OT: Average Grocery Bill per week is ??

Will said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each week... food,
paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.

This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would go out
and collect some data 🙂

thanks for all comments.

Will

including paper products, cleaning products, etc., from $60-100,
depending on how "cheap" we are eating. that is for two adults and a 3
year old.

--

saerah

"It's not a gimmick, it's an incentive."- asterbark, afca

aware of the manifold possibilities of the future

"I think there's a clause in the Shaman's and Jujumen's Local #57 Union
contract that they have to have reciprocity for each other's shop rules."
-König Prüß

Will said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each
week... food, paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.

This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would
go out and collect some data 🙂

thanks for all comments.

Will

It's a subject which is also *subjective*. It would certainly depend on how
many are in your household and what types of food you eat and other products
you buy.

I live alone so I tend to shop monthly, not weekly. I figure I spend about
$200 USD a month give or take a few $. I do buy fresh produce every week
*if* I'm at the store and spot something that looks good, or if I'm
preparing a particular meal and need something I don't have. I use frozen
veggies a lot of the time because it's easier for me than running to the
store all the time, they keep indefinitely (okay, grain of salt here). If I
want cheese I do go to the store for that when I need it, although I've had
success freezing (for a brief time) some sorts of cheese without the texture
being affected.

I don't eat a lot of bread so I can buy a loaf and stick it in the freezer
and take out a couple of slices if I want some toast or something. I also
don't eat a lot of eggs; I may buy a carton once a month.

Some folks are hooked on name brands and pay for them. I'm only particular
about certain things in the name brand department (i.e. I prefer Reynold's
foil). For the few canned items I buy (usually canned beans) it doesn't
matter a whit to me if they are name brand or the store brand. I buy what
is cheapest.

As for "paper" products, I use cheap paper towels, store brand wax paper and
el-cheapo 200 packs of paper plates that last me quite a while.

Cleaning products - I'm old fashioned. I use a dilution of ammonia in water
for mopping the floors and wiping the counters and stove. Heck, if the
scent is important you can even buy lemon ammonia or pine ammonia. I like
Ajax dishwashing liquid; it's inexpensive and cuts the grease IMHO as well
as any of the fancier brands. Store brand liquid laundry detergent also
works for me.

As I stated, this is all very subjective. I know some people who buy fresh
stuff every single day, including the meat or fish they plan to have for
dinner that night. I can't be bothered 🙂

Jill

Will said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each week... food,
paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.

This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would go out
and collect some data 🙂

thanks for all comments.

Will

Also depends where in the world you live... dunno if you are from the
States or wherever...

We spend the equivalent of USD140 per week for all the "stuff" you
mentioned above, which includes extras (like fresh veggies etc.) This
is for two adults and one toddler...
Cheers
Cathy

"Will" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each week...
food, paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.

This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would go out
and collect some data 🙂

I live alone and spend about £20 (UK money) weekly, but usually end up
throwing half of it away because I cook too big a portions or the food goes
past it's use by date before I use it.

Bill

"Will" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each week...
food, paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.

This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would go
out and collect some data 🙂

thanks for all comments.

We (two adults and a toddler--who eats a LOT) spend around $150/week on
stuff we buy at the supermarket (food, soda/beer/wine, cleaning
supplies, paper products, diapers, cat food/litter, etc.). I'm usually
the one who does the weekly shopping, and with a few exceptions (toilet
paper, paper towels, diapers, some toddler snacks/other snacks,
beverages) I buy store brand products, rather than name brand. And I
stock up on sale items. I also pretty much stick to buying only what's
on my shopping list. When my husband does the shopping, he ends up
spending more because he's much more of an impulse buyer than I am (he
also tends to buy name brands for almost everything). He's also a beer
snob and doesn't blink an eye at spending at least $7 or $8 for a
six-pack of beer.

Mary

jmcquown said:

I live alone so I tend to shop monthly, not weekly. I figure I spend about
$200 USD a month give or take a few $. I do buy fresh produce every week
*if* I'm at the store and spot something that looks good, or if I'm
preparing a particular meal and need something I don't have. I use frozen
veggies a lot of the time because it's easier for me than running to the
store all the time, they keep indefinitely (okay, grain of salt here). If I
want cheese I do go to the store for that when I need it, although I've had
success freezing (for a brief time) some sorts of cheese without the texture
being affected.

$200 a month is about right for me also being single with two dogs.
Most of the canned stuff I get at our local discount food store.
Cleaning and paper products I get at a Family Dollar store, example a
large bottle of Mr. Clean for $1.00, 12 rolls of bathroom survival
paper for $4.00 and 2 rolls paper towels for $1.00. Bath soap I get 4
bars for $1.50. Paper plates and such I don't worry about because I
make my own wooden bowls and plates and mugs. I can't make the
utensils because the city won't give me a permit for a small smelter
or I would. I sit down at the end of each month and plan out what I
will make for the coming month mainly and buy accordingly. My veggies
are always fresh as they come from my garden except in the winter.
However I still grow some of the smaller veggies inside during the
winter.

MareCat said:

We (two adults and a toddler--who eats a LOT) spend around $150/week on
stuff we buy at the supermarket (food, soda/beer/wine, cleaning
supplies, paper products, diapers, cat food/litter, etc.). I'm usually
the one who does the weekly shopping, and with a few exceptions (toilet
paper, paper towels, diapers, some toddler snacks/other snacks,
beverages) I buy store brand products, rather than name brand. And I
stock up on sale items. I also pretty much stick to buying only what's
on my shopping list. When my husband does the shopping, he ends up
spending more because he's much more of an impulse buyer than I am (he
also tends to buy name brands for almost everything).

Two adults here. I tend to do one stop shopping in a grocery store that has
it all because if I go to three of four different stores to get deals my
impulse buying will end up costing me more. My grocery bill is usually
around $100.

Quoted message said:

He's also a beer snob and doesn't blink an eye at spending at least $7 or
$8 for a
six-pack of beer.

That's not being a beer snob. That's just refusing to be party to the
support of an industry that turns out [censored] beer. A six pack of domestic
beer around here is closer to $9. Imported beers sell for about $2 per can,
but you get about 30% more in them, so they aren't that much more expensive.
It's well worth the extra.

My brother used to hassle me about drinking "yuppie beer" because of my
preference for European imports. Being a typical North American beer
drinker (read alcoholic) he goes through 2-3 cases ...cases not six packs
per week, while my $9 -12 six packs were lasting me 2-3 weeks. I would
rather have one or two good beers occasionally than guzzle a dozen bottles
of love in a canoe.

MareCat said:

We (two adults and a toddler--who eats a LOT) spend around $150/week on
stuff we buy at the supermarket (food, soda/beer/wine, cleaning
supplies, paper products, diapers, cat food/litter, etc.). I'm usually
the one who does the weekly shopping, and with a few exceptions (toilet
paper, paper towels, diapers, some toddler snacks/other snacks,
beverages)

Diapers are a big expense.... they cost us around USD15 per bag of 52
per week(+/-).... not to mention the milk toddlers need too.. and the
snacks 🙂 What do you pay? We live in South Africa, BTW.

I buy store brand products, rather than name brand. And I

Quoted message said:

stock up on sale items. I also pretty much stick to buying only what's
on my shopping list.

We stick to "the shopping list" too.

When my husband does the shopping, he ends up

Quoted message said:

spending more because he's much more of an impulse buyer than I am (he
also tends to buy name brands for almost everything). He's also a beer
snob and doesn't blink an eye at spending at least $7 or $8 for a
six-pack of beer.

My DH drinks whiskey.... but he is really good with "the list" when he
does the shopping 🙂

Cheers
Cathy

Quoted message said:

Mary

Will said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each week... food,
paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.

This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would go out
and collect some data 🙂

We went to the 'discount' supermarket yesterday and spent $80 on basic
meat and vegetables and bread. That'll feed two adults for two weeks.
We also spend about $50 a week at Albertsons on TP, kitchen towel,
tinned stuff etc that the discount store doesn't sell. Adding
everything together I'd say we total about $100US a week, or $120 with
luxuries.

--
~Karen aka Kajikit
Crafts, cats, and chocolate - the three essentials of life
http://www.kajikitscorner.com

On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 15:57:08 GMT, "Will" <[email hidden]>
connected the dots and wrote:

~What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?
~
~If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each
week... food,
~paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.
~
~This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would
go out
~and collect some data 🙂
~
~thanks for all comments.
~
~Will
~
~
Produce: ~$40
Frozen: ~$10
Dry goods: ~$5
Dairy: ~$8
Seafood: ~$4
Meat & Poultry: ~$4
Paper Plastic Foil:~$2

Family of 3, 1 teen

Will said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each week... food,
paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.

This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would go out
and collect some data 🙂

thanks for all comments.

There are 2 1/2 of us (my wife and me and my daughter half the time). We
eat richly. Not necessarily lots of food, but things we like. Counting
all the other things listed above, I suspect we do somewhere around $250
a week. Sometimes more if we're entertaining. Last Saturday, I spent
$160 on a small dinner party for my sister's birthday (8 of us) and that
didn't include the dry-aged beef I brought for steaks. Life is short...

Pastorio

We spend about 500/month. Thats for two people and one dog. But we
eat mostly fresh organic veggies and we get a discount at the store. I
should add another 200 for eating out.

"Will" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each week...
food, paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.

This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would go out
and collect some data 🙂

Two adults.
One trip a month to BJ's is about $225. That includes cleaning supplies,
paper goods, laundry detergent.

At the local market each week we spend about another $30 for bread, fresh
veggies, etc. We will usually eat dinner out once a week or so and probably
a lunch on the weekends. My lunch during the week is leftovers from dinner
as we cook extra for just that reason.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

"Will" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each week...
food, paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.

This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would go out
and collect some data 🙂

thanks for all comments.

Oh, you can't get too excited about it. There is always something
One week it's a box of Tide, next week it's a bottle of Bayer, whatever.
You try to buy on sale with coupons but it's not always feasible. Around
here, two adults, 80 to 100 dollars. Some of it's luxury items like candy
or like that. So what. Life is short, then you die.

nancy

Will said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each week... food,
paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.

This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would go out
and collect some data 🙂

"suplies" is a problem.

I can give you an accounting for what I spend on food (and I feed six
cats) but I've no idea what you mean by "other supplies". And cleaning
supplies is difficult to give a weekly accounting, they're not
purchased weekly... and does bath soap, toothpaste, shampoo, and other
personal hygiene products count as cleaning supplies... what about car
cleaners, furniture polish, laundry stuff... the list goes on and on...
and you don't want to know about how much I spend on gardening supplies
just for vegetables.... the way you posed it yours is a stupid
question.

Sheldon

Will <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

US$250 to US$300 for 2 adults, 2 preteens, and one youngling (plus the
preteen tribe members that visit during the week). We also like to go
out to eat but I won't include that in the expenditure.

Normal list includes but is not exclusive to:
6 gal of milk, 2% and Whole
several bricks of cheeses (Tillamook usually)
multiple varietals of cheeses for afternoon snacking

5 lb. ground sirloin
5 lb. chicken breasts
5 pork sirloins (boneless)
5 fresh catch fish filets (amount will vary depending on week)
5 tritip sirloins

5 lb. to 10 lb. Russet potatoes
Pasta (bulk)
Rice (bulk)
Yukon Gold/Red/Kennington

Too many Vegetables and Fruits to quantify

The nice thing about the older daughter-units hitting the preteen stage
is I am no longer locked to the stove and they're becoming quite adept
at making their own snacks and meals. (It's bitter sweet thing that
Daughter Independence thang.)

Do I mind supplying the neighborhood kids with something to eat? <shrug>
Not really. Keeps mine out of trouble and close to home; keeps theirs
out of trouble, too. I now understand my Sainted Mother's(tm)
Iron-handed Ruling: "You and your friends may eat anything you can
prepare... As long as it's not deep fried, over-sugared, and swimming in
lard."

The Ranger

"cathyxyz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MareCat said:

We (two adults and a toddler--who eats a LOT) spend around $150/week
on
stuff we buy at the supermarket (food, soda/beer/wine, cleaning
supplies, paper products, diapers, cat food/litter, etc.). I'm
usually
the one who does the weekly shopping, and with a few exceptions
(toilet
paper, paper towels, diapers, some toddler snacks/other snacks,
beverages)

Diapers are a big expense.... they cost us around USD15 per bag of 52
per week(+/-).... not to mention the milk toddlers need too.. and the
snacks 🙂 What do you pay? We live in South Africa, BTW.

DD (age 2 1/2) wears 4-5 diapers a day, so a bag of diapers (same size
and around the same price that you pay) typically lasts us longer than a
week.

Mary

"Will" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each week...
food, paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.

This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would go out
and collect some data 🙂

thanks for all comments.

Geez, who gives a [censored]? What do other people's grocery bills have to do with
you? Are you trying to justify your bill based on others? Buy what you want
and what you can afford.

--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths page at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm

Nancy Young at [email hidden] wrote on 6/12/05 4:26 PM:

Quoted message said:

"Will" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do you guys spend per week on groceries/supplies?

If you would, please include all the normal stuff you buy each week...
food, paper goods, cleaning supplies, other supplies, etc.

This is a subject of great debate in our house so I thought I would go out
and collect some data 🙂

thanks for all comments.

Oh, you can't get too excited about it. There is always something
One week it's a box of Tide, next week it's a bottle of Bayer, whatever.
You try to buy on sale with coupons but it's not always feasible. Around
here, two adults, 80 to 100 dollars. Some of it's luxury items like candy
or like that. So what. Life is short, then you die.

nancy

I buy groceries for one adult and one cat.
I do like to have people over for dinner once a week or so, but basically
it's just me.

I typically spend $30-35 a week.
What I buy every week is usually what's on sale that I use, so it can vary
by the week. One week, chicken might be on sale, so I'll buy a couple
packages, usually one for now, and one for the freezer. When frozen veggies
go for 99 cents for a one-pound bag (which is pretty low around here) I buy
6-7 and have them for awhile. If I see laundry detergent at a good price
for my brand, and I've got a half bottle of it...I'll get it. When cat food
goes 4/$1, I get 6-7 bucks worth so I don't have to buy it at 45 cents a can
otherwise. That will last her 4 weeks or so.

I buy bathroom tissue when it goes for $6 for a 12 pack of double rolls, and
that will last me a couple months. And I buy it whether I need it or not
that week. Because it's usually in a cycle of every 6 weeks that it goes on
sale--and a 12 pack will last me about 6 weeks. Same with paper towels. Once
every few months, I'll find an 8 pack of paper towels for about $4. (or a
similar deal, 50 cents per roll) and I'll buy it and then I won't have to
buy it when I run out.

That's how I buy most things, actually, anything with a shelf or freezer
life, anyway.

I will usually buy a loaf of bread and maybe some cookies or some other type
of treat. I usually buy frozen veggies, but of course, some I always use
fresh; zucchini, asparagus, corn, etc. There is always fresh fruit every
week. Gotta have my fruit! In summer, I buy those frozen fruit juice pops,
like Breyers Fruit pops. They are delicious and very "cooling".

Some weeks I do spend more than others...when I find cans of soda priced
very low, like 3 12-packs for $8-9, I will get that and then have the soda
for months. I like to have soda with lunch.

I rarely buy pre-made food, nor do I buy too many boxed mixes. I admit to a
weakness for Stove Top Stuffing and I will buy an occasional package of
Lipton rice or noodle side dishes, because they are easy prep when you don't
feel like cooking much. I also keep several boxes of Mac and cheese dinner
in the pantry. But I only buy it when it's 25 cents a box or less. The
store brand is usually that price everyday. About a year ago, it went for 10
cents a box. I bought 20 and I think I still have some of those. Again, it's
easy prep and sometimes, it's exactly what I want. I only buy "convenience"
foods when they are less expensive to buy than the ingredients to make it
myself.

I am a careful shopper and I only buy things when they are on sale, unless
it's something I'm really desperate for. (whether need or want). It really
kills me to pay full price for anything. And I blame the stores for making
me that way. If they had everyday low pricing, you could buy what you want,
when you wanted it. But they play games with prices--so I play along.

Buying things that I know I will use when they are well-priced works for me,
and it means I will always have certain items in "inventory" when I want
them. Plus, doing it this way, I'm not really shopping for the week, I'm
just sort of shopping "for the pantry".

All told, I probably spend about $150 a month on food and "necessities"
(like bathroom tissue, soap, laundry and dish detergent, cat food, etc).

I accomplish this by shopping 3 stores, usually starting with reading the
flyers and deciding which store has the most stuff I use at the best prices.
I typically go into at least 2 stores during the week, which two depends on
the sales.