How much do you spend per month on food?

[rubberelectric]

My girlfriend and I are presently spending about $280. We're not able to have a garden, which is a shame. We fish frequently, but I don't know a thing about hunting, so I couldn't even speak to whether or not it's cost effective. The two of us are, as they say in the vernacular, cheap bastards, so I would say we spend significantly less than just about everyone around us.

[torchbearer]

The full grocery budget is about $430 a month.
But, about $150 of that is for non-essentials like alcohol and such.

[TruthisTreason]

A lot! :o

[roho76]

$500 and I have a wife and 3 children under 7. So for a family of 5 that's not to bad IMO. We belong to www.savingsangel.com for $20 a month. We got 10 boxes of Whole Wheat pasta the other day for free. They always have way to get free stuff on their website. I would recommend this site to everybody. Plus the more people you get to sign up the the more you make. Sign up 5 get year subscription for free everyone after that you get like $5 or $10. This website probably saves us around $150 a month. They combine sales, coupons, and rebates for stores in your area. They tell you what store and where to find the coupon. We also got into the swing of buying things ahead of time when they are on sale. We have a whole area downstairs where we stock up and replace stuff.

[pinkmandy]

$500 and I have a wife and 3 children under 7. So for a family of 5 that's not to bad IMO. We belong to www.savingsangel.com for $20 a month. We got 10 boxes of Whole Wheat pasta the other day for free. They always have way to get free stuff on their website. I would recommend this site to everybody. Plus the more people you get to sign up the the more you make. Sign up 5 get year subscription for free everyone after that you get like $5 or $10. This website probably saves us around $150 a month. They combine sales, coupons, and rebates for stores in your area. They tell you what store and where to find the coupon. We also got into the swing of buying things ahead of time when they are on sale. We have a whole area downstairs where we stock up and replace stuff.

PM me your info so you'll get credit as I may sign up. Family of 5 here, too except one is almost 12 and he eats more than me. Growing boys and all. :D We spend about $600/month- sometimes a bit more or a little less.

[asimplegirl]

Try angelfood ministries... they provide about $70 worth of food, for about $40 a month.

There is no limit on income or anything.

We have about $400 in the budget a month for food, but we usually spend a little more than $200. We buy only natural and mostly organic food, including the meats. That feeds three us and anyone else that happens to be here. This covers the cost of snacks, too.

It can be done, and easily, too. I menu plan and budget my shopping list. Then again, I think it is fun.

[rubberelectric]

Try angelfood ministries... they provide about $70 worth of food, for about $40 a month.


WOW, I just checked them out. Thank you so much!

[Uriel999]

I eat a lot of food. I require like 100 bucks a week worth of food. Nothing really fancy, just a shit ton of food.

[Kotin]

bout 350 a month

[Josh_LA]

Try angelfood ministries... they provide about $70 worth of food, for about $40 a month.

There is no limit on income or anything.

We have about $400 in the budget a month for food, but we usually spend a little more than $200. We buy only natural and mostly organic food, including the meats. That feeds three us and anyone else that happens to be here. This covers the cost of snacks, too.

It can be done, and easily, too. I menu plan and budget my shopping list. Then again, I think it is fun.

WOW.

I spend less than $150 a month.

That means 2 meals a day
Fast food, or cook in advance in bulk

[Original_Intent]

About $400 per month, for me, the wife, an 11 yr old son, and a 14 year old son that is really starting to put away serious amounts of food.

Luckily, one of his favorite foods is plain white rice, sometimes with a little salt.

[nullvalu]

Well I break the bank when it comes to food. My wife & I love to eat, its a miracle we're not fat. I have 3 kids under 7, and between eating out & groceries we probably spend well over $700/month. We seriously have to get this under control cuz I know when my 2 sons hit the teenage years I won't be able to make my mortgage.

[jim70769]

For four of us I ask my wife to try and keep it around 200 - 250 per week.

[LittleLightShining]

Family of 5 here, too except one is almost 12 and he eats more than me. Growing boys and all. :D We spend about $600/month- sometimes a bit more or a little less.Me, too! My 11yo eats me out of house and home.

My budget is $100/week not including pizza night. I am an avid coupon shopper, matching coupons to sales myself. Last week I spent $82 and saved $88! Over 50% of my bill!

[georgiapeach]

Other sources to help you cut back on grocery bills:
www.thegrocerygame.com - too much work for me to run to multiple stores but I've heard of others having good luck with this.
I have ordered coupons from www.couponclippers.com. That way I only get ones I'll use plus I can get ones that I can't get in the local paper. If you don't want to do that, you can check recycling places early Monday morning to see if they have Sunday newspapers. :)
My grocery bill is about 500 for 4 people, but my husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy.

[Wendi]

$400 or more if I'm trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup and other processed crap... under $200 if I'm eating on a budget...

I live alone, so I can actually get it cheaper than that if really play the multiple store game, use angelfood ministries, etc. But when gas was sky-high, a lot of the store-hopping savings were canceled out by fuel.

[heavenlyboy34]

probably 300-400 bucks/month. :eek:

[SooperDave]

I'm unmarried with a gf and I'm embarrassed to say. She loves to eat out and take out all the time. It's a disgusting waste of many and killed my savings the last six months of 2008. I don't know how to change this without looking like a cheap f*ck. Help!?

[heavenlyboy34]

I'm unmarried with a gf and I'm embarrassed to say. She loves to eat out and take out all the time. It's a disgusting waste of many and killed my savings the last six months of 2008. I don't know how to change this without looking like a cheap f*ck. Help!?

LEARN TO COOK! ;):D Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market have great stuff that's easy to prepare.

[nullvalu]

I'm unmarried with a gf and I'm embarrassed to say. She loves to eat out and take out all the time. It's a disgusting waste of many and killed my savings the last six months of 2008. I don't know how to change this without looking like a cheap f*ck. Help!?

Damn I've been there - hard cycle to break. May as well get a 2nd job, buddy. :D

[Roxi]

I'm unmarried with a gf and I'm embarrassed to say. She loves to eat out and take out all the time. It's a disgusting waste of many and killed my savings the last six months of 2008. I don't know how to change this without looking like a cheap f*ck. Help!?

you need to explain to her how much extra (if you are spending extra, depending on how you eat fast food can be cheaper or about the same price as groceries) you are spending on eating out.

set a weekly or monthly eat out budget, and go get gift cards for the restaurants you like for that budget and don't go over that budget, if shes a good girl dude she will understand, trust me in this economy no one will think your a cheapskate and if they do, they have issues not you... put your foot down on this one, if shes right for you shell understand :)

[zach]

I spend maybe $50 a month for groceries. Being in college and living off some summer money leaves a little to spend for necessities and a few things I want.

:)

[yongrel]

I pay 2k per semester for my mealplan with the university, plus probably 50-150 a month, depending how much I eat out or cook for myself.

[Mahkato]

We are fortunate to have an Aldi (http://aldi.us/us/html/company/about_aldi_ENU_HTML.htm?WT.z_src=main) nearby, so most of the food we buy doesn't have a huge marketing budget priced into it. Most of what they sell is store-brand stuff, and they do everything they can to keep overhead low (no coupons accepted, shopping carts require a 25¢ deposit so they don't have to pay someone to haul them back inside, etc.). It's really unnerving to go back to the "regular" grocery stores and see all of the cereal priced at $3.50+ when we're used to paying $1.80 - $2.30.

[ingrid]

I'm unmarried with a gf and I'm embarrassed to say. She loves to eat out and take out all the time. It's a disgusting waste of many and killed my savings the last six months of 2008. I don't know how to change this without looking like a cheap f*ck. Help!?

Is she paying for her food sometimes too? Does she ever pay for yours? If she isn't regularly, then change that.

Besides that, look for coupons. We usually get mailings where it's buy one entree, get one free or save 15% off your check. Tell her you'll go out once a week or every other week to a nice restaurant. Or you'll only order takeout on Wednesday.

[Mahkato]

Restaurant.com sells gift cards at half-price or less. Usually there are restrictions on them, so read the fine print.

[SooperDave]

Is she paying for her food sometimes too? Does she ever pay for yours? If she isn't regularly, then change that.

Besides that, look for coupons. We usually get mailings where it's buy one entree, get one free or save 15% off your check. Tell her you'll go out once a week or every other week to a nice restaurant. Or you'll only order takeout on Wednesday.

she's really good about paying for a share of meals- and it may even come out about equal (in proprtion to our incomes anyway). but even with her paying her share its sickening to me how much we spend

[asimplegirl]

I'm unmarried with a gf and I'm embarrassed to say. She loves to eat out and take out all the time. It's a disgusting waste of many and killed my savings the last six months of 2008. I don't know how to change this without looking like a cheap f*ck. Help!?

You could make one of her favorite meals, and watch a movie at home, do it in a romantic way, and it'll just seem like you want to cater to her needs. Start out slow. One night a week. Maybe she will catch on and do it one night a week for you. Eventually, you guys will be cooking in nearly every night. Set aside some times for going out though. Purging it completely will do nothing but cause frustration and unhappiness. Indulge sometimes.

[M House]

Jeez does he have to do everything in way that caters to her? I'm not exactly a good person to give any sorta relationship advice but um eating out is a money drain and boring. I'm not really sure why the general female insistence on this ritual, but it always seemed to me they do it to kinda show off. O well seems like you ought to be able to figure out a way to get your point across without being unreasonable. "Do we have to eat out tonight? I'd rather do something else" If you've taken her out several times in a row, this point would be kinda clear. Otherwise, you're just gonna get passive aggressive about it.

[asimplegirl]

good point, m.

I was just trying to think of a way to not go out that still assures her that he will still show he cares.

We go out to fast food maybe once a month with a coupon, and maybe once a month or two months at a nice restaurant, and usually share everything since since the portions are larger than we need.