Need grocery budget opinions

[superminnie]

Ok just to give you a little background my mother and I live in the same house, basically because she cannot afford to live alone so we have a kind of roommate situation I suppose you could say. We are close and get along great so it works out well except in one area...the grocery budget. I am the budgeter of the family and I am always looking for ways to cut expenses and save where she is soooo not. Anyway we spend $400 a month on groceries and I think this is way too high and she does not. I wouldn't think it was high if we cooked at home however this is $400 cooking maybe 2-3 meals a week for 3 people. Am I wrong, is this a reasonable amount to pay for groceries???

 

[Purseval]

Why just not budget for yourself and let mom do whatever she wants? When she runs out of money and gets hungry maybe she will decide cooking at home isn't such a bad idea.

 

[luv2nascar]

well how do you shop
do you take turns or do it together
If she did 2 weeks and you did 2 weeks out of the month
you could save on your weeks and cut the budget.

 

[Jennifer in MI]

I think that's a lot for two people. What are you buying?

We spend around $150 for 6 people. That's mostly organic. We don't eat much meat.

 

[Darcy03231]

I think this can be very subjective dending on where you live.

Where I live there are no stores that offering doubling or tripling on coupons. Most of the coupons in our papers require you to buy three of four of something to use the coupon. I've also found that in many instances the store brand is cheaper.

I also live in NE which means that there is no locally grown fruit and produce much of the year which brings the price up.

When everyone is home we're a family of 6 and I spend about $175-$200/wk. When the oldest two are off to school I spend $150-$175/wk. DH works construction and is a real meat & potatoes type of guy. DS is very active and you wouldn't believe the food he can put away!

 

[beansmom]

I also live in NE which means that there is no locally grown fruit and produce much of the year which brings the price up.

QUOTE]
Is that NE Nevada or New England? If it's New England, I can give ya some pointers. It MUST be Nevada...coz in New England we have tons of stores that double and lots of local produce stands.

 

[mickeyplanner08]

I thought NE was Nebraska

Anyway, OP, I think that seems high. We are a family of 4 and we average about $60 per week. Some meat, some fresh fruit, some sales.....

 

[Nayan]

$400/month, about $100/week. That's not too bad for 3 people and that's what we spend for 3. If you are trying to save a bit more, maybe look at exactly what's being bought. Is it real food or fake? What I mean is it lean meats, fruits, veggies, etc. or is it more pre-packaged? You say you only cook for a couple nights of the week, maybe make two or three large things (big batch of soup, chili, stew, etc.) that your family can dive into one night and freeze some for later in the week?

 

[beansmom]

ackshully, Nebraska is prolly right. I guess Nevada is NV...but I thought Nebraska was NB. Hmmmm...maybe i should go look it up. It IS Nebraska.

Thanks for the geography lesson.

 

[Darcy03231]

I also live in NE which means that there is no locally grown fruit and produce much of the year which brings the price up.

QUOTE]
Is that NE Nevada or New England? If it's New England, I can give ya some pointers. It MUST be Nevada...coz in New England we have tons of stores that double and lots of local produce stands.

New England. I actually live in NH. We have lots of local produce stands now which I use a lot which helps the grocery bill during the summer months. We also container plant tomatoes, peppers, & cucumbers. After apple season there are no locally grown fruits or veggies as the growing season is over until the following late spring/early summer - as long as the farmers have good weather.

 

[Virgderon]

If you are paying for or even splitting the cost of the groceries, then you get a vote in how the money is being spent. Even tho it is tricky, you need to talk to mom and start pre-planning meals based on what is on sale. Grab those sale papers every week and start matching up coupons.

We spend $200 to $250 a month for 2 people, and that is still a bit high, but we don't go out to eat or get takeout much. It's far less than we used to spend.

 

[flamingglobessigmund]

How much do you spend on non-food items? If you can't cut costs with groceries, then maybe you can with non-food items like razors, soap, shampoo, toothpaste etc.

Walgreens, CVS and Riteaid seem to be practically giving away these things. It takes a little work to match coupons with sales and use register rewards or CVS "dollars" but it could be worth it in your case.

 

[beansmom]

New England. I actually live in NH. We have lots of local produce stands now which I use a lot which helps the grocery bill during the summer months. We also container plant tomatoes, peppers, & cucumbers. After apple season there are no locally grown fruits or veggies as the growing season is over until the following late spring/early summer - as long as the farmers have good weather.

yup about apple season..that's why i have peach pie filling in my freezer and 100 pounds of apples in the garage for root cellar and canning pie filling and apple sauce. In the winter I try to catched marked down produce at my local Stop & Shop...some of them are very good about it. I also buy the marked down meat as much as possible. Other than that, I try to only buy sale items with coupons.

I wouldn't leave NE for nuthin...I love it here.

 

[LilyWDW]

In my opinion it may be a bit high, but not ridiculously so. My mother and I spend about $100 a week for the two of us a week, sometimes a bit more, and sometimes a bit less (last week was $140, but the week before was $70). However, we do this on purpose and budget our grocery bill like this. We like food and when we have a craving for something, then we make it. We don't tie ourselves down to what's on sale or what I may have a coupon for.

 

[wide awake]

$100/week for three people for 2-3 meals is really high. Do you mean 2-3 dinners and all of you eat at home for breakfast and lunch ? If it is in fact $100 for at most 9 servings of food...are you buying high ticket items...jumbo shrimp, lamb chops, grass fed beef, expensive cheese, artisan breads ? If all of you eat at home except for 4-5 dinners/week the total isn't bad. Not really enough info in original post to allow for reasonable suggestions.

Also, for those that post about the farmer's market...I love them, but many times I can buy local fruit and veg at the store for 1/3 of the price. You have to comparison shop at the farmer's market too...just because they grow it doesn't mean it is cheapest through them.