What is YOUR weekly grocery budget?

[SDSorority]

It's just the two of us, and I plan on $100 a week on groceries. Some of these items are not used up by the end of the week (like frozen food, pasta, etc.), so if I have a lot of that left over, it ends up being $80 for the week.

 

[tinker&belle]

Groceries at the grocery store- $100 (2 adults, 1 young preschooler, one young toddler)

Household-$40/week- I was going over this but I am trying going every other week and spending more while we are there hoping I can average it out. I tend to find 'good deals' there, but they add up, so I think going less will help with that. I do supplement groceries with this too for things I forgot at the grocery store or some things that are much cheaper at Target.

Oh, I do sales and coupons too. I cook most evenings. I am always suprised to read the low amounts other people spend.

 

[apnep]

We are a family of 5 with kids 12, 9, and 6. Our budget is between $100-120 a week including toiletries and cleaning supplies.

I buy what's on sale and DH packs lunches for work, but lately I've been feeling the pinch because grocery prices have steadily been going up. And so has DS12's appetite!

 

[mrsltg]

I shop bi-weekly with an extra trip for necessities added in on the off week. We spend $250 every two weeks, so $125/wk. We are a family of five and are finding we need to up the budget to $300, or $150/wk.

 

[Shleedogg]

There are only 3 of us, me, DH and DD (almost 2). Our budget used to be $60. Then when DD started eating more, it went to $70. Now we try to keep it around $70, but usually it's closer to $100. I just started Weight Watchers 2 weeks ago and eating healthy is a lot more expensive than eating junk.

We plan our meals weekly and shop based on that. We shop at Walmart, so there aren't really sales there, but prices are consistent.

 

[mrspopeye]

Thanks OP, this is such an awesome idea!!! I am definitely going to take notes next time I shop so I can do the same. We must have the same personality type.

Oh, to answer your question, I average $125/week for 4 of us, 2 adults and 2 teenagers.

Send me your email address in a PM, and I will email the template to you if would like.

 

[cassandrap83]

2 adults, 2 children (3 & 4)

We eat all organic, and including all toiletries & cleaning supplies we spend about $160/week.

I *KNOW* what kills us the most is drinks. My husband will NOT drink water. So we spend a ton of money on Coke Zero, Propel Packets, Flavored Sparkling Water, & Orange Juice. Plus, the kids get juice boxes for their lunches.

 

[threecrazykids]

Send me your email address in a PM, and I will email the template to you if would like.

OOH me too! Can you send it to me in a PM? I would LOVE to have this. I am completely anal about keeping lists and organization of my grocery lists.

Sorry, to answer the original question we plan about $100-125 a week for everything (food, cleaning, dog food) and we are a family of 5. DH, myself, DS15, DS10, DD8.

 

[howlongtildisney]

There are two of us and I usually spend between $50 and $100 a week. That includes toiletries and cat food and litter as well. I stock up on meat when it's on sale then put it in the freezer. We also eat vegetarian once or twice a week. However, I love fresh veggies and fruit so that keeps the price up. I try to buy in season and at the cheapest place.

 

[Go Saints!]

There are 3 of us. 2 adults and 1 preschooler. I try to keep it right at $100.00 a week and that usually includes a toy or a movie. The last month are two it has been more like $140.00. Lately I have found Walmart prices to being really up there. Milk is $4.87, a case of Coke is $5.98, and many other common items have gone up. The Cokes were $7.49 a case and we switched to Sam's Cola and I will be doing that again soon. My problem is that we are Milk drinkers. We go through 3 gallons a week. This really starts to add up. I buy my meat at a locally owned grocery store because you can not find it better anywhere else. I know I pay a little more for it here, but I trust the brands so much more.

 

[delmar411]

6 of us (2 adults, 4 kids- 12,6,5,4) and we spend about $300/mth. I try to not shop as much as possible so I definitely don't do a big shop every week. Mostly we grab milk, produce, bread as needed and I get the items for meals about 1x/mth.

Groceries are cheap here, I have a great knack for stumbling upon excellent deals (like Cascadian Farms cereals mark down to $1 each with $1/1 coupons on the boxes, 20 free boxes of organic cereal!) or I can work money maker deals to help lower the costs of regular groceries. I don't do too much of that anymore since I'm extremely short on time but if something is a quick and easy moneymaker then we make the time.

We don't eat 'fancy' or gourmet meals at all and we rarely eat out. The kids have been in camp for most of the summer and that includes free breakfast and lunch so that has helped my summer budget to remain the same.

It's not that hard if you prioritize the importance of items and keep the extras to a min and it's a habit now anyway so I'm on autopilot for the most part. We do have a separate household budget of $70/mth for paper goods, soda, etc. I have an absurd stockpile of cleaning supplies so I don't have a budget for them since I don't need any...although I'm down to about a years supply of dishwasher tablets so I guess I'd better start watching sales.

 

[Cinerbelle]

Obviously, there will be a wide variety of answers, but I'm curious what other people's grocery budget is per week.

We are a family of four, DH, me, DD15 and DD11 and one cat. I always hit Wal Mart once a week for everything: groceries, cleaning supplies, health and beauty aids, school stuff, and I try to keep in between $175-200 a week. My friend that has 3 teenage boys spends three times that!!

I am a firm believer in a list. I hate going and wondering if I need soup, thinking I better buy it just in case, always to find I had 6 cans in the pantry. I made a little Word table document with 16 columns, each corresponding to the aisle at my local Wal Mart, then I filled in the most common items I buy in the order the appear in the aisle. I print once a week, circle what I need, then mark off as I move along. Most important money saver: leave DH and kids AT HOME.

Any other ideas to trim that budget would be appreciated !!

We are a family of 4 and I only shop at Wal-Mart also... my grocery budget is the same as yours too! I would love to see your word document, I always go with a list...but I like your idea. Can you send me a copy?

 

[delmar411]

There are 3 of us. 2 adults and 1 preschooler. I try to keep it right at $100.00 a week and that usually includes a toy or a movie. The last month are two it has been more like $140.00. Lately I have found Walmart prices to being really up there. Milk is $4.87, a case of Coke is $5.98, and many other common items have gone up. The Cokes were $7.49 a case and we switched to Sam's Cola and I will be doing that again soon. My problem is that we are Milk drinkers. We go through 3 gallons a week. This really starts to add up. I buy my meat at a locally owned grocery store because you can not find it better anywhere else. I know I pay a little more for it here, but I trust the brands so much more.

ack! $4.87 for milk!?!?! It's $2/gal here everywhere including Walmart since they price match. A case of coke or pepsi products can be had for $4-5 on a regular basis.

 

[njmom47]

is not budgeted, but I can spend anywhere from 80-135 a week. If something we use is on sale, I'll stock up (higher $) then the next week of course I will spend less. There are 5 of us (dd18, dd17 who are both not home all the time, and my ds14 eats all day non-stop) and 2 cats. My husband works 2nd shift so I'm not cooking that many dinners (he's fine with bringing a couple of sandwiches and a snack for his meal at work). I buy paper goods at Walmart when I have a minute to run there but find I will buy other stuff that I don't need so I try not to go too often. I always use coupons and now our supermarket has a reward program and coupons you can link to your saver card. They also have a "milk of the week" so whatever milk is on sale is what I buy. I bring lunch to work every day and when school is in session, my son will buy some days and bring some days, and my daughter will bring every day. Sometimes they complain there's not enough food to last the week, but we always find something to eat.

 

[daisy2jae]

$200-$225 We have a family of 5 (2 adults, DD10, DD5, and DS3) Plus I feed 12 kids M-F for daycare Breakfast, Lunch, and snack.

 

[Ava]

There are 3 in our household - 2 adults & 1 toddler - and 2 cats. I usually spend $75-$80 a week at the grocery store. This includes some cleaning/paper/hygiene products, although most of those I buy at the drugstore & stock up when things are on sale. We also joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for the summer, so we haven't had to buy much produce lately since our share each week from the CSA is already paid for.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Send me your email address in a PM, and I will email the template to you if would like.

I'm going to pm you too, if you don't mind. I'd love your template!

We are a family of four, incuding me, dh, ds 11 and ds 8. I try to stick to $75 a week on groceries. Sometimes it's more, sometimes less. I try to stockpile when things are on sale, and I am an avid coupon shopper. I just used $11 worth of coupons at Target today and they were all items that I use. It does no good to use a coupon for an item that you don't use.

I shop at Aldi's for some things, then head to which ever grocery store has the best sales for the week, or I head to Walmart. I also do one Costco or Sams club run a month for things like milk, juice, meat and poultry. If I have a coupon, I'll buy toiletries from there. Otherwise, I will buy it at Aldi's or where ever I can get the best deal.

I will say that I make a lot of things from scratch. It takes longer to make, but it is healthier than pre-packaged. Plus, it saves some money!

 

[mrspopeye]

We are a family of 4 and I only shop at Wal-Mart also... my grocery budget is the same as yours too! I would love to see your word document, I always go with a list...but I like your idea. Can you send me a copy?

Yes, I will be glad to send you one. PM me with your email.

 

[amylynne01]

There are 4 of us (DH, myself, DDs who are 2.5 and 1). I budget 375 a month for food, drinks, diapers, wipes, cleaning stuff, paper products, and all HBA stuff. We also eat out once a week for about $20 (pizza, Chinese, Subway, etc). I am a couponer to the core. I shop sales with coupons and save 65-70%. I also do menus based on what I have on hand and what is on sale that week. I never shop without a list, and I don't impulse buy anymore. If I bring my girls to the store, I bring a snack to keep them occupied while I get what we need. I make 3-4 small trips each week to different stores to get the best deals, but I have the time to do this since I am a SAHM. I don't drive far either - all of the stores I frequent are in one of two towns bordering my own.