I have to admit that before I started trying to be more frugal, we (my husband and I – empty nesters) were blowing away that number, probably spending double that amount (more than $400/mo for just the two of us). That number really disturbed me, so a few months ago I started earnestly trying to shave dollars off using couponing to stockpile and then buying only items on deep discount during the week. Now we’re at about $50/week for the two of us, which I consider pretty good It really helps to start reading all the blogs available for grocery store – coupon match-ups. And if we didn’t have a grocery store in the area that doubles coupons including the $1 ones, it would be much more difficult.

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Interesting post. I probably spend more than average on groceries…maybe $150-$175 per month. In my case (and probably many others) my monthly grocery spending fluctuates depending on how I am doing financially. While money was limited I ate a lot cheaper, but once I was more comfortable financially I ate more expensive. These days I don’t watch how much I spend on each meal and I’m more willing to splurge on the more expensive items. I sure eat a lot less macaroni and cheese now anyway.

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Very interesting! IMHO, $112 per person seems a little low, although households with several people probably have an economy of numbers. However, for this to make sense, it would be useful to know how much per person is spent on eating out over the same period.

Clearly, if you habitually eat out, you’ll spend less on groceries: each meal you eat in a restaurant is one you don’t have to prepare in your kitchen. If you rarely or never eat out, you’ll spend more on groceries but less overall on food consumption.

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We spend about 850 a month for five people. I could eat cheaper, but eating healthy makes that more difficult. White rice is very cheap, but brown rice is about 25% more, and whole brown rice cost twice as much. Sweetener costs around three times as much as sugar. I still have to make huge cuts and I do use some coupons. If I didn’t I would likely be spending over 1k every month.

We also don’t eat out much. If you look at those numbers people are spending almost as much on eating out as in their home, but we usually spend less than $50 a month eating out.

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I spend about $400 a month. The enough for my wife, myself and our 20-month old daughter. I think our biggest savings come from going to BJ’s and buying what we can there. We spend about $200 a month there and then about $50 a week buying whatever else we need at the supermarket. A great find for us in the last few months was Aldi’s. They are a new supermarket and are kinda no frills, but the prices are fantastic. For example, 1 gallon of milk costs $2.19 compared with $3.49 at the supermarket. Considering my daughter drinks about a gallon a week, the savings start to add up.

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My husband and I grow all our own Veggies in wading pool gardens and hunt and fish so our grocery bill never excedes $100.00 (that includes toiletries though.) I would bet our bill for the 2 of us and 2 cats is around $75 on average.

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Great comments. All of you show just how different the average grocery budget can be depending on the individual and his or her income, family size, lifestyle, etc.

Fairydust… I definitely think $50 per week for two people is good. It’s amazing, really. I can’t imagine how you do it.

Cashback… I’m with you. The days of eating Ramen noodles and drinking Kool-Aid are gone for us, too. It’s one thing to eat cheaply, another to detract from the quality (and quantity) of your life to do so.

FunnyAbout… That’s a good point. The data I highlighted in the post does break down the averages for eating out, but I didn’t notice anything that provides the kind of analysis you’re discussing.

Denise… I think you make an incredible point. Unfortunately, the cheaper foods are the ones that aren’t as healthy. Sugar, corn syrup and processed stuff is always cheaper than healthier alternatives. It costs less to around here to buy two big boxes of oversized Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies, for instance, than it does to buy a box of unsweetened instant oatmeal with flax seed. It’s not hard to see why obesity is so common on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder, is it?

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We are a family of 5 and are able to shave about 1,000 off the final yearly # of groceries and eating out referenced in the article. The best way we have found to save money is to butcher our own meat(much better quality) once a year and also to do once a month cooking. The coupons and weekly specials help…..if I have the time that particular month. One could make coupon cutting a hobby and really reap even more savings…but I would rather spend my spare time with my kids!

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Darn, you people do really well. I spend give or take around 700.00 for 2 people every month. This includes paper products, shampoo, soap, etc. Plus, we do not eat out. My husband hates to go to restaurants. However, my husband spends about $250.00 for his lunches at work per month.

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For 2 adults and 3 kids under 4 we spend $300 on food and about $40 on eating out a month. I wanted to get it lower but I’m trying to trade more of our cheap snack crackers for vegetables.

I know some bloggers who say they can do it on $160 a month but as it is we rarely buy meat.

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How much do you need to earn if you spend 900 bucks in rent and 200-400 in groceries, you have a wife and a 3 years old child, you wish to have some savings and live in sacramento, CA?

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I spend about $250-$275 per month for me and my husband. I cook 6 nights per week and we may eat out every 2 weeks. I also eat breakfast my husband does not. We usually both eat a lunch 6 times per week. I buy from the local fruit market one time per week,we hunt and fish year round,we grow our own herbs and tomatoes .I also shop Sams club,and the dollar store for canned tomatoes,salad dressings,condiments. This includes paper products(saran,foil,kleenex,soaps,toothpastes,shampoo’s,toliet paper. I do buy in bulk for my creamer,cereal,tuna fish,peanuts. I bake and cook all from scratch and I entertain fancy one time per month.I would like to think I cook very healthy. The meat I buy may be burger,turkey burger,shrimp,very little bacon,whole pork loin which I slice and freeze.I do not use coupons I buy all my grocery store brands never brand items.

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for 2 adults ( we support my stepchild,,, he does not live with us, with $525 for one child a month ) so we have left in our budget between $180 to $200 a month for 2 adults…. breakfast lunch and dinner..it includes vegetables meats( even steak cut from round roast) chicken , pork hamburgers hotdogs and sides…snacks and lunch everyday for both of us. we eat healthy and reasonable portions…we do run out of food toward the end of the month but always have enough just not too much…the difference between 180 and 200 is paper goods laundry detergent shampoo etc…depending on what is needed….

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we are 2 adults …budget 170 to 200 a month..we eat meat…i buy round roast and cut it into flat iron steaks one roast is about $13.00 and you can get 8 steaks and a small amount of stew cubes from the left over that aren’t big enough for steaks this will be enough for another meal of stew or chili the steaks are no more than $1.50 a steak and are about 4 to 5ozs which is a real portion not a 8 oz steak sold as a portion .i buy chicken (breasts) hamburger hotdogs ..pasta vegetable( mostly frozen) we do not eat out and we take lunch everyday…we buy juice no soda..popcorn that you pop in a pot is a great snack and costs pennies. a meal ( with meat) at night doesn’t cost more than $3.00 a person. the other nights are cheaper because pasta is cheap! we don’t have much left over by the time we have to shop again but we eat well and healthy…

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I spend on average about $100 – $150 a month on groceries for 2 people. We seldom eat out and don’t count when we do toward the grocery bill, that goes on our “entertainment” budget.

I shop at discount grocery stores and shop by what is on special. I have a deep freezer in the basement so I buy big economy packs of meat and repackage into smaller packs and put down in the freezer. I buy a lot of produce and we eat very well at our house. I seldom purchase processed foods.

With that said, I stockpile as well if something is on sale for super cheap.

I also will state that by using our crock pot we save a lot since you can put inexpensive cuts of meat in it and they always come out tender and wonderful. Also, cooking a lot of ethnic type foods really helps stretch the budget. I think we eat really well at our house.

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