Net Worth
Good Info I've Collected
- Debt Calculators and Debt Reduction Resources
- Financial Calculators
- Free Stuff
- Increasing Your Income
- Keeping Motivated
- Living Frugal
- Random Money Saving Tip
Site Design By
Site Hosted By
- Dreamhost - use code GIVEME50 and you will save $50 off your first year of hosting (I make $47).
A few visitors that have been arriving here for searching for the Monthly Average Grocery Bill.
When they come here, they’ll only find my spending which is around $300-400 for a family of 3. But it got me thinking about asking everyone about your grocery bills.
Anyone else care to share your family size and how much you spend on groceries?
Random Posts
Leave a Reply
About This Site
Credit Card Debt
- Starting = $37,614
- Paid Off = $28,616
- Current = $8,998
- $25 ING Savings Bonus
Savings Account
- Current = $3,203
| BlogHer Ad Network |
| More from BlogHer |
| Advertise here |
| BlogHer Privacy Policy |
Posted: November 3rd, 2006 at 9:28 pm
2 of us, about $330/month when we’re both here but that includes junk like beer and energy beverages. According to the FDA we should be spending $388.30 per month, and they certainly don’t account for beer and energy beverages
When it’s just me I spend between $35-40 every week, so around $150/month.
Posted: November 3rd, 2006 at 9:48 pm
Our family consists of me, my husband, our three year old son and one and a half year old son. On average we spend about $240 a month on groceries. We avoid eating out, but now that we make a meal plan and grocery list, we enjoy meals we cook more than eating out. We do buy Mt. Dew for my husband. Since we started shopping at our new Wal-Mart Super Center our bill has decreased. We buy a lot of generics, but do have a few select favorite name brands. We avoid “convenience food” in general, but the meal planning and sticking to a well planned list has helped us a lot. The best thing has been the fact that we no longer have to decide what to cook for dinner. That was a huge frustrating waste of time for us in the past.
Posted: November 3rd, 2006 at 9:50 pm
Oops! That was a typo, I meant about $280 per month.
Posted: November 3rd, 2006 at 10:20 pm
We spend A LOT on food…it’s the one thing that DH won’t budge on. We rarely eat out (like once every couple of months, maybe once a month rare) and DH packs a lunch. For a family of four (us, two kids ages 5 & 3) we regularly spend $400 a month, that’s our minimum. It’s between $200 and $250 a check, sometimes higher, but just about never lower. I’ve been searching for ways to save and just haven’t figured it out. LOL
Posted: November 3rd, 2006 at 10:23 pm
Single - ~$150.
Posted: November 3rd, 2006 at 11:59 pm
Interesting, that ypu posted this today. I just created a new blog (groceryprices.livejournal.com) that encourages participants to post price comparisons for groceries at Grocery Stores in their local areas.
Posted: November 4th, 2006 at 12:22 am
Two of us around $200 give or take a little depending on how many fancy meals we want to eat at home.
Posted: November 4th, 2006 at 12:54 am
We are just two of us and average about $400…damn we must be eating a lot !
Posted: November 4th, 2006 at 2:19 am
Hi Tricia! There are 5 of us - my husband and I, a 7 year old, a 3 year old and a 1 1/2 girl and I can feed our family on about $240.00. I grocery shop based on the circulars & stock up on good deals. By having a wells tocked pantry of food, I can get buy with buying lots of veggies & taking advantages of deals.
Posted: November 4th, 2006 at 9:46 am
We spend about $500 on average for the two of us, which I think is up pretty significantly since moving to DC from Arizona. Though, I couldn’t tell you for sure, since I wasn’t tracking my spending as closely then.
We mostly have to stick to certain brands, however, because of my allergy to corn. So we’re limited to cost savings by using coupons when we can get them.
Posted: November 4th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
It’s just me and I budget $200 a month but that includes any non food items like laundry soap and shampoo when necessary and eating out on occasion. I don’t always spend it all though but that’s what I give myself.
Posted: November 4th, 2006 at 1:22 pm
Two of us and one dog- we spend 150-200 a month. This includes non-food items but not eating out. We are spending about 50 dollars a month eating out right now.
Posted: June 27th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
We spend an average of $400-$450 per month on groceries for a family of 4. I include toiletries, non food items such as laundry detergent,scented candles,cleaning supplies and dogfood as well as over the counter medications, vitamens,etc…in this amount.
Posted: July 22nd, 2007 at 1:17 pm
I have a family of 5, three of which are 16 year old triplet boys. My food bill right now is on average $1,000 a month, and i think that might be low balling a little. I can’t keep food in the house, I go to the grocery at least 2-3 times a week at $90-$100 dollars a pop. I look for sales and I use coupons.I stick to Wal-Mart or lower cost grocery stores, anything to reduce the cost.
Posted: September 3rd, 2007 at 1:16 pm
WOW! I feel terrible now. I’ve just increased our grocery budget from $600.00 to $700.00 a month (which is what got me searching for averages) for a typical family of 4. Although we also have 2 dogs and this includes toiletries and cleaning supplies. I think our higher numbers are from getting organic dairy and wheat products. I won’t buy anything with artificial preservatives, colors or flavors (my son is sensitive) so that pretty much rules out most generic brands. Thank goodness walmart is starting to carry more natural products.
Posted: October 2nd, 2007 at 2:15 pm
A family of 4 myself husband and 9 yr old and 1 yr old and we spend about 400+ a month and that is just enough hamburger meat and helpers to get through a 2 week peroid and lunches O.o what the heck i need a plan man
Posted: October 8th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
We spend $1000 per month, for a family of 5, with 3 teenagers, and their friends ;). No sodas or cookies unless they bake them…but I don’t know how you do it for much less, especially when they pack a lunch each day. I buy bulk, I buy on special, I buy lots of fresh veggies. I don’t buy wheat or gluten items (I’m allergic), which adds to the cost a lot…but still, I can’t conceive of $500 per month…($100 per person per month, or $3 per day per person) I’ll have to work on that…Cereals and meat alone can easily be $3.00 per person per day…
Posted: October 28th, 2007 at 10:01 am
I am single, living in Massachusetts. I spend $280 per month on food. That does not include eating out or alcohol. I do entertain about once a week. I now know why I am broke at the end of the month.
Posted: November 17th, 2007 at 8:25 am
I have an anxiety attack every Saturday morning when I pay the bills. I have been asking my wife to keep the monthly spend at $900/mo but she has been averaging $1000/mo. We both work, have 3 boys 13,16,20. She will make on average 20 trips per mo to the store. I wish could get her to do 4/mo and utilize the freezer for planning instead of all the processed heat and eat junk the kids demand. Is $900/mo realistic? How often do you shop? Any advice would be appreciated.
Posted: November 21st, 2007 at 2:23 am
We just went to the store tonight. We spent 130.00 and that was for a family of 3, me hubby and 10 y.o. dau. I picked out several recipes for the a 2 week period. I setteled on 12 and many of them are chicken or turkey (utilize the left overs!!)My hubby groaned when I spent 300 one month, so that is why I am trying to see if we are out of the ballpark, or too low.
Posted: November 23rd, 2007 at 10:52 am
I’m wondering if location has a lot to do with these averages. We’re in RI and I was just analyzing our numbers…I’m showing that we’re (family of 3 plus 2 dogs) spending $500+/month on groceries. However, my grocery numbers do include trips to BJs, where we buy dog food, diapers, trash bags, paper goods, toiletries, etc…and sometimes random items, like decorations or something. I’m goign to try to analyze deeper and see where we can cut costs, because, although groceries are costly out here, I think we’re definitely overspending!
Posted: November 30th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
I think this sort of poll needs some guidelines or it will be hard to get figures that can be compared to each other. For instance, what does everyone consider a grocery? Are some people including incidentals and home care products with their grocery bill? And what about where we shop? Are some folks living on mac & cheese and others only shopping at the nearest Whole Foods or organic market? Are people including restaurants in their grocery bill? How much eatind out do they do? Where do they live?
For me, groceries, cat food, personal care (shampoo, laundry soap, etc) are all lumped together and I spent $400 last month. That sent me to the web wondering how much is too much.
I live in the Chicago suburbs, and I shop almost exclusively at Whole Foods which brings the price up. I used to survive on $150/month, but I also used to think ramen noodles were a treat. I don’t think I’m crazy over the top, but I buy good quality meats and fish and fresh produce over anything processed and that does cost more.
Now I know that the cost of living has increased since 1995, but by how much. It would be nice to see what others who live in my demographic and have similar values are spending and then compare that to others nationally.
Kristin
Posted: December 6th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
I live in the Portland, Or area and we have 3 adults and two teen agers in the house, also two dogs. I spend about 900.00 a month on groceries and household items per month. This is including only organic dairy and meat products. Nothing with nitrites or nitrates or added hormones. Also, only organic bread. I know that this increases our expenses, but is well worth it to us. We economize in other areas, like almost never eating out.
Posted: December 18th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Two of us (my girlfriend and I) live in SoCal and spend about $1100 a month for food.
We rarely go out, rather we buy food at Trader Joes, Vons and Whole Foods. We buy regular stuff, but generally food that’s higher quality - for example avoid MSG, artifical colors etc, organic meet, veggies are not organic.
We eat lot of fresh fruits and veggies, in general we eat very healthy, no junk food, no trinkets.
I tend to be thrifty, but apparently if you want to eath fresh and high quality every day, it costs a bundle.
Posted: December 26th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
I’m having trouble beleiving that these are monthly averages and not weekly…In my household, there are 3 of us. Approx. $650 per month on average. …oh, and if you try and tell my wife that we’re spending too much…then it’s as if I am calling her a “money hungary ho” and I quote….help me out here.
Posted: December 28th, 2007 at 1:26 am
Phoenix, AZ. Its just me and my husband and we spend about 400 a month. Including shampoo, deoderant, everthing that you can find in a grocery store goes into this budget. Sounds like I have a lot of cutting to do.
Posted: December 29th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
Yikes….We’re in the ‘where is all the money going?” mode and after looking at it we’re spending about $700/month (groceries/cleaning/toiletries) for 2 adults, one 6yr old and one just turned 2 yrs old. i don’t coupon but buy lots of generics. I do buy organic milk and whole wheat pastas, which are hard to find in generic/store brands. Don’t know how people make it on 100/person/month. Would love to see some national averages on this.
Posted: January 1st, 2008 at 2:53 pm
I’m relieved to see others who have posted here are spending what we are on food/cleaning supplies/toiletries. We are a family of 3 spending $1,100 per month!! We hardly eat out (we average about twice per month at $10.00 - $24.00) and we do buy lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. We eat organic as much as possible shopping at Trader Joe’s and Super Wal-Mart. I don’t know how to get the bill down and I want to. We eat up all of our produce we aren’t wasting it and we aren’t overweight Maybe food is more in New England?!
Posted: January 3rd, 2008 at 10:45 am
I was browsing the internet on how Americans are coping with higher prices on everything. Energy, gasoline, food, etc. I had to reply to this post. We are a family of 3. My son is 17 so our family of 3 quite often turns into 6 or 8. We spend at least $1000 a month on food and household supplies. We always eat at home. We can’t afford to go out to restaurants. My husband and I make good money and some weeks we are still living pay-check to pay-check.
Here is a breakdown: $700 House payment, $200 Utilities, $100 Phone and internet (I’m not giving up the internet, $75 Cell Phone (need them for work), $220 Car Insurance (our son is 17…yikes), $450 Gasoline (It’s getting close to the house payment!), $75 Directv (We need some entertainment) and $1000 Grocery and household supplies. Total $2820 per month! Keep in mind this is not including doctor bills, vet bills (we have 2 dogs), prescription eye glasses or contacts, household maintenance and unexpected bills (the refridgerator breaks down). How is everyone else coping? It seemed so much easier 5 years ago. Thanks for reading,
Tina
$
Posted: January 3rd, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Greensboro, NC. We are a family of 4- husband, wife, son (7 years old) and daughter (11 years old). We spend $600 per month on groceries (food only) and an additional $120 per month on eating out. That’s a total of $720 per month for food. We are attempting to cut back to $500 per month for food & eating out combined. It has been a struggle accomplishing this.
Posted: January 13th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Hello all, We are a family of 4 - I have a 5 year old and an 18month old…(So diapers are included). I think it is important to include that I live in Nashville TN and shop mostly at Publix AND I use about 90% organic products, the Greenwise brand that is Publix generic organic brand has proved to be cost effective for those trying to cut the crap out food, still it runs $1 to $2 higher than leading non organic brands. We spend approx $500 a month and my husband feels like that is out of line. We do eat out once every 2 weeks or so and that is not included in the amount. I am a stay at home mom, so at least 2 sometimes 3 of us eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at home 7 days a week. When push comes to shove it is pricey to feed your children high quality food and snacks, My toddler drinks a gallon of organic milk every 5 days, the brand we buy only comes in 1/2 gallons they are usually 2 for $7 that alone is almost as expensive as formula, not to mention she has to have whole and the rest of us drink skim. So some relief will come as she gets older. The gas situation is almost as bad if not worse, my husband has a 40 mile one way commute to work, but I stay in town so I only fill up every 8 or 9 days and we spend $600 on gas. Hard to believe that when I got my license it was $.98 a gallon and being a broke teenager I thought that was crazy! HA!
Thanks to everyone that submitted, I was amazed at some of the other budgets. Thanks for reading
Posted: January 14th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
My husband and I are from Indiana and we have been put on a very strict budget lately because his work is slow in the winter. We have a 14 year old son, who can eat as much if not more than his Dad, and a 12 year old daughter. We spend $30.00 a WEEK just on school lunches for the two kids. We have been spending an average of $75.00-$100.00 in grocery a week, and that includes all cleaners, dog food, toiletry’s, etc… So, on average we have been spending approximately $520.00 a month on groceries. And that is buying only what is on sale or cheap to fix. It has been so bad since gas prices have gone up. A friend of mine at work spends $200.00 a WEEK on groceries alone. So, I felt we were doing really good until I read your site.
Posted: January 14th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
We are a family of 6. All of my kids are between 9 and 4, so we are thankfully out of diapers. That helped our food budget a lot. We live in Western WA and wow its expensive here. I have a friend 3 hours south who spends about 1/2 of what we do on groceries a month with the same size family.
Our average bill is about $600 per month. That includes feeding the animals, eating out maybe 3x per month, and all paper/toiletry products. My husband packs his lunch, coffee and all drinks and we homeschool so we’re eating every meal at home.
On those 3-paycheck months which happen for us 3x a year, we stock up and do a large Costco run (like $500 or so). I also coupon, cook from scratch a lot and we do a lot of entertaining. I also host an organic meat club and I get free meat based on my monthly sales. I’d love to buy all organic, but there is no way I can afford it. I buy it when I can afford it, usually during the summer when overtime happens.
It seems like a lot but I know our area’s prices are way higher. Last May we visited relatives in Missouri and I got to go into Aldi’s for the first time. WOW! Now I see how some folks can feed a family of 6 on $50 bucks a week. Oh, that’s the other thing - we don’t have super cheap stores here. The cheap store is Safeway. Everthing else, like Walgreens, Walmart, etc. are a good 40 plus minutes away. Winco is an hour out, we don’t have CVS or Aldi’s or Woolworths. With gas pushing $3.50 a gallon, driving for those deals doesn’t make econoic sense.
Even so with my coupons I do well at Safeway. My friends with the same family size spend on average $100 more a week than us.
Janelle
Posted: January 14th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Christy - one thing about the info here is that some people include household items into their grocery bill. Personally, I do not and I even keep eating out separate. So there will be a lot of variation. I wouldn’t get bummed by your bill, because you can’t really compare apples to apples with the grocery budget of someone across the US. There is just too much variation.
Like Janelle mentioned. We are sort of in the same boat with no Aldi or CVS. Our place for cheaper food is Walmart. But you trade off sometimes. It took us a few times of getting sick from Walmart’s ground beef before we finally decided to pay up the money and buy it from the local grocery store instead. But Walmart is about 20 minutes away for us so it’s a monthly trip (if that).
Groceries are still a store spot for us, but I keep trying to get it down. We recently started doing something different and two weeks into it - so far it seems to be working.
Posted: January 17th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
We are a family of 5 plus our little dog that I make meals for too. 3college aged teens, 2 live away at college part of the year. Our meats,eggs and cheese are purchased at a meat market (no hormones), and the rest is a mix of organic and regular foods at the local Giant Foods & Safeway Stores in Southern Maryland about an hour outside of DC. We also have fish, shrimp & crab at least once a week, and we do entertain some. We average about $900. That includes some bottled drinks and things from BJ’s too.
If I added in all the Starbucks, lunches, Panera bagels, dinner out once a week, drinks, board at college for 2, our monthly average would go way up…but I don’t want to ruin my evening so I’ll leave it at $900. I can tell you that our government is using fuzzy math when they tell us that inflation is only 3.4% on comsumer products. Adding tech equipment with food & gas to make inflation seem less is just smoke and mirrors.
Posted: January 19th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
We are a family of 3-2 adults and 1-9 yr old boy in N. Texas. We spend about $560 a month on groceries. Seems like a lot. I am always trying to see how we can cut the cost and stretch the meals. Laundry soap and non food like napkins deoderant are included. We buy at the local Tom Thumb(Safeway. Only organic we buy is milk. Rarely buy steak usually ground beef and chicken which seems to be getting more expensive all the time. I’d love to be able to cut back to $400/mo but how?
Posted: January 20th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
We are a family of 4 with one dog. On average we spend about 200.00 a month for food and non-food. I use coupons, shop sales & loss leaders and use rebates to get all my non-food items such as shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste etc..for free.
Posted: January 21st, 2008 at 12:44 am
I am single and I’m starting a budget of $200/month for food and household supplies. This also includes eating out occasionally. I am impressed with all the families here who manage with just $200/month. Wow!
Posted: January 25th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
We are a family of 6. We are trying to feed 4 adults (my parents live with us also)and 2 children age 9 and 6. My husband insists we can do everying including groceries, toiletries and cleaning supplies on $400.00 a month! I keep trying to tell him he lives in a dream world but he’s not listening. He sits down and makes out a meal list for two weeks of dinners and thinks he’s finished. He forgets there are 4 of us home all day (the kids are homeschooled and grandpa is retired) that need to eat breakfast and lunch (everyday would be nice). He also takes his lunch to work. Help me come up with some way to explain to him that this is completely unreasonable. We live in West Texas where the prices have sky rocketed over the last year or so and I can’t believe milk and meat are the same if not more than a gallon of gas. Please help before I’m forced to take drastic measures like sending my husband to the store alone!! YIKES!!
Posted: January 25th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
We are a family of 6. My husband and I and 4 kids, boys 21, 15 and 15 and one girl 17. We live in Detroit area. My weekly bill is about $200 a week. This includes household items like cleaners, toilet paper, shampoo etc. It does not include eating out which my husband and I do once a week - average about $30 extra a week on that. I shop at Costco for certain items, Kroger for specials and staples and produce market for all produce. I also use the Discount store twice a month (Big Lots) for all the extras like pop tarts, chips, cookies and also for cereal which is much cheaper there. I’ve also been trying to cut back because the more gas goes up the less there is for other things. It’s hard with teen-agers because they are always grazing and eating at weird hours and they bring their equally hungry friends over. One kid told me today that he loves coming to our house because we have such great food. Apparently, his cupboard and fridge are pretty bare. You gotta love it.
Posted: January 25th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
There are 5 of us. I spend about $250 monthly. I am currently doing the Once a Month Cooking thing. It is amazing. There are a lot of great books out there (at the library) that have made life much easier. I am going to try to make some of the other things we purchase like cleaning supplies. I have found some great sites that offer a wealth of information: thefamilyhomestead.com, newharvesthomestead.com, budget101.com and Yahoo has lots of groups, too. Best of blessings!
Posted: January 26th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
We live in Cleveland, Ohio and have been keeping track of every dollar spent since the first of the year for our family of 2 adults & 2 boys (ages 6 & 10). For the month of January, we will have spent $1083 in groceries (which includes all houshold products, etc) and $350 in eating out. We do buy quality foods but I am surprised at how cheaply some of you live! I must admit, until we tracked every Dunkin Donuts coffee, etc. I would have guessed our budget to be about $300-$400 lower!
Posted: January 30th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
We are a family of 4 living in Irvine, (SoCal). I was just looking at our 2007 spending and almost fell over. I think we are spending about $600 per month on just groceries (Trader Joes and Costco mostly). We spend about another $250 per month eating out. Not to mention the fortune that I am spending at Target. Seriously… there has to be a way to cut back, but I really don’t feel like I am excessive anywhere.
Posted: February 2nd, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Mike, I agree with you completely. My wife and I have been using quicken religiously for a few years now. Its just the two of us and we spend around $900 a month on groceries. This includes CVS and other household items as well. In addition, we tend to eat out with friends a lot. Looking to figure out a way to stretch the budget a little. I would recomend to anyone posting on this to dig a little deeper. Not sure how any family of four can spend $400 a month of food.
Posted: February 2nd, 2008 at 2:41 pm
I’m on a mission to cut spending and worked on our grocery budget last night. Two of us (boyfriend plus me) in the household here in northern Arizona. Spending at least $500 to $600 per month not including eating out once a week. Looks like I’m overspending at Costco for wine and other items. We entertain quite often but will have to cut back. Here’s to the potluck.
The recession has hit our business. This coming year will be leaner. Thank God we have no debt.
Anyone else feeling the pinch?
Posted: February 4th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I live in Northern California- admittedly one of the most expensive area of the country- but I buy whatever is on sale- we eat only fresh stuff, not heat and eat and we are $1,400 per month for a family of 5. THis is not including going out. The only thing that I have found that does save money is to plan what we are eating for the week and shop accordingly- for a family with 2 working parents this is quite a challenge.
Posted: February 7th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Our family of four (mom, dad, six and four year old) lives in Atlanta GA area. We have been tracking our spending for over a year and consistently spend an easy $700 per month on groceries, household cleaners, kitchen supplies. I have a separate budget item for personal supplies (tampons, shampoo, OTC products).
We spend $250 per month on dining out. This adds up fast when you include the coffee stops, play dates at McDs on a rainy day and occassional lunch out for my husband. I think I’m pretty frugal — don’t gross out, but I reuse water bottles and even wash out ziploc bags for kids lunches.
I shop at Costco, Super Walmart, Publix (local grocery). I buy store brands and use coupons when I can. We eat well and are all healthy — lots of fresh fruits and veggies, preservative free food.
We rarely eat out, pack all of our lunches and bake most our own sweets/snacks. I don’t think we waste a alot of food either. We are regular wine/beer drinkers, but not excessive. I even pack snacks for myself to eat just before bringing the kids to McDonalds to play (I can’t deny them the happy meal when all the other kids have one, but I try to save a few bucks by skipping my snack).
I too am trying to cut my grocery budget … I don’t know how you do it on $400/month, but I’m going to give it a try.
Posted: February 11th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
We spent about $450 a month for a family of 4. That includes still buying diapers and baby items, cleaning supplies, vitamins and groceries for two active kids under age 4.
We don’t buy any prepared meals and we don’t go out to eat but we DO like to make at least one “date night” gourmet meal for ourselves after the kids go to bed…since we don’t spend much on entertainment for ourselves it’s our treat to ourselves to spend an extra $40-50 dollars a month on a beautiful dinner to make at home and a bottle of wine.
Posted: February 14th, 2008 at 9:18 am
It’s the two of us and we spend $400 on average (WI). We’re vegetarians and buy some organics, although we don’t go overboard. We mostly cook from scratch, plan menus and shop around sales. I try to cook big batches and freeze sometimes.
The $400 includes alcohol (occasional beer for my husband, I don’t drink), coffee, paper products, household items and cleaners but doesn’t include pet food, which has a separate line item. It also doesn’t include eating out, which we do a few times a month.
I don’t know how people get by so cheaply, we’re already eating beans or pasta most nights. I’ve tried to improve, but really struggle to come in under $400. I’m to the point where I’m done with the guilt over it (I’ve been working on our grocery budget for months and months). We eat well and try to be thrifty, so I guess $400 (give or take a bit) is just what we spend.
Posted: February 15th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I noticed most of the posts were for smaller families. In my house it’s me, husband, and four children (ages 7,5,3,1) and I usually have at least one extra child for the majority of meals. Right now we are budgeting $250.00 per month. This is VERY tight. But it is possible. I think most important is to shop on sale and keep to a list. I do one large shopping trip at the beginning of the month and any more trips I make are emergency only. This forces me to plan ahead.
Posted: February 18th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
We are a family of four in Durango, CO, with two adults and two kids ages 4 and 7. We budget faithfully through Microsoft Money, and average $1,200 per month for food. This does not include alcohol and personal care items. We are vegetarians and buys LOTS of fresh produce, which can be very expensive. Plus we like the froo-froo stuff (is that how you spell froo-froo?) like sun-dried tomatoes, organic goat cheese, imported blueberries, etc., and my wife loves to cook four-star meals. We’re spoiled, I guess, but prefer to eat well than drive new cars. Could we make it on $250-$400 a month? I guess, but hey, life is short. Long live the Epicureans!
Posted: February 24th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
WOW! If I even attempted to cut our $1200 a month budget my family would move me out! Came home from the grocery yesterday and before I even got out of the car my kids had both packs of blueberries gone! (That’s $5.00) Family of 4 kids are 7 and 9.. We eat a ton of fresh fruits and veggies—-Meats- Pastas- and don’t eat out very often-maybe once a month. We’re also very physically active so maybe we eat more… I have menues-I take a shopping list. We live in Eastern Co and Walmart is further away-not to mention no one likes their veggies or fruits-
I’m very impressed with the $200 a month ers.. I think my goal is to cut down $200 a month. I’ll work on it.
Posted: March 1st, 2008 at 11:17 pm
We are a family of three, two adults and one college-age son living at home in New England (Southern New Hampshire to be exact). We also have two dogs and three cats. Our grocery bill includes non-food items, such as paper and cleaning products, as well as pet food and some toiletries. On average, we spend between $600-650/month on groceries. We eat out occasionally, but I track that amount separately. I use coupons and shop sale circulars or stock up at Sam’s Club, etc. whenever possible.
Posted: March 2nd, 2008 at 12:46 am
We are a family of four (two adults and two children ages 7 and 1). We spend about 1,100 a month on groceries right now. We live in a very expensive area (the S.F. Bay Area) and food prices have gone up. I buy organic fruits and vergetables and meats and stay away from processed foods and frozen foods. This is an extravagant way to eat I realize, but I would rather give up other things before feeding my kids junk. I shop at Whole foods and Luckys. I would LOVE to spend less, but I’m not sure I can sacrifice the quality.
Posted: March 5th, 2008 at 12:11 am
We live in No. Cal also. It is me, my husband, our teenage son, a cat and a 170 lb great dane and we spend on average $1000 per month. That includes lots of fresh fruit and veges as well as 80 pounds of dog food every 4 weeks! We don’t buy sodas or other junk food, and eat out maybe a couple times a month. I have no idea how people do it for less. My husband I both work, sometimes long hours, so we try and plan meals ahead of time and have them ready in the freezer. I do a lot of shopping at Super Wal-Mart and Costco, however, it still adds up. I have gotten it down to $800 occasionally, but that is pretty rare! I’m envious of those who can do it for less!
Posted: March 5th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Thought I’d throw in my 2 cents: besides me in our house - it’s my boyfriend, our 2 year old boxer and our 10 year old house rabbit. Between all four of us, we are trying very hard to make it on $300 a month in Nor. Cal. Boyfriend works at Whole Foods so the discount is great, but it’s still pricey. Our bunny also eats only organic salad because of a health concern and our boxer eats Whole Foods brand kibble and soft. We are struggling to force the $300 a month. We aren’t including toiletries, but are including the occasional 6 to 12 pack of beer. The money crunch every one faces sucks.
-stace
Posted: March 8th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
For me and my child it is about $60 per week.
Posted: March 9th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Wow there sure is a great deal of variation. I think my family of 4 (two adults and 2 kids under 4) seem to be on the high side of things which is what I expected. We spend about $1000/month on groceries (food only) and that does not include dining out, household cleaners, personal care and wine/beer which I track in Money seperately. We do live in a very expensive area of the country (Southern MD, DC Suburb) and Whole Foods is a common destination-the produce there is noticeably better than any where else. We do purchase very little “heat and eat” etc preferring lots of fresh products (meats, veggies etc.) which we cook daily. We do enjoy higher quality foods and some epicurean tendencies but I am looking for some sort of reasonable goal to work toward.
Posted: March 10th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
We are a family of 3 in central New England (3 cats too). We average $740 per month. That includes groceries & household items too. We have really been trying to cut down on that amount, but that seems to be the lowest we are able to go. I don’t know how others do it with $400-500, but I wish we could! We go to Wal-Mart, Market Basket, Hannaford, BJ’s & Stop & Shop to try to find the lowest prices. I guess we’ll just have to keep trying!
Posted: March 14th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Fascinating.
I thought I was doing really great - over the last year it’s ranged from $450 to $600 a month for our family of 5. The $450 figures was last month and I was really proud. That seems more like “average” than “great”, though, reading these responses. We’re in the southeast, that includes anything you might buy at a grocery store, farmer’s market, drug store, or big-box store, as well as eating out.
$250 a month…. I’m still scratching my head over that.
Posted: March 22nd, 2008 at 6:25 pm
We are a family of 6 with an 11, 6,4, and 1 year old I was feeling bad about spending $400 a month, but after reading these posts I don’t feel so bad. Shop mostly at Wal-Mart and WinCo and also Costco. $400 includes diapers and all toiletries also.
Posted: March 22nd, 2008 at 10:32 pm
We spend about 500 monthly for a family of 5 consisting of 2 adults and 3 kids ages 18, 17, 14 plus a dog and cat. Shopping mostly at Sam’s club or Costco. I usually buy fresh fruits/veggies at the local farmer’s market. I’m always looking to find ways to reduce, reduce, reduce. Right now we are spending a much larger amount of money for MILK! We average 4.50 per gallon in New Mexico. We usually go through 4 gallons per week.
Posted: March 31st, 2008 at 2:24 pm
We live in the Minneapolis, MN area. We are a family of four (myself, my wife, and two kids (4 & 2). We track our spending down to the penny in Quicken. Last year we spent the following (for the whole year):
Eating out: $3180 ($265/month)
Groceries: $3562 ($297/month)
Obviously we could definitely cut down on our eating out…it’s one of our weak areas. Still, our overall food bill was still under $600/month. My wife does most of the grocery shopping so I have to credit her for the good job at buying in bulk and doing a lot of freezer cooking. We also eat a lot of leftovers.
It will be interesting (scary?) to see how much these numbers go up this year.
Also, I’m sure the numbers would be a lot higher if the kids were 10 years older.
Posted: April 4th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Living in Winston Salem,NC, I feel my grocery bill which amounts to $600 per month is outrageous compared to some who spend $200 -400 per month.Having 2 children (14 and 11 yrs)and 2 adults,I hate to cut on our eating habits.We rarely eat out,not much snacks at home and also occassional sodas.We eat a lot of vegetables and fruits and I love to experiment with different cuisine.
Posted: April 14th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
We (husband and I) live in New Haven County CT and buy largely organic meat and fresh produce. Our $1000 mo bill includes some supplements, toiletries, household cleaners, specialty teas, etc. We work out a lot and I bring bottled water to work. We pack our lunches and eat bfast at home, and do not eat junk food (soda, potato chips,desserts) so this is for three meals/day. This bill seems pretty dang high, I agree, but it is honestly what our expenses are year to date based on our computer program. Hopefully this honesty will be helpful. Now if I can get my dog to stop eating so much….
Posted: April 16th, 2008 at 8:40 am
After reading several of the postings, I am amazed that families of 4 and 5 have MONTHLY grocery bills of $250-$500! How can a family eat healthy and not spend a small fortune (especially when milk is $4.00 a gallon)?! We are a famiy of 5 (3 children 14,9,7)living the Atlanta area. We have been tracking our spending in Quicken for several years. We spent last year on average $1100 per month at the various grocery stores, plus an average of $330 per month on dining out. Granted, our montly grocery bill includes everything that one can get at the grocery store, including toiletries, household cleaners, paper products, pet food (1 big dog & 2 cats)and beer & wine. I work part-time and occasionally buy convenience foods, but I buy mostly fresh produce and quality meats and fresh cold-cuts from the deli counter. I could probably shave about $100 a month from the grocery bill by tightening up a bit. I would love some suggestions!
Posted: April 23rd, 2008 at 5:31 am
I just used the Food Stamp eligibility calculator to see how much I would get in Food Stamps if my family of 4 had zero earnings and zero assets. The result is just over 508.00/month. I know a lot about Food Stamps and I can tell you they are based on a minimal subsistence food basket and most people who receive them find it nearly impossible to make them cover their actual food bill. Anyone who is paying under 500/mo for a family of four is either hungry, fibbing, or a real hero. For people who live in urban or other high-cost areas or feel strongly about organic/natural, locally grown, or fair labor food/sources, twice the Food Stamp allotment would not be spend thrift (IMHO).
Posted: April 25th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Maybe living on Long Island (New York)is more expensive….but I spend about 1100 per month for myself, my wife and two young girls. We rarely eat out and we never buy lunch. My wife and I do eat many small healthy meals throughout the day. This could be why it costs so much. We eat alot of grilled chicken and ground turkey. I also buy alot of protein powders and bars. I couldnt imagine keping the food bill under this amount. All this on two teachers salaries!!!!
Posted: April 28th, 2008 at 8:58 am
We live on long island(2 adults, 2 teenagers). I probably spend in the ballpark of $800 -$1000/month on groceries, household cleaners and paper products. We don’t buy red meat and don’t always buy cold cuts. Soda and chips are a rarity. Am trying to get the bill down but am not having much luck.
Posted: May 3rd, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I agree with Kristen–it makes a huge difference to shop at walmart and whole foods—I spend about 1000 per month for a family of 3 almost 4—we eat only organic/humanely raised meats and my hubby loves meat—we eat a freash veggies and fruits and try to avoid preservatives, etc.—this is significantly more expensive than walmart, sam’s, costco, etc. also we live right outside of DC—I have lived in new york and southern virginia and this is the most expensive area I have lived in for food costs—it is ridiculous–food doesn’t even cost the same from week to week—I bought potatoes at whole foods for .99 a pound yesterday and 2 weeks ago they were $3.00 a pound—it is hard to figure things out and I do try to buy the cheapset of the items that I buy —but often organic and whole grain etc.
Posted: May 5th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Hi we live in Pennsylvania, a family of four and two cats and some tropical fish. Our children are 6 and 8 years old. I do the bulk of my shopping at Walmart super center and shop there for everything I need to buy which includes, food, pet supplies, cleaning items, and any insidentals and necessities, ect., I spend $600-$650 a month. Occasionally, I find specials on meat at better grocery stores that are a few days from the end date and offer $2 off the regular price- I’ll stock up on some or I find that meat is cheaper in bulk and split it up and freeze it. That is when the bill would be $650 a month. I cut every coupon I can use and get coupons off the internet and from friends, If there is a cheaper way I have not found it.
I also buy all of our clothes off the clearance rack and off season to save money. My Husband still complains that I spend too much money. Short of eating brands of food that I never heard of I really don’t see how I can cut corners anymore.
My In-laws, just the two of them, spend $600 a month at a regular Weis grocery store.
We seldom go out to eat-less than 5 times a year. We don’t go on vacations, rent movies or go to the movie theater.
Because I choose to be available for my kids and work part time from home as an Independent Contractor doing customer service work, I have to pay for my own medical insurance for myself and my kids since my Husband’s doesn’t offer dependent coverage and that is costing us $493. a month.
Now that the gas and heating oil prices are going up so much, everything is going to cost more and everyone will be effected by this. I don’t see things getting any better any time soon.