Family of three how much should it cost

[dclpluto]

family of three how much should it cost for groceries for a week? I think my wife spends too much money on groceries. Also included is soap. Shampoo. Paper towels etc. Maybe I need to do it myself. Told my wife to limit it to 200 a week she said a it can't be done. We live in southern New Jersey. We don't eat fancy meals either no steaks no fish.

 

[tvguy]

I'd say our average for 3 is about $100 a week. Some weeks it is $70, other's when we need soap shampoo and all that expensive stuff it may hit $160. We buy our produce and meat at the local chain store, but most of our groceries come from the Neighborhood Walmart. How the local chain.....which owns it's dairy......can justify $1 a gallon more for milk is beyond me. Amazing to me how many $3-$5 items are a full dollar cheaper at Walmart.

 

[Marionnette]

family of three how much should it cost for groceries for a week? I think my wife spends too much money on groceries. Also included is soap. Shampoo. Paper towels etc. Maybe I need to do it myself. Told my wife to limit it to 200 a week she said a it can't be done. We live in southern New Jersey. We don't eat fancy meals either no steaks no fish.

I think that you should do it yourself and get a real feel for what things cost. Grocery prices vary from one region to the next. What I spend in my part of PA isn't anything like what my brother spends in another part of PA for the exact same thing. No doubt, your wife's grocery list doesn't look much like mine. So it's not worth comparing the two costs.

 

[tiggergal15]

I guess I'm crazy...I spend roughly that for a month..for me and my daughter and BF..it certainly can be done....we have allergies and have to buy special items that are not cheap.I don't use paper towels and enforce other saving methods fo us..we eat fruits and veggies and are very healthy with certain meats to round out meals.
I would sit down with your family and express your desires and concerns. Decide what products are necessary. Which products You can economize or live with out as a group. Cutting back can be done but without everyone's cooperation it won't work.
It will take some time and effort by everyone but if everyone is on board you will see results.
Good luck.

 

[kathy884]

We have a family of three and average about $150 a week. We are close to that almost every week. Do note that DH and I both work, so don't have lunches at home and do not make lunches. And DS 20 goes to the community college and doesn't have lunch at home either. DH and I eat dinner at home except for Saturday, which is always a date night for us. DS eats out more than that with friends. DS also has friends over a lot, and we do get whatever snack food he wants to have around for them.

We don't shop at the least expensive grocery store in town either, but shop where we think the produce is best. We don't eat much beef -- just seems to pricey, but do eat quite a bit of chicken and pork.

 

[bcwife76]

I live in Canada, where grocery prices are higher and where right now everything costs 30% more because of our dollar. We live in a HCOL area, are a family of 4 and a big dog and I still don't spend more than $150/week on groceries. Unless you are eating filet mignon or alaskan king crab legs every night for dinner, you are paying too much.

 

[Mickfarland4]

It depends on your area. I can load up a whole shopping cart, including pork chops, sometimes frozen chicken breasts for $120 at Aldi. If you have this store in your area and don't use it, give it a try. I have found there is not much of their brands that don't compare to regular brands. But, I also do not buy much name brand anything. I buy generic whenever possible. Usually, this is parent's choice or Great Value at Walmart for hand soap, lotion, mouthwash, sunscreen, diaper wipes, ect. Most are very close to the name brand they compare to at a fraction of the cost. I actually prefer some of the Aldi's snacks. For example, a package of fig newtons at Aldi is $.89, chips are $1.50, shredded cheese is $2.79 and I haven't noticed if they are smaller or not. It's possible the packages are a tad smaller but, when I come home from shopping my counters are loaded, including produce from there as well, if I don't feel like going to our fresh market. Our fresh market is where I typically have been buying our ground meat or other red meats lately and I prefer to buy produce there, but, don't always feel like making the trip. In that case, Aldi produce does just fine for the most part.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Having relatives in that exact area...$200/week is realistic, depending on how you eat. If you like meats (especially lunch meats)/non-seasonal produce/single-serve packages/organic/name brands/pre-prepped items, etc...you're gonna spend $200/week or more where you live.

Echoing advice above, I also encourage you to walk through a local grocery store and look at the prices and the ads and get a feel for what you'd spend. You can likely spend less, but then at what cost to you (a change in diet, a commitment to only eating the seasonal/on-sale produce, a desire to drop high-end coffee or soda, etc, etc, etc)...

It's also affected by your storage ability. If you have no way to store meats (for example), you will either have to always eat the on-sale meat for the week or you will have to play the flucuating price to eat what you want (chicken breasts can be between $2-$5/lb, ground beef can be between $3.49 and $7/lb, depending if it's on sale or not)...

 

[havaneselover]

We are a family of three and I spend about $400/month. I print coupons and use ibotta, target cartwheel, and savings catcher. I shop at Walmart, trader joes, Costco, Target, and Kroger.

 

[5kidsmommy]

We are a family of 7, including 5 teenagers and four of them are boys. We also have two dogs, five cats and a guinea pig. My grocery costs include pet supplies, toiletries and cleaning supplies. I spend about $300-$400 a week on everything. We do eat meat, I buy lots of fresh veggies and I homeschool so my kids eat all meals at home. I do most of my shopping at Aldi's and rarely use coupons even at the regular store because I usually cook from scratch. I buy my bulk items from BJs and always take advantage of coupons there. I buy a lot of store brands except for things like pet foods. Oh course costs can vary depending on where you live. My husband used to think I spent too much on groceries until I decided to have him spend a month of shopping with me and now he realizes how thrifty I truly am. I think though that $200 for a family of three probably is doable but maybe you should spend some time with your wife to see how she is shopping, perhaps food in your area is just pricey or you are buying more expensive food than you think.

 

[dclpluto]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Since I started this I went to Walmart and got a lot of food for 31 dollars. It was just food nothing else. Like milk cleaning supplies soap shampoo etc. also no fruits and vegetables. We are going to have to cut back before I had unlimited ot. Not anymore

 

[dancin Disney style]

We are a family of 4...kids are 25 and 16, so basically 4 adults. I spend on average $90/week. My BFF, also a family of 4(2 small kids) spends $250/week. We have actually had some hot debates about her spending. We live in the same town and shop in the same grocery store. I can't for the life of me figure out how she spends more than double of what I spend per week. I buy more milk weekly(it's expensive here) than she does and I have a dog to feed as well. I have shopping rules and she swears that she shops the same way but I doubt it.

My first rule is to never buy something unless it's on sale. If it's something you use a lot of then you stock up...especially if it's really on sale. This can cause you to spend more that week but the following week your bill could be really low(it all balances out by the end of the month). Second rule is try to combine coupons with sales. Last rule is to meal plan based on what's on sale that week.

If you want to really cut your overall grocery spending here's a good tip. Weekly sales usually have a 3 month cycle. Buy enough to last you through that 3 months. In particular on items that you use a lot of. This does require having a little storage space and a freezer. This tactic works really well to save money if you combine coupons with the sale item.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Since I started this I went to Walmart and got a lot of food for 31 dollars. It was just food nothing else. Like milk cleaning supplies soap shampoo etc. also no fruits and vegetables. We are going to have to cut back before I had unlimited ot. Not anymore

Just be careful to buy food your family will eat. It's a balancing act, saving money but still eating healthy, eating "happy" (ie - avoiding reactions like "it's chicken, AGAIN" or "I'm not hungry" and then 2 hours later, raiding the last milk and cookies b/c the cheap dinner was too gross to eat), and eating what you buy (rather than looking in the fridge and deciding there's nothing to cook/eat and getting takeout).

 

[Styx Fan]

I would suggest the 2 of you go shopping together for an average weeks groceries. Then you can see the items that are important to you each of you, what can be deleted, purchased cheaper, etc. You really will need to work together on this....one person can't shop and the other set the budget without being aware of the whole picture.

There are some things I get at Aldi, some things I won't, but I do try to purchase basics like spices, condiments there.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Meat is definitely one of our largest expenses, so I really watch deals for that. When I find a great deal on things we use regularly like ground beef, chicken breasts, or pork chops, I load up our deep freeze. I also buy all of our paper products, soap, cat food, etc at Target using coupons, Cartwheel and deals there so I don't ever have to pay full grocery store prices for that kind of stuff.

 

[maxaroni]

family of three how much should it cost for groceries for a week? I think my wife spends too much money on groceries. Also included is soap. Shampoo. Paper towels etc. Maybe I need to do it myself. Told my wife to limit it to 200 a week she said a it can't be done. We live in southern New Jersey. We don't eat fancy meals either no steaks no fish.

We are a family of 3, southern NJ, our weekly bill is about $200 per week. We shop between Whole Foods, Wegmans and Trader Joes.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

When you include all household items, toiletries, cleaners, paper products, I think your wife is right. We live in a lower cost of living area and I spend roughly $200 a week for all household needs.

 

[neatokimmo]

In our area $200 would be very high, mostly organic.

Do you all cook? Maybe you could add in a few $5 meals a month to see how it affects the budget. Do a pound of chicken breast with some kind of seasoning on it, a couple of pounds of veggies and a starch. Here, that would be 1.50 to 2 for the chicken, $2 or less for the veggies, and .50 to 1 for the starch.

 

[HeatherC]

Family of five in Massachusetts with three teens..19,17 and 15. I usually spend about $200 a week. Used to be $175 but can't do that anymore.

This includes all pet supplies, paper goods, toiletries, etc. . Also includes breakfast, lunch and dinner for everyone. Kids hate school lunches and Dh loves dinner leftovers for lunch.

What is necessary to keep to this amount is for me to plan meals. In other words, I need 2lbs. ground beef....one for tacos one night and one for stuffed peppers. I need so much deli meat, cereal, etc.. Then I need to try and stick to the list. When I do this, I can stick to the budget.

 

[erij11]

Our family of 3 spends an average of $125 per week including our personal items such as body wash, toothpaste, laundry supplies, etc. My DH is retired military so I do a majority of my shopping at our military commissary. It would not be that low at our local grocery store or even Walmart. I do clip coupons and it might be helpful to you to make a monthly dinner menu. I plan our meals for the month and then go through my pantry and freezer before I head to the store and only buy what I need for the meals on my menu with only a few extra things. I find this cuts down on waste for us. My daughter and I also pack our lunches.