I spend $200 a month on groceries and $160 for eating out. I am an adult and my son is a young teen, so not really a huge bill for two people. I also have another $160 for going out to eat. And I live in Tennessee where the cost of living is really low. So $360 a month for us. You're likely really close to a reasonable number.

I have been living on the envelope system since before I'd heard of it. If you write down every last penny spent for three months and then average it, you get a pretty good idea of what you're spending. I like to do it by entire years the first few years of doing it. If you can grab your utility stubs, or look at past bank statements for what you spent, you can get a really good idea of actual numbers and decide from that. I always add a small percent to the average so that some months, I stay under the amount, yay, go me, spend it on something fun, or I might skim by--but have enough to do it. Does this make sense?

One thing you want to do while looking at the dollar amount you've spent is to think about what might trip you up in the future. Because nothing is worse to a sabotaged budget. You'll be putting along just find and then whammo! all new tires for the vehicle. Big chunk gone. So keep that hiccup in mind.

Good luck with your experiment!

I go to the bank once a month. I take out grocery money, spending money and charity money. If I run out, too bad. I don't go back to the bank. Some months I have some left and I keep that for any month that I am short. I learned this from watching the Suze Orman show and Til Debt do us part. I can't get Suze Orman on this cable network where I live now, but I guess she is on Utube. We got into debt many many years ago and I don't ever want it to happen again.

I'm single and spend about $200./month on groceries. This includes paper goods, cleaning supplies, alcohol, etc. I spend about $100. eating out.

We are two retired Senior Adults, living north of Chicago.

I budget $450/month for *everything* I buy at a grocery store. This includes food and home supply products from Costco and non-meds from drug stores. We seldom eat 'out' unless with family, but our portion of those tabs is in there too.

We could live on less if we couldn't afford steaks, chops, prepared foods like soups, baked goods, etc. -- or if I actually 'cooked'. (If it can't be made in one or two pots or takes an hour to prep...I'm not making it.)

Our wine and alcohol is another $100/month -- at home or when dining out. (Mostly a glass of wine each at dinner.)

Oh gosh, way too much. For my boyfriend and I, probably $250 on groceries and another $500 on eating out each month. We both eat lunch out almost every day and go out to dinner at least two nights a week so it really adds up. I live in CA though so grocery and restaurants are more pricey than some other areas. We don't live together so a lot of the groceries we buy rot before we use them so it's even more of a waste.

I tried to buy raisin bread last week and it was $5.99 for a loaf in the regular bread aisle. I was pretty shocked by that!

This is my life's challenge. I have three teens, one is a football player one is a swimmer, and so with the five of us we NEVER have enough food. I'm a lousy planner. I'm at the store every day.

I probably spend 300 per week.

There must be a better way.

Amy, I do not envy your challenge!
My sister has 3 teenage boys (and 1 girl) They eat constantly!
Their dad and oldest hunt...so they had 2 deer last year.
They have often purchased whole pigs or a side of beef.
They have 6-8 chickens for eggs
They plant a large garden that the kids are in charge of.

She goes to produce auctions as well. A few weeks ago she bought corn for .75 a dozen. She got 40 (!!!) dozen!
In the spring she got strawberries for $3 a flat...I think it was 8 qt per flat.
Apples will soon be ready...buys by the bushel and she makes apple sauce and apple pie filling.

They have to be prepared in a moments notice to put volumes of food away.

She makes a lot of soup...and never buys soda or snacks. They all know how to cook. The kids often will make their own cakes, pies or brownies.

Somehow she always finds a way... I am jealous of her skills...

This post was edited by salgal on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 12:13

I eat out for my main meal daily, and have cereal or oatmeal in the evening.

My eating out meal averages around $8, sometimes less.

Generally go to a cafeteria or a restaurant, and know their daily menus.

So my grocery bill is quite low.

I live with my 23-year old stepson, who is a big guy. I spend about $100/week for food and household needs, that I actually shop and pay for.

We eat fast food about once a week, and he generally picks up lunch on his way home from college M-Th. It would be difficult to give even a close amount for us.

We're empty nesters. We buy in bulk, and we're probably considered "preppers" by most people, in that we have enough food in our house to sustain us for 50 days.

That said, every week we spend about $45/week on groceries. We buy what's on sale, we buy very little meat (hubby is a hunter, so we always have deer, squirrel, rabbit in the freezer), and we buy 2-3 items for our "stockpile" of food. We don't drink soda. A half-gallon of organic milk lasts us 2 weeks (we only use it for coffee/tea). We don't buy junk or pre-packaged foods.

Neither of us is overweight, either - we carefully calculate our caloric intake every day, and buy food to achieve our weight-maintenance goal.

Way too much. Food is very expensive in Toronto and I have to eat anti-biotic free meat. My husband eats a lot and does not gain weight. The dog eats holistic food - I want to come back as my dog. We rarely eat out, but every time I go to the grocery store it is a shock. I don't buy prepared foods etc. - I have issues with preservatives.

Food here in ND is higher now due to the oil boom. Even the farmer's markets are high so I am cutting back

Eccentric....I hear ya about the dog food...Since my cat was diagnosed with diabetes, I have had to switch food for all 3. Their food is $115 per month.

Human food cost per month...$.86 per pound
cat food cost per month...$2.87 per pound

(that's body weight, not food weight)

MIght have to start making my own cat food....!

$344.01 a month. Not bad for two of us. Includes the cow and pig we buy each year, groceries, all cleaning supplies, paper supplies, household stuff, etc.

Roughly about $500 a month on "consumables".

And that is with a lot of items being made from scratch.

But about 80% is organic or organic practice. Which costs more....

I cook the same amounts I used to, which used to feed us.and then several days of leftovers for lunches...yeah..I'm lucky to get one small lunch after all have eaten dinner...

We probably spend close to $500 including all of our cleaning, bath and paper goods. And stuff like aspirin, etc. Harry can't have any processed food so all vegetables have to be fresh/frozen. I do buy some canned products like tomato sauce/paste, tuna, salmon, etc.

We don't eat a lot of meat and I have a food saver so I buy what's on sale and still spend more money than most of you. I need lessons!

I'm inspired....if I keep soup in the crock maybe less expensive junkfood will be demanded.

I know if I were a better cook my family would eat better for less. But that is an excuse isn't it.... hmmmm

Because of my part-time status and what i am paid...after my rent and car payment is made I have a grand total of $30 left over for groceries and gas for my car.

You can see why I am desperately trying to find full time work.

SamKaren
your resident DJ

oh amy I feel your pain! had 2 swimmers, soccer and band...swim season was the worst..we went thru carbs (pasta) on a daily basis! when the 3 of the 4 did track/cc it wasn't as bad...don't know what it was about cc or short track events they just didn't eat as much...(same with vball)

now I don't pay attention for just dh and I...figure we lived on cheap burger, and pasta long enough...we buy sam's club lean ground (currently 3.19 a lb) recently bought that pork loin (we're still eating on that) I make dh lunch 4 days a week for work..Friday is subway, and we have fast food for dinner...

some of the amounts listed seemed on the low side....just wondering if everyone is remembering starbucks coffees, ect??

Rough guess about $75.00.

Seldom eat out, then just a small item, almost always.

Choc. milk for me and coffee for my driver, about $3.50, after money management magazine local subscribers' meeting last night, at the after-meeting at the Big Mac place.

Walked through Starbucks once: didn't stop.

ole joyful

Too much at times, depending on what will see when go to different places and during summer the summer market and local stands to buy the fresh produce, berries, corn on the cob. Its not cheap here at all and seems everytime I go shopping prices are up by dollars.
I like variety to eat and so that makes it more expensive.
It does include toiletry items plus snacks and stocking up on items I use daily and when on sale try to buy those items I use.I do eat some meat but alot of chicken and even that is expensive.

If it was me alone I could live on very little. (Samkaren, that is way too little, I hope you find work.)
In college I lived on 5$ per week on groceries. I ate popcorn every way you can imagine....with ramen seasoning, with soy sauce, I ate a baked potato on campus for lunch and popcorn for dinner. I kept frozen peas for my sweet tooth.
After my second year I lost my period and I was told if I didn't start eating id never have babies. So I got a job and haven't stopped eating since. I had three babies btw :)

I'd guess about $75 a week for the two of us. We eat out twice a week and get Thai take out on Wed. so about $65 a week eating out.

"I have a grand total of $30 left over for groceries and gas for my car"

In a recent post, you mentioned spending $10 on lottery tickets.

Is that a fait trade-off for 10 days of no food, or is the math wrong?

I was hoping some would include the cost of living in their estimations. I would bet my $360 a month would be $500 easily in say Chicago or California or the upper Northeast.

________________
snidely, when you live so close to the bone monetarily, you have to spend a windfall or two on drivel or you'd go crazy. You gotta live a little, judgment-free! When my budget dictated I get $75 a month (that's no typo!) for groceries, for a couple of years (I was single and paying off monstrous! medical bills while working a fulltime job at 50 hours a week and then 20-30 hours a week parttime, and going to university almost fulltime), if I got something unexpected, I might buy something I had been doing without--just for fun. Like a pizza or a lottery ticket. It saves one's sanity to spend a little. If you don't get ithis, I can only assume you've never truly been there.

Rob, did a quick comparison on my area, Lancaster County PA,

$300 in Lancaster PA would equal in:

Chicago $342 (+14.1% higher)

LA $417 (+ 39.1%)

New Orleans $273 ( -9.1%)

NY, NY $543 (+78% !!!)

Greensboro, NC$264 (-11.8%)

Huntsville, AL $279 (-7%)

Denver, CO $315 (+5%)

Cleveland OH $294 (-1.9%)

Las Vegas, NV $288 (-3.8%)

Groceries sure do cost a lot more in Canada!

I can't believe the diffrence between Chicago and NYC. Wow! So my guessitimate is probably about right. I just wondered since some are saying "way too much", but really, they're probably paying only a bit more than you.

My number is Nashville and likely in the -10% range less than yours.

My tally includes *everything* rung up at the grocery store, and the food and household items at Costco, and the non-prescription items at the drug store. I never walk down the "Concentrated Sugar and Salt" aisles -- soda, chips, 'energy' drinks. I do buy limited amounts of cakes, cookies, ice cream, chocolate bars. (Small portions of sweets are plenty to satisfy a sweet tooth. We may eat four pints of ice cream per summer. We split a Costco muffin into thirds.)

We have excellent tap water, and we drink it! We have wine with dinner. I make three cups of coffee in the morning -- no "hot ice cream sodas" from a 'coffee' shop. We have a pot of tea with cookies in the afternoons while reading or watching a DVD.

I make dinner most nights -- chicken, meat or fish with fresh or frozen veg, a starch, salad sometimes. Lunch is soup and crackers w/cheese or leftovers. Breakfast is cereal w/fruit and toast -- O.J., bacon and eggs once a week. We eat a a few crackers between meals. A gallon of 1% milk lasts a week. I freeze bread and rolls. I don't have separate freezer, and I 'stockpile' a few months' supply of paper goods.

I suspect the eating 'out' and 'snacks' are sabotaging some budgets -- as well as health. Portion size is another killer. DH and I were each at least 20 lbs. overweight in our late forties. When I stopped entering the aisle of salt and soda, we dropped back to 'normal': 115 lbs. for me and 185 lbs. for him.

Ah, yes...the dog food! Our rescue Westie is 13 and can no longer tolerate kibble. Hill's special diet canned food is $3/can. He eats a can a day. He also requires abit of Pepcid AC and 25 mg Tramadol twice a day. I'm ready to make ground beef + cottage cheese for him -- would have to be cheaper.

Salgal -- Can you post the Hawaii stats? I figure I spend 20% more when we are on Maui. Food is more expensive. I 'cook' less. However, we tend to eat less in the warm weather.

Gosh, I don't even know, seems like I can't get out of the grocery store for under $70 a week? And forget restaurants $$$. I need to track my purchases better. There are 4 of us, 2 adults and 2 kids.

I am trying to get rid of the junk and buy more fruits and veggies, but it's frustrating at how much more expensive it is!! I have learned though that buying the overstock or sale green or red peppers freeze beautifully! Can you freeze shredded white cabage? I abolutely HATE wasting and throwing out food that has gone bad, but it seems like salad stuff has such a short life span!

My main problem is this: I get a craving for a certain meal or food. I go to the store for the 2 items to make that meal and while I'm there, I see something else I might need, are we out of this? might as well get one, or that brand of crackers I like is on sale get 2 of those, and suddenly my 2 items have cost me $30!!

Our pantry and freezer are full, we could eat off that for a while, but we need bread, milk, bananas weekly, if not more often! I can buy bulk fruit, but the fresh items are harder to make last.

I am going to try and be more efficient with our meals, cutting back, using up what we have. I definitely shop and cook based on the weekly sales. Come winter time it's easier to throw odds and ends in a crockpot for soups etc.

Chisue wow....Honolulu is +65.8% or $497 compared to $300
Rob333 - you were very close. Nashville is -12.1%
$264 compared to $300

So your $450 in Lancaster would be $395 in Nashville (and I admit, weâÂÂre skimping some, so dang close to skimping!). The funny thing is, when I looked at the AL/SC number and picked 12% for how I would compare in my mind... but when I wrote it here, I thought I'd be err on the side of caution saying -10%. Guess I should've stuck to my guns on numbers!

:)

salgal - yep, it is all about our pets. I guess the good news is that our dog food is/was not made in China. It is made in the U.S. and of course costs almost double in Canada, but he does very well on it. And, of course, we buy the small bag for our 22 - 25 lb. dog depending on the day of the week - rather than the medium that would cost about 1/3 less, because he likes fresh food and I am afraid of bugs etc. being in the larger bags. We do not feed him nearly the amount recommended or he would be mistaken for a Samoyed rather than a small standard American Eskimo. Then there are the holistic cookies - wheat and egg free - and arugula and other vegetables etc. He is a major hoover - 9 1/2 - looks 2 and acts 1. He also drinks bottled water! At 7 months he started to have yellowing under his eyes so I checked on the Eskie specific forum. Since he is a small standard and not a mini bottled water was suggested. Well nearly 9 years later his eyes are perfectly clear - great for a white dog (with a Mom whose clothes are mostly black).

Our food in Canada is definitely expensive too. I read what people pay in the U.S. and it sounds so inexpensive to me!

For my husband and I we spend an average of $120. per week which includes cleaning supplies, toiletries and dog/cat food. The pet food is outrageous.. a dollar a day for my dogs food and probably $1.50 a day per cat (I have two, 1 is a 21 year old that can only eat meat baby food and the other has urinary tract issues so he needs a special food).

We eat out once a week which averages $30 (with tip).

So all combined we spend about $600. per month.. that includes all my trips to Walmart, Petsmart, Walgreens, etc.. plus meals out. If I didn't have pets with special needs I'd save about $120. a month.

Thanks Salgal. So I'm spending almost 50% more on Maui. Must just be that we eat less out there! I always shop the sales, use the 'customer cards', etc. Wherever we are, it does seem that food costs are rising, yet we eat well and food is still a 'bargain' in the budget. (Our medical costs are much, much higher, but this is America, the land of opportunity...for unregulated commercial enterprise.)

The truth is, I have no idea. I make one big run to the grocery store each week and spend about $60, but that includes a lot of non-food items. Once every couple of months I go to BJs but I buy mostly non-food items again because I can't use those huge amounts.

I stop in at Trader Joe's, the farmer's market and Whole Foods to pick up odd food items. I do try to limit myself at WF.

I eat out at restaurants maybe five times a month and the cost can vary from $8 (Zoe's Kitchen) to $30 for a nicer meal with a drink.

I also have dinner at my mom's once a week and she always sends home leftovers and I can get at least one dinner from that.

Maybe I should pay more attention. I do try to watch for sales and avoid impulse purchases. It's only me, but my adult son comes by and raids the fridge pretty often.

Ps the cash envelope is a great way to stay accountable and on track.

I eat a lot of tuna, pasta and anything I can stretch out for several days.

Yesterday my boss took everyone out for lunch to celebrate one of my coworkers achievements so I had a big plate of Chinese and brought my lunch back home with me.