r3mix3r

For a while I wasn't doing my own shopping, and when I was I wasn't too budget concious. I've been tracking down all my spending like crazy, and have a pretty extensive excel sheet I created. It's definitely interesting to see exactly where all your money is going, and how much you waste/spend that is unnecessary, or can be limited.

I've been shopping every week for groceries (including house hold items), and have been going to Publix (local grocer) and Target. I usually get certain things at Publix, and other things that are a lot cheaper at Target. I have a Target card and get 5% off as well.

Every week I seem to be spending $80-100 on myself in food and random household items...I honestly thought I could get this much cheaper, but can't seem to do it. I don't have much time to coupon cut, or search deals either. Even going to both stores is already a stretch...

I do eat very healthy, and focus on quality foods.

How much are you spending? Are you single? Married? Kids? This is just intended for actual store purchased foods, not eating out, etc.

Acura_Dude

$80-100 a week on groceries? Or just other personal items included? Having a kid I've noticed the more a buy to cook, the more I save, instead of buying microwaveable crap etc.

kcroberge

Have a family of three (teenager) with three cats and we bring lunch to work every day. We try to keep the grocery bill to under $200 per week.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

food is expensive. i go shopping for myself and my fiance every sunday and end up spending about $150 a week. we eat very healthy though so that tends to jack up the prices on some things.

that $150 includes pet food, cleaning supplies, etc. as well.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

I eat out a lot

But when i do buy groceries, I go to sam's club and spend between 1-200 bucks at a time

TeknoKing

About $150 a week for essential produce only... welcome to NYC

edit: me and wify, buying milk, eggs, juice, some meat, some veggies and fruit.

350

iTrader: (4)

2 adults and a baby... I buy anything that can be frozen and household supplies at Sams Club, I normally go every other week and spend 100-150. I tend to run into Walmart or Giant once a week and spend between 60-80. So figure $150ish a week for the three of us, I don't always buy the best stuff but I get organic milk for my son and try to eat a good amount of seafood, I tend to go with frozen veggies for convenience over fresh, except salad type stuff which my wife doesn't eat so I don't buy it for myself very often. If I bought a lot of steak/beef that would skyrocket quickly, beef is getting crazy expensive so I do more chicken/pork/fish.

khannie112

$150- per week - married with 1 baby (similac and diapers are included in there as well).

Food only, I think we're able to probably keep it to $100-$125 bucks per week

subinf

Probably 150/week. Less if I take out the wine.

Doom878

OP, do you cook? Honestly I can get a huge pack of chicken thighs at around $10-11 (8 bags of 4 thighs), 8 pack of pork chops with bone for $15-16, 6 top round steaks for $12, and ground beef for like $13 at Costco. Defrost/cook enough for dinner and lunch the next day. A huge thing of like 48 eggs is like $4 or get a 12 pack of tuna for $14 for breakfast. Veggies are probably cheaper at Target then Publix unless Publix has a sale. I don't like getting veggies at Costco. I drink sink water. I don't eat snacks. And on weekends I probably eat out for lunch or dinner. Condiments and other seasoning products. $7 Publix whole chicken that's easily 2-3 meals. Easiest and healthiest ways to keep food bill down.

zguy95135

I spend about $38 a week on food from the grocery (Trader Joes), I'll eat something small for breakfast and bring left overs or a heat up item for lunch. Dinner is basic stove or oven cooked food. Add maybe $15 a week for beer and I only eat out a couple times a month.

Acura_Dude

Last 2 posts...

MWalsh9152

about $130-140 a week for a family of three, including $5-15 in pet expenses at the cheapest supermarket around here, probably $15-20 more when I cant go there at off peak times and go to the normally priced store.

Anyone else noticed a substantial increase in your total in the past year or so? We used to always be $100-110, and its steadily increased at a stupid rate

1StGenCL

Cool thread idea, I was just thinking I spend too much on groceries. I have tried to be more conscious of sales and such and have been doing a much better job of buying stuff that keeps when it is on sale, even if I don't need it at the time. Some stores also let you add coupons to your store card and they automatically show when you use that card. I suck with coupons but clicking through their app and throwing them on the store card is super easy.

We try to eat a lot of veggies, I've been juicing a lot for breakfast, and we cut out a lot of processed foods so that keeps our bill up. I have found that believe it or not, the super walmart in the nicer part of town has really nice produce that is a lot cheaper. I HATE Walmart but the savings are pretty good so I usually go around 4 if I can get out of work to avoid the crowds.

All that being said, I would say $160 a week for the two of us, eating out once or twice and no alcohol included. We cut back on wine and beer because it was adding a lot per week (plus I would drink a few beers a night and as I get older, I notice the beer adds the lbs) and do a vodka and soda or two at night instead.

Oh - I miss Publix, can't wait to move back

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Bought a whole giant pack of strawberries, and they went bad before I got to them

Whiskers

£120

BeezleTL85

/$158.20?

CUNextTuesday

Probably ~$100. I'm single and eat most of my meals at home/bring lunch. I shop at a hippie coop grocery store though, so shit's expensive.

Acura_Dude

coop.

stogie1020

Costco is great for meats and bulk items like cereal, bread (freezes well), oatmeal, crackers, etc...

I have learned to love the freezer. This can save a lot of money as you are able to buy a ton of chicken, take out some for the week and cook it and the rest does not go bad.

Also, a costco rotisserie chicken is $5 and gives me 6 meals. I dont eat a ton though, so I will eat a leg (drumstick and thigh, then cut the breast in half and eat half per meal. Also, I reluctantly acknowledge that store brand stuff is MOSTLY just as good. Every now and then I find something where it isn't, but for the most part dont fear the generics/off brands for stuff like laundry detergent, shampoo, etc..

One important note about Costco, as you browse, note where you are in the store. GENERALLY speaking, the farther you are from the dead center of the store, the less expensive the item. If you are inside the "racetrack" (their term for the main square) prices are generally much higher than the outer fringes of the store. Not always, but generally.

Doom878

Man only $5 for the chicken? Ours is like $7 or $9, I can't remember off the top of my head. I usually do that with the Publix chicken but I eat half the whole bird in one sitting.

stogie1020

Costco is $4.99 and it is MUCH larger than any supermarket chicken...

TOTAL steal.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Looking at this in context, my wife and I cook about 3-4 times a week and I eat breakfast at home every day, most we eat most dinners at home, and lunches are split about 50/50. We spend about 90$ a week and that includes the $22/week that accounts for the CSA box we receive from a local farm.

This is a diet heavy on vegetables and fruits, mostly local and/or organic, with only a little meat. Most protein is in the form of eggs, dairy, or tofu (we're Asian). Boston isn't cheap, but it is certainly not NYC either.

pmptx

Married 2 kids.
~50 /week at Sams (200/mo)
~70-90 grocery store

Dinner at home 6-7 nights a week.
Bfast daily at home
Lunch at work, Kids 50/50 on buying at school and bringing lunch

Not bad

subinf

I think it tastes better too.

CUNextTuesday

Looking at what you all spend on groceries for you + SO.. some even + kids.. I'm getting fucking SLAMMED on groceries. What the hell? >_<

MySoCalLife

Anywhere from $50 to $75 a week. No its not all for me, lol. Infact i am on a diet so I mostly eat fruits and veggies which saves me a ton.

Rapture

I'd say somewhere in the $70-80 range. Single, no kids. Most of what I eat is produce. usually organic stuff, too. I have a main grocery store and kind of an accessory store I go to that sells things cheaper that are "less convenient." For example they'll sell family packs of chicken breasts for like $1.79 a lb but you gotta trim all the fat off yourself. Cheaper than $3-5/lb for the trimmed stuff.

I've found that the best way to save money on groceries is to try to find ways to cook for cheap. Cheap recipes that call for cheap ingredients that you can buy in bulk and freeze leftovers for weeks on end. I've tried to cut coupons + bargain hunt but from my experience, it rarely proves beneficial. Sometimes I catch wind of a "Save $10 when you spend $50" coupon, but the downside is that typically you can't mix store coupons with manufacturer's coupons you get in the mail.... grocery stores are a multi-billion dollar industry and they don't want you to save too much money...

subinf

I went over my amex statement and I'm averaging around 142/week. This excludes eating out.

Rapture

I figured this would be a good place to post this:

Has anyone ever checked their grocery receipts for errors? For me I'll occasionally get ripped on something that was supposed to be on sale. Like if the store was selling oatmeal or pasta for 50% off, sometimes the register at checkout rings it up as the normal sale price. Kinda bullshit because I end up stocking up when it's priced so low, only to find out AFTER I get home that the price wasn't updated

I figured that might be a way for supermarkets to screw over customers. of course they fix it if I bring it up, but it does seem to happen more than once-in-a-while...

subinf

Safeway is usually notorious for screwing up the aisle price versus register price. I usually watch what goes through and make sure either the sale price registers or the club card applies to it. No real issues with Whole Foods.

Doom878

Fortunately our local stores have the screen and I make sure the discounts kick in.

stogie1020

I have not had to may bad experiences here, maybe it's a store by store issue. I will say that their coupon app is nice. I (ok, the wife) check the app as we walk into the store, you just select the coupons you want to use and they magically apply at the register if you buy the item.

The Stig CA

I check every friggin time now, because I came home one day and thought how oddly high my bill was. Checked the receipt, and they charged me for 22 cucumbers, at $1.00 each. When I went back, the checker said, "who buys that many cucumbers?" I wanted to say, "A lonely woman with a long weekend ahead of her?"

Regarding the topic in the thread, I spend about $140 a week for me, my wife, and two young girls. Thank God I don't have to buy formula anymore. That does not include trips to Target for household stuff or eating out, which we rarely do.

doopstr

Groceries are getting out of control. Every time my wife goes it's over $300.

vas25tl

Family of 3 with a 2.5 year old and we spend anywhere from $700-1100 a month with mostly organic and gluten free (wife's choice). A bit on the higher end, but the food is of good quality.

Rapture

Now that gas prices are going down, the cost of food should go down as well, right? Yeah, probably not...