in any way shape or form. I have washed clothing in shampoo to get by for one month. I clean with vinegar and baking soda and soap.
We skip or do without on everything and we still can not get the budget any lower. We started off with 4 at home now we have just 3 of us. The budget keeps inching up.
We eat oatmeal at breakfast bought in bulk.
We have veggies for lunch, veggies for dinner and we snack on Cherrios and this is all that comes into the house is veggies, milk, and juice. We do not buy organic due to the price.
We eat at least 4 to 6 heads of lettuce a week.
I use very light olive oil to stir fry veggies in. We have stopped buying everything!
Last week one light bulb was $20.00 how can a budget be lower? I thought it was lower until I started writing down every dime we spent!
Wow does it add up!
Even when you do not go shopping at all.
I go to the store one time in every 10 days and we buy all veggies I often get out for under $70.00 if we need something else we stop after a day at work (which is not often) the income is down by 70 % so the groceries have to stay down. I do include everything we spend including every penny at every store.
We also spend, $110 per month on dining out this is one meal out every week and often it is very simple like a shared meal and one extra side dish with water to drink and a tip.
I think many of the above post are best guesses not every dime written down for one entire year.
I keep track of every dime , postoffice we spend at least $100 more, gas close to $200 (this is zero driving I mean we go to what is need and that is all)
Hair cuts We spend $100 and I cut all the guys at home.
Plus the girls bangs until the desperately need a haircut.
Christmas and Birthday gifts we spend about $1,500 and that does not buy anything and we add gift cards and points that I get from survey’s and swag bucks and coupons and I get like one decent item which looks like nothing when it is all wrapped and ready to give as gifts.
If you are middle class America and you want to live a true middle class lifestyle even cutting way back you will need at least $125K to $135K and you will still feel poor.
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Wow! It has been so fascinating to read all of the responses. My husband and I spend $250 a month on food (does NOT include alcohol or eating out) and we buy 90% of our food at the local Farmer’s Market. We buy mostly organic food and even have enough in there to buy some fancy foods – cheese, artisan bread, local eggs and milk. I think one way we get by on this is that we rarely (maybe every 3 months) buy meat. My husband also gets lunch for free at work, so that cuts down on our costs. And we eat healthy, from scratch meals. They’re not fancy but I think they taste great!
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Wow – all of these seem amazing to me. I spend $1000 – 1200/month at the grocery store. I am single, live in an expensive area – near San francisco, eat all organic with quite a bit of meat – I’m on a diet that prescribes two .4-lb portions of meat every day. I also eat 2 or 3 protein bars every day at $2 a pop. The rest is mostly fresh produce, mostly vegetables. I buy very little alcohol, virtually no snacks. And I dine out a couple of times a month as well as eat at the cafeteria or local restaurant a couple of times a week for lunch.
I have to find a way to cut down on these expenses, but I don’t see any way to do it without lowering the quality of food I eat – maybe I need to start making my own protein bars …
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Ok, we are empty nester’s, mortgage free for 10 years, and the most important fact..which seems to be remiss in most postings here, is the percentage of our household income that is dedicated to nutrition. Sorry, booze, entertaining or expensive “organic” items excluded. $500-600 per month. We live in the country, and buy local when in season. We could spend a bit less if we didn’t by cane sugar vs refined, Kuerig vs large cans etc. We do not entertain, and rarely eat out…keeping in mind it’s not because we can’t afford to, we are just cheap LOL! We coupon clip, bargain hunt always…and I ma extremely fortunate that my wife is a phenomenal budget master..and chef IMHO. Trading in gas guzzlers for sippers, not trading up cell phones and laptops every 6 months, and saying no to data plans saves a ton. I digress…bottom line, we spend roughly 15% of our after tax income on food.
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I budget $250-300 per month for food and food related items (which may include other nonfood groceries). I am single and this does include everything I spend on eating out, farmers markets, food for my cat, etc. I consider this a generous amount for my budget, but one I’m not willing to skimp on or cut back on. I am conscious about using coupons, shopping the sales, and not wasting food. Limiting my spending on gas, bills, and unnecessary nonfood purchases is where I save the most money.
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I spend about $250 a month on food and groceries. for a household of one. I bring my lunch to work every day but I go out for coffee a couple days a week, I also enjoy happy hours with friends. I’ve tried to limit my spending outside eating at home, but it’s a huge social aspect for me and I’m unhappy without it. I just try to drink what’s on special and eat before I leave so I’m not tempted to order food.
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Family of 5 (2 adults, 3 preteen boys) in southern town with both good farms and good access to a good variety of competing stores. Mostly primal diet, which is animal protein/vegetables, very little beans/grains. Lots of shopping for nonperishables on Amazon. Meat, raw milk, and eggs come from local sources, which takes time and effort to get. I have easy access to a farmer’s market (the kind where the food really is affordable, straight from the farmers, not the urban upscale type) and several grocery store chains where weekly sales allow for stocking up on basics.
Our total (food, household goods) has averaged about $1,000 a month, and while that seems higher than other families here, particularly since we live in what is probably a fairly reasonably priced area, I don’t see it as a problem. We came up with a budget based on our values and priorities, and that number is what we were comfortable with. If a lower budget were a priority for us (as we all know it could be at any time!) we could do that. (and in reality, our actual spending is less because I coordinate a lot of the local beef/milk/egg buys and make deliveries between farmers and a buying group, and get a very deep discount for doing so. My milk and eggs usually end up being free, and the meat ends up being less per pound than any other way I could get it. But I didn’t want that to skew the amount we’d be paying if it were all full price. My discount for coordinating things brings my actual spending down by several hundred dollars per month.) Without my coordinating discounts, eating this way would be about 20% of our income, which is what we were aiming for, and the extra work I do brings us in close to 15%
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Last year we spent nearly $20,000 on food for a family of two adults and two preschoolers. I thought this was ridiculous, and took over the groceries from my wife for six months. I stopped buying the box stuff, stopped the going out 3 or 4 times a week. I compiled a list of cheap and easy recipes, made everything from scratch (most meals took less than an hour from prep to serve). We cut down the dining out to once a week. Bonus: now the kids (3 and 4) eat healthier than any other kids we know–they actually eat salads!
In those six months the food bill was cut in half. I couldn’t get the groceries down quite to half, but we saved a ton on eating out. Right now we’re on track to have less than $10,000 towards food by the end of the year.
It definitely doesn’t cost a ton to make healthy food from scratch, and it doesn’t take too much time once rudimentary cooking skills are learned. Google and Youtube have just about any lesson and recipe the aspiring cook can hope to have. And for me, there’s nothing better than chopping food after a stressful day at work.
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I just did a mid-year analysis to revise our household budget. We are a family of two adults and one 6 year old living in suburban Philadelphia USA. Our average expenditure for groceries is $575 per month and $60 for eating out. With a little more planning and restraint on buying packaged snack foods and desserts, I’m sure I could cut our monthly grocery bill down to $500. Even with my being unemployed since March, $575 is an OK amount for us to spend on food, especially since we go out to eat only once, maybe twice, per month.
Planning out meals for the week and shopping to this list of ingredients saves a lot of money, I’ve found. We have a garden during the summer and I usually buy organic/local foods when possible, and shop at farmers’ markets. We eat vegetarian a lot, which saves money, and I try to cook from scratch at least a few times per week. My mom and I buy meat, eggs and poultry directly from local farmers; organic grass fed ground beef for $5 a pound – can’t beat it! We buy lots of foods and all of our spices in bulk, which saves a lot of money. Plus, you can buy only what you need so there’s no waste. Instead of soda, I make my own iced tea or drink water. That has saved $30+ per month and probably several cavities at the dentist. There are lots of ways to save money with groceries. Over time, putting them into action has made a big dent in our grocery bill.
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I live in California, near Sacramento. For a family of 3 (I’m not including the 3 dogs and 1 cat here, because they’re on a different expense account), two adults and 1 teenager, I think my groceries (including none food items) is closer to $600 a month. Or $300 every two weeks. I budget $140 every two weeks, but that’s only food, and sometimes that’s not enough. LOL! So, I know I’m paying more on Groceries because if you include laundry items, cleaning items, bodywash, soap, toothpaste, etc… that’s quite a big chunk. Since the doctor charged us to eat healthier (I don’t want to swallow pills as big as my fingers), I’ve been more conscious of getting farmers’ market goods. Of course, freezing some summer produce is a must and I think that’s adding to my summer budget as well. The change from white rice to brown has made us not go through 20 lbs of rice as quickly as before. The price is about the same as well. So that saves me some cash. But, subbing shellfish and fish for beef has been rather trying as the former is more expensive sometimes. This “diet” is still fairly new so I’m working on the budget as we speak. I’ll let you know in a couple of months how it’s going. Couponing isn’t working very well in this side of town as the coupons available are usually for things I don’t buy.
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I am still blown away by some of the low numbers I am seeing here. Can some of you with low budgets give me an idea what you are eating/paying?
The last two posts show people spending $200/month per person for their whole grocery bill. I figure I spend 250 to 300 a month on meat alone (figuring average price of around $8/lb for organic chicken or beef, and eating 30 pounds of meat per month)… is that what I’m doing wrong? Eating too much meat, or am I paying more than you are for it?
Veggies seem to come in at roughly $2 or $3 per meal, 2 meals per day (well, most days) – that’s got to be at least another $120/month.
That doesn’t include my between-meal snacks (yogurt, fruit, protein bar, etc…) which probably add another $5/day.
So I am having trouble seeing how I could ever get below $500/month per person.
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Hubby and I have a budget of $300 per month–sometimes it’s more and sometimes it’s less (though with food prices lately it’s not less very often-LOL!)
A pound of meat seems like an awful lot of meat to me. We are not vegetarians, but we don’t eat a pound a day for the two of us. I might have a roast or a chicken a week and maybe a pound of ground chuck and either pork chops or brats. We use meat “sparingly” and use potatoes/pasta/rice and vegetables as the “big” part of a meal.
We’re able to buy a side of beef for $3.25 a pound–that’s grass fed/organically raised once a year. We’ll be raising our own chickens starting next year and that will help too. Although we have to feed them, obviously, it will be cheaper. For some reason, organic chicken around here is more expensive than beef—go figure!
I also garden and don’t have to purchase ANY potatoes/onions/garlic/salad fixings/corn, or beans.I also grow all our berries, apples, and peaches. That helps a LOT. I bake all breads/rolls/etc from scratch–but I do use all organic ingredients. It’s STILL a lot cheaper than buying them ready made. I go through all this because hubby is retired and we live on a VERY small pension. Our monthly expenses are less than some of these grocery budgets I’ve been seeing. I guess it’s all in what you HAVE to live with—and being below the federal poverty line, I’ve learned to live with a lot less-LOL! I WON’T take help-we don’t need it. It’s all about being careful.
We’re healthy and well fed. That’s the goal after all, isn’t it?
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