What is your limit?

[babetoo]

i grocery shop on line and have it delivered to my house. i buy for a month and generally spend three hundred for the month. that is everything, paper goods, laundry, etc, and cat stuff. some over the counter meds. i might have to make a trip for milk and bread, in between . only feeding my self. take advantage of the bulk items and freeze in serving portations.it is a lot of work to get the list just right, especially if having guests. i figure that expense into the three hundred. if there is a way to save more, i don't know it. try to take advantage of store card buys and two for one,

 

[Erinny]

Since I grow and preserve a lot of veggies and have access to fresh meat from Dad and neighbors I usually spend only about $45 - $60 a week mostly for cat and dog food and paper stuff and some stuff I don't grow or have.

 

[IronChris]

Bodybuilder Budget

I EAT! About 300 grams of lean protein, 300 grams of carbs, 100 grams good fats per day. I love cooking new stuff. I tend to buy meat on sale or whenever its <$2/lb. I stick to the basics and have people over for dinner about once a week. I never eat out. My budget per week hovers around $85-100/ week.

 

[chefkathleen]

I don't try to stick to one at all. With the fluctuations in prices around the country and even in the different cities, I'd go nuts trying to stick to one.
It depends on what I want to cook that week, what we're hungry for or how labor intensive we want our food to be. In Florida I was used to having fruits and veg whenever I wanted. Here in Texas you have to pay for what you want. And a lot of things come from Mexico here instead of the warmer US states.
But one drawback in Florida was tourist season/vacation season made prices rise. So did Snowbird season when all the Northerners came down to get warm. Up the prices went.

 

[Dumpandstir]

For my current family of 8 we spend about $100-$150 a week.

I find that we don't spend much more than anyone else. We just have fewer left overs. We have not been out to eat a dinner in over 2 months.

This week I started a weekly menu that is posted on the fridge. I leave an open spot for suggestions for the next week.

We have been pretty fortunate in that people give us their food storage when they can not consume the stuff that is expiring. We even had a neighbor drop off lots of hamburger from a cow they had slaughtered.

Tonight we had spaghetti. I think the only thing that was not expired was the french bread. But it tasted ok and I am sure we will all make it through the night.

 

[Jikoni]

I try to stick to a budget of 400chf(Swiss francs equivalent to 530 US dollars) per week for the whole family on our grocery shopping.

 

[chefkathleen]

Dumpandstir, it would be great if we lived close to each other. There's always a lot of BOGO here and since there's only 2 of us we don't use a lot of stuff before it would spoil. I bought a quart of strawberries over the weekend that was buy one get one free and had to leave the other quart there because we just wouldn't eat them all. (I don't like them frozen)

 

[Dumpandstir]

Dumpandstir, it would be great if we lived close to each other. I bought a quart of strawberries over the weekend that was buy one get one free and had to leave the other quart there because we just wouldn't eat them all. (I don't like them frozen)

Yeah, we could share the savings. My kids plow through food, and either they are not too picky or I am a fantastic cook.

 

[blissful]

I try to stick to a budget of 400chf(Swiss francs equivalent to 530 US dollars) per week for the whole family on our grocery shopping.

Jikoni, is that not a typo, the value of $>2000 US dollars per month for food? Is food that expensive or your family that big? Where are you that you spend so much?
Please, if you feel this is too intrusive, just ignore me, I just can't imagine that kind of budget. Thank you, ~Bliss

 

[chefkathleen]

Yeah, we could share the savings. My kids plow through food, and either they are not too picky or I am a fantastic cook.

Let's vote B, you're a fantastic cook! LOL
There's always 5lb potatoes BOGO,etc.

 

[Snoop Puss]

Blissful, everyone over here in Europe thinks that food is cheap in the States compared to what we have to pay.

 

[Claire]

I, too, do not really have a limit or a set amount I spend. When we look at the checkbooks and decide to spend less, we do. I keep a full pantry and when we feel the need to cinch in the belt a little, I cook more out of the freezer and pantry. When we're feeling more flush, I splurge a lot, which has the effect of filling the freezer and pantry. There are only two of us, so I don't really plan meals much in advance. I just tell my husband in the morning what we have on hand, what needs to be eaten in the way of fresh produce (or in the garden in summer), and we decide what dinner that night will be.

Oh, my French friends tell me that we in the USA have better quality, less expensive, and so eat more meat.

 

[SRL]

My budget is "as little as possible to eat well" - LOL. Excluding coffee, I spend a bit under $3 per day for me and the dog -- butter is about the most expensive food that I buy. I eat pork, chicken or fish almost every day, but use no convenience foods at all. It only works because I have time to cook everything from scratch and do virtually all of my food shopping at ethnic supermarkets.

 

[ILikePBCookies]

Hm...I am really big on budget shopping and I get a lot of things from the dollar stores, and things that are on sale.

I actually think I spend around $30-$40 a week, but that is just me shopping fo rme and no one else...occasionally I indulge in some sushi (my absolute favorite food!).

 

[kamp]

The gouvement here in norway say that a ordinary familie with 2 children and to adults use about 1100$ each month on food.
1 adult male 420$ a month.

A tenageer should use about 330$ a month.

I now that I use more because of my food allergy.

 

[Arky]

...It only works because I have time to cook everything from scratch and do virtually all of my food shopping at ethnic supermarkets.

I'm jealous! I have lived in large metropolitan areas in the past and used to shop in ethnic markets like you do, but now I live in the heart of the Ozarks - a cultural wasteland where biscuits and gravy is the standard meal of the day, fried okra is a staple, and an apple pie with a lattice top is an exotic dessert! A saving grace is that it is pretty here.

But like you, I create from scratch to keep cost down and variety at a level where I don't feel like I'm on a deserted island.

 

[Claire]

Kamp: Yes, it is harder to budget for food if you cannot eat the starches that are the least expensive food items. It is made more difficult if fresh vegetables are not available year-round. We're thinking of you, feel free to ask any of us anything any time.

Arky: Been there, done that. Even when I first moved here there were some products that were hard to get. I'd have friends from Chicago who vacation here shop for me! You'd be amazed at the stuff we learned to make from scratch when we were on the road and landed in places where ethnic meant a trip to Taco Bell in the nearest medium sized town. Luckily, you live in the era of internet shopping. And our network; one DC friend sent me kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass (still unavailable here). I still have some of the leaves in the freezer, and am now growing my own lemongrass.

 

[fire34fighter]

A tenageer should use about 330$ a month.

unless said teenager is in school, in which case that's about $200 a month, if that.

i spend no more than 175 a month.

 

[kamp]

unless said teenager is in school, in which case that's about $200 a month, if that.

i spend no more than 175 a month.

This is was SIFO (government in norway) says.

 

[getoutamykitchen]

5 people to feed, 2 (90+ lb.) puppies, and 2 fat cats runs me about $350 to $400 every two weeks. Thank goodness I don't have to feed the 3 horses out in the barn.