grocery budget for 2 people

[Kathi OD]

I try to stay to about $400/month, but never can. It's usually at least $600, not including household & cleaning items.

I need to eat gluten-free, so that alone hikes our bill quite a bit. A loaf of gluten-free bread, about 1/3 the size of a regular loaf, costs about $5, and that's when it's on sale.

I do brew our iced tea and while I get bottled water, a case is less than $4 and will last about a month because I only use it for my lunches at work.

 

[angierae]

I only buy soda when it's on sale for $1/2 liter, and most of the time I drink a 24 ounce bottle of water (refilled from water I keep in a pitcher in the fridge) and put 1 off-brand crystal light packet in it (which I get on sale for $1.50 for 10. I go through a couple boxes of packets a week but that's still only $3.

I tend to only buy what's on sale, though - if eggs are on sale for $1/dozen, we have eggs for the next ten days or so, etc. Whatever fruit is on sale that week is what we're eating.

I use dinner leftovers for lunch so there's not a lot of money being spent on lunches, and my work breakfast is a piece of fruit and an oatmeal packet, and I get those when the 10 packet boxes are on sale for $2 or $2.50, so that's two weeks of breakfast for $2.50. (Weekends at our house don't usually involve breakfast because we all like to sleep in and then don't start worrying about food until 1ish.)

 

[disneychrista]

My budget for food is $300/month for 3 adults. My eating out budget is $50/month. My HBA & cleaning supplies budget is $50/month.

 

[robinb]

What is realistic? I am spending way too much!

How much do you spend?

We spend a lot, especially compared to many people here. I think we spend about $150 per week on groceries and paper products for 3 of us and my DH is only here 3-days a week. My DH and I are meat eaters (nearly every meal) and my DD is a vegetarian. We don't eat a lot of processed food, I have been transitioning from "grocery store" meats from the major processors to more organic and/or natural meats, I buy organic veggies and fruits about 1/2 the time. I buy expensive deli meats (Dietz & Watson or Boar's Head) instead of cheap-o ultra processed stuff. I also shop at the local natural foods co-op a couple times a week where the prices are much higher. I also have brand loyalty on my paper products.

I could save a lot of money shopping only at Aldi's or other discount grocery stores but for me it's not worth it.

 

[MissBritt]

We are brand-loyal but combine sales and coupons to save 25-40% per shopping trip. We spend about $300 a month on food, plus meals out on the weekends. Add maybe $30 a month for paper and/or cleaning products and pet food is a separate budget. We've probably spent closer to $350+ a month lately since I'm pregnant (cravings!!!).

 

[stargazer2892]

We budget $300 a month on food total, that includes going out once a week. We eat lots of fruits and veggies, whole wheat pasta, bread ect. We don't use coupons (it ends up being more expensive for us) we stock up when things are on sale two weeks ago pasta was buy 2 get 3 free, we ended up with 10 boxes of pasta for the price of 4. We also go to the store a couple of times a week so we have no problem getting the almost ready to expire meats, fruits, and veggies.

 

[hopemax]

DH and I are in the $350-$400 range too. Usually, $50 a week, and then one $150 trip to Costco. This is food, household products, toiletries and the wet food for the cat (dry food is separate).

I saw advice, once, to "shop the outside of the store." And that's what we do for the most part. Produce, meat, dairy, etc. We do go down the aisles on occasion, for things like baking supplies, pasta, condiments. But we try to stay away from the cookie/cracker aisle, pop tarts, that type of stuff. I buy meat from Costco, and plan meals around what's on sale this week, vs what do I have a craving for.

 

[livvylivvie]

YIKES!!!
We Must spend alot on grocerys!! Maybe I need to take a better look at my grocery shopping! We are a family of 4 and for the most part for a month we spend almost twice what people are posting. Maybe Canadian prices are higher... Maybe I should try doing my grocery shopping in the states....
We eat well. Lots of milk for the kids, Lots of cheese, pretty much nothing processed, I make alot from scratch. My kids are always hungry! haha we always have fruits and veggies....