Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

we are trying to do a budget and food alone seems to be really high ....like 1600$$ and that is NO diapers wipes or baby stuff and NO cleaning products laundry products ...

just curious does this sound high to you at all ...

there is 4 of us but how much can a 1 yr old and underweight 3 yr old eat ....

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

Message edited 2/17/2010 7:04:59 AM.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

yes i cook every night and no it dosent all get eaten

i shop at shopright / trader joes / and whole foods

and i go every day to shop as we dont have a big house with any storage space ......

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

OMG that is alot of $$$$....especially since it is just food. It is just us 3, me ..DH and my 4.5 month old...so to be honest we try to be very very cheap with what we buy for food b/c we are financially tight. I would say we spend about $300 a month on food for him and I....she just started to eat solids so not sure how much it will be with her too...maybe another $50 for the month? That does not include our diapers, wipes, etc....but my sister has a family of 5, both her and hubby and 3 boys, 7, 5, and 1....and they spend alot she says and that is about $700-800 a month....how are you spending 1600? I am pretty good w/ budgets if you want some help ....are you including this amount as eating out food? I won't be on here untillater b/c leaving for work soon and I can't check this @ work, but I will be back later 2nite!!! Don't worry we will help u!

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

About $600-$1000 a month. Depends on if I am cooking a lot that month or not.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

For our family of 4 (although Jack is not eating "real" food yet) it's probably about $600-750 & we really don't buy meat. It's crazy how expensive food is.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

Wow, I thought I spent a lot! I spend around $150/week at the grocery store but that doesn't include formula and a few incidental things I pick up here and there. Also doesn't include take out occasionally. So I'd say around $750 per month, which I know is way too much. It is me, DH, my 3 year old and my infant. Sounds like part of your problem may be that you shop every day - you probably end up with impulse buys that you don't need. Although I don't do this, I do believe that making a list beforehand and sticking to it could work.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

That is A LOT of $$$!!! We spend probably between $600-700/month BUT that includes groceries, all cleaning and paper products, and diapers, wipes, etc.

Message edited 2/17/2010 7:23:25 AM.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

we budget $675 a month for all groceries and that includes diapers/formula/wipes (2 kids in diapers)

this month exceeded that budget bc we are both on weight watchers and did the whole frozen meal thing...

but we are going to start cooking again...

we shop at BJs & Stop N Shop, clip coupons.

we do a BJs run once a month and shop every week and make a list of things to make for the week for dinner so we get exactly what we need.

usually when i do the food shopping we go over budget but when DH does it, he goes exactly by the list.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

I spend about $400/month on food..
That includes baby food (jars/cereal/snacks- I BF so no formula is needed), and cleaning supplies/paper goods...

Diapers & wipes run me like an additional 50-80/month.

We go out to eat/order in 2x's/week- but we dont get any where expensive (maybe 60-70/week)...

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

With the 3 of us we spend $100 per week, that is all i allow. So $400 permonth covers all of us. That includes diapers, wipes, food and groceries.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

I'd say around $600/month. I mostly do Stop and Shop, but do drop some $$ in Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I cook almost every night. We do take-out, and it used to be every week at least once, but lately, since I am dieting, we don't do it as often.

My kids are only 3 and 5 and I do sometimes feel like they are already eating me out of house and home!

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

$1600 sounds high to me. I have 4 people - 2 adults and 2 children (6 & 8). We generally spend around 800/month. If you include 'eating out' we can bump it up to almost 900.

Honestly.. Whole Foods is A LOT of money. I know the organics are really good there.. but you will pay more money if you shop there. One trip to whole foods for me is $300 vs. $150 at Stop and Shop vs. $120 at Shop-Rite.

If you are shopping all organic, then you will definitely be spending more money - no matter where you shop.

ETA: Do you eat leftovers?

Message edited 2/17/2010 8:20:22 AM.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

Wow, that is a lot. When I am not paying attention I spend about $400 a month for a family of 4. This does not include diapers, paper products, cleaning products or pet supplies (we go to BJs for those). When I am paying attention I spend $300

First I would find a way to shop only once per week. I know you said you have a small house, but I would think there has to be a way to store a weeks worth of groceries. DH, my SS and I used to live in a 600sf apartment -we just had to get really creative with storage. Things that would be in storage long term (seasonal decorations etc. where stored in rental units) Non perishables would be stored where ever we could find space, not just in the kitchen.

Make a list and stick to it. I make my list in the order of the store so I am not going back and forth and thereby passing the bakery 5 times so I eventually give in and buy a bunch of crap . You could even try planning out your meals so you use the same ingredients for many meals. This can also prevent you from wasting food. Say you roast a chicken on Sunday, you can use the leftover meat for a stir-fry or a casserole, sandwhiches, soup etc. Plans meals so your leftovers can become new meals.

Buy generic, there are very few items that I find a noticeable difference in generic vs. name brand

Use Coupons

I'm sure once you take a look at how you are spending at the store and what is being wasted in the home you'll very quickly find areas to cut back.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

I cook everyday (I actually don't like to go our b/c I'm a super picky eater and we have a newborn).
I spend $100 per week, that is our budget. So $400 per/month covers me, my husband and DS (although he is EBF rt now). That includes diapers, wipes, food and groceries.

I eat really pretty healthy I only shop the perimeter of the store (all the produce, meats than milk, eggs, yogurt) I buy organic for the most part and find that Stop & Shop has a pretty good selection and I do just fine with that.

I use S&S coupons weekly (7$ of 40) AND King Kullen ones (vary 7-10) at S&S (they take the competitors) all said and done I usually save approx $20 just in coupons.

Btw I would cut out Whole Foods I find them ridiculously expensive.

Trader Joes - I do shop there occasionally although I find that I buy more packaged foods than I would normally buy.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

that seems pretty high. Do you use coupons? That helps A LOT! And I buy what is one sale. Typically I save $50-60 a week doing just that.
I would say that I spend around $125-150 for two adults depending on what I need (like if I need the big pack of paper towels, toilet paper, laundry detregent, etc. it is obviously a little more that week) but it generally stays in that range.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

We spend about $300 for DH & I. DD is just starting cereal this month- so maybe add an additional $50 and then $75 once she starts eating solids I figure. I LOVE coupons (clipping them relaxes me) and we shop at ShopRite and BJ's only for Groceries. Maybe it would help you to join BJ's or Costco for bulky stuff you always use? We don't have a big place either (live in a 1BDRM condo) but for the stuff we use every day (water, oatmeal, milk, eggs) it's MUCH cheaper to buy there. The membership is paid for by what we save in water in just 3 months.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

We spend about $600-700 per month on groceries (depending on whether we are entertaining much or no). We eat almost all of our meals at home, and often we have people over rather than go out to eat, much easier with a bunch of toddlers! So we do entertain at home fairly often, but I think we wind up saving money there.

There are 3 of us, DS, DH, and I.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

We spend about $550-$650 a month.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

$300-$400 a month.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

Like everyone else...yeah, that seems high to me! I guess I spend around $400 on groceries a month. We do go out/take out 3-4 meals a week though and my DH never takes lunch from home...so I guess we spend a couple of hundred more on that.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

That sounds insanely high to me! I spend roughly 125 dollars a week, but once I month I stock up on paper towels and that adds about 15 bucks to the bill, so 515 bucks on average.
I plan my meals out for the week then shop based on those meals. It helps because you're not buying a heck of a lot extra then. I stock up on basics if they're on sale, like we only eat chicken, so when it's on sale, I'll buy two family sized packages and when pasta is on sale, I buy like 5 boxes, etc.
I have a stocked freezer of chicken and veggies at all times, so we've been trying lately to skip a week of buying dinner supplies each month and eat what we have. It keeps the food in the freezer from getting too old and it also cuts our last week of food shopping in half. HTH!

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

Holy shiiiit! That's what we pay in rent!

We probably spend about $500-600 a month for a family of three and a dog

Thats including diapers/wipes/cleaning products

Message edited 2/17/2010 10:12:38 AM.

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???

Roughly $500.....probably more

Re: Can i ask how much you spend on groceries a month ???