What do you spend, per person of those you shop for, on Groceries per week?

[Mike03]

Some other posts have really opened my eyes to how little some people can spend. My answer is that I spend about $120 a week, which seems really high after reading some of the posts here.

This post is offered with all due credit to inventive, wonderful DU posters like masmdu and marmar, whose posts inspired this question.

ON EDIT: Changed "food" to "groceries" so it could include things like OTC drugs like aspirin, and hair and hygiene products.

[LSparkle]

1. I've been trying to live on $100 per week for both food/gas for years

but lately that's become impossible (thanks mostly to the price of gas). I'd say now I need around
$150 a week minimum.

[marmar]

22. delete, posted in wrong spot

selfdelete

[rosesaylavee]

2. Between $50 - $100 for food

I primarily shop Aldi's now. I can fill my shopping cart for about $60 for two adults and then supplement that with going to our regular supermarket for items I can't get there or don't like their brands.

[Kittycat]

3. Our situation is unique...

I won't count my oldest boy's food - since he's on a feeding pump, but it's pretty pricey. Insurance picks up most of it after we hit the deductibles & out of pocket max.

So, if I count my youngest (1yo), my DH and I - we spend $87.50/person/week. If I take out our dining out budget, it's $58.33/week/person.

I know I can cut back, but just haven't because I've been terrible at meal planning. I get on the bus, then fall off of it again. Also, the cheaper grocery stores are further away - which means more gas.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. We used to spend a lot more

in the realms of 300-400 for the two of us, that is 200 bucks per person, we live in a really expensive area of the country

These days, I go to the PX, and we managed to get our costs down anywhere from fifty to 90 a week, depending on whether we want to splurge or not

That also includes coffee out, and things like and I take that into account into my food budget these days.

Having been in some kind of skids while hubby was unemployed made me REALLY pay attention to what I spent and where. Hell, some things I used to spend on regularly, I just don't... like going for coffee regularly. These days I am lucky if I do that once a week, and when I do, I tend to order tea anyway, since it is cheaper.

Now next week will be an off week since we have dentists appointments and will not have time to cook, which means we will have to eat out more.

[Kittycat]

29. I've cut back on the coffee out as well.

I didn't quite realize how much I was spending, since DH does the bills. Then one day I opened a statement up, and was shocked. I also used to order my tea, loose, from a store in savannah. It's sitll inexpensive in the grand scheme - but lipton is just cheaper, so I've been getting by on that.

One thing that we do that I know keeps cost down, is limit how much beef & pork we eat, and I buy chicken when it's on sale. The price of even hamburger up here is over $5/lb, so we try to make it stretch by making a meat loaf, or incorporating rice on the side as a good filler. My problem is working through my pantry. It's so stocked, that I can't add more too it - but I'm not pulling from it enough.

[Xenotime]

4. About $125 / week

[DS1]

5. 60 a week tops

[Wcross]

6. If I exclude dog & cat food as well as treats?

I spend about 80 bucks a week. I do NOT eat food from restaurants or the cafeteria at work. I cook at lot from scratch, I don't eat lunch on my days off work. I always make enough for two-three meals & freeze the leftovers for another time.

[distantearlywarning]

7. About $200 for two adults, per week.

That includes all kinds of items beyond food from toilet paper to spray cleaner to vitamins. It also includes cat food and supplies for two large and growing male kittens (who get the expensive stuff and eat us out of house and home).

I am hoping this number will go down this summer because we signed up for a farm share this week - $21 per week for all the organic local small-farm fruits and veggies you can eat. We eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies and Holy Crap are they expensive at the grocery store these days (more expensive than good quality meat, by far)!

[SharonAnn]

14. That's pretty much ours, also. Except the cat food and supplies are additional.

[anitar1]

8. generally around 55 a week but that does not

include non grocery items. I keep that separate. But--it is getting harder to keep that budget, although I am changing my food choices and going back to more healthful ways of eating. No beef and very small amounts of other meats. I prefer it that way. Soon to be weaned off meats altogether. It seems to agree with my digestive system.

[sarcasmo]

9. We are about 200 every two weeks so that's about 100 a week.

When I was single I could get away on thirty bucks a week, but it was in no way healthy.

[madrchsod]

10. three people average about a hundred

it`s hard to come up with a figure cause we will buy ten for ten stuff one week that will last for two or three weeks.
same with meats when the stores run specials...

[tishaLA]

11. about $35/week

I make almost everything from scratch, which makes it cheaper. In LA we also have 99 cent stores, where I can find real bargains, like (yesterday) 99 cents for organic chicken stock, organic canned tomatoes, and the like. I also go to discount grocers (Food 4 Less) and buy some things in large quantities, like chicken breasts (or whole chickens), and then I freeze them. I get fresh produce from the Grand Central Market in downtown LA, which is both very close to where I live and extremely affordable. And then there's Trader Joe's.

I have completely eliminated Whole Foods from my shopping possibilities at this point. I wish I could justify it/afford it, but I can't.

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. Whole Food & Gelsons can totally bust your budget.

Nice stuff though. Love the stores.

[Kittycat]

30. They're building a new one close to me.

I'm looking forward to going for produce, specifically. We have an organic garden in the summer, where I grow our staples (peppers, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, etc, etc) - but in the off seasons it's hard to find anything healthy that looks edible.

[Matariki]

12. $50 per week

doesn't include beer or wine. I don't drink soda or buy much prepared or snack foods. Funny, at $50 I've always felt like I was splurging - seems like that might not be the case...

[Obamanaut]

13. Two of us here at home. For just grocery (food) items, it's about

$75 per week. We try to be frugal. An example is spaghetti - when we have that, I make a whole lb package with the appropriate amounts of sauce, meat products, etc. We'll have our meal, and then freeze the leftovers into one or two portions. Thawed in the refrigerator, then heated in a pan with a little olive oil or butter it's quite tasty. FYI - since my retirement I do most of the cooking, and it must be ok because Ms ret88 lets me continue.

We also spend a lot on dog food. We have four furkids who don't understand cutting back. And I drink two gallons of milk a week.

[JackCo]

15. I budget $75 per week

This is food, paper/beauty products and dogfood. Every few months will be a little more when I do a stock up at Costco.

My family consists of hubby, teen son, myself, and 2 dogs. I cook from scratch basically everyday and hubby takes a plate from home for lunch.

[flvegan]

17. $250/wk. Roughly.

$100 for me. I try to eat as organic as possible, and I'm good for a couple 12-packs of Amstel Light each week.

$150 for dog food. I run a rescue.

That said, I never eat out. I brown bag my lunch when I go to work.

[seabeyond]

18. 150-200 a week with 4 people. we go out maybe once a week fast food

every couple months or more to a restaurant. i do most all cooking at home. not bad.

[riderinthestorm]

20. Yep, I'm in this budget too.

I am trying to shop at Aldi's more which just opened up by me, and an enormous warehouse store called Woodman's - wowza, an enormous warehouse that takes me an hour + to navigate but their prices are great.

I'm lucky in that the only fast food my kids will eat are the .99 bean burritos at Taco Bell. So if we go fast food, it usually costs less than $5 to feed all of us for dinner.

[seabeyond]

24. lol, my kids will eat any. but i have always had a firm stance on controlling fast food and sodas

a 20 oz soda about three times a week. so becomes a treat. lol. and fast food never more than once a week generally every two weeks.

but now the kids are older and getting real meals geez.... working on a 20.

[union_maid]

19. About 150 at the supermarket for two adults

That includes a lot of non-food items including pet food, kitty litter. But it also includes workday lunches because I brownbag pretty much every day.

[marmar]

23. About $25 p/week on groceries, but I eat out a lot....

I'm a single guy and despise the kitchen....

[conflictgirl]

25. $25 per person (family of 5)...but it takes a lot of effort

We eat vegetarian meals, make our own bread, and have very simple meals. I have worked this out to almost an art form by now. lol We do always get organic or hormone-free milk and organic eggs, I won't make exceptions on those. We have a sizable garden in the summer and do a lot of canning as well, but not necessarily enough to make a significant dent in the grocery budget.

I used to be able to do it for $20 per person per week but prices seem to have gone up about 20% in the past few months.

[slampoet]

28. Wow !!! Hats off to you!

Having lived in Michigan i can say you are in a good area for this but $25 a week was my 1989 budget in Michigan.


The fact you can do it these days is amazing.




BTW - thank goodness that you don't live here in Rhode Island. Peanut Butter and Soy milk have Doubled in price within 14 months.

[dysfunctional press]

26. around $50/person/week, i suppose.

we eat very well, but i mostly buy what's on sale.
my only "brand loyalty" is to breyer's ice cream.

[slampoet]

27. I want to compliment everyone on this thread for their maturity.

It seems like when ever i see one of these threads there is some usually young student type that says people should be able to survive off of rice, beans and apples for the rest of their lives and that poverty and malnutrition are not real.



Everyone on this thread has judging people. Thanks you.


As for my expenses ?


It is really hard to say since at this point I am supplementing some of my food bills by Dumpster Diving.

[distantearlywarning]

31. I don't know about rice and beans

but apples for a week cost us about 15 bucks here. Fruit is not cheap.

(BTW, I agree with everything you said in your post. :-))