How much to budget for groceries in a condo?

[floydfamily4]

Hi all. I am excited to be returning to WDW in November for a week with my dh and twin 10 year olds. I was trying to figure out a budget for groceries. We will eat breakfast in the condo, have some snacks, eat maybe 4 dinners there but likely lunch in the parks. We are meat eaters but not picky. Any ideas as a starting point? Thanks friends!

 

[bigcrit]

We usually budget 2/3 of what we spend at home for a week.

 

[tobikaye]

A lot of it depends on what you are going to plan to eat and where you plan to shop. Are you able to either bring food items with you or ship them? Are you wanting to do one grocery stop or multiple?

For now, I would suggest that you try to come up with a list of items that you would need to buy and then do a bit of a price estimate at prices now. Then, I would add about 10-20% for price fluctuation. I will warn you to be cautious in what you buy as things might change you end up with too much food. It seems that every time I stay somewhere where there is a kitchen, I end up having to throw out something I did not use and cannot take with me.

 

[kathy884]

We spend more in Orlando than we do at home for a week of groceries (usually by about 30 percent). Unless you bring food items with you, you end up buying things that you would have at home as staples. Also there is more waste, as if you are like us you are only in Orlando for a week or so. You just need to think of that as a cost of vacation. That's what we do.

All that said it is SOOO wonderful to have your great condo and groceries and not have to eat every meal out. Eating healthier and nothaving to go out for all your meals IMHO are the bigger benefits than cost savings.

We fly down, so do not bring a lot of food items. If you have extra room though, just putting some non perishable items in can really help save cost -- zip locks, garbage bags, bounce sheets, small sized laundry detergent, snack for the kids that will travel well.

 

[spiceycat]

when you get there go shop at Dollar Tree (there is one now close to WDW) and get the basics - have used them for years no problems - then go to Walmart to get the rest. there is one down the road from Dollar tree

here the dollar tree

3605 S. Apopka Vineland Rd., Ste 103A
orlando, fl 32821-6343
407-465-1040

walmart was harder
3250 Vineland Rd, Kissimmee, FL 34746

 

[dancin Disney style]

You already have a plan in place which is great. Now take it a step further and make a menu and a grocery list. We like to keep to keep things simple and will do cereal or toast for breakfast which is what we would normally have at home. Lunches are often eaten out but if it's in the condo it's usually sandwiches and fruit. Dinners at the condo are things that require no work or clean up....frozen lasagna, pizza, bagged salads, etc.

I always pack everything that I possibly can from my own kitchen. Things like...peanut butter, cereal, pancake mix, mustard, ketchup, S&P, microwave popcorn, tin foil. I save up small containers and wash them out really well to bring my condiments in. You only need a small amount and it's something you already paid for. This way I never feel guilty throwing away leftover either. You might want to bring some spices if you are going to cook.

I would say that we spend around $350-400 for 3 of us over a week when we are in a condo. We have breakfast in every morning and about 30% of our lunches and dinners in.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I agree with the previous advice, make a menu and grocery list. That way you can get a rough idea of what you'll spend. You can even go on garden grocer and see what the prices would be.

My biggest downfall is not planning a grocery list. I get to the store and add $100 worth of stuff we don't need to the basket.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I'd budget your normal weekly grocery budget...and I'd shop with a few tricks.

1. Stick to one "fat" for the week - for me, it's normally butter. We use it to cook with, bake with, and spread on bread/toast. No need for oils that I'd use a few TBs of and toss...
2. Buy salt and pepper...and then stick to seasoning packets or jarred sauces to cook. Don't but 10 types of spices and/or herbs - again, you'll just toss most of them.
3. Have items you can cook multiple ways for variety - eggs are great to buy (scrambled eggs, fried egg sandwiches, french toast, frittatas, and omelettes give you options for all 3 meals with one item...bacon is another great item (served along with or in eggs, made into a club sandwich or BLT, topping or add-in for tons of salad or on top of baked potatoes/french fries...you can also use the bacon fat if you get sick of butter to cook items in...
4. Buy more fruit than you expect...it's so easy to serve and you will go to it more than veggies...
5. Buy ziploc bags - you can pack stuff for parks, hold leftover items, etc...
6. Buy paper plates/cups/napkins - no one wants loads of dishes on vacation - simple and easy is where it's at...

 

[jsmla]

I always bring my seasonings from home. They're very light and it gets expensive buying all of those little bottles in Florida. If we drive I'll pack a smallish storage bin with nonperishables from the pantry, things like pasta and rice. I just measure out how much I'll need for trip. I also will bring foil, laundry detergent and dishwashing liquid repacked into smaller containers.

 

[bankr63]

Hard to give a dollar amount for us. Compared to Canada, Orlando prices are great, but I hear many Americans complain about the high costs in Orlando, so you might want to budget more than you spend in Texas. Also, assuming I'm driving, my grocery bill is HUGE because we buy bags of stuff we can't get back home. Sierra Mist, Cheerwine and "throwback" soft drinks, convenience sauces like the Campbell's Slow Cooker packs, we have mio here now, but used to buy about 20 or so to bring back home. I've never tried to separate all the bring homes from the eat theres. Absolutely love grocery shopping in the US!!

The key that most have touched on above is to have a bit of a plan and a grocery list before you arrive. Try to but things that do double duty as TwoMisfits says. And if you are driving, bring along the basics like KMR, S&P, Hot Sauce, and spices. They don't take much space, and you will end up leaving half finished ones behind. We always have a small cooler with these items, and keep it in a cool spot in the car for the 22 hour drive. Plan for really easy meals, and don't be afraid to cheat; you're on vacation. For example the ONLY time I ever buy jarred pasta sauce is on vacation. But a jar of sauce, a bag of rotini pasta, and some chopped veggies (beans/peas/carrots) makes a quick and easy dinner in a bowl that's ready in about 15-20 minutes with minimal dishes to wash.

 

[zilp]

I would say I spend at least $200 for our week stay, using GG. This is breakfast every morning and dinners for the week. I pack a TON of dry goods- spices, laundry pods, sugar, coffee, cereal, mac n cheese packets, tortillas (for sandwiches & breakfast), pasta, cereal bars etc. We buy milk, eggs, frozen meatballs, sauce, salad/fixings, salsa, gogurts, frozen pizzas, soda, juice, cheese, creamer, bottled water, rotisserie chicken, pre-made mashed potatoes, fresh fruit etc.

We eat lunch at the parks every day. I would say that runs us at least $50 per day. We save some $ by bringing our own drinks (bottle water, juice, soda) & snacks to the parks.

 

[disneysteve]

Unless you bring food items with you, you end up buying things that you would have at home as staples. Also there is more waste

I would agree with this. Try and keep the meals as simple as possible. Even if at home you tend to make certain things from scratch, on vacation it may be more economical to buy some prepared foods and convenience items because buying all of the ingredients just doesn't make sense. For example, at home DW makes spaghetti sauce but on vacation, we buy a jar of ready made stuff. Even with the cost of the convenience items will still have you spending far less than going to a restaurant.

The other related factor is that you can't buy in bulk like you may do at home or else there will be even more waste. You need to buy the higher unit price small package of items rather than the big package you get at home.

 

[Upatnoon]

Hi all. I am excited to be returning to WDW in November for a week with my dh and twin 10 year olds. I was trying to figure out a budget for groceries. We will eat breakfast in the condo, have some snacks, eat maybe 4 dinners there but likely lunch in the parks. We are meat eaters but not picky. Any ideas as a starting point? Thanks friends!

Publix is a great grocery store to shop at, and you can go to iheartpublix.com the week before you go to see what's on sale and plan your menu a bit. The website includes the prices -- which can vary from region to region -- but should be pretty close to Orlando.

A bit further from the Disney zone is Aldi, which has good prices and you check out their website for what's on sale.

If you are a member of Costco, they have a store about 20 minutes from Disney.

One word of caution -- don't buy too much stuff! It's easy to do on your first trip.