Typical monthly food budget for one

[russianrocket]

So I finally sat down and recorded how much money I spend on food, and it came out to way to much for one person. I wanted to see what other people spend on food.


Me, I've spent $420 this month alone. Either I'm eating too much, or I'm choosing foods that are too expensive. And I don't even eat out. It's becoming way to expensive.

[Leaha]

Whoah, $420 is a lot for one person!

I spend about $400 per month on two people (myself and my son), so about $200 or so for me alone. We dont eat out either.. and we're vegetarian also, so meat isnt included in that.

Do you cook your own food, or do you purchase pre-cooked meals? (I noticed that really runs my bill up high if I buy for convenience!)

[stanmrak]

I spend about the same amount on myself, and I don't eat a lot; all organic and mostly vegetarian, and almost no processed foods. I do have to feed the "beast," my Breville juicer, every day. Fortunately, I live near an incredible farmers' market-style retailer with great prices on organics. If I shopped at Whole Foods, my bill would be much higher - at least 50%. Then I have my $200 a month supplement and superfood habit. When I was broke, I got by on just over $200 a month eating organic and didn't go hungry, by choosing more economical foods.

Do you have something more important to invest your money in? I'm almost 61 and have rarely spent anything on medical care.

[KaleidoskopicVision]

I grow a lot of my own food and wildcraft edibles. I find myself buying things that are hard to come by like certain spices and condiments and the odd bag of rice. I spend maybe $50 a month.

[ragtag]

I live in Norway, where prices are silly high, so my monthly budget probably blows your scale.

[C33]

Ooops, I ****ed-up the poll, I wanted to put 50 to 100 per week, didn't really pay attention that it was a monthly estimate. I'm a vegetarian who eats 97% clean food ( organic, fresh ).

When I'm in my hometown in France, I spend around 80 Euros per week. I find out I usually spend about 60 euros per week, but always end up buying items as the week goes along.

I don't go out to restaurants. Maybe once every 2 months at the most.Some week, it can go as high as 100 euros per week, if I buy a sandwich or some convenience food.

Now I live in London, my weekly bill is around 35/40 pounds per week groceries ( I include the occasional cleaning product/ hand/laundry soap/ toilet paper in that amount( no toiletries) - possibly 3 pounds weekly)+ 25/35 pounds convenience food - in that I include the daily ( organic ) latte. In 7 months in London, I've been to a proper restaurant 4 times, including one time when I was invited.

I sometimes eat in cafes, maybe once every 2 weeks. It's usually under 6 or 7 pounds and is calculated in my estimation.Just to say that I don't spend my money there.

I sometimes spend around 40 to 50 pounds/week going out, which is mostly drinking + the occasional pub munchie ( French Fries, nachos, every 2 weeks - that's what brings down my clean food percentage )+ my ritual Sunday Wheat - Free muffin.

This post comes at a very good time, because I would like to drastically reduce my overall food + drinks + going out weekly bill. Ideally, I would like to spend 40 pounds all together on food/ convenience food/lattes, and 20 pounds on drinks/ munchies.

[C33]

Do you have something more important to invest your money in? I'm almost 61 and rarely spend anything on medical expenses.

I think this is a great way of looking at one's food bill. Ultimately, our food choices are, in part, what will decide of our quality of life in our "old"age.

People who eat processed food look really awful. Past the age of 25, they don't show age as much as they show disintegration and physical collapse.

[firenexx]

About 8 months ago, I looked at my food budget in my financial software and noticed I was spending around $500/month for just me. That was a problem! I realized I was spending too much on things that I didn't need. Chocolate, crackers, chips, salsa, tortilla shells, flour, superfoods, etc.
Now, I buy mostly fruit and vegetables, aiming for a mostly raw diet. I also had to limit the amount of berries and expensive fruits, such as plums, pomegranates, etc. I still have loads of dried beans and things since I stocked up. I haven't checked in a while but I would estimate that I spend more like 300-400 a month now, which is not where I'd like it to be but there is still plenty of room for improvement.

(I should also mention that I buy everything organic.)

I also hold the viewpoint that food quality should be one of the number one priorities, but I make this a practical idea by trying to grow a lot of my own food, and by saving money and cutting costs where I can. For instance, superfoods are a nice luxury. Not doable on my current freelance musician salary.

[SireneB]

About $300/month, pescetarian, organic, get about 70% of my food from farmer's markets, 15% from Trader Joe's, and 15% from my garden.

Back when my daughter was at home and I was doing the single mom thing of driving her all over for classes and lessons and we ate a fair amount of fast food in the car on the way to here or there - I spent $700-800 per month on food for both of us and the quality was much, much worse.

[Clint Cora]

I eat a lot - 3 meals per day plus a fairly big snack at night. My average spend is about $180 per month. So really, food is not a big cost in terms of living expenses. The most expensive food item for me is poultry.

[Clint Cora]

Originally Posted by nicelife

Yup, food cost not so much.

Especially if you buy in bulk when the specials are on. Of course, having a veggie garden also helps too (which I started for the first time this summer).

[russianrocket]

I'd still like to get a little more feedback on this. So many people on this forum.

[ssandra]

I spend about 150 (about 300 for 2 people).

We do eat out a lot (which is included), about 3 or 4 times a week. Although eating out here means also getting a sandwich or taco's for 2 people for under 10 dollars.

I personally eat mainly once a day a large meal and some snacks during the evening. My husband does eat 3x a day full meals.

So if I had to estimate for me alone it would probably be even less then 150...

[scorpio1980]

I spend way too much as well. I estimate $500-$600 per month. I basically choose to eat better quality food instead of buying the latest gadget. So while everyone else is living off the dollar menu at mcdonalds while playing on their ipad. I instead don't have an ipad, but I am eating a grass fed steak with a load of veggies. Who is gonna be better off in the long run. I will take my better quality food over the gadgets and new clothes any day of the week.

[Sajor]

$200 for me alone.

[madeleined]

Originally Posted by firenexx

About 8 months ago, I looked at my food budget in my financial software and noticed I was spending around $500/month for just me. That was a problem! I realized I was spending too much on things that I didn't need. Chocolate, crackers, chips, salsa, tortilla shells, flour, superfoods, etc. .

Unrelated, but what sort of financial software do you use? I've been looking for a good one . . . preferably something I can DL for free . . .

Anyways, I believe I spend about $200 a month on food. I'm mostly vegan, and I'm not a very big person so I don't need that much food. Mostly everything I buy is organic. However, I do spend a LOT of money on coffee (raging caffeine junky, here).

[inconditus]

My bill is probably broken down into 200 for me and 250 for my husband since he eats more than I do.

I work at whole foods though, so add about 20% to that to make up for my discount... granted, I probably wouldn't do most of my shopping there if it wasn't the convenience of just doing it after work.

I'm going to be buying myself a gift card for $350 at beginning of the month, only use it on food and see how far it gets me. Maybe that will help me budget better =/ I feel like I spend too much considering our income.

[Andrew Gubb]

I think it's worth working out. I'll report back to the thread when I have a better idea.. Maybe in a month.

[Bradshaw]

200€/Month Minus Metro Tickets, going out, etc...

about 150€, or $200.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by inconditus

My bill is probably broken down into 200 for me and 250 for my husband since he eats more than I do.

I work at whole foods though, so add about 20% to that to make up for my discount... granted, I probably wouldn't do most of my shopping there if it wasn't the convenience of just doing it after work.

I'm going to be buying myself a gift card for $350 at beginning of the month, only use it on food and see how far it gets me. Maybe that will help me budget better =/ I feel like I spend too much considering our income.

so do you know any secrets to tell us?

Why wouldn't you shop there otherwise? Too expensive? Not worth the money? All hype?

[inconditus]

I wouldn't shop there as much because A) I wouldn't know as much about the company as a whole and B) I wouldn't know all the work that goes into their organic foods.

Eh "hype" is subjective. We take great care to make sure that our organic produce is not contaminated by conventional, which can be something as simple as as a customer putting a conventional banana back with the organic ones-that whole batch is shot and can no longer be sold as organic. Same goes for preparing food. If a O pineapple gets cut with a C knife its compromised and can no longer be considered organic. We log everything and have audits at least twice a year (differs per region but thats the minimum) that come and make sure that we are logging properly.

We also make sure that all of our food is fresh. Which seems like common sense but I worked at giant eagle before (your normal chain grocery store) and organics weren't any different than normal, just as a different price and label. They were left out until someone bought them or they rotted, and even regular produce was left out like that too. So yuck!

If thats worth it to you then yeah WF is one of the best. If not then I don't think so. Though, I honestly think that our produce is about the same price as everywhere else (besides walmart) especially if you buy it on sale.

All of our WF and 365 brand are GMO free. All of our meat is antibiotic free and are fed a completely vegetarian diet. Look at the step latter for meat. Its too long to explain here but you can buy meat based on the treatment of the animals.

Um. Secrets? Our organic canned coconut milk is like 1.69 which is redic. cheap in my opinion. Use our bulk departments, really. It's so much cheaper than buying rice in a box, or fig bars, dried fruit etc. Use the whole deal coupon books, which can be stacked with manufacturer coupons. At least in the mid Atlantic region there are one day friday deals which are super cheap. Like in my store stem satsumas are 3.99 a box instead of 8.99 this friday.

Also check to see what is on sale on each day. For example Mondays at my store are bogo prepared soup, and friday is $1.50 hummus. Talk to the employees they will be more than happy to help you. If you need help with dinner ideas, budgeting, or how to cook something let us know! We will help you!! On our customer comment cards there is even a spot to check off that reads "an employee helped me stay within my budget." Lol.

Also, :cough, I didn't tell you this: We have a "you're a natural" program where each employee can give away $20 worth of stuff a day so ask questions and be really nice to employees and maybe you will get some stuff for free. I always use mine on people who have super well behaved kids or who ask me a lot of questions and are really nice.

And then the obvious, buy in season, buy on sale. Oh talk to our healthy eating specialists who can also help you with budgeting your meals for optimal nutrients per $$ and taste I don't follow my own advice but its a great resource.

[danas]

Check this out: Hungry Planet

You'll discover that a 6 person family in Chad spends around 5 bucks per month and a 4 person family in the USA spends around 1300$ per month.

I probably spend around 250-300$. And I eat mostly organic.

[missbhaven]

I put about $100 a week soo $400
I eat out at least twice a week at a pretty decent restaurants soo that's like $40-50 week. I am lucky because I get fed lunch, but I send about $15-20 a week on breakfast/snack items whether it be a lil sandwich or a freshly squeezed juice.

I also keep a lot of food in the house and eat a big dinner. I go heavy on the meat for my dinners also.
My budget varies if I am doing the shopping or my dad.
It's cheaper when I do it because I like to keep variety in my diet by buying a lot of what's on sale (plus I pick better items than my dad soo they last longer).
Plus I like to snack on items like chips with dip, nuts and fancy cheeses. Which can be high budget items.
Did I mention I have a high metabolism and can eat a lot (especially after smoking weed). It gets even worse when I am working out often also.

[inconditus]

Originally Posted by missbhaven

Did I mention I have a high metabolism and can eat a lot (especially after smoking weed). It gets even worse when I am working out often also.

Lol! I saw my food bill go down drastically after I stopped smoking. Sad, but true.

[firenexx]

Unrelated, but what sort of financial software do you use? I've been looking for a good one . . . preferably something I can DL for free . . .

I use GnuCash, it's great! It's 4srs double-entry accounting software but you can go as in-depth as you want, as I used to, or you can just use it to track account balances (that's all I use it for now.)
It has all the features of a $$ program, but is free. Did I mention it's for Linux? (I don't like supporting big companies, whether it's software companies or food companies.)

Don't worry, it also runs on Windows (and Mac too I think.)

On an unrelated note, I'm finally gonna join the co-op that gives me a substantial discount in exchange for labor. I'll work 4 hours a week and get a 5 or 10% discount or something like that. It's half an hour away, but currently I go to Whole foods once every week or two (my local chain doesn't have a great variety of organic produce) and that's also a half hour. The co-op will be cheaper with the discount, and it has a greater variety of organic produce that is mostly local (during the warm months.)

Has anyone had luck with a CSA? I found one nearby (certified organic) that I might try... a full share is $625 but they don't even attempt to give a ballpark of how much food that is.

[missbhaven]

Originally Posted by inconditus

I work at whole foods though, so add about 20% to that to make up for my discount... granted, I probably wouldn't do most of my shopping there if it wasn't the convenience of just doing it after work.

I feel you on the convenience factor.
I worked in one location in the ritziest part of town, I found that even with my discount it was cheaper to shop at the health food store closer to me.
They don't kid with the nickname whole paycheck.


What I did like was their selection. The produce always lasted long and was really fresh, that and the cheeses. In terms of the exotic produce, it tasted much better than the items I would find else where.

It is a high end food store. It caters to a high end clientele, and it covers all the stops. When I think of it like that rather than an organic/health food store, it is the best in the city.

[inconditus]

Originally Posted by missbhaven

I feel you on the convenience factor.
I worked in one location in the ritziest part of town, I found that even with my discount it was cheaper to shop at the health food store closer to me.
They don't kid with the nickname whole paycheck.


What I did like was their selection. The produce always lasted long and was really fresh, that and the cheeses. In terms of the exotic produce, it tasted much better than the items I would find else where.

It is a high end food store. It caters to a high end clientele, and it covers all the stops. When I think of it like that rather than an organic/health food store, it is the best in the city.

indeed. Sadly there aren't any local health food stores by me- at least not ones that are cheaper than whole foods. They are usually the same price and at that point I might as well just shop after work.

[tacotash]

i spend about £400 roughly $600 on myself but i do eat alot of takeaway because i am so unhappy with life so i binge eat i do wiegh 20 stone though

[kazerniel]

I spend around £75 (=$117) per month for food for me, and this is the bare minimum I could push it down to here in Glasgow D: Ok I could save around £10 (=$16) by not buying any yummy-but-unhealthy food, but then where's the enjoyment? Btw I eat vegetarian, with trying to be mostly vegan, but I'd like to eat much more raw food...

(I have to spend as small as possible, because I haven't found a job for 3.5 months and live from my parents' support and hopefully soon we'll get benefits or even a JOB as well D: )

[emeadow]

Its been awhile since I broke down my numbers so I downloaded 3 months of bank transactions and sorted them out. Its always a good practice, usually it reminds me how much money I waste on dumb things (alcohol, coffee shops, etc).

I would say I spend about $250-300 a month on food and drink expenses per person in our household (includes eating out). That is mostly for meat, veggies, eggs, some dairy, and spices, tea, etc. I shop about 75% organic or better.

Its hard to get a firm number since I also feed raw to 4 cats, some meat to the dogs along with kibble, and some of the grocery costs go to household supplies and supplements. If I included ALL of that, the number jumps up drastically.

Side note, realized I was spending about $40 a month on alcohol and another $40 on eating out like at lunch/snacks/tea. Time to cut those back a bit.