How much do you guys spend per week on groceries?

[reinhard]

Excluding other utitlies like laundry, gas, and internet. I live in Canada, and my average comes down to, shockingly (high), $55 to $60 dollars per week, averaging out to 220 to 240 per month. I need to cut this down! I don't even go out! I coook all the time.

Edited April 16, 2014 by reinhard

[maelia8]

I spend about $50 per week at the grocery store (but I also buy soap and toilet paper and sponges there, so probably a little less for food), and I think that's just fine - if you're getting a lot of high quality organic produce and minimal packaged foods, there's not much you can do to cut it down below that  IMO. Try to buy things like rice and pasta and beans in bulk, and make sure that none of your veggies are going bad before you can eat them. That's about all I can recommend.

[bsharpe269]

I probably spend 75-85 per week for two people, including toiletries. I buy organic produce, grass fed beef, etc so I could spend less if I needed to.

[bumblyboo]

I go to the store about once every two weeks and spend around 50-75 dollars.

[QASP]

I have managed to cut this down to ~$40, but it took some doing. I don't sacrifice on quality, but I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch 5 days a week (costs $10.00/wk for those 10 meals) and I rely heavily on sales as well as carefully planning out meals using everything I have in the fridge/freezer.

[rj16]

I'm very inconsistent with grocery shopping but I think it would average out to about 40$ a week. Last year my husband and I were spending about 55$ a week for two of us. I guess I'm the one with the expensive taste! I also find it incredibly difficult to get just the right amount for one person so I waste more than I should. 

[Eigen]

When our income was lower and we were on a very strict budget, we kept it under $70 per week at the grocery store (including pet food and toiletries) for two people. 

 

We're probably up around ~$120 or so now, mainly the inclusion of more organic produce, and nice things like good cheese and olives. 

[TakeruK]

I think the best way to reduce grocery costs is to shop at more than one store per week. As you might know, most grocery store will have great sales in their flyers for certain in demand items as "loss leaders" so that people will come in for these items and then stay and do the rest of their grocery shopping with the other overpriced items. So, the way to take advantage of this is to buy only the loss leaders from each store (and stock up).

 

In Canada, when the place we lived made it easier to do this, I had a circuit of stores I would visit each week and the entire trip takes about 1.5 hours. By looking through the flyers every day, you will get a good sense of what is a good price for the things you buy. When you see the price go down/on sale, buy a month or two worth of stuff! I bought a lot of boxed/canned goods from big box stores or discount grocery stores. I always bought my meat and produce from the "higher end" store though--I found that these things go bad really quickly from the discount stores. In total, our average weekly bill for 2 people was about $50 (the range was $40 on weeks where we didn't buy meat and up to $60 when we get some meat).

 

Currently, the place we live in does not really give us the option to shop around--the stores are way too far apart so it's not worth. We do all the shopping at one store mostly now and we try to keep costs down by stocking up on sale items. But we are still paying a little bit more for some of our items that are not on sale! We probably spend about $80 on average per week, for the two of us on basic groceries, but this also includes getting some nicer stuff as a treat!

 

It's much more economical to eat well on regular home cooked meals and treat ourselves on groceries than to go out for a nice meal! 

[rising_star]

It all depends on where you live. My grocery bill rose by about $12-15/week when I moved across the country, simply because produce is more expensive where I am now (and also because I now live in a state that charges you sales tax on ALL groceries, even produce!). When I was a PhD student, I cooked most of my meals in bulk (so crockpot dinner to last 4-5 days) and probably spent about $25/week. I was able to shop at my local "ethnic" grocer to get amazing deals on produce (avocados 7/$1, sweet potatoes for $.59/lb, cucumbers 3/$1) without having to deal with the loss leaders/coupons/sale flyers. I also used to go to the bulk warehouses (by which I mean Costco) a lot more often because it was only about 4 miles from my house. I never went anywhere else for things like organic spring mix (1lb is literally half the price there as it is in my neighborhood grocery store), organic baby kale (a luxury item I'd otherwise skip), organic baby carrots (for snacking), etc. because their prices are amazing. IYou have to evaluate whether the membership cost makes sense for you. You could also split the membership cost with a friend. The loss leader strategy TakeruK recommends is a good one too.

 

The other strategy I used was to make a list and then see what I could find at a discount grocer. In my case, this was the wonderful Grocery Outlet chain (which my friends call the gross-out). Things are often close to their sell-by date but you could get great deals on fancy cheese, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, organic yogurt, and more. I'd often go there if I had to bring something to a party... I once bought a 20-oz wheel of French brie for under $5 there and then a pack of crackers for another $1 and I was all set to show up to the party. If you have such a store in your area, definitely check it out.

[reinhard]

I think the best way to reduce grocery costs is to shop at more than one store per week. As you might know, most grocery store will have great sales in their flyers for certain in demand items as "loss leaders" so that people will come in for these items and then stay and do the rest of their grocery shopping with the other overpriced items. So, the way to take advantage of this is to buy only the loss leaders from each store (and stock up).

 

In Canada, when the place we lived made it easier to do this, I had a circuit of stores I would visit each week and the entire trip takes about 1.5 hours. By looking through the flyers every day, you will get a good sense of what is a good price for the things you buy. When you see the price go down/on sale, buy a month or two worth of stuff! I bought a lot of boxed/canned goods from big box stores or discount grocery stores. I always bought my meat and produce from the "higher end" store though--I found that these things go bad really quickly from the discount stores. In total, our average weekly bill for 2 people was about $50 (the range was $40 on weeks where we didn't buy meat and up to $60 when we get some meat).

 

Currently, the place we live in does not really give us the option to shop around--the stores are way too far apart so it's not worth. We do all the shopping at one store mostly now and we try to keep costs down by stocking up on sale items. But we are still paying a little bit more for some of our items that are not on sale! We probably spend about $80 on average per week, for the two of us on basic groceries, but this also includes getting some nicer stuff as a treat!

 

It's much more economical to eat well on regular home cooked meals and treat ourselves on groceries than to go out for a nice meal! 

I follow the budget rules, always eat at home and cook all the food. I still don't get how I am spending so much. I don't even buy candy and I shop at SuperStore for Christ sake!

[TakeruK]

On 4/17/2014 at 3:22 AM, reinhard said:

I follow the budget rules, always eat at home and cook all the food. I still don't get how I am spending so much. I don't even buy candy and I shop at SuperStore for Christ sake!

 

Maybe the area in Canada that you live is pretty expensive in general? In my above post, I was talking about Kingston, Ontario. The cost of living there is lower but some grocery items are quite expensive because they often come from Toronto (especially ethnic items). If it helps, in Kingston, my regular route was (and the best items, in general to buy from these places):

 

1) Walmart for canned stuff / cereals / candy

2) Bulk Barn for anything I can get in bulk

3) One or more of the province's discount grocery chains: FreshCo, Food Basics, No Frills (this one was a bit out of the way) for anything will last a long time

4) Costco for certain items only--it's really easy to overspend here! We save about $10 per month just on buying cheese and juice (we can get a 1kg block of cheese for the price of a 500g block in grocery stores). We also get meat here and other supplies like laundry detergent etc.

5) Finally, Loblaws (same owner as SuperStore) for our produce (we tried produce elsewhere and they rarely last the entire week) and sometimes meat (when we don't want a Costco sized amount). We also get whatever might be on sale!

 

(We don't always visit every one of these places each week of course, just whenever there is something we need or we see on sale on the flyers). 

 

In Kingston, the Metro chain was definitely the most expensive grocery chain! 

 

So, I hope these specific store names will help. Maybe you can see if these places exist in your city and do some price comparisons.

 

Now, we budget about $2 per meal per person. At 41 meals per week for two of us, we aim to spend about $82 per week I guess. I keep these numbers in mind when I want to buy something. Maybe you already do this but I plan our meals for the entire week ahead of time and buy things that can be used in multiple dishes, and also cook enough food to feed us for at least 4 meals (2 per person; i.e. lunch the next day). So if I use something expensive like chicken breast (can cost about $4, which is already the entire meal budget for 2 people), I pair it with cheaper ingredients. For example, I might buy a jar of butter chicken sauce/paste ($5/jar but there is enough to make 3 recipes=$1.67/recipe), add an onion, and serve it with grains so the total recipe costs $6. This recipe makes at least 4 servings for us (dinner and lunch the next day for example) so it's only $1.50/meal! 

 

My point here is that you can estimate your grocery bill ahead of time so that you are not surprised at the register! I try to pay a lot of attention to how much things cost and I have a good memory so I can remember standard prices for things (but if not, you can use a notepad or a spreadsheet). This way, I purposely plan my meals to not cost too much (we treat ourselves sometimes too) and if I see something that looks nice at the store, I try to figure out if I can make it in a meal that will cost about $2/serving.

 

Finally, at some Loblaws/Superstores in Ontario, if you are a student and you shop on Tuesday evening, you get a 10% discount (maybe they don't do this anymore). It's really helpful

[RunnerGrad]

In my area, both Zehrs and Metro both do the 10% discount for students on Tuesdays.  So that's when I do my grocery shopping.

[pears]

I spend around $150 monthly; mostly granola bars for snacks, fresh veggies (& some frozen, but obviously the fresh ones are cooked first), cuts of fish from the butcher counter, & a few Lean Cuisines for when I'm busy. I get some discounts with a membership card to a major chain whose produce I like. At the start of the academic year, I bought dry goods in bulk: red lentils, quinoa, couscous, steel cut & rolled oats, almonds, etc. So, a lot of my diet involves familiar recipes with these base items. When the farmers markets start up again, my cost will remain the same, but I'll be getting a lot more produce with way more variety. Woo, affordable local & organic foods!

 

I also allocate about, mm, maybe $100 each month for going out to dinner/drinks with friends, as well as getting snacks on campus if I didn't have time to pack a lunch. It seems steep, but I use Mint to keep track of my spending, & I find myself needing midday snacks when I'm on campus longer than expected, & if I don't set money & time aside for dinners/drinks with friends, well.. I get anti-social.

[seeingeyeduck]

About 60-70 every week and a half for two people but we also eat out occasionally. It's just an expensive area - we spend that much shopping at ethnic stores and Trader Joes...

[FestivusMiracle]

Maybe I just eat a shit ton of food, but I spend at least 80 bucks a week at Walmart, mostly for groceries. Some weeks it is 100. I cook most of my meals, and I buy very few processed snacks. Pretty sure I'd be anorexic and irritable if I only spent 40 bucks a week on food.

[pears]

Also worth noting: I remember seeing a Cost of Living index of sorts once, & my small city is somewhere around the national average, perhaps a bit lower, in terms of expected food costs. I'm a pescatarian, too, & I have very little dairy in my diet, so I think I save a lot of money by not having beef, poultry, pork, or cheeses (well, besides a wedge of brie per month, because it's a guilty pleasure) in my regular grocery runs.

[Jonathan P]

I tip the newspaper guy, and he gives me a second paper free. And then I double up on coupons. I also go to company websites on the deals I have and see if I can print manufacturer coupons as well, I've gone into the store and have come out with the store giving me money back. All the basic necessities if planned well can be gotten for free or around the .50 cent range. Basic necessities for me include toothbrush, toothpaste, detergent, dishwasher soap, paper towels, and toilet paper.

When I combine all of that with food, I generally spend 20-30 a week. If you like processed boxed foods, the total is a lot less with the coupons, but the one thing I splurge on are fresh produce and meat.

Couponing depends heavily on your local store though as well. Some stores don't accept a lot of coupons so you'll have to check that out. Some stores accept competitor coupons as well. I always get Walgreen coupons and then go to target and use them there as the mark up is often a little higher at the smaller stores.

[scottdickson86]

After reading this thread, I had to search online and I am so amazed to find out that there is Walmart in Montreal (or Canada for that matter). This is good news. Haha.

[Pitangus]

I spend about $25 - $30 a week on groceries (food and toiletries as needed) and $10 - $15 a week eating out. I live alone and don't eat very much, so I pretty much just buy whatever I want that week.

Edited April 18, 2014 by Pitangus

[VioletAyame]

Thanks for this thread guys. I was doing my budget earlier, and it seems like I've overestimated food expenses by allocating about $300/month for groceries, $100 for eating out and another $25 for toiletries and other necessities. Need to go redo the budget now

[reinhard]

Here is what I buy and eat.

 

1. Fillet fishes, usually in small bulks where the cost is about $8 and I can eat this for roughly 3 to 4 meals (so that's about 2 days whole meal)

2. Meat, usually costs $5 and I can eat this for an entire day.

3. Cabohyrdrates usually costs $5. I can't buy the big bags because it's too heavy for me to carry.

4. Roughly another $5 on fruits. I eat on average one apple/orange per day.

[PsycD]

With my funding package, I will only have about $35/week for groceries my first year. Bright Side: I'll be in great shape.

[dhg12]

After reading this thread, I had to search online and I am so amazed to find out that there is Walmart in Montreal (or Canada for that matter). This is good news. Haha.

Yeah, I mean... our Wal-Marts are made out of igloos, but they still sell most of the same stuff

[Lisa44201]

We spend $100 or so per week (family of four people and two large dogs). My husband cooks everything from scratch; we only go out to eat if we're out of town for a conference. He also makes our laundry and dishwasher detergents - saves quite a bit of money.

[scottdickson86]

Yeah, I mean... our Wal-Marts are made out of igloos, but they still sell most of the same stuff

Haha. Clever. I meant that I thought Walmarts are local/US only.