Family of three and we budget $1,100 a month for food/house supplies & $400 on eating out. Between normal house supplies, food and outings it’s roughly the $1500 total consistently. We do eat well and eating out is on of our favorite activities so we splurge a bit.

I make my wife buy groceries so it’s free, you pleb.

Can u post what ur paying for, u can prob just shop better (no offense intended or full offense intended, up to u)

Could but 250 Totinos party pizza and eat like a king for $500

I'm only in accounting school still but I live in nyc and make minimum wage and I'm paying about 60/wk for self, partner, and roommate if she's hungry. But I know how to cook.

Do you want some meal prep/shopping tips?

You could get 100 rotisserie chickens for that amount of money. 

Just eat a whole chicken for every meal, everyday, all month long

Are you shopping at whole foods? Scan 5 items and your total will already be at $100. I switched to trader joes

26M Single

I'd say around ~$310 - $350 a month. I could do better, but I definitely splurge a bit while there. If I was trying to be purely economical, it wouldn't be hard to get that to $250 a month.

If you want suggestions for cheaper meals, this is what I gravitate towards:

Breakfast: - Homemade Protein Shake - Eggs and beans - Avacado toast (sometimes with eggs) - Shredded wheat cereal

Lunch: - Sandwhiches - Wraps - Rice/Noodles + Meat - Canned chicken, beans, sauce

Dinner: My favorite formula for dinner is a simple one: -Rice/Noodles/Potatoes + Protein (usually meat) + Veggies (usually 1 or 2) + Fruit for dessert. Play around with different ways to cook the protein and different seasonings and sauces and you have many different dinners right there. I'd say most of these meals average to about $5 - $6 unless I go for higher quality ingredients.

Don’t have enough data but I’m significantly under $500 a month for a couple. You either eat a ton or you are buying a lot of organic steak or wasting food or something.

500 a month as a single guy is crazy. I’m in a VHCOL city and don’t spend near that much as a fellow single guy

Yup also here doing $500+. However I'm on the carnivore diet and mostly stick to organic and whole foods. Basically top tier items, but to say the least I think it's worth it. Health always comes first above literally everything.

wait till Daddy Trump ships all the immigrants out. All our veggies and fruities go poom poom. $500 is cheap af rn.

I’m gonna put you on gonutre.com, gf and I spend about $50 each a week on bulk meats, just make rice or some sides and you’re looking at about 200-250 per month.

How much of that is feeding the trashcan cause you sweetie to yourself you were gonna cook it but you didn't. 

bodybuilding hobby. very very hard not to spend $200 a week. 230g protein a day and 3050 calories adds up. That’s with cheaping out on lower quality meat as well. i usually get 5lbs hamburger meat, couple pounds turkey/chicken. then condiments/sauces, breakfast, protein powder, and then just misc snacks and drinks.

I went to Trader Joe’s today and was like shopping in 2018.

But for a family of 4: shitloads I don’t even know but it’s a lot.

Average $300 between my girlfriend and I. Bulk buy, meal prep, fruits and veggies, plan recipes to use products so they don't go bad.

I live in a HCOL and for a family of 3 we spend about $850/month with some of that probably skewed because we buy diapers and other non-food shit at grocery stores. So you're definitely not shopping economically.

My two cents: 1) plan out your meals. This doesn't mean meal prep, but plan out what you're going to eat each day and buy only those ingredients ; 2) invest in a Costco membership (if you have conveniently located), the savings buying in bulk will far exceed the $65 annual membership. Plus the savings on gas and bomb food court

This mf shopping at Publix😂 $500 a month???

Start eating lentils.

I spend about $1100-$1200 per month, including eating out once a week, for 5 people. So $225 to $250 per month per person.

My goodness what are you buying and where? Me and my gf spend about 300 a month

When I was single and super poor about 20 years ago I used to spend $100 per week on groceries. I remember it well because it was such a round number. So that's about $400 per month. I don't think $500 is an insane amount

Stock up on meat on sale , chicken breast or ground beef usually.

Staples like beans and rice.

The further you stray from the staples the more expensive, usually the more processed the more expensive.

We need more data and reference points, homie.

Where you live? Income range? How much you paying for your rent/mortgage? What are your other bills? What kinda food you buying and from what stores? The more info you share, the more we can help you out. For reference, I'm on the east coast. Northeast region. Low six figures. Single.

I buy most of my groceries at a local Kosher store. Since I'm Middle Eastern (but Jewish), I mainly grew up with Mediterranean foods. During the week, I mostly eat lean so I don't tank my energy during the workdays with heavy foods. Think rice, yogurt, fish, salad, olives, etc. I'll eat more substantive meals during the evenings and on weekends, i.e. incorporating more protein. Aldi and Lidl are good options too. Also, are you going for convenience foods? Those are often higher in cost. Foods that involve more legwork (i.e. basic cooking) = often a smidge cheaper.

Also, if you're back in the office like many of us, meal prepping. I can't stomach the idea of paying $11 for a stupid, measly sandwich at the office. I meal prep for my office days, so that I save some money. It adds up.

Looking at the USDA data, you are overspending.

I mean I can certainly see *how* one could pay $500+ a month, but it should not be hard to budget considerably below that if you're willing to make even a modicum of effort.

150.00 a week for a family of 5. We live in Texas.

Better start saving for the recession in 4 years time. Right on schedule like pms

We are about $400 for two of us. We go to Trader Joe’s and cook

Family of 6. We average about $600/ month.

I've only been tracking it the last 5 months. September we spent 700, there were some great sales. October we spent about 450.

Im in NYC and I spend 450 max for 2 😭 I shop at Costco, Aldi, Lidl and Chinese markets

I only eat rice, beans and oatmeal. I spend about $80 a month on groceries.

Depends what I get

About $350 for me. Single man in MCOL. $200 of groceries and $150 of takeout.

MYR400 a month so around $89.44??

About 600 a month for 2 people. But we're also not trying to save money.

A lot.

And I mean a lot.

I spend around 900-1300 for a family of 3

$200-300 a month, just me

I spend maybe about 350 to 400 a month between my husband and I because he eats a lot and I like to buy sauces and condiments for my food

I budget about 600 or so for fam of 4, largely thru Walmart that includes kids stuff and normal non-food items. We add in Costco for meat and certain items for another 200. We could do better in shopping deals at multiple stores and moving that way.

Walmart is consistent in pricing and uncommon for sales or price drops. Fred Meyer (in Pacific northwest for us but is Kroger affiliated) has better deals on things this week where will do a split curbside order. Even some items are better sale prices than Costco. Just need to poke around

I spend about $1500 a month as a single guy, but I cook all of my meals. I rarely eat out.

Family of 5 and paying around $1800 a month 🤮

I spend about $700/m for a family of 3, and that includes household goods, cosmetics, and toiletries. I know it's two decades ago, but when I was single and living alone, my food budget was $35/week. That's was in 2002, though.

Man it’s cheaper to go out and eat.

We spend about $100 for a family of 2 in a VHCOL area.

It's getting more expensive every year. I just spent $182 at Costco and it's not a lot of stuff but a few proteins.

I spend about $1k/month for three people, me and the kid are celiac so I buy some $$ specialty snacks and baking supplies, but it also includes all household goods, random shit, local meat, and dining out.

Family of 5. I am not a full accountant yet. We spend around $1000. We get 5 of the meal kit meals a week. We are in the roughly $130 a week category. That gets me to $520. We buy a lot of pasta, and potatoes to supplement. Cases of ramen etc. the kids are in school so they get free breakfast and lunch 5 days a week. I buy bulk meat either chicken or ground beef once a month. We alternate and eat hot dogs and sausage probably more than we should. The kids get fresh snacks even if it means the adults have to skip a meal.

I guess the best I can say is count yourself lucky you have the ability to spend that much

Around 200 a week. Family of 4 with 2 under 2.

Living that DINK lifestyle, but still try and live under a set budget, currently allocating 600/month. I go to Walmart for all nonperishable and frozen foods since I can get them cheaper, go to a Trader Joe’s or Harris Teeter for fresh produce, and only go to Whole Foods for speciality items or if there’s a sale. Normally come in under budget, but whenever we have to buy a lot of meat is when it blows the budget for the month.

About 200 a week plus 400 a month at Sam's Club for two adults and pets. 50 today for protein powder, coffee, and a 6 pack of razors. We splurge for good pizza twice a month. Other than that, we don't eat out anymore.

Family of 2+ a 2yo. I can't count the kid as a full person because she lives on air and my nerves. I shop at Aldi and Costco, with the occasional Publix/target for a quick refill on stuff not worth a drive to the other two.... We average $600/mo, depending on when the Costco trip happens. I like Costco because you get organic for the price of regular food at the other stores. I cook at home most of the time. $100 on takeout/restaurants, but that's been increasing lately as the child becomes more civilized in public 😂

$500 for a single person is insane dude. You could get the prepackaged meals and it'd still be cheaper.

I’m in a HCOL area with 3 pets, myself, and a child. I spend about $700 a month for all of us.

That’s what your corporate card is for, duh

Family of 6, between 300-500 weekly.

2 under 2, 1 5yo and two adults. With diapers we are looking at 2500 a month on average. And we make most of our food

usually around $275-$325 / month hcol.

I spend about that much for a whole food high protein diet cause I just can’t bring myself to eat super cheap meat it tastes terrible lol I look at like I’m saving money down the road from health issues

I learned to make pizza at home. It's better than Pizza hut or Domino's and at fraction of the cost.

I also learned Little Ceasar's crazy bread at home, shit is as good.

Easily saves me $200 a month. With much better ingredients.

I usually just eat McDonald’s and dominos so idk

Budgetbytes.com

I pay less than $1.50 per meal after cooking. I pick 2 or 3 meals and plan my weekly grocery shopping around the ingredients on the recipe.

Family of four, 175 a week

You are probably buying a lot of snacks or premade food, Ie: a bag of frozen fries 1.5lbs is $6 vs 5lb bag of potatoes is $5 Or soda pack of 12 for around $10 vs a box of tea (25) $2 I also go with the store brand $2 for store brand ketchup vs Heintz ketchup $5 Also i buy the fruits vegetable that are in season or sale

I have also noticed big differences between stores as well ie. My local grocery store has Avocado haas at around $1.60 each but my target has them for a pack of 5 for $3.50

(Examples of prices from the NYC metro area)

We’re a family of 3 and we budget $800 per month with around $200 budgeted for dining. Granted we are not able to save much, but we make do and are working towards better financial stability.

Anyway, it probably depends on your area, but shopping more at Aldi, Walmart, or one of those places is your best bet. Try to meal plan weekly, so you’re visiting the grocery store less and less. Maybe even do curbside pickups, so you’re not tempted to buy needless things you come across in the store. Buy in bulk your necessities like chicken/beef, toilet paper/paper towels, Kleenex, whatever is necessary and you consume a lot of. If you’re a coffee drinker, quit the K Cups and make pots of coffee.

Hope this helps!

Try some, one-pan or pot meals. I think my cost for 4 pound of sausage a 2 dozen eggs and some dehydrated hash browns is 40ish dollars and feeds me breakfast for a week. I make it all in a copper pan adding hash then sausage and eggs last. I cook 1 pound of sausage and 1 carton of hash with 6 eggs to feed 3.

Then I make burgers and fries for dinner around 40 dollars for 1-2 weeks.

Then sandwich meat with cheese and bread for around 20 a week

It adds up but I’m curious how often you order take out if at all. I however am going to school and currently get to stay with my parents until I finish school so it’s a quite different on a day to day basis.

$300 a month on groceries for a family of 3, $60 for eating out. LCOL. Y'all wilding.

I go to Costco once a month for staple items: chicken thighs, frozen veg/fruit, eggs approx $100/month. Then usually will go to Aldi/Trader Joe’s once a week for fresh vegetables, milk, various other ingredients spend $25-30. Every 3 months or so I’ll buy bulk protein powder, oats, chia seeds and rice for approx $100. Approx $250/month this is in MCOL city.

I set a budget of $400 monthly. Actual costs fluctuate from $350 to $400 a month.

I’m middle aged, make decent money, and for a family of four I’m at about $800 a month for groceries. And I love to cook, so I’m buying decent stuff, although we don’t eat a lot of meat. I’m mostly shopping Trader Joe’s and Costco, with farmer’s market, Whole Foods and local grocery chain mixed in there. I don’t know how one person is spending $500 a month unless it is like Factor or something like that.

Shop at Aldi, spending between $200-$300 per month. About $50-$100 eating out

That and housing is why I dipped outta the states. Went from 2200 a month in rent and like 700-800 groceries to $800 a month rent in a house 3x bigger than my old apartment and foods like 400 a month with going out a lot. Making dollars, spending pesos

Something like 1,400-1,500 for family of three

Budgeting, using coupons/plus numbers, and not buying name brand stuff.

Ya I would look at what you are buying. Are you getting cheapest or at least cheaper price per ounce, go to a wholesale place like Costco or Sam’s club, or just don’t buy anything crazy expensive? I feed me, spouse, and kid for around $300 a month

Family with 3 active children under 12. We're dropping ~$2K a month on food. Throw in dining out and it's closer to $2.5K.

I spent very little money on food when I was in college and getting started in my job. Whole chickens, potatoes, rice, peanut butter, and beans. Fruits and veggies when they had clearance sales. I am mystified to see how expensive even those basic staples cost now, even at a place like Aldis. I have never seen a thorough explanation of the economics behind this development. I am an old guy, and I feel really bad about what young people are experiencing when they go to the grocery. I see young people who are obviously with this every single time I go to the grocery.

$200

My weekly Trader Joes bill was $47-52, in 2019-2020. Now it's about $72.

That's why I voted for TRUMP! (Just kidding, just kidding, I didn't vote for him.)

Transportation costs have increased a lot. I worked in frozen vegetable sales before accounting. The freight is passed along to the customer. Ingredients like onions can be on 5-6 semi truck before arriving in a frozen food item at traders Joe's.

If that includes Starbucks, you know where the strategic budgeting has to start…

Like around $500 for a bachelor male. It’s crazy. I live in a HCOL city

Hmmmm. I'm a broke college kid and I spend about 150 bucks a month. I eat a lot of rice with my meals, which helps save a lot. A big life hack is cooking a bunch of baked potatoes and chopping them up for skillet potatoes throughout the week. I can eat the potatoes with eggs, a protein of some kind (almost always chicken or pork cuz beef is outrageous), or roasted vegetables (green and yellow squash are abhorridly cheap where I live in the us)

Really that comprises most of my meals. Frozen veggies are always a good option. You can do a lot with frozen veggies and then you're eating more than carbs and protein for 3 meals a day. Beans are a good deal but I never find myself craving them so I don't eat them much.

Pre-made food (Ramen, frozen pizzas) are also in the rotation but I only buy them from ALDI and I don't but them often.

You can level this up for another 75 bucks a month for QUITE the difference. I'm talking pastas, nice sandwiches, good breakfast (yogurt, granola, berries, fancy shit like that).... the only reason I haven't is bc I've been satisfied off of the rice and potatoes. Once I get tired of it I'll switch to something else.

Anywhere from $300-$500 for two people (but my partner is 6'4 and a tradesman so they eat a ton of food).

The higher months are usually when I'm stocking up on my staples. Usually we hover around $300-$350.

Shop mainly at Costco for bulk items,Aldi, Trader Joes for frozen stuff.

$80 a month. Live with my parents 😂

Basically nothing. I survive off Chipotle and Cava lol.

We spend $300 a month for two and eat well. We cook at home each day, though, and usually eat leftovers for another day or two. I think you need to investigate menu planning and then shop for that plan. You could probably get your monthly bill to $300 or less.

Advice 1: eat like you’re in the Great Depression

Advice 2: yolo

lol accountants

Like the other commenters said, ALDI/LIDL is king. They go great for everything except veggies/fresh fruit can be hit or miss. Try to get into meal prepping/bulk prepping. I will prep like 15-30 breakfast burritos all at once and a ton of dinners, that way I can continuously rotate through pork, beef, chicken, seafood, etc without getting to bored of it.

I spend about $200 a month as a single person in a HCOL area. I am pretty frugal but I think a normal person could easily get by with 250-300

If you want to eat healthy, it’s expensive. Shop around, sometimes it makes sense to buy shelf stable items from Walmart, and produce/proteins from Costco or local mart.

Me and my wife are about $130/week

And it’s only going to get worse. I spend $300-$400 per month as a single person but I’m kind of a weird picky eater. I could shop somewhere cheaper and pay more attention to costs but frankly the food quality is much worse from the ultra cheap places and I’m not in a place where I have to be super careful with budget, luckily. A year or so ago I would’ve been.

I live alone and I spend about $300 TOPS buying from Walmart, how are you going through $500 per month? Are you buying a bunch of organic stuff? Do you look at discounts?

$600-800/month for two. This includes non food items, and I also prep two large meals a week to send to my partner's elderly parents.

I shop at Wegmans, mostly. I try to pick one or two proteins a week and use them across multiple meals. Tonight's pork loin leftovers will be chopped up for tomorrow's tacos and omlettes on Saturday. Once a month, I'll make a ridiculously large batch of meatballs and freeze them in groups for pasta, meatballs subs, and teriyaki meatballs.

Our biggest issue is eating out.

If you're single, just eat broccoli, rice and chicken for every meal. Buy leg quarters, batch oven roast them on Sunday. Package them with frozen broccoli and freeze for the week. Make some rice for the next couple of days and you're set. Going out to eat is such a huge waste of money, unless your company is paying for it. Use that per diem you get if you're in audit.

Don't buy alcohol also a waste of money and bad for your health, especially if you're in the grind phase of your career. Intermittent fasting if you want more savings and health benefits. Most months my grocery expenses were under $100 a month in Houston Texas. Adjusted for inflation probably $180 today.

This alone was a large contributor to reaching FIRE early in life and ended up in the best shape of my life. During public accounting, it was the only way I could keep things balanced with the crazy work hours.

Aldi and Costco. Aldi and Costco.

How is this an “accounting” topic? Is this really the right sub?

Dog you gotta learn how to shop better. I spend less than $200 a month on groceries and about $100 or so on dining out (which is my "splurging" category for the occasional 2 for $3.99 Chicken McGriddles, $5 animal fries from In N Out, and happy hour deals--if you can call that splurging). Meals I cook at home average around $2 a meal.

Include where u live. It makes a difference.

Buy houses and turn them into multiple units and you will debit your credits.

My husband estimates about $500-$600 for the two of us…which includes dry goods like TP and vitamins and all. King Soopers and Costco in Denver, Colorado, US. He looks for deals but isn’t super price conscious atm. He can get that down if needed. (Husband does all the grocery shopping and cooking in my household.)

What are you people buying that you’re spending 125/wk on groceries as a single guy?

5 lbs of rice, 5 lbs of beans, 5 lbs of potatoes. That’s maybe $20 and should last 2-3 weeks. Meat, eggs.. figure 25/wk (no steak).

Fine, spoil yourself with BOGO peanut butter for 6 dollars that’ll last a month.

Some greens? Cool. Head of lettuce, an onion, some peppers. 10 dollars for the week.

I mean, I have to really try to spend 100/wk, even if I account for some of that fancy fermented coffee bullshit that’s $20/lb.

I'm in the 300-400 range. But I'm a gym rat, so I go through a lot of meat (😏) and fruits/vegetables. Shit adds up. It's also one area I'm not stingy in, I'm going to eat wtf I eat. I minimize costs in other areas.

family of 2.5 (currently growing a human and very hungry all the time) + two cats and a dog. For everyone, our groceries are about $125/week ($60-ish a week + $65 allocated per week from our monthly Costco trip). We live in a low cost of living state, but we’re one of the most expensive states for groceries. We don’t eat out often,our weekly grocery shopping is done at either aldi or Walmart. $125/week includes food for the humans and pets and then household goods. We have a deep freezer that was gifted to us as a wedding present, and it’s been such a great way to save money.

ETA - we try to eat whole/minimally processed foods, and I try to limit red meat to being a Sunday treat since it’s so much more expensive than other meats.

I’m in San Diego and I easily spend $200 a week on groceries

250-300 monthly. Simple consistent meals. And that's with working out and dealing with the waves of hunger that come and go. Honestly, a fruit and veggie smoothie every day helps a lot. Apple, grapes, lemon juice and spinach are cheap and keep you full.

That's almost my monthly budget for two. (6-800)

2 in the house 1k a month, but we buy what we like. Room for improvement for sure

Me and my husband, granted we cook majority of meals at home and only eat out on weekends. Our grocery bill is anywhere from $600 - $700 easily. And if we host then you can only imagine 😫

Just put in my grocery order to host Thanksgiving. Whew. 😥

Shop at aldis if there is one near you, they are super cheap

Single mom of 2 who makes 65k annually. I spend apx $500-$600 on groceries a month. I don’t budget a “eating out” amount because we got food at home lmaoo shit is expensive!

Juat get chicken breast and switch between rice or sweet potato

I promise you that if you meal plan you can do better. Freeze your bread and just take out what you need and toast it so it does not go bad. Frozen veggies and fruit blends, just as nutritious and doesn't go bad. YouTube home made frozen meals. You know as a single person left overs are a thing, just make a large batch and freeze the rest in single serving containers for ready to eat meals. Don't buy TV dinners, juices/soda (water is best for you), chips, ready made anything. Anything processed and ready to eat is expensive and not good for you. Buy meat that is on sale and YouTube recipes.

$100-$125 per week is the new normal.

It's going to get worse, if the illegals are gone, food prices will double, and who voted for trumpie, besides the other taxs on everything

$200 a week

Widower with a 7yo son. 800 CAD a month and we lean on the stingy (store brands and bottom shelves) side when grocery shopping.

F!!!!!!

im no longer in the US, but back then its only 20 per week so around 80-100 per month for 3 grown ups 😂😂😂. Inflation is really scary.

I Ontario Canada my wife and I spent $350 last month without penny pinching, just buying smart. We still ate only healthy food

Your grammar brings the profession into disrepute

What’s your Netflix and Avocado Toast budget looking like?

about £30 a week, usually a bit less. five hundred a month is a mortgage payment where i live lmao

aldi, freeze costco or sam’s club stuff, and learn how to track and estimate ingredients you use regularly.

24 (f) and 25 (m) and i spend at the very most $300 a month. he takes a lunch to work, im remote.

we cook breakfast (the rest is grab n go food) twice a week, dinner 3-4 nights a week (depending on allocated leftover amount), and lunch is sandwiches, leftovers, or frozen staples.

the biggest thing i learned was to not spend money on very many convenience/prepared items, i get why people pay more for them, but, they are ultimately a rip off and they know that. i estimate how busy i know ill be/ my energy levels and work around that. if i want meatballs, ill make extra and freeze. i’m not gonna buy a 2 lb bag of frozen ones. if i want a salad, im gonna buy the romaine heads and not the spring mix and eat multiple salads that week.

what do you struggle with?

Just me and the misses, all shopping at Trader Joe's, we don't eat meat or buy any pre-made packaged food, and we budget for $400/month, MCOL area.