How much do you spend??

I actually started a thread like this a few monthes back after I took a look at our bank act and realized we were spening way more then we thought we were. We tried to cut it back for one month, but I don't think I have tried since.
We are a family of 4 and 2 dogs. The dogs don't eat much though, probably $40 a month or so. I also have a 12 yr old and a 20 m old...so he doesn't eat much either but my 12 yr old drinks milk like you wouldn't beleive! I probably spend $70/m in milk!
Anyway..the time I did look at our grocery spending, it was in the $700 range, PLUS take out was another $100-$150. We don't buy much takeout these days either and I think now that summer is gone and life resumes to normal, I will probably try to budget more. Bottom line...we can't afford a $1000 grocery bill, along with the $1300 mortgage and $1100 car payments...and the gas that goes in them:mad:

Lori:)
 
There's just DH and I and I normally spend $500-600 per month at the grocery store and Costco. That includes toiletries, paper products, etc... It's just insane. I try to be lower every month, but it never happens.
 
For 2 people, I can easily spend $150 per week. That doesn't even include dog food which I buy online.
 
DH and I decided to make a budget not too long ago and looked up in Quicken to see where our money was going. We were astounded to see how much we were bleeding money on takeout, restaurants, etc. We stopped that in a hurry!

So, I spend a portion of my weekend meal planning and shop strictly off the list. We budgeted $650 a month for groceries (family of 5 and a cat). So far, so good. I try to cook with chicken, fish and lean meat as much as possible.
 
We were talkin' about this after church. Our monthly Sam's bill is around 250-300 a month. My weekly bill is closer to 40.00 a week because Dave is not home and we tend to eat more portion control foods. Fresh fruit followed by calcium orange juice are the most expensive. 3.79 at Food Lion with MVP card. 3-4x a week. I try to purchase fresh, I would love to get organic but fresh is good enough. I also get the store brand unless the coupons make it really cheap for me to purchase the name brand.

Early in the morning,for example, is a good time to get discounted meat. Didn't find too much this morning. I can always tell when either USC or Clemson are on television.

I get some food items, deodrant, as well as cleaning items from Dollar General and Dollar Tree.
 
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Our family of 4 spends about $400-$500 per month, not including the $ in the kids' lunch accounts at school. School lunches are probably around $30/mo. and like someone else said, probably more cost effective and just as healthy as what I would send (and more variety too).

I don't buy organic and try to only buy what I need. If it means going back for a thing or two during the week, so be it. I found that I cut my grocery bill by about 20% by doing that alone - really being honest about what we were going to eat.

For whoever was buying berries - we LOVE berries, too. I finally just planted my own to keep the cost down. We have strawberries in May, blackberries in July and August, and two crops of raspberries, one in June and one in September. That has been VERY helpful and since we use no pesticides and minimal fertilizers truly good for us too. I'm going to add in a nectarine tree, a cherry tree, and an apple tree next year. Also grow small amounts of tomatoes, bell peppers, and chiles.
 
This is so interesting. I just read an article in the new Women's Health magazine about someone for experimental purposes survived off of $50 a week, for everything. I don't know if I'd be up to that challenge? Gosh for the person who said that their mortgage was $1300, . . geeze I'd take that mortgage in a heart beat. I pay $1600 for a 2 bedroom condo that I'm renting and $850 a month for our family medical insurance. Funny I just got back from our monthly Costco trip $225 for all the basics. This does not include other things that I'll need for the month. With that said how many of you have given up the $3.50 late fix? I feel so deprived. I haven't had one in a real long time. :(
 
We spend between $650 and $800/month on food. We are a family of 9, although the new baby only drinks breastmilk, which, is free--oh joy!

We eat a ton of soup and home made bread. Meat is generally a garnish, rather than the center of a meal. I buy beans/rice/ and other items in our grocery store's huge bulk section. I buy nothing organic, but we did tear up about 300 square feet to put in a garden (all organic--yay!). We've had an abundance of tomatoes, cucumbers and zuchinni--beans and peas did not do so well. We want to put in some fruit trees next year. We shop at costco a lot for bulk deals ("family size" in the grocery store always makes me laugh:p:eek::p). We make almost all our food from scratch.

I think that junk/prepackaged food is really expensive compared to staples like dried beans/rice/carrots/celery/potatoes/oatmeal/seasonal fruits,etc. I'm mystified at all the comments that junk food is cheaper. Maybe produce is cheaper here in Oregon, because so much of it is local?

Fascinating thread.

Maggie:)
 
For two people, between $260-$280 per month. I limit myself to no more than $70/week and we eat very well. That's food only, that does not include bath products (don't use paper towels) and personal care.
 
DH + me, including him eating out for lunch (I mostly take mine), is around $550/month. That's just food. Cleaning supplies and the like come out of a different budget category. We eat healthy and fresh foods, not necessarily organic.

April
 
There's just the two of us, and each month I put $500 aside for groceries. I also take health and beauty and cleaning products out of that money, because we use so little of that sort of thing it makes a tiny impact. We eat mostly organic fruits and veggies, buy what little meat we eat from a local farm, buy bulk rice and beans and flour at the food co-op and don't buy processed food (except as a treat once in a while) paper towels and napkins, or even organic packaged foods, such as cookies or chips or anything. That stuff will really sock the budget.

I've found one of the best money savers is to take one day a week - if you have it - and make a bunch of freezable meals from scratch.

Sparrow
 
For the two of us and our dog, we spend about $600 a month which includes toiletries, allergy medication, detergent, etc.

Marcy
 
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