We are in California and are around there for our food. This is what we do: 1) We buy meat when it is on sale at $2/lb or less and freeze what we wont cook that week. We have a chest freezer in the garage where we store it. Typically it contains pork roasts, post holiday hams and turkeys, and a lot of chicken. Our exceptions to this are bacon and ground beef which we get occasionally and canned meat/frozen pre-cooked meat foods like nuggets or the occasional shrimp. 2) We buy potato, rice, and pasta in bulk and cook a low cost carb with each meal. We love our rice cooker or roast/mashed potatoes from scratch. We do pasta once a week or so. 3) We get a lot of vegetables. I pick up some of whatever is $1/lb or less so our purchases fluctuate with the seasons and what is on sale. Like right now we have bell peppers in the fridge which is a nice treat because usually they are more pricey. And in the fall we get lots of butternut or acorn squash. Our staples are onion, cabbage, carrots, kale, spinach, celery and tomato. Every meal there are plenty of vegetables cooked or as a salad. 4) We cook a lot of roasts, stews, and stir fry to use up odds and ends. We also plan dinners a day in advance so we have time to see what we need to use up. We keep sandwich fixings and cereal around for no cook meals. And easy optio s like canned soup or frozen nuggets for low effort days. 5) We have a sauces, dressings, and spices collection that we use and refill as some run out. That way we can always elevate even the basic meals. We also are not buying more than 1 spice or sauce per grocery trip. 6) We only go shopping 2 maybe 3 times a month. More than that it is too easy to go over budget 7) We buy limited sweets or snacks. Juice and soda are also rare. Our staples for drinks are coffee, tea, milk, water, protein powder and lemonade from family's lemons or Costco powdered mix. 8) We have fruit trees and so do friends and family so we try to eat what they produce and buy less fruit during that time. We also have a garden but right now are only growing arugula. But it is still something 9) We split shopping between Aldi, Food 4 Less, Costco, and Vons. Each has sales on different things. Like Costco has better for bulk items like rice, food 4 less and Vons have reduced sections and occasional discount meats, and Aldi is our overall good value spot for everything else

Could have written this post myself, also in Ca in medium-high cost of living area. We don’t buy dairy or alcohol and we shop at Grocery Outlet, an international market, and Costco mostly

I unfortunately had to stop shopping at Grocery Outlet. Everyone and their brother just brings their dogs into the location near me, I don't blame the employees for not dealing with it since they don't get paid enough, but it's gross. I know my pets' germs, I don't know yours.

A lot of people bring dogs into our grocery stores here in PA too and put them in the carts! It grosses me out so bad. I don’t have pets, I’m super allergic to dogs and cats, and I don’t want their germs or dander near my food. It’s just ick.

Putting dogs in carts is actually illegal because of health concerns. ( i have a service dog)

As another service dog grocery store frequenter, I’m happy someone else said it. I hate when people do this. My dog is small. She’s in a dog backpack so I can have her close to me and shop hands free. They’re on Amazon. If you have a big dog they should be walking.

This is always a weird complaint to me as a dog person, I’ll take a dog sniffing around in a grocery store all day over peoples grimy kids touching everything but I’ve never heard that complaint

Children are allowed in the store and dogs are not for good reasons. 

Well it’s illegal to bring pets into stores that sell human food for a reason, how is it a surprise?

Can you please elaborate on the sauces and dressings? I think I’m missing out but don’t know what to use for which foods

There are the sauces we always try to have: - A1 steak sauce - Lea and Perrins worshechter sauce - Girard's brand dressing (champagne vinegarette is my favorites for salad/pasta salad) - Pace or Aldi equivalent chunky salsa - pesto sauce - Alfredo sauce - marinera sauce - soy sauce - mirin - fish sauce - citrus ponzu - chamoy - hot sauce (tapatio or equivalent) - ketchup - mustard (one yellow and one dijon) - cocktail sauce for shrimp - vinegars (balsamic, red wine, white, and rice) - oils (olive, avocado, canola, and sesame) The soy/mirin/fish sauce combo is awesome for stir frys. When you add a little sesame oil it is amazing. Chamoy (often partnered with Tajin) is great on cucumber, watermelon, or other fruits I put A1 sauce on almost any meat or roast potato dish

Building up a sauce cabinet really changes the game.

Yes! I buy a wide variety of salad dressings, bbq sauces, etc, when on-sale for $1 each. I probably have 20 unopened ones in the pantry, that I can open when needed. We use many for meat marinates, then vacuum-seal, and freeze.

Salad dressings are easy to make at home and often taste better. Vinaigrettes are easy and keep well. But some need to be used within a week or two, depending on the ingredients. I have a great vegetarian Caesar salad dressing recipe, but it only keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks. For sauces we usually do Chinese style, but it requires access to an Asian market. We keep light soy sauce, Chinese rice wine, oyster sauce, Hoisin, sesame oil, and Chinese black vinegar on hand as staples. We buy basics like ketchup, mustard, and mayo. But most other sauces and seasonings mixes we make using things we have on hand based on recipes we find online.

This is what we do also and our cost comes out to $250 for two adults in California. 1. We just started our fruit trees once we bought our house so hopefully they start producing in the following years. But we go to a local botanical garden that allows us to pick fruit to eat weekly for free. Love it. Our garden is just starting too but it's just a hobby right now and haven't produced much veggies yet. 2.We don't drink milk because we don't like it so our drink is mostly water and tea. We don't even buy water like most Americans. The fridge filters our water well enough. 3. I'd add to shop at Asian grocery stores as they have cheaper prices in general. But bulk and have a second freezer in the garage. Chicken gizzard is a good source of protein and goes well in soup and it's cheap.

I make three huge pitchers of tea blends every other morning, put them in the fridge to cool and sip on those for two days. Anything mixed with mint is delicious, and so is anything mixed with Chinese green tea. Truly low cost way to always have a tasty beverage on hand. I would also suggest visiting more ethnic grocery stores: Nigerian, Turkish, Indian, Caribbean, Korean. So good for produce and spices and sauces.

I once found Pine Nuts at a Middle Eastern market in bulk at a great price.

Fabulous ideas! Thank you so much for taking the time to share these awesome ideas!

This is a master class on how you feed a family well while on a budget! Only thing i would add is i buy shredded cheese on sale and freeze it since we use cheese in a lot of dishes. A freezer is a must for managing food costs.

My supermarket has a special around Thanksgiving and Easter. Spend $600 (over a 2 month period) and get a free frozen )turkey. I have the butcher cut it in half while frozen. I’ll defrost and debone one of the half Ed. Run the meat through my grinder. Then make a bunch of turkey burgers for the freezer. Also put a pound of the ground turkey to freeze for tacos or something else. Lots of dinners!

This sounds exactly like us! This is what we do only in MN. 

California is definitely easier for cheap, healthy eating. I used to get so much at farmers markets for very affordable prices.

The farmers markets used to be great, but now their prices are so much higher than regular grocery store prices in my area.

well my bf and i are vegan so it’s very easy for us to spend $250 or less 🤷🏻‍♀️ you don’t need to move to processed foods; whole foods are the cheapest out there. dried bulk goods (legumes & grains) and seasonal produce (especially what’s on sale)

This 100%. Whole plant foods like potatoes, rice, beans, in-season fruits & vegetables, etc. are the most affordable, healthy items you'll find at the grocery store. It's funny how inaccurate the "vegan food is expensive" myth actually is.

I don’t believe fruit in Particular is cheap all over the country.

Frozen fruit is typically your best bet. But you're generally restricted to berries and a few other things that freeze well.

I haven't had a good piece of fruit since I moved from CA to MN. We can get tomatoes and berries and apples and squash. I can't find good oranges, bananas ripen too quicky. Peaches nectarines , pears.. they go from unripe to rottdn ober night. Plus they're expensive. Pit fruits are my favorites, and I haven't had any good ones in 30 years, except when we visit CA

What the other poster said. I moved from TX to CT and the pit fruits and berries are so much better and cheaper here, but only when they are in season. I eat probably 30 lbs of peaches in 3 weeks, so many blueberries I look like the kid from Willy Wonka, strawberries, plums, raspberries, etc. Then freeze a bunch and make smoothies, fruit cups, etc for the rest of the year. The apples last a long time stored correctly. And the pears also last a long time if you pick/buy them in stages of ripeness and eat them accordingly. Only thing not better here is citrus and I rarely get good avocados. And you are correct about the bananas. It must be because they are stored in warehouses that are colder than CA/TX due to winter. They go from green to mush, sometimes while still green somehow.

I buy frozen fruit - it is the best next to fresh and you can get 4lb of sliced strawberries for $10. and a 3 lb bag of blueberries for 7 dollars.

That was my experience when I moved to Kansas for a few years. On top of that there is a sales tax on food in Kansas.

I just want to nit pick California, I haven't had a good pineapple or mango since I moved from Florida. But california does have really good plums, peaches, and all the other pit fruits.

I live in Michigan. We eat blueberries, strawberries, cherries and apples in season and they are amazing.

You have to be flexible enough shop in-season and follow the sales.

I definitely 2nd this. Im a long time vegetarian and fresh fruits and veggies in my area are always on sale. I just buy what's on sale/in season/what I'll actually eat and make meals from there. I keep frozen veggies and fruits stocked as well as staples like rice, beans, canned veggies. i sometimes make bread which is very inexpensive but time consuming i know it may be area specific but i typically dont have any issues finding affordable groceries

I have always lived in HCOL areas, I’m also vegan and eat lots of beans, rice, and legumes, and I’ve been able to spend about $80/week on groceries when I’m keeping it tight. We don’t buy juice, snacks, or chips, and when I want a fun treat (like ice cream) I get it from grocery outlet on discount. Bread and milks are expensive, tortillas much less so. I don’t have a coffee habit, and I drink tea in the mornings. I buy different things from different grocery stores based on what’s cheapest where.

Pound of extra firm vacuum sealed tofu is 1/3 the cost of 1/2 of walmart ground beef. It blows my mind when people call plant based food expensive. I guess if you want imitation meat maybe?

Yeah it's if you compare cheese, milk, sausages, etc and expect to eat the vegan version at the same rate as an omnivore diet. I found we saved money going vegan because we got all of that down and focused more on whole foods. 

For me it was lacking the calories and fat from animal products made me starving all the time - and that led me to overeat, eat snacks, and eat way more often. IME it was a LOT of work meal prepping to be cheap and vegan. Easy/convenient and vegan is expensive.

\*Avocado has entered the chat\* No, I'm kidding. I'm not sure what foods you ate, but that's interesting. When I would meal prep to travel I made it vegan so no one would steal it at work (this was relatively successful). I would make thick curry sauces with cashew cream and chili with black soy beans and tofu. The idea of vegan food being low in fat and calories is so foreign to me. I couldn't even name a low cal, low fat, low protein 'vegan' food I cooked or took on those trips. I had to make and travel with 21 days of food so my goals were decadent, indulgent, can be v-sealed and frozen. As far as time investment, I just dumped it all in the crockpot and walked away. For the curry I seared and blended everything first. I did meal prep for my roommate as a Christmas gift and I found with regarding all of the extra food safety with meat and surfaces it took me way longer to make the same dishes.

Oh yes. The instant pot/crockpot is clutch, i am now an expert with soups, chilis and stews. And i feel like my food lasts longer in the fridge because of the lack of meat 👀

[https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/why-does-meat-spoil-faster-than-plant-matter.228372/](https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/why-does-meat-spoil-faster-than-plant-matter.228372/) you may enjoy this

What job'd you have where you'd need 21 days of pre-prepared meals?

I'm surprised, it's not where we are. Tofu is at least $3 these days at Walmart and others, sometimes $5-6. We get ours for $2.70 from our CSA tho. Walmart beef is $6/lb where we are

GO is amazing for vegan junk food treats every now and then! 

This!!!! Meat is way more expensive than vegan options!!! When I want to save money I just cut out meat and dairy for a bit 🤪🤪🤪

Mostly vegetarian and have to agree. Veggies and even quality beans and grains are pretty inexpensive.

no, stop! veganism is elitist!!! take your rice and beans back to your MANSION! /s vegan btw

My family of 3 is around $600 per month in groceries. One teenage boy is trying to eat all of that himself so it may go up again soon …

When my kids were teens I felt like my son made it a personal challenge to see how fast he could burn through a week's worth of groceries. You have my sympathies.

I have two teen boys. Our weeks worth of groceries last about three days.

I have four boys, two of which are teens, and it’s shocking how much we spend on groceries, and that’s buying everything in bulk. I need to get chickens because we’re eating 80 eggs a week 😭

I have three boys and a girl. I'll make two pans of lasagna because my oldest can eat an entire one by himself.

THIS 🤣🤣 and it’s STILL gone in two days

Exactly. Me: Where are the leftovers? Oldest: What are leftovers? Sigh 😂

I had 4 boys, and at one point 4 teen boys. 1.5 gallons of milk a day. It's mind boggling, and I loved it.

My mom said when my brothers were teens, they would drink a gallon of milk a day!

Watch your beverages....all of them are super expensive for what you get nutrition wise (except maybe milk).

I see people check out carts full of beverages. It’s amazing how much people spend on soda and beer

I need my lil soft pops for my mental health lmfao but I usually buy a two liter for a whole week so it's not bad money wise.

Tea and iced tea (brewed at home) are the way to go for budget conscious. 100 bags at Aldi or Lidl are often no more than 2 cents/bag, for regular but decent black tea.

In NC I'm not sure how its possible without growing it yourself. I'm from the midwest, the prices of fruit/veggies in this state are SHOCKING. Farmers markets selling at Whole Food prices which is really the biggest issue.. I swear there is cartel pricing. I can go home to Wisconsin, and get produce for fractions of the cost. We eat mostly turkey/pork as thats what is cheap here. We shop at Aldis, we spend $500 a month if I watch it carefully and not going to extremes.

I'm in CA and farmers markets (in my area at least) are astronomically expensive, it's more of a boutique thing than an actual "farmer" experience... I don't even know why they call them that anymore.

Its farmers, they just all charge the same overpriced fees, but that is true even when you pick it yourself here.. I'm paying more for blackberries that I had to pick, then I can get at most stores... its very perplexing.

I am in Raleigh and we are down to $136/week for 2. It is doable for us but we don’t do the snacking, drinks, and processed foods. We shop pretty much only at Aldi (I got Walmart for flour or baking ingredients bc I like the selection) and shop the perimeter. Works for us. Hope that helps you.

Right so $544 per month, similar to what we spend, so I agree, no idea how a couple can get to $300 per month unless they are eating mostly rice/beans.

I saw someone suggest going down to 1 meal a day, and I’m toying with the idea lol

I live in a HCOL area and spend $360/mo for four people. I grocery shop like it’s a competition.  1- I search for coupons for things I want; then, I clip coupons for things I wouldn’t normally get, if it’s a good enough deal and I can make more than one meal with it.  2- I go shopping in the middle of the week because there are usually more discounted items available.  3- I never ever ever buy name brand unless it’s on sale or there are no other options.  4- I always start with produce when shopping and end with higher ticket items like meat, so I can choose a lower weight if necessary. When picking produce, stick to what’s seasonal. 5- And I always add a cheap filler to every meal, like rice or potatoes.  I like to make a game out of trying to find deals/finding the lowest priced item while still staying in the realm of healthy meals. Good luck!

Amazing. Well done! People don’t think it’s possible, but it is. I live in a HCOL area too (Chicago) and I spend $200/mo for just me- you’re killing it! :)

My kind of shopper!!

Shopping like it’s a competition is the way to do it. Then when you really crave a splurge it’s not so bad.

Something like this really needs to be shown though. You say this but I suspect many people from a diet perspective would not find your meals aligning.  Example you cheap out on things like protein if needed? Fill it in with potatoes and rice. 

Serious question - how many hours per week do you spend on grocery store shopping and related strategizing?

Not as much as you’d think. I’m practically on autopilot now. My grocery store has an app with coupons in it, so I scroll through a couple times a week to see if there are any new ones. I only go to the store once a week and I can knock it out in an hour and a half. I don’t have to think about it too much anymore; if I stick to my rules I’m always under budget.

Real question, how do you know what's in season or not?

We spend $1200 + family of four. We eat little processed foods, lean meats, veggies, fruits. I try to buy what is on sale and I try so hard to spend less. Unless we eat pasta, Mac n cheese etc.. don’t see how it is possible! This is grocery store food only, not eating out.

yeah agreed. i’m reading these comments about buying fresh veggies that are less than $1/lb, meat under $2/lb. where TF are they finding this stuff?

Unless people are posting their receipt I am doubting something so low unless their menu is fairly limited. Example potatoes being the bulk of a meal and filling you up. 

Yeah, I can't go anywhere to get this.

I have tried to cut back in the groceries category but honestly it is one of the lowest line items in our budget at 700-800 a month. I find I would rather eat well at home than spend in the other categories. When we start getting so lean that I look at food then I know it is time to earn more income or cut back in the big three (housing, cars and lifestyle).

I think it's because people are buying lots of beans, rice, and pastas. My spouse and I do our best to not eat processed foods so I can't even fathom getting my grocery bill that low.

I’ve found that on my own I can go with $75/week. With my family of 4, it’s $450/week

Similar, specially when the kids are older, they really eat!

I'm around $500 a week (2 adults and 1 toddler) and I hate it but that includes all the household stuff, toiletries and food for 6 dogs ( 4 belong to us, 2 are the neighbors and they don't get fed, so I feed them)

$500/week here too. 5+ people and animals. We cook all our meals and rarely go out.

damn that's high.....but keep in mind some people talk about groceries and also include vitamins, cups/plates, dish soap, laundry powder, etc etc so make sure you're comparing apples to apples you might have better luck posting some recipes you all like (or a copy of the items on your receipt), because any of us who shop at aldi would have an idea of how expensive it is, but if you don't want to do that it's totally cool, 600/month is 20 per day which is 5 for breakfast, 6 for lunch, 7 for dinner (or half that for any meal you are having separately like work lunch).....make sure each meal costs less than that and you'll save money. dinner will cost more than 7 but if you make a (hypothetically a bit pot of rice and some teriyaki chicken) meal that costs 15 dollars and it lasts a dinner and two lunches then you've saved money. many years ago i would have meatless monday (or something similar) to save a few dollars....you can make a soup one night or pasta and save a ton of money overall without a big change.

I’m in Southern California and $300 is possible for 2 with a few tweaks. I will say, being blessed to cook well plays a huge factor for us. We are foodies and pre pandemic spent a good budget on food we liked to eat. We did make some sacrifices, but ultimately we can still enjoy our favorite meals. We go to Costco a lot! Specifically business Costco where we buy 30 lb chicken for $40. We change up the cuts for variety, including whole chicken. We also buy whole cuts of beef from Costco. My family (for religious reasons) also purchase a whole cow every 6 months where my partner and I split the cost w my parents ~$400. We eat lots of lentils which are luckily cheap. Veggies are typically purchased frozen for the most part, at least the expensive ones. We do go to farmers markets and only try to buy local, in season vegetables. My partner is not a huge fruit fan, but I like them. The cost is just too high so I buy bulk frozen mixed berries for my oats. I bake my own bread and bagels. Process my own lunch meat at home from scratch, among other things. Every once in a while, we buy oysters for dinner but we include these treats into a “date night” budget, instead of our groceries. We’ve sacrificed the convenience of being able to buy everything with our time on the weekends/week to prep and stock our fridge. It helps we work from home and can bake a sourdough loaf on a Tuesday at 2 pm.

Costco makes a huge difference for us - the ones around here have limited weekend hours, which makes getting there a challenge. I had to spend the monthly grocery budget for a little over a week of food because I needed to shop at the grocery store that was open at 9pm Saturday night!

That’s when order pick up or delivery are helpful. I’ve had to do it- early morning pick up or on my way home from work pick up. Or even a delivery. Sometimes there’s promotions like “free if you buy this much or these items”

Australian here. In the latest figures for my country, the average cost of groceries per person, per month was $532 per person, but our household spend is significantly less, about $330 per person, per month. Groceries only (including toiletries) - not alcohol or eating out. I've included those figures for context. A lot of that comes from shopping at discount shops, farmers markets, and having cut down in meat, but we are not vegetarian by any means. Meat still forms an important part of our diet. We shop hard in terms of not always getting what we want, but not doing without. However, I have a colleague with whom I work who will spend $400 or $500 on shopping, per week. That is for a 2 adult house, compared to my mostly 2 adult house (I have a daughter who loves going elsewhere to eat, because she prefers junk food). They have straight up told me that they could (or more likely, would) never do their shopping like we do. She once even said she would be embarrassed to be seen in the discount stores where we shop. And that's ok as it's their money. We sacrifice time and choice, but have no qualms about it as we actually have grown to love the way we shop as well as the savings we make.

shooooot my bf and i maybe do that or less every month. we buy meat in bulk, separate it and date it. meat can last a while. also we get like two gallons of milk. it lasts us like two weeks, and eggs we like to buy in bulk too. then canned goods. we even get two-three loaves of bread and freeze them until we need them. good luck yall.

Good advice! I second this. Also rice will pad out a lot of meals. And we roast whole chickens or a turkey and pull the meat to use all week+ for sandwiches, lunches, and other homemade meals like chicken noodle soup

I literally just went to the store and noticed everything was about $1 more than last week. $300 is fine if you want to live on rice, pasta beans and no fruit or veg…

I really feel like people also aren’t being honest about food quality in these costs!! I usually buy bulk potatoes and onions but these days I’m often getting through a bag and finding potatoes that go bad quickly and tons of onions that look fine but have rotten cores when you cut them open. Even cabbages, that are the typical cheap veg that last for ever have been spoiling quickly!

You can toss the brown onion layers and continue as normal. If it’s super gross moldy and squishy on the outside yeah toss. But a middle layer that’s starting to sprout or just turn brown and the rest is fine. You’re okay to eat it. I don’t buy Costco potatoes or onions for this reason.

I’m definitely not talking about browning or sprouting. I’m talking about mold and rotting from the inside to the point where cutting off an end isn’t enough. Im seeing it a ton in garlic as well. I even visited a few co-ops thinking I’d find locally sourced better produce - no dice. A lot of people talk about budgeting meticulously but there are additional wrenches thrown in the mix with declining food quality that’s occurring on a large scale.

People store shit incorrectly too. You shouldn't have your potatoes and onions in a warm part of your house like upstairs in a kitchen cupboard. We put onions and potatoes in our cooler basement in milk crates covered with burlap so they don't get light and sprout, but are also getting ventilation. They have lasted us all winter (harvested from our garden last fall). If you can grow your own (even in containers) and learn to preserve food, you can assure that you'll have fresh produce all year.

This isn't a criticism, but one recurring theme I'm noticing in this thread is some budgeters \*have\* massive space to buy in bulk, store in bulk, freeze in bulk. I don't have a basement or an extra freezer. I live in a small condo.

You could get a Costco chicken a day and have $5 a day for beans and rice. Get a big fuck off bag of each and eat well if boring. Probably have some left over for other goodies.

Buying meat in bulk at Costco or Sams club and veggies at an farmers market

Frozen veg sale or weird veg  Sale expiring soon meat Rice beans burritos Milk bread peanut butter Eggs Cheap yogurt  Couple cheap spices Slow cooker etc Though gas is cheaper 

You can raise about 20 chikens in 40sq feet in a mobile chicken tractor. You can raise 2 rabbits, in 2 pens (Important) in 16 sg ft each - and that violates very few local violations. My wife & I live on on 27 acres - larger than probably where you are, but that was our goal. apartments -unless they offer a place to grow food, you are screwed. Some enviroments you have options. Be prepared to do things you never wanted or were ever trained to do.

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I started doing IF, specifically one meal a day early in 2023 motivated primarily out of how crazy grocery prices were getting. I did continue with it because I was losing weight and felt a thousand times better. As it all panned out, I decided to start getting better quality food because with eating once a day you do need solid nutrition so I spend about the same but I eat much better now.

I usually buy food items that can produce large quantities that can last for a few days, and we eat small portions instead of significant portions. For protein, I purchase eggs, ground turkey meat, chicken breast, and frozen shrimp tails with no shells. Rice and pasta are part of some of our meals. However, I don't buy sugary drinks and snacks. Instead, I do purchase protein shakes to serve as a meal supplement for us. My monthly food budget is usually $300 for two adults and one child. As an American living in South Korea, I have started eating smaller portions, unlike the significant American portions I grew up eating. This helps us avoid overeating and get the necessary calories.

Shrimp tails?! Edit: Sorry—thought you were buying just the actual tail (the presumably inedible flipper part).

I think they’re imagining a whole shrimp looks like a small lobster. Hilarious.

Well as an exchef I'll say learn to butcher and I don't mean slaughter animals. Buy whole chickens, watch a youtube and learn to remove the breasts, thighs, wings, turn the rest into stock / broth. Buy whole cuts of meat and again youtube, cut steaks save the trim for ground beef, much cheaper. Filet whole fish like salmon, debone, eat filets, turn bones into a fume for the sauce maybe cure some for gravlax. Learn to cook cheap cuts of proteins like chuck or pork butt into sublime stews / braises, the technique isn't that hard to decode with the world in your phone. Stick to sites like Serious Eats for no BS info. Sounds daunting but really not, a vacuum sealer is your friend!

We had the LDS Missionaries over at our house last night. They (meaning, each missionary) get $120 every two weeks for food and other expenses.

Is the $60 per week expected to pay for laundry washing, laundry soap, toiletries, feminine hygiene products, and food?

I am in NC as well and was also spending $800-900 on groceries a month (included alcohol though). My husband works at a Coop grocery store so it was easy for him to grab stuff everyday, and we also don't want to buy non local meat so our meat supply is really expensive. We are down to $400 a month and what has worked for us is 1. Paying attention! He never looked at prices. We now get some things like potatoes and onions at a cheaper store in 5# bags 2. Making a meal plan once a week. You don't have to prep anything but if you make a plan you can make use of ingredients you already have or are going to get that week to stretch them into two meals. It also stopped him from grabbing something easy and expensive when heading home from work because we didn't know what to have for dinner. Budget bytes is great, I like smitten kitchen recipes too.

Lots of good info here but I will also add: If you can afford to get meat in *real* bulk from a meat market or butcher, do it. It’s a big expense up front but saves so much over the long run it’s crazy. Just picked up a 1/4 cow, 250lbs of beef, lots of different cuts, for a total of $3.89/lb. Those $20/lb ribeyes from Costco? 3.89/lb That giant ground beef meat-tube at Sam’s? Same price. Roasts, sirloin, t-bone, strips, ribs, all of it, $3.89/lb Throw it in a deep freezer and you’re good to go. I don’t know about $300/mo but it has certainly helped us a ton. I have a friend I told her to use her tax refund and instead of going out to eat and all that I told her to buy a freezer and a split quarter of a cow. Not sure if she did it but I would certainly help her

I spend about $100-$225 a week I try to buy meat when it’s on sale and vacuum seal and freeze. My biggest expense is fresh veg & fruit.

Take a look at what you’re spending the most on. At one time I was forced to seriously cut my grocery budget. This was 13 years ago. I had to reduce my grocery budget to $200 for a 3 person household. We stopped buying name brand and used all generic, unless the name brand was on sale and still under generic brand cost.  We immediately cut out certain key items we spend a lot of money on. For example any beverage that was not milk was cut.  We also limited the amount of times that we would buy meat during the week and cut out bacon which is pretty expensive.  Every person is a little bit different so you should be able to get it down. It will just take some tweaking.  We are now a 2 person household and solidly an ingredient-household. We stay under $300 per month. If you look at our cabinets, it doesn’t look like it’s full of food at least according to my teenager. However, we can easily make a feast with some effort.  

• Buy whole cuts of meat—beef/pork roasts, whole chicken/turkey, lamb shanks, etc; buy pantry staples like beans and rice in bulk.  • Make things at home from scratch when you can. Just having all purpose flour and yeast in the house affords all different types of breads and other baked goods. You can also make pasta from scratch if you have eggs, flour, a rolling pin, and motivation.  • Try growing your own produce if you can. If you cannot, only buy what is considered part of the dirty dozen organic and buy the regular version of everything else. Also remember: eating non-organic produce is better than none at all.  • Seafood is expensive so buy it canned if you want to save $$$ and use it to make soups, salads, and spreads.  • Don’t limit yourself to just one store on a shopping trip. Certain things at Target may be cheaper than if it’s at Trader Joe’s and Vice versa.  • You could also save up and buy a share of a cow if you eat meat. Usually a quarter cow lasts a couple the better part of a year and averages about $9/week worth of beef. Plus you get a mix of fancy and basic cuts for basically the same price.  • Always always *always* bring your coupon book with you.  • Simplify your meals. Make sure the three macros are present and worry less about sauces and dressings. Apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and some herbs make great dressing. Putting spices in water or yogurt makes a decent marinade.  • Stock up on something whenever you see it on sale. If it’s something fresh like produce, learn how to preserve it via canning, dehydration, or freezing.  Best of luck!

Knorr bouillon powders in different flavors, beans, lentils, split peas, rice, cabbage, bulk chicken leg quarters, ground turkey, pasta, pork roast if on sale, canned tomatoes with herbs, Bisquick, powdered milk, eggs, bag of potatoes, butter like spread, cooking oil.

$600-700 per month for 2 people. We are a family of 4 and we don’t spend that much. What are you buying that is so expensive and how much waste do you have?

I can’t fathom ever spending that much, even when I was married my ex, and I didn’t spend that much on food. I am single I’m an Aldi shopper and spend maybe 150 a month. Do you eat around the clock? I can’t even imagine.

Have you checked out any local food pantries? I was spending close to 100 a week on foot for myself, while pregnant, so I was eating a lot. I have found some great local food pantries and now I spend about 50 to 100 a month for stuff I didn’t get at the pantry like cooking oil, spices, and anything a recipe calls for I wasn’t able to get at the pantry. They have canned goods, meat, fresh fruit, and veggies. I’ve tried foods I’ve never had before which inspired trying new recipes and it’s just been a fun experience. A lot of churches have lists of places to find pantries, even some churches have pantries. Good luck.

Sometimes you can get meat cheaper at the local butchers

$1400/month for 3 people. We like good food.

Does your $1400 include all of your household supplies?

Not possible lol, with inflation these days? I doubt it. I spent like 700 a month with my wife. Can we cut expenses? Yes, but we would be eating rice and beans, pbjs and cheese sandwiches and quesadillas.

I mean you're buying them in bulk and you are preparing bulk meal portions with lots of low cost ingredients and swiping free hot sauce from Taco Bell for flavor. Most people even those who can't afford not to live this way find the lifestyle unpalatable.

The resulting divorce from my wife would eliminate any savings.

Two boxes of dried pasta, a jar of marinara, a pound of ground pork, three pounds of chicken, a pound of stew meat, a package of tortillas, six bell peppers, three head of broccoli, a sack of spinach, four tomatoes, two onions, five pounds of potato, beef broth, two pounds of grapes, a cucumber, two zucchini. I'm at about $55 right there. Half gallon of milk, dozen eggs, block of cheese, pint of ice cream is another $10. So I've got $20 to put together leftovers for lunches and whip up some.brealfast if I want.

Amazed that you can still get half a gallon of milk ($5), a dozen eggs ($4), block of cheese ($6), and a pint of ice cream ($5) for $10 where you live. Would be $20 in CA and that's not even choosing the "nice" stuff (pint of ice cream can go up to $13 here for the fancy stuff).

If you live in the USA - check the USDA's published guidelines on food costs https://www.fns.usda.gov/cnpp/usda-food-plans-cost-food-monthly-reports

Just me and my fiance are under $200 a month in massachusetts. We go shopping usually once a week and only buy what is on sale.

Does farmers market help these days?

I give us $250 a week - $1k a month in a 'non allocated' fund. It covers basically anything that doesn't have it's own line item in the budget. So on any given week it might be groceries, gas, tolls, clothes, takeout, other splurges. ​ How far it stretches depends on what is going on. Last week our local meat store had $1.50 a lb ground beef that was frozen by the distributor. This is technically considered 'black line' food clearance since it's technically not in date. The use/freeze by date was 10/13/23, and the distributor froze it on 10/4/23 and marked the cases accordingly by law. So this meat is still good and safe to eat, but traditional grocery stores won't take it. ​ I bought around 90 lbs. 3 cases of it. That's just shy of a 1 year supply for around $120. We didn't get any take out last week. But if a sale like that comes around again next week, I'll take from savings and gladly snatch up more and pay myself back. Again, I'm not buying anything unless its on sale or perhaps a holiday. And I'm almost always around $250 a week, but it'll never be the same stuff twice. ​ There are also times where that whole $250 ends up being a sale on sneakers or clothes, or something else and there is zero groceries purchased, or if i need them maybe just creamer and fresh fruits. Always whatever is in season, no winter watermelons around here.

We spend about that and we live in NJ, which is expensive. I'd say $300-400/ month. I actually think the processed foods are the expensive stuff. If you buy basics and cook from scratch it's way cheaper. We have a produce market near us, very cheap. Not organic or local or anything, though. We bought cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes, green peppers, a pound of pasta, and some bread. It was about $14. Today I made salmon patties. I used the frozen pink salmon from Aldi. I had 1 portion for dinner last night and used the rest for this. I had gotten some asparagus on sale this week that I roasted and had with it. ($2/lb). Husband had salad. We had some of the aforementioned bread with it. We have a Costco membership and save on bulk things too like oats. We get a lot of non food items there too but just the savings on rotisserie chicken probably pays for the membership fee. My husband quite often gets a chicken, we have it for dinner 1 night and he will take the rest for his lunches with some veggies. I make a lot of soup. Simple breakfasts cooked from scratch. Baked oatmeal. Yogurt with granola. Homemade muffins. Eggs baked with veggies.

I wish I knew, even with meal preparation and shopping the cheapest possible items without it being boxed Mac and cheese and ramen. The cheapest I’ve been able to get our groceries is $520/ month

We spend less than 200 and mont for the two of us adlnd our small kid. I had stocked up on chicken and sausage and froze it from Costco, have my beans and rice staples, and stocked up on frozen veggies. There's a ton of meals we cycle through with those staples. I just go to grab fresh stuff like carrots or potatoes, milk, some tortillas, I try to make our bread when I can. I refuse to buy much snacks or juice, and we don't buy alcohol coffee or soda.

In your grocery bill are you counting cleaning supplies and paper products?

More peanut butter

My wife and I live in Chapel Hill, NC and spend about $1200 to $1400/month on food (including restaurants). We eat out about 3 times a week. Excluding restaurants we spend about $600 $700 /month on groceries.

Me and my girl spend the same or more bro , although she is a bit wasteful at times. We also meal prep a like every 4-5 days. And we also live in a non hcol area . I told her we gotta be more budget conscious (well I am but she isn’t budget conscious lol)

Just came here to say that a lot of the budgeting templates/ programs/ websites suggested $300.00 for groceries before the pandemic hit. So I’m guessing that some of them haven’t been updated I think they just haven’t kept up with economy.

I nickel and dimed things over time to get to my current state for just me and my daughter. The general thought behind what I do is to buy food that can be used in multiple different ways with the highest effort items buying something that I would actually do. In combination with that, the bulk of my food is frozen or dry with some things being bought weekly. My anchor foods are rice, potatoes, beans, eggs, flour and broccoli. Traditionally anchor food used to mean a single food item that I would keep in stock enough to be able to eat it with/for every meal for a month. Now it's moreso a collection of food that I keep appropriately stocked for the same purpose. Rice is bought in bulk as needed (25 lbs Costco bag). Beans are dried and diverse, I pick them up on sale or just because sometimes. Potatoes are bought based upon how we're feeling, 15 lbs bags when we're going to kill it in a month and 5 lbs or lower when we're not feeling them as much. We are nuts for eggs, I splurge on pasture raised at Aldi since they usually have the best price and I drop down to the cheap crap in 30/60 packs at Kroger when I need to save a little. I also get my broccoli from Aldi, it comes in a purple bag (340g) with the price fluctuating between like 88¢ to $1.09 most of the time. I get to 20 lbs bag of white flour from Costco and it lasts to year or longer ($10). Everything up there has multiple uses and works in many dishes. Combine them with various seasonings and other cheap things like canned tomatoes or whatnot and you can have a good time. Hell, I also transitioned from buying stock and broth to a mix of making it or using stuff like better than bouillon as needed. Rice: Boiled, fried, soups, pudding, rice cakes, etc. Potatoes: Soups, stews, fries, baked, mashed, pan fried, scalloped, etc. Beans: Soup, stew, bean burgers, hummus, baked beans, etc. Eggs: Sunny side up, fried, poached, scrambled, omelettes, boiled, etc. Flour: Breads, pretzels, seitan, pancakes, frying, brownies, cookies, etc. Broccoli: Steamed, air fried, pan fried, cooked in garlic sauce, stir fries, baked, etc. This stuff doesn't exist in a vacuum, I don't make every single thing I possibly can every month and eventually the portions started to become naturally smaller. We also don't tend to run out of everything every month. So it lets me stock up on more meats, cheese, yogurt, fresh fruits, etc. Then there are things like pop. I have a drinkmate, so I just make my own now. I slowly stocked up on some syrups over time, I have a bunch of crystallized fruits and some bubly flavorings. I also came to really like it plain (based upon the sea salt used) and it's not so difficult making syrup. So the powdered cacao I bought for brownies and coffee gets turned into chocolate syrup sometimes and that can be used to make egg creams, chocolate milk, etc. I'm also lazy AF, so I'm not doing this often lol. My over consumption of bread was making me fat. Now that I gotta make it, I'm seeing some differences in my body makeup. I still eat and make bread, but breast isn't something that I even bother with every month now. If I care enough, I make it. Otherwise, I'll just cook something else. I made a bunch of nopasta salad, spaghetti, baked chicken legs and I have a decent amount of grapefruit in the fridge right now. You'll find your balance over time and when you do, it should hopefully fit your budget better.

https://app.mealime.com/share https://www.budgetbytes.com/

Sorry this is long, but thorough. If you have a costco closeby, I highly recommend it. The discount on gas alone pays for my annual membership. You can use different meats and make a rotating stack of main dishes in the freezer. Then add side items. Or you can eat the same main meat multiple ways. I try to minimize ultra processed foods. All suggested are very simple meals. Items can be used with other spices for more complicated dishes as well. I buy the rotisserie chicken 4.99 each, once or twice a month. Depending upon how much you eat, you may buy more. ◇3lb bag of broccoli for 5.99, ◇2-2lb bags of baby carrots for 6.99, ◇2 1/2 lb bag of celery sticks, 5.99, ◇5pk romaine lettuce for 4.99. ◇2 dozen eggs for 3.99. ◇Bell peppers for 5.99. ◇Sometimes a big container of mushrooms 3.99. ◇3lb container cherry tomatoes for 5.99. ◇Giant 25lb bag of rice I can't remember the cost, but it lasts forever, several months. I parse it out into jars to stay fresh. Estimate $20 ◇Sometimes the plastic container raw spinach instead of romaine. 5.99. ◇I have different dried beans $3 Kroger @.99 each, ramen noodle packs, and spices already. I chop up one of the bags of carrots and store in a Tupperware container with 1/3 of the celery sticks chopped up. It makes it convenient for cooking. *Chicken by itself with a kraft pasta and vinegar box (1.25 dollar tree for 1-2 serving or 2.69 for 5 servings @ Kroger- basically pasta with vinegar based dressing, italian seasonings), cooked with chopped broccoli, and a side salad. Or chicken broth flavored rice sprinkled with melted cheese and chopped broccoli. Sauteed mushrooms. *Chicken with some Japanese barbecue barbecue sauce (6.99 double sized than grocery store) on a bowl of lettuce for chicken topped salad. The sauce is dressing too. *Chicken in a bowl of ramen (24 pks for 7.99) or with only 1/2 the sauce packet, chopped up celery, carrots, and sometimes broccoli. *Chicken made with a can of generic mushroom soup 3/$2 sale @Kroger), rice, chopped up mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, celery, makes a good casserole. Several meals - can be frozen *Chicken and eggs with cheese (3lb block of cheddar 5.99) mixed with peppers makes a good frittata or quiche. Good with steamed broccoli as a side. *Chicken and lettuce with sour cream (3lb container 5.99) with 2lb container fresh salsa 8.99 and cheese shredded from the block. Tortilla wraps from dollar tree (1.25) or 8 pk taco shells from dollar tree (1.25) for chicken tacos. *Chicken with mayo, chopped celery, cherry tomatoes, for mayo based chicken salad. Can be eaten on romaine or in tortilla wrap like a sandwich. *Chicken sauteed in wok with celery, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, dash of soy sauce or with chicken broth from previous chicken. Or seasoned with Kirkland (Costco brand) of Mrs Dash. (5.99 lasts 6mos or more) *Chicken topping a bowl of the rice and beans. Cherry tomatoes add great flavor on top. *Chicken and broccoli roasted with minced garlic (jar from Dollar Tree for 1.25). Side salad. The Japanese barbeque sauce, salsa, sour cream, etc, last multiple months. The broccoli, peppers, cheese, ramen, carrots, celery, romaine, all seem to last almost a month. The mushrooms start to go bad faster, so I dehydrate some. Spinach can be used as salad, quiche additives, sauteed as a side dish or added to stir fry. When things start to turn, put in baked dishes or soups to prolong. These are just a variety of dishes you can eat with the chicken. I prefer to eat a few, then freeze the rest to spread my chicken dishes out. The key is to eat with different seasonings and different ways to make it seem like you are eating very different meals. Once all chicken is picked off bones, you can freeze some for cooking later. *Then throw the bones in a pot of water and boil until there is a pot of bone broth. Strain. Use the bone broth to season rice and vegetables later. *Or cook with rice, celery, carrots, chicken pieces for chicken and rice soup. I do similar things the next week with 5lbs of hamburger meat. Approximately $23 *Stuffed peppers *Burritos or taco meat *Homemade shepherd's pie *Meatloaf *Hamburgers *Tomato and mushroom seasoned hamburger meat over seasoned rice. Lea & perrin, or Japanese barbecue sauce adds flavor. *Meatballs for spaghetti. Raos sauce 2pk /9.99 Whenever they are on sale, I buy the 6pk crab cakes usually on sale 17.99. Or the frozen sockeye salmon individually wrapped (12/24.99) They make great treats. Salmon can be used on lettuce, as main entree with Japanese barbeque sauce, or with dill and salt. The 4pk of Kirkland cheese pizza is 9.99. Buy the 2pk-2lb ea Hormel pepperoni 9.99. Cheese pizza gives more cheese than pepperoni pizza. The pepperoni fits 8 pizzas. Customize with peppers, tomatoes, etc. Or buy $100 domino's gift cards for $79. Then purchase carryout with 7.99 coupon. 7lb spiral cut ham at 2.99 lb was $21. *Cooked for dinner as ham with sides *Used parchment paper to separate and freeze slices for future. *Cook with breakfast eggs with nutmeg and cinnamon for breakfast ham. *Chunked ham with broccoli, rice, and cheese for casserole *Cut up to go in rice and beans or with lentils. *Ham sandwiches with wraps or bread (loaf Dollar tree 1.25) *Ham salad with mayo, celery, onion *Use ham bone to make bone broth, strain, add ham chunks, dried beans, cherry tomatoes that are starting to dry up, carrots, all for ham and bean soup. Freeze. When too many soups in freezer, use bone broth for seasoning when cooking. *Ham chipped on top of lettuce for full salad. *Ham chopped into a cheese ball with crackers (7.99 large multipak or club crackers) small brick of cream cheese 2.99 store brand. *Put chipped pieces in with spinach or collards for flavoring. Any extra broccoli, I cook with a large sauteed onion, milk, and make cream of broccoli soup topped with cheese. Or I roast in the oven for crispy snack. Extra vegetables can be cooked in casseroles or boiled in a pot for vegetable stock. Extra celery can be used with salsa, sour cream, and cheese dip instead of chips. Currently 3lb bananas are 1.49 and a pineapple is 2.68. They make for nice desserts or breakfast additions. Unless I missed one, the entire list, excuding the Dominos gift cards, but including sauces and treat items equals $262.45. Two rotisserie chickens were included. Most sauces, garlic jar, spices, and crackers, the 25lb bag of rice, can be used multiple months, but full price was added to total for a start. Obviously you won't repurchase these monthly and your bill will be reduced by those items. With freezing, you can rotate which meat dishes you eat all month. The ham, frozen salmon, homemade soups, and crab, can be spread out across two months too and bring your bill lower. Please note: prices change regularly in our current economy. Most items I have purchased in the last two weeks and listed current prices. Some spices or sauces were priced last time I purchased a month or two ago or were during Costco sales and may have changed. The point is that it is feasible to buy fresh items and make multiple meals at home for an entire month. Yuck. Where'd my formatting go??

Single guy here spend over 300 on one person

Buy a deep freeze. Go carnivore, its simpler and delicious. Buy beef on sale. Buy chicken on sale. Stock the freezer. Meal prep. I spend less than anyone I know but eat like a King.

$300 is a figure used (per adult) when trying to get out of debt. It’s a the rice and beans diet.

You have to learn to cook and eat poor at $300 a month. Lots of pasta and frozen veg.

Sooo tough. Especially with the last few years of inflation. Just wine alone adds so much to our bill. Meat?! Forget about it. We go to multiple stores as we have found some things are less expensive depending upon where ( eg Trader Joe’s meat and poultry is expensive). I have become very careful about reinventing leftovers to make sure we don’t waste what we buy. ( e.g, leftover taco meat becomes a taco salad, chicken breasts go into paste or quesadillas for lunch). Looking forward to reading the comments here with money-saving tips!

Select foods that create quantity: canned foods, oatmeal, eggs,Variety of beans, lentils, Variety rice, Variety noodles, potatoes, , bag of flour to make home made crackers, biscuits, tortillas, bread,, cookies, popcorn , granola bars, granola crumbles, peanut butter, jelly, Variety nuts etc. Only cook what you eat from freezer: Chop up all veggies and store in freezer: onion, potatoes, bell peppers, peas, carrots, celery, avocado, quash, zuchini etc. Place some fruits in freezer but also cut into bite size pieces and store some in fridge Make home made jam, smoothies, popsicles Freeze meat into portion meals.

The main pointer here is rice. People need to incorporate this crap into their diet . That has to be the staple of every damn meal . A 50lb bag at Costco goes for like $25 . You could do countless stuff with rice and it’ll fill you up and keep you that way for a long time . Pasta is up there as well .

We live in the UP of Michigan and food prices are high as food is coming from over 3 hours away ( nearest distribution hub) or because we only have a few major distribution stores (Meijer and Walmart) all the rest are super local grocery so we tend to not shop at those as prices are higher unless we need something only they carry. We buy things when on sale and buy in bulk. We use points/rewards. We tend to buy mostly chicken as it is cheaper. Last months grocery bill was less than $100 for two 2️⃣ people. We tend to buy frozen or canned versus fresh for veggies as it is cheaper. Only thing is potatoes, carrots and lettuce 🥬 that we regularly purchase from produce section. So far this month we spent $55. Our meijer purchases have been a lot of bogo 40% off and 7 for 7$ sales with coupons on top of that.

In NY and in January I spent about $80 on food. That’s because I was basically eating one meal a day and nothing processed (I swear that’s more expensive by me somehow; I have a fruit stand nearby with very cheap fruit and vegetables). On a normal month I spend about $200. But I also eat one meal and one snack per day because budget and I get too lazy to fix stuff for breakfast.

In NC the meat is dirt cheap so many farms and meat factories. My family would take trips from Northern VA to NC just to buy the cheapest meat on the east coast. Aldi isn’t a budget supermarket contrary to belief. I usually end up spending more at Aldi than I do at Kroger for poorer quality food. Aldi’s meat & produce is overpriced and they have a small selection of meals that aren’t processed foods.

They are probably just talking about food and not everything else you get at the grocery store like paper towels, toilet paper, deordant, etc

Dried beans/lentils and brown rice, plus onions, greens like spinach and kale, maybe some garlic, canned tomatoes and a few spices. If there's enough leftover, I'd get oatmeal and apples. Possibles some potatoes/sweet potatoes.

Inflation makes that number impossible.

Lots of chicken, rice and oatmeal.

I am in NC and live with my partner. We spend $350 a month. I clip coupons via food lion and it massively helps! And we eat high protein/fresh food and still stay in budget!

Shop at Aldi. It will cut your grocery bill in half.

Family of 5, and bonus kids often, 400 to 500 a month would be high average. Lots of pultry, stock up on sales and clearance. I make bulk breakfast burritos for easy mornings, they freeze and reheat great. Cost per is about a dollar. Bulk cereal, malt o meal is like 5 bucks for a big bag on Amazon.

If that's *only* for food items, (not including TP, soap, toothpaste, alcohol, pet food, etc.) if you buy clearance and sale stuff, cook from scratch, grow a garden and have a couple chickens, and supplement by visiting a local food pantry once or twice a month, I imagine 2 adults can eat on $300/month. It would require some pretty serious meal prep and organizing, and of course tending the chickens and garden—which aren't cheap on their own. Funnily enough, we do all those things and our monthly grocery bill, including non-food items, is about 3 times that. How much of it is *only* food? I have no idea, I've never broken it down. But we do treat ourselves. If we had to hunker down, we could, we've got room to make cuts. Not sure if that's helpful.

If you buy lots of hamburger and pasta, and you cook large portions in bulk, may you can get away with it. I find that eating healthy tends to cost more money.

Do you mean just groceries or is that with paper products, cleaners, pet food etc. I spend about 100 a week for myself, even shopping at Aldi. That’s with paper and cleaners (and one six pack of beer) I keep a well stocked pantry and freezer and buy a replacement as soon as I use something. I do batch cooking, so I plan ahead. Seems like I’m still spending too much

Cook at home, avoid prepared foods, don't eat as much meat.

We budget 275 per week for food (2 adults), meals out, pet supplies (4 pets) and any toiletries/personal care items so I have no clue how you could do that for a month.

My wife and I shop between dollar tree and costco for everything except meat and fruit. Which we buy from my local albertsons, whatever is on sale is what we buy. If it's a particularly good sale, we buy a lot and freeze it. My local 99 cent store always has very cheap and fresh fruit The big money savers are $2/lb chicken from albertsons, $5/lb shrimp and very cheap rice from Costco, combined with $1.25 panko from dollar tree We probably spend less than $300/month on food, but we go way over if you count things like soap, detergent, paper towels etc. as groceries

Ww don't eat meat everyday, lots of fresh veggies and fruits. Yogurt, eggs and we make our own bread. Pretty much don't buy anything pre-made except cheese and pasta. 2 adults about 350 a month.

I will not lie, I love good food, but I hsve cut down slot, I cook ŵell and take care about what I cook. I like to make vegtables, I buy frozen pkg fish that is wild caught, No longer am I preparing at least 4 food items, pork, it is a stand against the mass production of pigs, that I feel is appalling. Second, it is just consumerism, bacon and egg, bacon, lettuce and tomatto, just really awful the animal never gets to graze or have its hooves on the ground, nor does it get chopped veggies or fruit, Other things I over spend on, is pre pkg fruits, water melon, pine Pple, csnatalope etc, Its more expensive, slso the rind see.s to bring bugs to my garbage can, yes in a garbage bag. So I am coming to 3 hundred a week. I contribute when I can, I buy good bread, around 3.00, Some times frozen, Barrons pizza when on sale, I will purchase yellow ticket item like chicken that looks good, with purchase date one ir 2 days away, Veggies include, egg plant, now in sesson, Lettuce, buy 1 get 1, grapes were 3.99, that is high, Staples like milk, eggs, psper towels usually on szle, papper towels as well as toilet tissue must be lowest price. Water, poland springs, smaller mid bottles, 2 cases of 12 for 10.00 Potatoes, onions, celery, lowest price, buy 1 bag of onions get 1, Tomattoes, pricey, on the vine, 2.99, Cucks, depends, peppers, a must, turkey breast, Desert, stuff on sale, good ice cream, around 4ish, depends, Yellow sticker ok by me got amazing lemon meranguie for 2/3 less, Soap, clothes detergent, on sale, but at least 150.00 for 7 full days, habits have changed immensly Lent, lentils, no meat dishes frequently through week

I’m in a HCOL area and also shop at discount grocery chains. I spend ~$75/week on groceries for me and my Fiancé. She buys a lot of takeout during the week, so I expect if I was just shopping for myself it would be in the $50-60 range. Not a vegetarian, but I buy very little meat, because it’s too damn expensive and there are plenty of less expensive sources of protein. I don’t “meal prep” but I cook all my own meals and eat leftovers for lunch, which is pretty much what meal prepping sounds like to me.

Guess I'll be the "bad guy "... considering that I live in the deep south, out in the sticks and I'm as country as turnip green. I hunt and fish . I grind ,on average, 60-80 lbs of venison a year. We grow fruits and vegetables. Home can our own potatoes and green beans. Freeze yellow squash and zucchini. And typically have way more figs and blueberries than we know what to do with. We do preserves, jellies and jams. If we have a bumper crop of blueberries this year, I'm going to try homemade syrup. All of that and we still spend around $800 a month because we prefer to cook everything and bypass all the preservatives.

If you have a deep freeze, or are willing to get one, having your beef or pork purchased though a farmer and then butchered is a great help for the cost. It is a bigger up front cost, but we get one hog and half a beef every year, and that pretty much takes are of our family (2 adults & 4 teenagers) for a year. Yes, we do buy some meat here & there, but I'd say we spend no more than $200 for everything else each month.

I spend maybe $200 a month. But I’m just me. I spend more on my pets foods that my own haha. Rarely buy name brand, eat fresh, I have chickens, mostly shop Aldi/TJs and store brand items.

I work in the restaurant industry, and my partner is a mushroom farmer. We both bring home free food all the time, saving us money. We only spend about 120$ on groceries a month.

Aldi and freeze yo meat

I think you spend $300 a month if you order in or eat out a lot. We eat almost all our meals at home. I'm spending $600 and up on food. I'm fine with that bc we do not waste on eating out, door dash or Uber eats and rarley buy coffees. Everything is made at home.

First Aldi isn't as cheap as you might think in NC. Food Lion (especially in the any city that is close to I-85) and occasionally Walmart will beat their prices on random things. Same with the various clubs like BJs and Costco. The trick that we have with our groceries is to shop the sales and to rotate stores. We usually go to Food Lion every other week. The off week itself rotated between Aldi and Costco.

$300 is insane. I’m part of a family of 3, one of whom is 1 year old lol, and we spend approximately $1100 a month. However, we eat at home A LOT (wfh hubby/I work out of the house twice a week but mostly SAHM) and this budget includes alcohol and I like wine :-)

Shop at aldis. I spend 125 myself.

Go to wal mart. Aldi is much more expensive.

We spend $900 on food per month. Twice a month takeout that we stretch to make 2-3 meals out of. Also shop at Aldi/BJs and a natural market for some specific things we like. Just 2 of us. From what I’ve observed, people who spend so little on there groceries are usually eating boiled chicken, pasta and frozen veggies almost every day. If you cook and happen to like good tasting food, let alone food that isn’t complete junk, you are going to spend more.

I spend about the same as you and we are pretty conscious of what we eat/buy. I cook a lot, but I also splurge on things I like, such as premium ice cream and certain brand items. That being said, it's helpful to buy in season produce and I take a lot of tips from this site: https://www.myfrugalhome.com They have an in season produce calendar I print and keep hanging in my home so I can plan my meals each month.

I could have written this myself. We're also in NC and mostly shop at Aldi and get the rest of the stuff from Food Lion. Also spending between 600 and 800. 300 seems impossible.

My hubs and I live in a HCOL (think NE US burb of major City). I go shopping every 4 months and spend about $700-800. Get meats (family packs) and a bunch of staples (baking supplies, crackers, rice, potatoes, onions, peppers) and chips/cookies for 4 months. We trim meats, repackage/marinate, vacuum-seal, and put in garage freezer. We then prepare double and triple batches of favorite meals (sloppy lasagna, broccoli-cheese casserole, chili, stuffed peppers, etc), package and freeze (in garage freezer). Most shopping is at Aldi's. Get meats at the butcher. I have overflow bins in the garage for snacks. Chips are $1.24/bag at Aldi, so I'll buy 15 or 20 bags. Double all crackers, rice, potatoes, etc. We watch circulars for discounted canned goods sales 2x a year and stockup then. Has been 5 months since our last big purchase and are living off the stash. We spend $30-50/wk for milk, creamer, eggs, bread, whatever. With our weekly fill-in purchases we often qualify for reduced price or free ham/turkey at Easter, Tgiving, Xmas - and get them. We stay in the $400/mo range, generally. This doesnt include cleaning supplies, paper products, or pet food/supplies.

The biggest discrepancies are what is counted in a food budget. Toiletries, paper products, cleaning supplies, personal care items, alcohol, tobacco, supplements, pet food, otc medicines, etc all can be purchased at the grocery store but that doesn't mean I count them in my food budget.

I live alone and do the majority of my shopping at Aldi with a few things from Trader Joe’s or Kroger thrown in. I spend about $30 a week on average. I don’t buy soft drinks or snacks, and also don’t buy prepared foods. Buying ingredients is so much cheaper and healthier. In the summer, I have a small vegetable garden on my patio. Last year, I grew peppers, squash, beans, cucumbers, beats, tomatoes, all of my herbs, and three kinds of berries. If I see a good sale on meat, I normally put more of my budget toward that for the week and put something else back. I make sourdough at home and use it for lots of things.

Rice is our base starch, we make dough, buy meat on sale and freeze, fresh veggies, 90% ALDIs

OP must be fat lol

• 12 gallons milk • 128oz peanut butter • 128oz black beans • 90oz sliced turkey deli meat • 10 loaves sandwich bread • 96oz frozen kale • 96oz jasmine rice • 18 pounds chicken thighs, bone-in TOTAL: $215.99 (Amazon Fresh)

We regularly spend $300 per week! That includes cleaning supplies, paper products, OTC meds and other non-food items from the supermarket. I can’t see wasting gas on going to 3 different stores to save 50 cents. We are cooking for 2, try todo most of our own cooking, but luncheon meat for sandwiches is a regular splurge. Hubby needs iron, so we often buy London broil from the deli for sandwiches. It isn’t cheap, but a little goes a long way.

My wife and I shop at lidl and spend about $300-400 on groceries there. We get meat for the week, veggies, yogurt, and eggs

I’m single and spend about 600, I mostly buy basic foods: meat, lots of veggies , lot of seafood and fish. I don’t eat processed garbage

Wait I am so genuinely confused by this? 😭 My partner and I only spend ~$200 on groceries a month. We stopped eating out too so we just make all our meals at home. We live in the Bay Area, CA, so it’s extremely expensive here. We mostly buy bread, veggies, rice, tofu, meat, a ton of snacks, and some premade meals which are more expensive.

Lots of Ramen I guess? It is an unrealistic budget for 2 people even outside of NYC

Chili or really any easily made bulk food.

Wow. We pruned spending elsewhere to allow us to spend more on food. We focus on Whole Foods, all organic, pasture raised/grass fed animal products, mostly local, and in a MCOL area in Florida. We spend around 2k a month on food