WEBlue

I suppose this would vary with the part of the USA one lives in, also whether city or countryside, and also what kind of diet one eats....

The husband & I are struggling with budget issues & I'm trying to keep the weekly food shop to around $50 pp pw. Is this reasonable? Some weeks it seems a real struggle & some weeks it's not.

We hardly ever eat out...well, except for when we're travelling, but then the whole budget goes down the toilet anyway. This cost includes some (maybe most) paper products, but not all cleaning stuff (which I shop for separately at Wal-Mart or use coupons). We don't eat much meat & I try to make most of our meals from scratch.

Any thoughts?

Beaverstate

I try and eat lots of greens and fruits along with more complete foods. I am single and groceries w/o wine , supplements, paper products etc for just me run 60 to 70 per week. If I really tried to cut back without to much change I may be able to manage 40 to 50. I'd say you are doing great.

Bink

I'd say you're doing good too.
We're a family of 3 (me, wife and 1 yr old).
We're at about $175/wk right now between us. This does include diapers wipes etc though.

tuxedocat

$50 per week for 2 people is amazing.

WEBlue

Thanks for the encouragement! This $50 cost pp pw doesn't include any alcohol--I don't drink & the Husband has an occasional pint (maybe twice a week?) but I haven't counted that in my total, since that's included in HIS weekly budget. But this reminds me that alcohol is part of our travel expenses, because we usually bring a bottle or two of wine when travelling to see family or friends we often stay with (saving on accomodation), or take the accomodation-providing hosts out to eat and/or drink, which is even more pricey.

And I'd forgotten about supplements too. I tend to buy vitamins & glucosamine along with cleaning supplies at Wal-Mart, or with coupons, or at whichever pharmacy is having a two-for-one.

So I guess my $50 pp pw is just food plus most paper products, nothing else. I do get the feeling that the more people in the household group, the lower you can squeeze the per-person costs. (Though of course the total cost rises.) One person living alone needs one of everything, but two can sometimes share one item.

Interesting! Little ones tend not to eat much but do work their way through the paper products! So your household spends just under $60 pp pw. That seems reasonable.

I started out spending $70 pp pw when we first arrived, but the husband hit the roof. He thought that was way too much for food, but I'm wondering. The truth is, I'm really struggling to stay within the $50 pp pw figure.

WEBlue

It would be! But no, I mean $50 per person per week, or in other words, $100 per week for the two of us.

When our grown kids or other family members come to visit us, that budget goes haywire of course. But I'm trying to set a baseline amount per person per week for the quiet times when it's just us. (Later I'll tackle the feeding & entertainment costs of guests.) It's not easy, believe me.

Mummy in the foothills

We are spending about $150 pw week for two adults and one child that includes cleaning products.

Karrie72

We are a family of 5, two adults, two kids and one teenager who inhales food. We spend around $250 per week but we try and buy the all natural types of meat, dairy etc. I find groceries here very expensive and it's a struggle. I'd say $50 per week is amazing!

robin1234

I think we spend nearly $100 per week just on ice cream for the two of us.
So, about $110 a week for the total food budget..

Emma M

We are averaging about $100 per week, but we take advantage of coupons and various deals from supermarkets.

Brando

We do a bulk of our shopping at Aldi You can't get everything there, but definately all the basics and some more. There is a good produce store next to the one we go to as well, where we can get all the veggies and fruit for pretty cheap.

Usually we spend about $75-85 at Aldi - which includes cleaning stuff when we need it, and anything from $20 - $40 at the produce store (we also buy dried fruit and nuts from that store too).

So a week we can do it for about $50 pp each. And that includes all the stuff for my husbands lunches.

Before he met me, my hubby had no idea about Aldi! I dragged him there when we happened to pass one on our way from shopping somewhere else. Since I moved here, he's a convert, and loves the store.

HighCountry

This is entirely reasonable. We eat well on a similar figure. We even buy organic where we feel it is necessary. We don't buy processed food, and I think that's where the big savings are.

Poppy girl

Flippen heck girl my weekly shop is about $35 to $40 max and I eat darn well on that!......

tuxedocat

Share your secret!

tuxedocat

I love Aldi too!