OT Grocery Budget OT

bucky925

I've never thought of my alcohol budget and really don't want to.  I figure with me being nicotine free for 6 months it's a wash     

ryantt

We spend 200-250 every other week on gas and groceries.   We do eat out 2 times a month but that’s mostly on Saturday or Sunday for lunch.   All in we spend about 800 a month on gas eating out and groceries 

we are spending less these days days because I can not drive and I can’t get in and out of my wife’s car.   So her gas bill dropped and by not having to drive the 85miles a day for work I’m saving big.  Also they moved my office to 5min from my house once I’m back to work in July or August. 

nolaegghead

go to Mexico for dentistry 

ColtsFan

bucky925 said:

I've never thought of my alcohol budget and really don't want to.  I figure with me being nicotine free for 6 months it's a wash     

As a former smoker and dipper that's a big accomplishment! Congrats.

bucky925

ColtsFan said:

bucky925 said:

I've never thought of my alcohol budget and really don't want to.  I figure with me being nicotine free for 6 months it's a wash     

As a former smoker and dipper that's a big accomplishment! Congrats.

I still remember my first cigarette at age 12 maybe?  I smoked for the next umpteen years.  I could ride my bike to the A&P back then and buy a pack of Winston or Marlboros with no questions asked. (I never understood why the kools and newports were behind the glass)  just saying.  In any case I got tired of waking up after a double shift with my chest hurting.  I decided to switch to dip.  What I didn't know the dip had more nicotine than the cigs. So 6 months ago I asked my wife if she could stand me for a few weeks being crouchy and why.  Full support.  It wasn't that bad once I REALLY wanted it. The really strange thing, the last few weeks the cravings are very strong!  Nothing I can't deal with but very unexpected at this point. 

alaskanassasin

My 70 yo buddy hasn’t smoke for 25 years, I asked him if he missed it.... “if the doc told me I have a month to live I would go buy a carton of Marlboro’s”

ColtsFan

bucky925 said:

ColtsFan said:

bucky925 said:

I've never thought of my alcohol budget and really don't want to.  I figure with me being nicotine free for 6 months it's a wash     

As a former smoker and dipper that's a big accomplishment! Congrats.

I still remember my first cigarette at age 12 maybe?  I smoked for the next umpteen years.  I could ride my bike to the A&P back then and buy a pack of Winston or Marlboros with no questions asked. (I never understood why the kools and newports were behind the glass)  just saying.  In any case I got tired of waking up after a double shift with my chest hurting.  I decided to switch to dip.  What I didn't know the dip had more nicotine than the cigs. So 6 months ago I asked my wife if she could stand me for a few weeks being crouchy and why.  Full support.  It wasn't that bad once I REALLY wanted it. The really strange thing, the last few weeks the cravings are very strong!  Nothing I can't deal with but very unexpected at this point. 

It's been 5-6 years nicotine free here and I still find myself sticking my tongue in my lip say "man, a dip would be nice". Like you said nothing that can't be dealt with but it's there. 

Lit

2 adults and 2 kids under 5. $800-1000 a month at Costco and right around $400 at Sprouts. $250 range on alcohol. 

saluki2007

bucky925 said:

ColtsFan said:

bucky925 said:

I've never thought of my alcohol budget and really don't want to.  I figure with me being nicotine free for 6 months it's a wash     

As a former smoker and dipper that's a big accomplishment! Congrats.

I still remember my first cigarette at age 12 maybe?  I smoked for the next umpteen years.  I could ride my bike to the A&P back then and buy a pack of Winston or Marlboros with no questions asked. (I never understood why the kools and newports were behind the glass)  just saying.  In any case I got tired of waking up after a double shift with my chest hurting.  I decided to switch to dip.  What I didn't know the dip had more nicotine than the cigs. So 6 months ago I asked my wife if she could stand me for a few weeks being crouchy and why.  Full support.  It wasn't that bad once I REALLY wanted it. The really strange thing, the last few weeks the cravings are very strong!  Nothing I can't deal with but very unexpected at this point. 

My dad smoked off and on from age of 13 until around 45.  He dipped every day from 12 until 50.  Hasn't had a dip in over 10 years and says he wakes up everyday wanting one.  Has held strong though.

Botch

ColtsFan said:
...The really strange thing, the last few weeks the cravings are very strong!  Nothing I can't deal with but very unexpected at this point. 

My Dad had quit the last few years, and he told me spring fever gave him a huge urge to light up, it never quite went away.  

billt01

JohnInCarolina said:

What are these "budgets" you speak of?  

chabs

Started doing HomeChef about a year ago and it left us with a lot more in the budget for wine. Most of them we’re cooking in the egg. 

70 a week for the three homechef meals. Typically another 50 a week at the grocery store for the two of us. 

Yno

I just go to the bank when Ynette raids my wallet. She does all the grocery shopping. I buy the wine, and I am afraid to add up what I spend.

fishlessman

20 to 30 dollars will cover the weekdays, another 30 to 40 for weekends food only. booze is up in the air right now til they figure out my blood pressure meds, they just changed them again, 4 times in less than 4 weeks. figure 5 bottles pino nior at 7.99 a pop or 40 bucks a week til they figure this out. about a hundred bucks.  been hitting a lebanese market for weekdays,  its cheaper for me to buy tubs of lental tabouleh,  hummus, stuffed cabbage or stuffed grapeleaves, red sauce, orzo salad etc and they usually toss in some fresh baked warm pitas and hot falafels and sauce for free

HoustonEgger

Family of 4 with two boys under 5. We eat out once every two weeks max. All other meals are made at home for all of us. I meal prep for the week on Sundays for Monday-Friday. Saturday & Sunday we typically eat leftovers or work our way through the pantry. 

• Weekly grocery spend averages $175 - includes basic household needs, dog food, personal care and medicine for the kiddos. Includes beer & alcohol (which we cut way back on this year). 
• Sam's Club every 2-3 Months - $400 - toilet paper, paper towels, diapers, wipes and bulk food items
• Misc every week or so - $100 - for items we don't get on our regular shopping trip, like specialty meats, protein powders or misc household stuff ordered on Amazon. 

SkySaw

Wow, I'm envious. Family of 4 - my kids are 14 and 12. No alcohol, no meat or dairy; monthly groceries are $1,500 - $1,750. I live in the Toronto area.

Legume

I always seem to blow my budget at Costco buying all of the things in pretty packaging that I don’t need or even want.  Damn evil geniuses!

alaskanassasin

SkySaw said:

Wow, I'm envious. Family of 4 - my kids are 14 and 12. No alcohol, no meat or dairy; monthly groceries are $1,500 - $1,750. I live in the Toronto area.

 Yes it is more expensive to eat healthy! Also Canada is a expense multiplier.

stlcharcoal

4 kids......minimum$1500/month between groceries and school lunches.  That doesn't include eating out, but we don't do that much as it's easily $100 at cheap mexican place.  I'm sure we could trim it down, but we eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, and that stuff isn't cheap.

HeavyG

Legume said:

I always seem to blow my budget at Costco buying all of the things in pretty packaging that I don’t need or even want.  Damn evil geniuses!

Seven years from now when you find some of that stuff in the back of your pantry you can just take it back to Costco for a full refund.

nolaegghead

We should have a contest were everyone can submit a pictorial inventory of their current food stocks (fridges, freezers, cabinets, bunker, pantry, etc) and we can vote on who is most prepper.  Bonus points for iodine tablets.

Winner gets bottle of sodium benzoate (apropos it is a food preservative) supplied by me.  Said bottle may be glued to trophy base that doubles as water filter.

DoubleEgger

nolaegghead said:

We should have a contest were everyone can submit a pictorial inventory of their current food stocks (fridges, freezers, cabinets, bunker, pantry, etc) and we can vote on who is most prepper.  Bonus points for iodine tablets.

Winner gets bottle of sodium benzoate (apropos it is a food preservative) supplied by me.  Said bottle may be glued to trophy base that doubles as water filter.

I’d lose handily. I let the supermarket store everything for me. We never have more than a couple days worth of food on hand. 

nolaegghead

DoubleEgger said:

nolaegghead said:

We should have a contest were everyone can submit a pictorial inventory of their current food stocks (fridges, freezers, cabinets, bunker, pantry, etc) and we can vote on who is most prepper.  Bonus points for iodine tablets.

Winner gets bottle of sodium benzoate (apropos it is a food preservative) supplied by me.  Said bottle may be glued to trophy base that doubles as water filter.

I’d lose handily. I let the supermarket store everything for me. We never have more than a couple days worth of food on hand. 

JIT cooking is very European.

Legume

DoubleEgger said:

nolaegghead said:

We should have a contest were everyone can submit a pictorial inventory of their current food stocks (fridges, freezers, cabinets, bunker, pantry, etc) and we can vote on who is most prepper.  Bonus points for iodine tablets.

Winner gets bottle of sodium benzoate (apropos it is a food preservative) supplied by me.  Said bottle may be glued to trophy base that doubles as water filter.

I’d lose handily. I let the supermarket store everything for me. We never have more than a couple days worth of food on hand. 

I could never do that in the Atlanta traffic.

fishlessman

in the pantry i have a half bag of walnut pieces, a half container dried cranberries, and a small can of water chestnuts that i got decades ago. theres just enough room in the fridge for a twelve pack of beer, the rest is condiments theres also a puffed up quart of milk, i aint touching that

dmchicago

When the SHTF, condiments will be the new bitcoin.

HeavyG

fishlessman said:

in the pantry i have a half bag of walnut pieces, a half container dried cranberries, and a small can of water chestnuts that i got decades ago. theres just enough room in the fridge for a twelve pack of beer, the rest is condiments theres also a puffed up quart of milk, i aint touching that

I think I'm kinda understanding your high blood pressure problems.

fishlessman

HeavyG said:

fishlessman said:

in the pantry i have a half bag of walnut pieces, a half container dried cranberries, and a small can of water chestnuts that i got decades ago. theres just enough room in the fridge for a twelve pack of beer, the rest is condiments theres also a puffed up quart of milk, i aint touching that

I think I'm kinda understanding your high blood pressure problems.

my food is packed in a cooler right now for the weekend.  haddock, chicken tenderloins, oranges, lemons, limes, blueberries, black berries, dried crannberries, walnuts, greek yogurt, garlic, mint, thyme, tomatoes, cucumbers keifer milk.  the fish will be saturday with rice and asparagus, the chicken will be a shwarma kabobs on pitas with tzatziki sauce on sunday, the keifer will be breakfast with the fruit and nuts.  on the no-no list for the meds i should not be eating the lemons, limes, oranges, tomatoes, not sure about the asparagus. doctor said to stay away from high potassium foods, completely backwards from what ive done most of my life. with the booze, he said, dont fall down

i always buy fresh that day or for the weekend,  theres dozens of suprmarkets and half as many butcher shops within 5 to 10 minutes from the house.

nolaegghead

fishlessman said:

in the pantry i have a half bag of walnut pieces, a half container dried cranberries, and a small can of water chestnuts that i got decades ago. theres just enough room in the fridge for a twelve pack of beer, the rest is condiments theres also a puffed up quart of milk, i aint touching that

   

gdenby

alaskanassasin said:

 We have been on a monthly budget for about 8 months simply because if we don't budget the end of the month rolls around and all the money is gone, I think this can be true no matter how much $ you make.

 

 All in for the two of us, groceries, beer, spirits, total budget is $450. This does not include eating out which is capped at $250.  We actually enjoy budgeting, it can be a challenge, like a game where you are rewarded with real $$!

 

 After seeing a bunch of posts on here with fancy groceries and shopping carts filled with bourbon I was curious if any of you track your monthly grocery bills or cared to share. 

 This will give me ammo for the monthly budget meeting if I blow it!  FYI charcoal goes into household.

 

My family was always on a budget, because we refused to live w. credit, aka, debt. We required ourselves to save money. For most of my family life, there was NO eating out. We enjoyed a carry out meal 1 time a month.

I saved up to buy an Egg 'cause that way I could get 'Q for less than several years cumulative commercial cost, and it seemed like I might cook better. That turned out to be true.

Once the piranhas, err, children moved out, me and the wife could afford a bit more. Got to go to a few really good restaurants.

But now, back on a budget. $280/mo food. About as much for craft beer for me, but set on reducing that. No more dining out.

Her medical bills just jumped 16%/mo. And she needs dental work. Yikes!