How Much Do You Spend?

pgprescott said:

From what I view on here daily, I cannot believe you all don't spend way more than your saying.  

Since i live with Nurse Ratchet, it's pretty difficult for me to deviate from the weekly food budget without dealing with a pain in the you know what.  For example, yesterday, when it was a balmy 118 in Phoenix, my eldest son and i took a ride out to Restaurant Depot to 'chill' in the warehouse where they give you orange winter coats to wear..  Well, i saw a great weekend clearance on Salmon (6.99/lb) that was not sold to local restaurants and they wanted to move it, but i couldn't act on it because i blew the wad last week on that prime t bone steak. And, i can't 'apply' this week's extra to next week's allocation.

Soooo, when she allows me a certain amount of $ to spend on food, that's it.  I do save up from time to time to be able to get something special but if i have to go to the 'bank' to withdraw more, but it better be explainable.  This all was something that terrified me 15 years ago ,but now, i am thankful for the structure, discipline and frugality that this approach allows.

the lobster tails i made sat nite for father's day eve cook were actually a gift from someone i do business with as a thank you for some advice i gave him.

I do make things on green egg for friends and neighbors- they buy the food, bring me a little extra to make for myself (ribs for example) and away we go- this happens at least once a month.

Dobie said:

I know there are tons of variables but how much do you (average)spend a week on food and drink?
Include  spices, seasonings, booze, anything edible but not restaurant food. Also include the region you live in and how many mouths you feed.
Its just me and Mrs. Dobie and occasionally I cook a meal for my folks and I think it's about $200 a week. I'm n NE FL. 

There are so many variables that go into a grocery budget, comparison doesn't mean much without the details.  There are expensive grocery stores (Whole Foods) and inexpensive grocery stores (Food4less).  There is buying basic ingredients and cooking from scratch vs. buying pre-made highly processed foods.  how much meat to veggie to starchy ratio in the diet.  How much snack foods?  Large soda, wine, beer drinkers vs. those who prefer water as their number one beverage.  I don't know if I can provide a good average, my normal weekly grocery run for a family of 3 is between $30 & $70, but we do eat out about 3 to 4 times per week, usually dinner out on Thursday or Friday, and then one lunch and one dinner out on the weekend, and maybe a weekday hit at fastfood.  so that is 3 to 4 meals out of 21 per week.  And about every other month a Costco run of food, toilet paper, and other miscellaneous non-food items to the tune of ~$300 and maybe $100 a month from Walmart, again a mix of food and non-food items.  Walmart does include the petfood & pet bedding for 2 guinea pigs.

My wife does the budget, the bills, and honestly makes more than me. I don't have a clue what we actually spend on food. I know I buy 1-2 12 packs a week and a bottle of tequila ~once monthly. I usually cook decent meals 4-5 nights a week and an "expensive" cook 1-2 nights a week. She does complain when the groceries go over $200 a week though. This is for the two of us and our 6 yr old...who eats ravioli every night. 

I have a family of 5, but my oldest kid is 7.  We spend $200 on week on groceries.  That count toiletries and diapers though, so the food bill is a little lower.  It does not count any wild game.  We eat venison year round and various different birds.  Helps lower the bill some when you dont buy ground meat.

Overall, we cook at home a lot, dont eat out often.  Usually eat pretty economical, like wild game or chicken.  Buy brisket, pork buts, and ribs when they are on sale, same thing if we want to cook steaks.

Taking this one step further... do you shop at one grocery store or do you "make the lap" to other grocery stores to secure the best deal? Do you buy non food related items (paper towels. Windex etc.) at the grocery store or Big Box stores? 

DoubleEgger said:

Taking this one step further... do you shop at one grocery store or do you "make the lap" to other grocery stores to secure the best deal? Do you buy non food related items (paper towels. Windex etc.) at the grocery store or Big Box stores? 

just depends on what quality im looking at, last week shopping was for just a rack of ribs, venison burger, bunns, and a pack of pearl dogs.(thats all i need for a week) theres more than a dozen places 3 miles or less from the house so its either convenience or im after something special. i never buy ribs from a supermarket, its usually repackaged un market hormel product so i head out to the local butcher

Flying solo at around $50/week which is reasonable given that it almost never includes meat or booze anymore , though it's been inching up due to an ever increasing quantity of organic stuff.

Oh, and of course beverages come in around $15-$20 per week.

NorthPilot06 said:

I seriously need to suppress my appetite somehow. 

raw veggies, unbelievable how effective they are at just that

Hmmm, let me calculate this out... Spousal unit wanted an organic garden to "save money", so about $2k later, with irrigation and plants, we have a garden that will feed the two of us about 5 to 6 months on veggies and stuff...

Then the $700.00 for a half of a grass fed steer that will last about 6 months...

So for 6 months our weekly "grocery" bills are virtually 0... (I'm using my wife's math here).

Then there's the 60 buck per week for wine and another 100 bucks a month for brewing supplies for beer.

OK... my official tally, we only spend 85 bucks a week on groceries (Beer+Wine)/4.

I'm happy with that!!

Now don't ask me about the other 6 months of the year! :-)

If Eggers are spending $ cooking good food for themselves, consider this:

"For the last year, retail sales at US eating and drinking establishments have outrun those of grocery stores, upending a longstanding pattern in which the bulk of American spending on food occurred at the supermarket."

Not rhetorical. Wonder how and why?

Damn.  People cost more than boats.

I don't keep track! I like to cook so cost is not an issue. Kids love chicken drums and papa murphys. So daddy gets the good stuff

Lot of variation here... When it's just me I eat out of the freezer (venison, duck, antelope), and fresh corn ...maybe $50/week 
plus $55 a month in dog food

my ex refused to eat in ... I'd  spend 150 a week easy.. Sometimes $200 on stupid skit (Wendy's , Mahki fresh)