A quick post/question for you...
What is a reasonable amount to spend on groceries each month? It seems like my family spends an ungodly amount on food and household items. We have 2 boys who seem to always be hungry (ages 13 and 10) and when they have friends over a couple of times each month which adds a small amount to the bill. I also have my household goods in my grocery budget as well too (things like toilet paper, light bulbs, shampoo, soap, etc.) I'm embarrassed to say it but in 2011 we spent just over $13,000 in Food/Household items.
Anyway - I'm sitting here at my desk wrapping up our 2011 books and starting to work on the 2012 budget. I don't want to budget $13,000 on Groceries in 2012 just because that's what we spent in 2011. So, I'm wondering what my readers spend on average for Food/Household items each month.
Please share if you're willing! And, if you do, please let me know if you have children at home too (and how many...)! Much thanks!
8 comments:
For a family of two - one being full vegetarian - we spend about $450 a month on groceries. I do a bunch of the shopping, so I watch sales like a hawk so that when we want pizza, we eat the $4.99 or less kind. We don't pay more that that for a pizza in my house. It's our Friday night movie food. My guy loves his chips, so he's on the hook for looking after his own snacks. After that we don't buy much in the way of treats or desserts - no snack cakes, granola bars, cookies, pop tarts, pizza pockets, ice cream, french fries etc. regularly.
Perhaps the question isn't how much others spend, but your family is spending the money on. Our $450 includes personal care items like shampoo, toilet paper, feminine products, toothpaste etc.
I'll tell you though, we still do stockings for Christmas in my family, and each stocking is filled with toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, body wash for each person. It's part of the package. We are still using up items from Christmas past as well.
All I can stress, is get onto the coupon sites and start clipping away. it's very rare for me to do the shopping without at least 5 coupon items. They stretch those dollars so much farther.
Plus, you really really have to watch your sales. You may be at one store and get the bulk of your stuff from there, then look at one that's just a little the other way and find out you could have not spent $25 on the stuff you just bought, had you have only driven to that store instead. I try and do my shopping when I'm in the area, so I'm not wasting gas on special trips.
There are 6 of us, kids are 4-17, and we usually have an extra kid over at least a few times over the month. I set aside $165/week for the 6 of us. That's strictly food.. I also place organic meat orders every few months to the tune of around $200'ish.
We are a family of 4. Kids are 10 and 12. I am allergic to gluten, and we eat a whole foods, Paleo diet. Our budget last year for food and household items was $175/wk, not including dining out. Eating out included, we spent around $12,000 for the year. This year's budget is $180/wk, including eat out. Our food budget also includes dog food and dog treats for one dog. Our food budget seems huge, but the reality is food isn't cheap and good food costs even more. I constantly remind myself, pay the farmer or pay the doctor. Happy New Year!
Our grocery budget (liquor not included) for a family of four is $600. However, while I've come close to hitting that number (and think it's actually pretty reasonable for us), so far we've gone over. We also have a small dining out budget (around $250) that includes date nights as well as any lunches my husband & I buy during the week.
Our house includes myself, my husband & our two boys (ages 4 & 5).
We eat a LOT of produce, and that makes up the vast majority of our grocery budget.
There are 5 of us (and one daycare child that is here daily after school) and usually my weekly bill is 150 including household items. I watch sales and coupon A LOT!
We are a family of four (kids 13 and 8). We spend about $250 per week. That includes eating out and gluten free foods. These past 6 months, personal care items have been dirt cheap because I get free samples in the mail or I use coupons.
I spend anywhere from $650 - $800 a month for a family of 4-5 (depending on who is home at the time!)
I would love to lower the expense, but with food prices always on the rise, it seems to be difficult.
I live in the South Florida area (Coral Springs, FL). There are four of us (My husband, myself, and our two girls, ages 8 and 12). I coupon when I can, which saves us alot on health and beauty items. However, my husband doesn't work (stay at home dad), and is home all day, every day. I pack my lunch for work EVERY day, and both girls eat packed lunches for school every day. My husband has some medical issues, so it is important he eat lots of fruits and vegetables. We live in South Florida, which is very expensive, and Florida grocers do NOT double coupons like when we lived in the Savannah, GA area. We are pretty frugal, but even using coupons, our grocery bill can be as much as 200.00/week. I don't understand how people can live on 100.00 per week, especially when a week's worth of produce and meats for us is easily HALF of our budget. We eat alot of fruits and vegetables. My husband home cooks all of our meals. We never buy TV Dinners, or frozen entree meals. Once in a while, if I have a coupon, I may get some frozen pizzas, but for the most part, MOST of what we eat is homemade. We do buy cookies and chips sometimes (when they are BOGO and I have coupons). Does anyone living in South Florida with a family of four actually spend less than 150/100 per week on food? Also, we only eat out about once a week, and it is usually about 25.00 or so.
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