blfenton, you pretty much are like my spending....so no worries...maybe we keep eating expensive cheese and olives and save money somewhere else

@maifleur01, Thank you. I actually am afraid to budget food for the pets. I have a feeling we spend just as much on them as us....I know actually. Our bank for our household spending has a graph but I want to get very specific to smack us in the face of where we waste.

I want to try the journaling thing where when you put it in front in colors it hits you......

Thinking it will hit my artistic brain more.

What my bank does is allow you to state what each debit and credit is for. Will not work when you want to divide a sales receipt. Then again some of the sales receipts I have received recently only have the skew numbers and I am simply not breaking things down that far. I think you can down load it.

There are several programs such as Money, Quicken and a couple of others that I used to use. However I found that the bank would only download to the most recent version and I realized I was too cheap to play that game.

Edited to add the one I use has a circle broken down into areas. Will not work if you want to know how much you spent on each type of item.

I generally get groceries twice a month, and it includes food, toiletries, paper goods, cleaning supplies, pet items, etc and I spend between 300 and 400 each time.

So the average would be 600-800 a month for all consumables in the house. This is for a family of 6.

When your family is larger like mine, it makes sense to buy in bulk, and that definitely saves us money.

It's been 12 years since it was just the 2 of us but I want to say back then that I would spend 250-400 a month for just the two of us.

Edited to add: all 4 kids make and take their own lunch to school, husband works from home and we almost never eat out.

My gardening barely makes a dint in our grocery budget, but it does provide convenience, especially for herbs and lemons.

When I was in my 20s, I had a strict budget for food, partly because I had other things I wanted to spend money on - now not so much, and so I spend more on food because I spend less on other things (except travel).

Instead of having a budget today, I try not to buy more than we need or can consume. My biggest splurge is probably fresh fish, but my local market has excellent seafood, and I think it is worth it. I don't worry about expensive cheese because we do not eat that much of it, and so its cost is rather minimal.

I go to the market probably twice a week and the farmers' market at least once or twice a month. When I lived in San Francisco, I bought food pretty much every day, as the markets were so convenient, and I did not want to store food at home. I do miss having vegetable/fruit markets on almost every street corner.

We don't have a budget, but DH watches sales and discounts. We also shop at costco even though it's just the 2 of us...stuff like fish for the freezer and nonperishables are worth it. We usually pick up a costco rotisserie chicken for $5 and we get a *lot* of meals out of it as chicken first and then as chicken soup.

But the biggest savings is probably from us never throwing food out. We 'budget' our meals into servings including 'planned overs' and putting cooked food in the freezer for nights when I don't want to or don't have time to cook. I think a lot of people lose money in food that gets purchased and then tossed. Depending on the item and how it's packaged, the use by date on the food means nothing....I think a lot of that is just a way for mnfctrs to sell more product. One study estimated that Americans lose between 30-40% of the food supply through waste.

Another one that is no help. My shopping is just like TGs. Except for it's just me and SO. We have such wonky schedules that it's probably an equal mix of me cooking at home and us grabbing something. I try to cook every meal when I am off, and I do buy things like individually wrapped and frozen chicken and I individually freeze other meats. It's almost impossible for me to find a pack of meat especially with just enough for one meal for us. It's annoying. Just something else to deal with. Anyway, I am no good with budgets. Neither is SO. I suppose we both think as long as the bills are paid no worries. We just will never be the type to shiver under 10 blankets in the winter or sweat in our undies under the ceiling fan in the summer because we want to save money on the light bill. That attitude has had some negative effects at times but we got through it. My parents budgeted everything. Every receipt and bill was saved and logged into the budget and tracked. Any overage was a disaster.(it did not happen often) While I admire that to an extent, I would be very irritated if I were to have to stick to a monthly budget for anything, like there was a hand around my throat.

You live in the Department of Motor Vehicles? Lol.

Obviously DMV stands for something else, too. What?

I had a set amount way back, when my girls were little. Now, I buy what I want to eat, and I freeze left over food for another time. I don't toss food out... wasn't raised that way, and that stuck.

I don't feel like I splurge when I buy avacados or fresh fish at the fish market store... I buy quality, cause I am worth it.

I am living by myself.

Moni

One thing that can help is to plan your weekly menu- it doesn't have to be the same every week- and then work out what you need to make those meals, and just buy that. Minimise waste by using what might be left over from preparing one meal in another meal- for instance, I would use half a large red bell pepper in my spaghetti sauce, so I plan something else that will use up the other half.

Edited to add:

I had that thought too, littlebug :-D

The only area in our spending that I don’t think twice about is food as long as it’s something healthy. I buy organic as much as possible from our local farmer markets, dairies and poultry farms. I just try to buy in portions that I know we will eat so it isn’t wasted. I don’t buy junk food, soda or sugar filled drinks, we never eat deserts and I tend to make meals that last more than one day so I’m not in the kitchen as much. I haven’t tracked it at all, but if I had to guess, I’d say our monthly bill runs at about 300.00 per month for the two of us.

No budget, but I do download coupons to my Kroger & Safeway card. We average $50 a week/breakfast/lunch/dinner AND snacks. We eat salmon & ribeye steaks about twice a month. Two pieces of fruit a day & a yogurt is planned into my shopping. We haven't been eating out ....at all lately. Then for the cat I order from Chewy or buy grain free & litter when I think of it(He has 2 cases of Daves cat food, he just gets tired of it).

Edited to say: We spent $44 this week, but $10 of that, batteries for the garage door controllers "and" 3 frozen pizzas. We don't usually buy "ready-to-eat".

I LOVE this post! It was very timely. I don't budget, just buy what I want when I want. DH was complaining about how much I spend and says I haven't cooked a meal in weeks. Somehow or other, he discounts all the frozen prepared meals in the freezer. :-))) That means he has to take out a frozen burger or a frozen pack of chili or spaghetti sauce or one of many choices of soup, and heat it up himself. Turns out I'm spending less or about as much as those that have posted. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!

I used to figure out 'just food', but am now content to tally from credit card statements, adding charges from grocery stores, drug stores, and for wine and spirits. Looks like $8000/year, $150/week. We're two Seniors, living near Chicago. I shop four different grocers and Costco.

I consider it a national shame that we pay the same amount for health insurance and prescriptions! (Not including anything to do with my costs due to Multiple Myeloma.) I wonder what citizens of other countries pay in taxes for their health insurance? (I know their out-of-pocket for medicine is less than mine.)

I have been spending a little over $325 a month for three adults and a dog so her food and treats are included. I don't budget, I just buy what we need.

There are people who need to budget and/or limit food spending. Others who want to budget and monitor spending. Still others who think they ought to budget and/or track spending. And maybe there are other ways too to describe how this gets approached.

IT/PC approaches to budgeting and tracking spending? There are many choices. I use Quicken and have for many years - it's the easiest way I've found to have all the info available I may need from time to time without spending a lot of time. I don't use the budgeting feature. There used to be more product choices in this space but most (including MS Money) are defunct. Quicken is pretty flexible and easy to use.

Free tools? I've heard good things about Mint, an online site to budget and track spending. It offers several of the functionalities of Quicken, including downloading transactions from financial institutions. There are others too.

Other approaches - a spreadsheet or paper and pencil can both be used but are more labor intensive.

I don't really keep track. I'm not one to know prices either. It is usually within a practical amount, nothing crazy. It's just DH and me. When I do want to watch my spending, I plan my meals and shop accordingly. I try not to overbuy.

For savings, you can look at least expensive alternatives. I buy expensive apples. I like honey crisp and pink ladies. But, a less expensive one would be just as good. You are still getting an apple! My sister always buys her apples in a bag, her DH is especially frugal. She got a kick out of trying all the different apples in my fruit bowl when she came to visit.

From a nutritional standpoint, your body doesn't know the difference between a steak or a slice of meatloaf.

I do download weekly coupons so that they automatically get discounted when I check out. I was never one to cut coupons.

I really don't look at the weekly flyer. But, this again can save you a bundle if you plan your meals around the sales.

Like Annie, we go to Costco for a number of items. For those who know how to shop, I hear that they can often beat Costco. As mentioned, I'm not. I know for sure that the majority of items in Costco will save me money as a rule.

Blfenton, my oldest still likes to take toilet paper when she comes to visit!

I only buy an occasional chicken as far as meat goes as I have a freezer full of bison, elk, pig, trout, red stag, salmon and bear. Trips to the store, to feed two, are about $600 monthly.

My kids like to raid the meat freezer as it is unique.

We probably spend $90 - $130 per week at grocery stores. That's for two retired people and two dogs. It would be less but we buy most of our beer at grocery stores also. We also eat out 3 or 4 times per week -- generally mid-range in cost per meal. We are fortunate, our tastes and habits have balanced to our available funds. Habits include looking for value sale items, stocking up on staples when they are on sale, and enjoying fresh fruits and veggies when they are in season and cheapest.

We don't track our grocery spending. If we feel like splurging on something like king crab legs or a prime rib, we splurge. But, we don't do that very often and it's usually a spur of the moment thing.

Hubby does most of the shopping and he looks at the weekly ads to see what's on sale. If there are good deals on products we like and use, he stocks up. I hate to throw out food, so we do our best to not let things go to waste. The leftover prime rib might become something like beef enchiladas or a go into a pot of chili. I make some things that can be frozen like spaghetti sauce, soup, tamales, etc., that we can grab when we need a quick meal. Chicken and turkey carcasses are turned into broth which goes into the freezer for later use as a base for soups, to flavor rice pilaf or to use in stir fries.

We eat a lot of fruit and veggies, but try to eat seasonal. In the summer, when the farmers market is in full swing we buy almost all of our produce from them. More expensive, but well worth it both in quality, freshness and flavor.

Most of our food is made from scratch because we feel that it's healthier, tastes better and is more economical than eating prepared foods. We also cook from scratch because we both love to cook. People who hate to cook may feel that their money is well spent on prepared foods. It all depends on one's priorities.

When at home, we eat out a couple of times a month mostly because what we make at home tastes so much better than what the restaurants around here serve. We save our eating out for when we are on vacation and have a lot of choices.

There was certainly a time when I had a set grocery store budget (yes, it included paper goods, pet food etc). I used the old envelope system and it worked. We ate a lot of eggs, soup and bean dishes.

It's just me now and I buy pretty much what I want. I change everything on my AmEx card so it's quite easy to see how much I spend at the two markets where I shop. Living alone and with two dogs, I spend about $500 a month at the grocery store, more if there is a holiday meal involved. If there is a coupon I use it, but I don't plan my meals around coupons. I'm grateful that I can do this - many cannot.

To put a monetary value on mine, I would estimate that we spend $600 to $700 a month on groceries plus about $150 a month on wine for the two of us. The wine we buy averages $10 to $12 a bottle, more or less. Oddly enough, if I have a guest visiting, such as my friend Bernard who generally visits for about 3-4 weeks at a time to do gardening/landscaping for us, I do not spend appreciably more. I guess I am more frugal when I have a guest, and Bernard will eat anything I make. If my sister and BIL visit, we go out to eat a bit more, and she usually pays for this, or she goes with me to the market and buys groceries. My niece insisted on buy groceries when she came to visit.

I don't really know, and I don't have a budget. I tend to be a very thrifty shopper and buy only some things without a sale or a coupon, usually both (using coupons only on brands that I would buy anyway, or to try a new condiment or spice blend). I am fortunate to have a number of different store chains in a close circumference, so I watch the ads and every week to 2 weeks pick up the well priced items when I need to replenish them. I do stock up (because I have a chest freezer, and a pantry) when there are extra good prices on meat, non-perishables and produce that I can freeze or store - for example, recently boneless pork loin for $0.99/lb: I bought several pounds and cut it into meal sized/serving sized portions for the freezer. When sweet potatoes and winter squash hit their seasonal low price I'll buy enough for a few months - they will be stored in the cool dry basement.

I always have a variety of things on hand because of that habit, so I don't plan meals at all - just cook what appeals to me in the fashion that appeals to me that day. But, if I am out of cold cereal (for example), it also doesn't bother me to go without for a week or two until it is on sale again. I'll just eat something else for breakfast.

It was different when my DD was little and my budget was much tighter, but even then I really didn't pay excessive attention to it.

While I do glance at the ads both paper and email I find that the real sale prices can be found all over the store. Last week unadvertised Progresso soups for $0.99. Sometimes the sale price in the ads is actually more expensive than the every day price. Recent example of that this week were apples that were on sale for $1.00 off a pound. Most of the apples on sale never cost more than the sale price. There were a couple of other ones that have been selling for $3.69 a pound but this week the regular price was $4.69 so with the $1.00 off the price was the same.

Very interesting topic. We are very comfortable financially, but still definitely check the sales circulars and stock up on sale items. This way we usually don't need something desperately and have to pay whatever price. This is more for things like tissues, detergents, canned items that are easily stored.

We do buy a lot of produce , at Costco and then whatever is well priced at the local supermarket and will plan meals accordingly. Like rae with the cereal, for some items I will go without and find a substitute if the non sale price is too high.

Mafleur- where are you or what kind of apples would be 3.69? Those are some pricey apples!!!

Gala, Fugi, Pink Lady. Last winter I mentioned the prices of the apples here and was given some of the prices in other parts of the country and they were much lower. I have an apple, some cheese and coffee as my breakfast alternating with some type of cereal.

I don't budget either, at least not formally. But I do know how much I have available to spend and keep within that limit as best I can. I usually only shop twice a month but do stop for "emergency reinforcements" now and again (today it was bread and eggs) or if I need a specific ingredient to complete a recipe. But generally I buy what I want :-) I do make use of cardholder savings a lot, primarily because of fuel discounts but also because they are an excellent value. I typically have a 15-20% savings each visit with these.

For the dog and I and a part time cat, I spend around $250 to $300 a month.

$4.69 or even $3.69 a pound for apples seems to be excessive to me. But then I live in WA state and apples are our primary crop. In season, most apples sell for around $2.00 a pound or less. Honeycrisps tend to be the most expensive but they have been as low as $1.79 a pound recently.

yes I am in the northeast/mid atlantic and apples are anywhere between 1.49 and 2.99 lb- the 2.99 is a very high price.Similar pricing to Washington gardngal

DMV is dc/md/va and here there is the MVA motor vehicle administration or purgatory! Funny enough I just got renewal letter today from MVA

Planning your menus for a week and but building a shopping list for them is a better money-manager than budgeting your dollars. Planning your menus, you might consider what is on sale, what you have coupons for, and incorporate any special events that call for hosting guests or eating out some night. You can plan for leftovers or another way to use food from one night, and you will use almost all of what you buy, and throw hardly anything away. You’ll always know what you have on hand, staples, etc, so you won’t over-buy.

This is an eye opener for me. I don’t shop the sales and don’t clip coupons, except electronic ones. But we don’t eat out except maybe 6 times per year, and I do plan my menus and shop for exactly what I need, so I almost never throw food away. There are 4 of us at home right now, but I do dinners twice weekly for 8+. I spend about $500 per week on food! I’m looking forward to cooking just for two. It’ll be so much cheaper and easier! (Waving ‘hi’ to OP from the DMV!)

Our area has a lot of apple farms so when in season, there are a lot of varieties and all but the Honey Crisp are pretty inexpensive, 1.00-2.00 per pound depending on which one and right now, Honey Crisps are 1-1.50/lb as well so I have some large ones in our fruit bowl.

Yesterday, my dh was in the mood for some roasted veggies, so we went for a little drive to one of my favorite orchard stands. It’s hard not to over buy there, brussel sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli were 2.00 ea regardless of size. The rest varied from 1.00/lb for tomatoes to 5 bell peppers for 2.00, celery 2/1.50 and so on. The tomatoes were so perfect that my DH has already raided them.

ETA: I don’t buy into the discount cards, points, coupons, as mentioned above, sales are pretty much a scam where prices are adjusted to accomodate a “sale”. Even if dollar wise something is a tiny bit more at the produce stand, it’s worth it to have fresh, locally grown. I wish everyone had the opportunity to shop this way, I think people would be a lot healthier over all if they did.

"sales are pretty much a scam where prices are adjusted to accomodate a “sale”."

I disagree with that. I frequent two grocery store in particular and I am pretty tuned into their standard pricing and when items go on sale I know if they have been discounted or just fluffed. Same with my grocery that offers a "club card" - I know the normal, non-cardholder prices on the items featured and the discount is real and obvious.

btw, both stores feature local products as much as possible - local organic fruits and veg, locally raised meat and poultry, artisan bread and cheese makers. Not all that many farm stands in a very urban setting and I don't need to drive out to the country every time I want fresh produce :-)

It's easy enough to see if a "sale" price is competitive or not. For produce and meat items, you can see what's up in stores you visit regularly. The normal too high price and then a sale to a more reasonable one (that isn't a bargain) is more typical of what department stores do. Store affinity cards probably serve to reduce non-sale marked up prices to normal ones. In some stores, when I've said I don't have a card, I've had cashiers scan a generic code on a piece of paper sitting alongside the keyboard to give me a lower price.

I'll use a store affinity number (it's little effort to type in my phone number) but we don't use or pay attention to coupons or weekly sales.

If you want to use the word "scam", that often applies to roadside produce stands. Many of them are retailers like any other, selling produce they purchase (from the same sources stores do) rather than products they've grown themselves.

In my area, most of the weekly farmers markets have and enforce a rule that vendors can only offer fresh produce they've grown themselves.

GardenGal, you can disagree, that’s fine. I‘m sure a lot of it has to do with demographics, buying habits and so on. My experience for the staples we use has been more along the line of Maifleur’s and IMO when regular price is less than the sales price, that’s a scam. The grocery store experience here is really sad compared more urban areas. In SoCal we had a several different national chain stores to choose from but here, we only have Kroger and from what I understand, they do not support local growers. All of the communities in our area have their own weekly farmer market events so people who don’t want to drive a little further out, don’t have to. Then we have regular farmer market stores that are open year round. The two I frequent buy what’s available locally first and everything has a sign posted listing where it came from otherwise. During the fall months, we get really spoiled because so many the local farmers and cider mills open stores to sell fresh fruit and veggies too.

" In SoCal we had a several different national chain stores to choose from but here, we only have Kroger and from what I understand, they do not support local growers. All of the communities in our area have their own weekly farmer market events so people who don’t want to drive a little further"

Haha, I don't know when you were in SoCal but the biggest and very popular "local" chain is Ralphs and it has been owned by Kroger for over 20 years.

I'm not sure where in Michigan you are but when I've visited central and southern Michigan (from west to east) there seem to be Meijer stores all over. If you're in a small town, that could be why your shopping choices are limited. Otherwise, people in small towns often need to drive farther (not further) to have more choices.

I agree with gardengal on the store sale business, especially produce and meat. Someone who shops regularly is usually in tune with prices of frequently purchased items and a sale is a sale.

Your pile of veggies does look quite appealing. Bon appetit!

I don't budget, but there's only two of us most of the time. I do shop at the no frills type of places, though, like Aldi and Woodman's. I don't use coupons anymore unless it's hanging off the item I want to buy. I splurge on good meat, like the prime meat at Costco, when having guests or for holidays. We were in Costco last week, and the beef tenderloin was 120.00. I draw the line at that.

Yes, I’m aware about Ralphs & Kroger. Never shopped Ralph’s much either, preferred Albertson’s, but there’s also Von’s and Stater Bros available too. We do have Meijer but they’re only in 6 states. I wouldn’t consider that to be national in the same way Kroger is. I don’t know if it’s company wide or just those that are in our area, but the Meijer’s by us are not clean and I only go there as a last resort. Style wise, I consider them to be competition with Walmart more than I do with Kroger. Actually, we have 2 Krogers that are about the same distance from us and one of them is not very clean either. If their parking lots are any indication, it would appear others feel the same way too. Maybe that’s why I’m so enamoured with our Farmer Markets, in my neck of the woods, there’s really no comparison. To walk out with those veggies plus some onions and a few other small things was less than 20.00 and will last for over a week. You really can’t beat it!

There's just the two of us now, plus a cat. We buy cat food at Costco or Sam's Club - about $50/month for wet and dry food, plus treats.

For food for the humans, every year we purchase 1/4 of a cow and 1/2 of a pig from friends who raise them hormone free and antibiotic free. Their cattle are 100% grass fed, so the meat is super lean. Last winter we spent $650 for the quarter cow, which worked out to $3.50/pound all-in. We spent about $275 for the half pig, and I think that was about $3.90/pound. These two meat sources will feed us very well all year.

So the only meat we buy at the grocery store is poultry and occasionally fish. We get eggs from a neighbor who has chickens, but he doesn't charge us for them. When the chickens quit laying, we get a chicken from him. haha

My husband is a hunter, so we do end up with at least one deer every year. He processes it himself, except for the sausage, to save $. If he goes hunting with his friends in Louisiana we get ducks too.

We spend at least $100 per week at the grocery store, mostly on produce. We cook ahead on Sundays for our lunches that we take to work. We generally have a light dinner together when we get home in the evening - usually a salad or a small piece of chicken with a side, plus a glass of wine. The wine is included in our grocery spend.

Our breakfasts every day consist of boiled eggs and another protein - sometimes an ounce of a nice cheese or some meat that we pre cooked on Sundays.

I appreciate all the responses...and I really like the different approaches. When I had small children I was crazy aware of prices and very frugal even though I wasn't on the strictest budget. My husband (we both raised families before) had a lot more kids so was much more strict. We have done the just buy what we want and I am feeling guilty...we aren't going to restrict ourselves too much but I am committed to trying to be more aware. If I save 20 bucks a week that much more I can donate to our local soup kitchen. We have a really amazing one that feeds a lot of families that are working but food poor and I like supporting it.

The concept in case anyone wants to start something in their community is a community dinner....and community leaders come eat and invite the entire community...it is for everyone so being hungry isn't a Scarlet letter. A bonus is that those who don't want for food see that those that do are just the same.

Anne, we need more people in this world like you. The desire to feed the less fortunate by cutting down on your own food bill all while trying to avoid making someone feel embarrassed or uncomfortable is beautiful.

I tried to "budget" for certain things decades ago but found it really wasn't practical. Even being single I would buy, for instance, a case of toilet paper and paper towels when Target had them on sale. At the time it was much cheaper. I discovered quickly that keeping track of your spending would let you build a price book and LEARN what are good prices. Saving 10¢ on an item you buy once a year isn't significant, especially if you have to waste time/mileage to go get it. I know what's a good price and use that as a guide when shopping. When a local butcher shop has their meat sales, and things are a good price, especially for their superior quality, I'll stock up a bit. That would blow a budget. But then it would save for a while after which more than makes up for it.

I'd suggest a price book or at least learn prices on things you buy frequently. Beware that the "club" stores do NOT mean the best prices. "Sales" do not mean the best prices. I shop clearance things frequently. That has the potential to be a savings but isn't always the best either. Stores like Aldi can save quite a bit, again, you need to know your prices. Even non-conventional places, DIY stores, dollar stores, can give some savings if you know your prices.

Setting up the price book, logging receipts and looking at sale flyers and comparing them showed me that knowledge is power in saving money. Coupons? I don't use them very often. Too much time, too much effort and not worth the hassle. I'm not very brand-loyal on most things. THAT in itself will result in a big saving.

I don't really budget. I watch the sales and if I need it I will get it and if it is a good sale I will get more than one. Right now the big deal for me is sweet potatoes, three pounds for a dollar. They will keep for me all winter and into the summer. Most of my family love them so when we have our family meals which is quite often I fix them. I also fix them for church meals. I don't use coupons because I don't have any. If I did and I was going to buy something, then I would use it. I pretty much know the prices of things I have my daughter's pick up for me. I do order from Sam's Club and have things delivered right to my porch. So handy and usually I wait till they have things on sale.

Sue

I agree about the club stores, at least, Sam's Club. I got a membership last year with an offer that made it nearly free. Over the year I bought very little there, as I found that I could get equal or better prices elsewhere on just about everything, especially produce. (I didn't make any major purchases such as tires -- I am talking about groceries.) I think I saved on a large bottle of my glucosamine, but that was about it. Coffee might have been a savings if I used it in those quantities.

Also, I found that the quality of the Scotts 1000 toilet tissue was much worse than that purchased elsewhere, and a pack of LED bulbs (that I thought was an excellent price) all quit working within a year. So, I am done with Sam's.

We are a family of 3- 2 adults, and a young teen who doesn't eat voraciously (most of the time). I average $110/week. No coupons, but I do tend to shop what is on sale/special since those items have a lot of turn over and tend to be in better condition. Our budget isn't strict, but it includes food, some cleaning supplies, and occasional personal supplies/odds and ends (greeting card, etc). No pet food in this spending and coffee beans tend to be purchased separately too.

We don't eat a lot of meat. For example, last week I made chili with 1lb of 96% beef (and lots of beans and veggies). We ate two meals from that and froze one too. Sometimes we have very simple meals like baked potatoes- we are busy and quick meals like that are about the best we can fit in easily sometimes. When DH is on the road, DD and I eat very simply because neither of us is a big eater. We very rarely eat out anymore. It's probably been 2 months since we ate somewhere other than home.

I took a brief look at my Quicken records for the last several years and found that spending at grocery stores (one category, payments not split between food and non-food) runs about the same as spending in restaurants. Restaurant spending includes food when travelling (when not part of a hotel bill, which itself is infrequent other than breakfast). Things we "eat" not purchased at a grocery store (as with wine from a wine or liquor store, the few food items at Costco, etc) are in other categories also not further analyzed beyond "liquor stores" or "shopping".

I keep track of all my spending in QuickBooks. I average 52.00 a week for just myself. I buy organic from the dirty dozen. I eat healthy most the time, little processed food. I'm not on a formal budget but just a frugal shopper and the biggest savings for me is not wasting any food. If I find I have some veggies that are near their time expired I will make a soup with them. I take my breakfast and lunch to work.

Lars, your niece is a thoughtful young lady : )

@lukkiirish you are too kind. It is not a lot that I do. I was taught that kindness and compassion costs nothing. I think I get far more from participating then I give. I believe most of us just want to feel good about how we treat others. My work is also about compassion and while I appreciate being told I am good at it my big lesson is that often I feel uncomfortable and fumbly. Nothing makes me feel better than to have a co worker or a family I have worked with tell me that my heart touched them. I am not supposed to cry at work but on occasion I do and it is because my heart aches. What I am trying to get at is it is ok to be uncomfortable and not know the exact right thing to say. People know your heart.

At the community dinners I have felt uncomfortable, I have not really wanted to sit next to the guy who needs a bath, but by showing compassion we both feel better in the end. That guy wants some dignity, a job and a daily shower or at least help with his desperate situation. Thank you again for your kind words!