What is your limit?

[GuardianAngel]

Last year I could get a bunch of groceries for about $100 with coupons it would be like $10. But it seems like now the prices have gone up and the coupons are just not that great. Now we only save about $10-20 if we're lucky. We try to stay within $200-300 a month but sometimes we go over.

 

[Maverick2272]

We were talking about ALDI in another thread as well, I remember because someone mentioned their ALDI was nothing but stuff stacked on pallets all over the place and flies buzzing around everything. Yuck!
The whole concept of chains was so that no matter where you went in the country, you would find everything the same. Yet these days things vary so much it is no longer true, which to me defeats the whole purpose of having chains in the first place.

 

[pacanis]

To us, yes, to them purchasing power

 

[BreezyCooking]

That was me describing our BRAND NEW "Aldi" here in Culpeper, VA. And just to be fair, a few months ago my husband & I revisited just to see whether or not it was just "grand opening" problems they were having when they opened last year.

Unfortunately not. Still the same old pallets full of questionable junk food, & still the same palleted cardboard boxes full of unchilled produce with fruit flies all over the place. Nothing in the "meat department" except for 3-pound packages of cheap ground beef & 5-pound packages of bologna. It was awful, & just brings folks shopping on a budget to the lowest common denominator possible - not to mention unhealthy to boot.

They could drop their prices to next to nothing & you still wouldn't find me in there. Regardless of how the folks around here might feel politically about WalMart, they definitely get better quality & bang for their buck by walking across the street & shopping there instead.

I continue to feel that the Aldi here is nothing but an embarrassment to our community. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that it eventually leaves due to lack of patronage.

 

[Maverick2272]

That was me describing our BRAND NEW "Aldi" here in Culpeper, VA. And just to be fair, a few months ago my husband & I revisited just to see whether or not it was just "grand opening" problems they were having when they opened last year.

Unfortunately not. Still the same old pallets full of questionable junk food, & still the same palleted cardboard boxes full of unchilled produce with fruit flies all over the place. Nothing in the "meat department" except for 3-pound packages of cheap ground beef & 5-pound packages of bologna. It was awful, & just brings folks shopping on a budget to the lowest common denominator possible - not to mention unhealthy to boot.

They could drop their prices to next to nothing & you still wouldn't find me in there. Regardless of how the folks around here might feel politically about WalMart, they definitely get better quality & bang for their buck by walking across the street & shopping there instead.

I continue to feel that the Aldi here is nothing but an embarrassment to our community. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that it eventually leaves due to lack of patronage.

Seriously, from what you describe I can't believe they are still open a year later

You gotta wonder who in the heck is going there??????

 

[Katie H]

Breezy, I'm sorry your area Aldi is a disappointment. The one we have here is fantastic. The fresh produce couldn't be fresher and the meat case is always full with a vast selection of meats, but no poultry. All the poultry this store has is frozen. They also have an extensive dairy section that includes all sorts of cheeses, block as well as shredded/grated. I always shop at Aldi before going anywhere else.

The store is always spic-and-span clean and I've never seen any flies or bugs of any kind.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Wow Katie, that's great. Definitely nothing at all like the one here. They had milk in the fridge department, but no cheeses except for huge blocks of generic processed cheese (like government surplus) & huge packages of wrapped American slices - stuff like that.

I am definitely not a food-shopping snob, but walking into the Aldi's here is like stepping into a relief distribution center.

 

[Callisto in NC]

Pallets ~ that's what I was missing in my description of our Aldi. We have the same things, pallets of crud with no here nor there to what's available. First impressions being what they are, I won't be back. The think I really didn't understand was having a cashier but having to bag your own groceries. Fine, make me bring a bag, but don't have her just shove stuff on a shelf and have me try and keep up. Either have self-check and I bag at my pace, or have the cashier put the items in the bag I provide. At least make the system make sense.

 

[BrazenAmateur]

My wife and I spend $50-80 per week.

Mind you this is generally at Whole Foods (because I can walk there), although also often at Asian markets (which brings down the cost average).

Surprisingly, I've found that I can actually shop at WF fairly inexpensively depending on what I buy. Their "365" line is usually of great quality and it's almost always a great deal (especially the olive oil and frozen veg. The Edamame is GOOD)

 

[IronSides]

Me and the BF try to stay under $100 a week.

 

[sattie]

I really don't have a limit. I go to the store when I need to go. I usually try to keep my tab under 150 and have done pretty well by it. I use coupons, take advantage of sales. If an item is not onsale or I do not have a coupon to use with it, then I pass on the item until one of the above is true. Hubby will be fine for another week while I wait for his deoderant to go on sale.... LOL!!!

 

[LPBeier]

3 of us here, me, DH and our border (a hungry student). I usually have a budget of $600 per month but that includes cleaning supplies, pet food, lunch supplies (bags, plastic cutlery, pop) and we do a lot of bulk shopping so often it is $600 one month and $300 the next.

 

[lucky2009]

I think it really depends on what region you live in. We've had the unfortunate pleasure of moving twice this year. Prices are higher in South Carolina than on Long Island, which is crazy. However, it's the first time in about 10 years that I've seen a bagging clerk! Friendly and all, but I'd rather save the $20 and bag myself!

 

[scoobagirl]

I'm just getting back into cooking after a long dry spell. This conversation has been incredibly valuable to me. Its just me and DH, and I wondered if $100/wk would be sufficient. We spend so much more than that eating out, but we have gotten used to only eating a late breakfast and an early supper. This last week I spent around $150 but that includes restocking the spices and some basic stuff like flour & sugar, and some paper goods - so $100/wk is probably close.

I'm looking forward to learning more from y'all!

 

[kitchenelf]

Breezy, I'm sorry your area Aldi is a disappointment. The one we have here is fantastic. The fresh produce couldn't be fresher and the meat case is always full with a vast selection of meats, but no poultry. All the poultry this store has is frozen. They also have an extensive dairy section that includes all sorts of cheeses, block as well as shredded/grated. I always shop at Aldi before going anywhere else.

The store is always spic-and-span clean and I've never seen any flies or bugs of any kind.

Our Aldi is the same Katie E. I once bought 4 beautiful red peppers for $1.25 Clean store and right beside the peppers was a child's drum set - so convenient!!!! Actually, my friend bought that for her son's Christmas present! I love that place!

 

[Chipotle Tom]

My wife and I budget $135 per week, but we normally go a little over. If I had to guess, I'd say $150/wk is typical. If we're not counting non-food items, then we probably spend about $125 a week.

I think that's pretty good for a family of three, but I know we could do better. I've tried (and failed) to convince DW to shop for what's on sale and build our menu around that. I guess we just aren't pinched enough financially for her to seriously consider it. I wish she would though.

 

[scoobagirl]

well, today was a $135 day at the grocery store but that included a case of beer and a bottle of wine, as well as meat for 6 meals including a piece of roast and some ground beef. We also bought some "new" to us things that we wanted to try out, but didn't really *need*.

last week was only about $50 or $60 - just to replace milk, bread, and fruit that we had run out of, and some assorted ingredients for recipes. We had leftovers a few times which helped the budget.

 

[PanchoHambre]

I feel like I am playing roulette when I go grocery shopping... I have a hard time gauging what I am spending... I try to be very budget conscious and pay attention to the unit cost and to buy things that are meal specific.... I generally spend the most $$ when I have a specific thing I want to make and have to buy all the extras... like I buy a whole chicken or a inexpensive roast but blow my budget on the ingredients for the glaze.... Cheese and quality bread are budget blowers too.

 

[larry_stewart]

I remember the good old days, when it was about $75 a week. But thats when my kids were much younger.

Now, the regular shopping is about $175 a week.

Produce and dairy store and additional $40

The the specialty stores like asian, indian, health/ vegetarian could add $30 +/-

so im looking somewhere between $200 and $250 a week. ( family of 4, kids 11 and 13 years old, here in new york)

 

[RobsanX]

We shop the specials at the Piggly Wiggly, aka the Wobbly Hog. i figure that if we're paying a good price for the individual items then the total doesn't matter much. If we spend more on one trip, the food just lasts us longer. It's all relative...