How much do you spend on groceries?
 

and how many people are you buying for?

Was reading another forum and am seeing that families of 2 and 3 are getting away with $60 a week! There are two of us and it is at least $400 a month (so $100 a week). We don't live on Ramen and mac & cheese, but don't buy expensive cuts of meat and such either. Maybe it's that some of our health and beauty stuff is in there too. Dunno. But we have tried to figure out why we are spending so much (too much other stuff to do to do coupons reguarly).

I only buy the sales (well....mostly ;) ) and I spend about $50 a week or less for both Sugar and I ( I home cook)

We do eat out ~ but rarely :rolleyes:

What...just on cruises?:rolleyes::D

There is just me...so, I probably spend about $50/wk but, I will admit to eating out ALOT entirely for my addiction...Gelato!:p

We spend about $75.00 a week for 3 adults. Our youngest DS just moved back home and before that it was about $50.00 a week. We rarely eat out and that doesn't include household necessities and toiletries. But it does include DH beverage of choice:D

$75 a week for 3!!!??? That is amazing. Our list doesn't look like it would cost $100, but for whatever reason it does. This doesn't figure in the convenience store trips for Slurpees, chips, candy, etc.

For the Two of us to buy groceries and toiletries each month (excluding beef and pork BC we raise them) we spend $400 a month.I think that's high. I hate going grocery shopping. When we shopped at aldis (the Joplin tornado destroyed it) I saved $80-$100 a month. Its supposed to be rebuilt by October. I can't wait.

Do you spend a lot of money on snacks, microwavable dinners, etc? I'm only eating for one...and I spend approximately $60 a week because I don't have the time to cook so if I want to eat healthy food that's fast and convenient I have to pay $$$$

We need to try Aldi's again. Didn't like it the first time bc nothing is name brand, so we were nervous that it would be gross. Finding out that isn't true (and it's probably name brand in Aldi packaging anyway). Not that we never buy store brand, but just weren't in the mood for a cart full of stuff that we didn't know was good or not... We love Trader Joe's.

Some weeks we have a lot of snacks. I'm being good now though, so that has cut down. Otherwise Cheez Its, chips, etc. We've cut way down on microwave meals. Maybe <10 a month for the frozen kinds. Some Progresso soup.. Our veggies may be a little spendy though (the bags that you can steam in the micro usually). We don't have energy to cook.

When it was bf and I, we spent $30-50 (fluctuates) a week together. Now, I spend $30 a week for myself, but it may end up lasting 2 weeks though. I portion myself so I don't spend too much. I don't eat out much.

I spend about 50.00 a wk for 2 of us, Im on a special diet other wise i believe it would be a bit cheaper, thats not including fur food or treats :)
my sis just started shopping at Aldies & said they have some really good items, the down fall though is, cash only and you bag your own.

Me too. Frozen vegetables are so much more convenient b/c if you don't use your fresh vegetables in time they rot and it's money wasted. I spend money on a lot of protein bars, cereal, almond milk, several bags of frozen vegetables, sweet potatoes, and I have an extensive list of snacks (greek yogurt, rice cakes...) and sometimes I buy frozen vegetarian or vegan platters each which is about 4.50!!! So, I completely understand where your money is going...you can't compare your personal situation to the average family b/c well...to be fair a lot of people are suffering economically right now and are out of jobs so it's possible that spending habits have drastically decreased across the board for many families. You also don't know if one parent is stay at home and can spend more time cooking...eat left overs etc. I guess what I"m trying to say here is...if you can afford it then do what is most convenient for you.

^^
That is very close to how we eat.

We get salad stuff all the time. Protein bars, Greek yogurt, 2 kinds of milk, lots of cheese, fresh fruit, Kashi this-that-or the other thing, some Lean Cuisines, etc.

It's just soooo odd to see that people can do it for like $25/person/week when a lot of them aren't just eating Ramen. This was a dieting forum where they are trying to eat well. But maybe they have time to go to veggie markets and such and make things from scratch.

ETA: We have (thank God) not really been hit with the economy issue first hand, but we don't love spending so dang much every month just for 2 ppl. I don't even homecook anymore, so the dog food is not part of it.

Just last week I bought almond milk AND coconut milk so...lol yes we are exactly the same. It is probably very likely that on the diet forum people are making stuff from scratch more often. For example my best friend is a fitness competitor and she makes everything from scratch b/c she can't eat any preservatives, or anything with high sodium content (which most pre-packaged foods have) and all her veggies are fresh. She also buys oatmeal in mass quantities as well as protein powder. It is very possible that they are spending a lot of money on supplements though which they probably aren't adding to their list of "grocery" expenses.

The pre-packaged healthy stuff is extremely expensive and does not come in great quantities so eating for two can easily add up (Kashi cereal is super expensive and have you noticed they only give you half a full bag?!) There's also very little out there in terms of healthy fast food (except for subway and some select menu items at various restaurants) and so I feel as if you're increasingly penalized at the supermarket for wanting to buy healthy items. And if you want to buy organic...don't even get me started. Oh, just remembered another thing that costs me a lot of money...egg whites!! Geez I don't want to spend an extra five minutes taking out the yolk in the morning and so I buy egg whites...costs an arm and a leg!

I rarely buy frozen meals and I don't cook every night (about 4 times a week) we tend to eat light at night and will eat cereal and milk for supper :eek: I usually cook enough on the nights I do cook for DH and I to take the leftovers for lunch the next day. We also live on a farm and have our own hens and about 25 different fruit trees. So I don't have to buy eggs and fruit. I have yet to convince DH to have one of the cows he takes to market butchered. He won't eat what he raises (says it turns his stomach to think about it) so I have to buy our meat. It would save me a ton if he would keep at least one calf a year for our meat.

ETA^^ I completely understand in wanting to save more money. I really should be saving for the future so that I can pay back my graduate school loans more quicky...but if I spend the small window of time I have free cooking...I think it would make me really miserable. Also, I refuse to stop eating healthy so that I can save money (if I don't have to of course, if I have to I'll make sacrifices). At the end of the day, we need to keep our bodies well-fueled so that we can take care of our loved ones and our pets so I think eating healthy is a worthy expense

Ours takes debit cards. I always grab empty boxes throughout the store to box up my groceries. I always take a few totes in case. The canned food saves me tons of $$$$. Canned veggies are so cheap!

I can't imagine any other beef! I know what we've feed it. I know the medicine it had. Plus, you'll never be able to stomach store meet again after having home grown.

For 3 adults, I spend around 500-600/month on groceries a month, but that's my entire Wal-mart bill, not just food. That would be anything and everything from allergy meds to health and beauty to any cuts of meat (which isn't much). I do buy a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables and organic.

Egg whites are so dang $$. We rarely get them. We usually have the Kashi chewy bars or breakfast bars on hand. That's $2.50ish a box on sale right there. When we're not watching what we're eating, the store brand bags of nothing-but-sugar cereal is a good price.

Oooo, we do keep quinoa around which is crazy expensive. Then we eat wheat pasta instead of white. Brown rice instead of white, etc. I guess that's where all the money goes. Then I have cases of soda. And margarita mix and wine and beer.. lol. If we got all the Greek yogurt we wanted it would be $8-$10 a week! Then we get fresh veggies and they go bad - and fruit.

We don't really buy organic. I think it's overrated. Would love to go back to feta, but that is $$. Going to anyway.. Then lunch bags and such..

I know my sister and BIL spend about the same weekly and then have a cow and I think a pig in their freezer. And when I go over there, there is nothing good to eat. Most of it has to be made - not a ton of prepackaged stuff.

Cupcake question
 

sorry, meant to start a new thread

Nothing wrong with cereal for dinner!

We just get way too much prepackaged stuff, I think. But what to do when you're stuck on campus all day with no fridge or microwave.. Could buy snack pack things for much cheaper, but that's not really health friendly. Reallllly should clip coupons.

OMG Tell me about it! I bought a purse that is 18 inches long so that I can fit my laptop and like 5lbs of snack foods and drinks (okay the 5lbs I'm exagerating but I'm not exaggerating about the length of my purse :eek: lol)

I love eating breakfast foods for dinner lol

Got a locker this year. Still need to fill the thing with okay snacks. It's either that or vending which is nothing but empty calories. I'd love to be home to have hot meals, but by the time I get home at night during the week and the dogs want attention and I've put off studying during the day and I'm totally exhausted we can just forget about it. I might make a 10 minute dinner, but certainly not put too much thought into the next day's lunch!

DTW Vs New Port ;)

:eek: You will now have to deal with Priscilla ;)

I have a teenage son that eats me out of house and home. I spend a fortune at Wal Mart. $150 a week minimum. But that does include stuff like soap, toliet paper, etc. But it also don't include most of my meat. Because we have a cow that we butchered in the freezer. I just don't know where all the money goes. Lots of snack food for him. Other than that nothing fancy.

What are groceries????
:eek: