Post # 1
Member
1586 posts
Bumble bee
How much a month do you spend on groceries, for a household of how many? Since DH and I moved away from our family, we cook at home a lot more, so obviously our grocery bill is a lot higher. DH has been shocked by how much we have spent the last few months, so I’m curious to know if the amount we spend is normal or high compared to others. On average, we’ve been spending around 300-350/month for the two of us, and thats with us eating dinner at home every night (with the exception of maybe 2-3 times a month for date night), and me making enough for us to both have leftovers for lunch the next day, and having things on hand for quick breakfasts. We buy a lot of stuff in bulk from Sams to help save money, but we also buy a lot of fresh produce rather than packaged stuff, so I know that adds a little bit of expense.
ETA: Did not mean to add a poll – can’t remove it now.
Post # 2
Member
550 posts
Busy bee
For the two of us, about $200 for the entire month if we buy snacks we really love. we usually spend 150 if we actually stuck to the basics and no extras…We rarely eat out and we do occasionally buy in bulk.
Post # 3
Member
1646 posts
Bumble bee
I spend about $300-400 a month for just me. But I use a ton of olive oil which adds up quickly and I also buy everything organic, grass fed, pasture raised, etc. Eating healthy makes a world of a difference in how I feel so to me it’s worth the extra money.
Post # 4
Member
1586 posts
Bumble bee
coffeelvr45 : Wow that’s impressive! Where do you do a majority of your shopping at? Our grocery stores here have significantly higher prices than where we moved from.
Post # 5
Member
1586 posts
Bumble bee
kristin36890 : I try to buy as much organic as I can, which yes definitely does add up. And yes, olive oil adds up quickly as well – but it makes everything taste so much better IMO.
Post # 6
Member
1385 posts
Bumble bee
I’ve budgeted $200 for us, but we spend closer to $250 per month. This is partially due to the fact I buy lots of fruits and granola bars. We cook at home nearly every night of the week, and go out to eat about twice a month. Once deer hunting season starts and we replenish our supply of venison, this should go down about $30 per month since we won’t be buying any beef and little other meat.
I don’t think $300 a month is that bad for two people, especially depending on what you’re eating.
Post # 7
Member
755 posts
Busy bee
We live in an ‘expensive’ city for groceries as we’re on an island and for two people we spend about $400 and eat out maybe once a week but we have a tiny fridge so it’s hard to buy fresh and frozen stuff in bulk and we don’t buy many packaged foods.
Post # 9
Member
2777 posts
Sugar bee
Every time I see one of these threads I’m shocked at how little some people spend. Fiance and I spend probably 200-300 EACH a month (separate finances until we’re married) so together probably 400-600+. And he eats out for lunch most of the time on top of that, and we order in or go out to dinner at least once a week. But we do live in NYC so everything is more expensive here, and I cook from scratch a lot and use lots of veggies and fresh organic ingredients, so we’re not as tight about budget as we could be. Still, 300 for a couple sounds crazy cheap to me, especially since that’s covering your lunches too.
FWIW, you’re on what the USDA considers a the “thrifty plan” for a couple of two, so you can tell your husband that you’re actually doing very well as is: https://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodSep2017.pdf
Post # 10
Member
1047 posts
Bumble bee
DH and I spend probably around $250-$300/mo. We also shop at Aldi’s once or twice a week so that saves a good chunk. Our secondary stores are the local super market (for meats usually) and Costco for the misc buys.
Post # 11
Member
539 posts
Busy bee
$200 a month, just me alone. Includes breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner for week days. Most weekends i eat out.
Post # 12
Member
1297 posts
Bumble bee
We spend about $300 a month for two of us, making supper every night and enough for leftovers for lunch.
Post # 13
Member
293 posts
Helper bee
I feel like me and DH spend a lot. I try to stock up weekly so expensive produce doesn’t go bad. I would say we spend about $400-500 a month for us 2.
Post # 14
Member
1586 posts
Bumble bee
jayquellen : Unforutnately my DH is picky and won’t eat vennison, otherwise I would still hunt for that reason.
tobeornottobe7 : We don’t live in a super expensive city, but it’s more expensive than what we are used to.
coffeelvr45 : I need to get better about utilizing Aldis. We have one, but it’s just not nearly as convenient as the other grocery store I normally go to.
browneyedgirl24 : Yeah, I would imagine your stuff is more expensive than ours. We live close to chicago, so it’s a higher cost of living area than we are used to, but I’m sure it’s not as bad as NYC. I also cook a majority of stuff from scratch and use as much fresh veggies and fruits as possible, so I know how that is. Thanks for that link – I will be sure to show DH!
Petals2002 : yeah, I need to start going to Aldis as our primary store. There was one really close to us in our old town, but the closest one is now about 30 minutes away unfortuantely.
yaara : That’s about how much I spent before I met DH, but it seemed like I wasted a lot more than I do now. I ate out most weekends then too, but we try to only eat out a few times a month now to save some money
Post # 15
Member
53 posts
Worker bee
futuremrss17 : 350- 400 a month on groceries and sometimes we eat at work and eat out like once a week. I think what your spending is normal. Honestly if you buy healthy stuff and not mac and cheese it becomes expensive for like vegetables and lean meats.