What's the Average Grocery budget?

[crafter]

We've definitely seen grocery prices go up this year. A few years ago, I had an average weekly grocery budget of $85 a week for 2. My budget seemed to quickly jump up to $120 and then hit $150 this year. My goal is to try to get it back down below $100 ($50 pp) using coupons, rebates and points. I have no idea if this is possible but I'm going to try.

I'm not going to include TP, paper towel and personal care items in that figure as I tend to buy those in bulk when on sale.

I'm curious what kind of grocery budgets others use? Would love to get other people's feedback.

[lizzie bargain]

I spend $500 per month for the two of us. We eat healthy and not much processed food-plenty of fruit and veg and not huge meat eaters. Mind you, not too many years ago the same budget fed 3 of us so prices have definitely gone up as you say. I mostly shop at No Frills and Costco and buy on sale- watch the flyers and price match at NF.

[SassyAshley]

I would say mine has gone up but I also feel this year is hard to judge as there were a few months there where we made the choice to only go to one store and it was what it was.

3-years ago my grocery budget was $50/week

Last year I bumped it up to $100/week, this was mostly to add to more fresh items, I became obsessed with the local Chinese Market for Fruits & Veggies, plus just to give us more variety. We only buy fruits and veggies when they are on sale but find at $50/week we were limiting our produce purchases to stay in budget. This also helped with stocking up my Stockpile. My goal was $50/week on reg groceries, $20-$30 on produce and $20 on stocking up our stockpile.

During the height of the Pandemic first wave we were spending about $500/month and only shopping once a month at Costco. After the first wave and during our "new normal" phase we ranged between $350 - $500/month but with that being said due to the possible second wave we were buying more than we normally would. Our plan was to either be stocked up for the second wave or not really need to grocery shop in January or February aside from fresh stuff.

My original goal for 2021 was a once a month shop of $200 - $300 for the bulk of what we need and than $20 - $50/week (staying as close to the $20 as possible) for fresh stuff and those sales that are too good to pass up. With this being said we will now need to see how January plays out. If our numbers go down and we can go back to our "New Normal" this is the plan if not, I will have to revise my plan.

[Giseledta]

i think it depends on what you include in your ... budget. ... mine is ... all food ( including takeout... if we eat it it is included .. exemption is date night... as that is relationship ..) all pet food ad supplies..., but not vet as that is pet maintence... lol ( i have 3 cats and 2 large dogs) , i also include all laundry, house needs - tp ect.

in mine is also the homechildcare i run. ...
so i will not sure mine.. as it is scry big. but totally acceptable to my house.

i have always gone with ... 50.00 per week per person in the house. that is basic thrifty budget.

currently.... if my pantry was not top notch ( it is , i work hard to keep it that way ) i would add in 10 - 20 per week for pantry stock up. prices are going up .. and i suspect the next 6 - 9 months grocery prices might be a bit rough.... i would use the 10 -20 for pure stocking purposes.

[Arjon]

I have a single budget category that includes groceries and HBA as well as restaurant meals, takeout meals and coffees, etc. We're a two-person household plus two cats that eat homemade food made from a little over 20 pounds of skin-on bone-in chicken a month. Our total spend this year will be under $2000 plus about another $1000 in points which is the net reduction in our total from the start of the year until now.

[lilo0003]

We are a family of 4. We only have food in our budget and I have 17 yr old and 20 yrs sons living at home with the older one doing the bulk of the meals. We average 650.00 an month and Covid increased a bit as it was harder to look for deals and my work became busier so less time to even consider looking. My 2021 plan is to just hold at 650. and if I can drop it that would be awesome.

[crafter]

I stayed within budget woot! $98.70 on food and have enough mix of meat for the week. Only .25 earned in rebates tho (eclipsa)

[Arjon]

I stayed within budget woot! $98.70 on food and have enough mix of meat for the week. Only .25 earned in rebates tho (eclipsa)

IMO, if you keep more than a very minimal amount in your freezer and pantry, a week is a rather questionable budget period because it's not hard to blow past your weekly budget any time you do a decent stock-up. In my case, for example, I can spend over $100 on a really good meat deal. This doesn't happen often, but if I had a weekly budget, it would probably be in the $75 range (including not just groceries but also restaurants, takeout and HBA), so I'd probably go over budget almost every time I spend even $35 to $40 on a stock-up.

You will get a better picture of your spending vs. your budget if you use a longer period like a month so as to smooth out some of the highs and lows. For example, let's say your weekly totals for a four-week period are $75, $75, $150 and $50. Does it matter very much that you went 50% over in week 3? Or is it much more important That your average weekly spend was well under $100?

If you're willing to do a bit of work, you can track your moving average over your 4 most recent weeks, or possibly a bit longer, maybe 6 or 8 weeks, if you'd like to smooth out the ups and downs more. This is a decent way to see if and when your average weekly spend is rising or falling.

[johnb56789]

We've definitely seen grocery prices go up this year. A few years ago, I had an average weekly grocery budget of $85 a week for 2. My budget seemed to quickly jump up to $120 and then hit $150 this year. My goal is to try to get it back down below $100 ($50 pp) using coupons, rebates and points. I have no idea if this is possible but I'm going to try.

I'm not going to include TP, paper towel and personal care items in that figure as I tend to buy those in bulk when on sale.

I'm curious what kind of grocery budgets others use? Would love to get other people's feedback.

As I have said here before, I shop for three households most of the time, now sorta four...

My Grocery Budget: $50.00/mo (Whenever I can get it lower, I try to, but also spend a little more if it is worth it to stock up on certain items)

My Family Friend (Whitby): $300.00/mo (Family of five, with three boys living at home, Peruvian family, they can eat a lot at times and do enjoy cooking homemade meals, with lots of fresh)

My Parents (Tottenham): Variable (Anytime I go home to visit, I will do a huge shop for them and stock them up on whatever is on sale that week), but when I go, it's normally about $150 we spend monthly, plus their own shopping (About $300/mo), so close to the $450/$500 per month they spend on average

My Floormates: I am now trying to shop for my floormates in my building exclusively as to bring down everyones grocery budget inclusively. By having as much communal groceries as possible, and stocking up on clearouts, markdowns, and blowouts wherever possible. For example, I picked up 15lbs of Clementines from my store for less than $6 so everyone can get a little fresh fruit in their diets, and I get the benefits of cost sharing it.

EDIT: ALL THESE BUDGETS INCLUDE PAPER PRODUCTS, AND PERSONAL CARE (HABA) TOO

[crafter]

Good suggestions @Arjon

[crafter]

Incredible savings @johnb56789 . Especially on sharing the food savings with your food mates. That really drives down the cost of food for sure. I've always wanted to do that with neighbours.

As I have said here before, I shop for three households most of the time, now sorta four...

My Grocery Budget: $50.00/mo (Whenever I can get it lower, I try to, but also spend a little more if it is worth it to stock up on certain items)

My Family Friend (Whitby): $300.00/mo (Family of five, with three boys living at home, Peruvian family, they can eat a lot at times and do enjoy cooking homemade meals, with lots of fresh)

My Parents (Tottenham): Variable (Anytime I go home to visit, I will do a huge shop for them and stock them up on whatever is on sale that week), but when I go, it's normally about $150 we spend monthly, plus their own shopping (About $300/mo), so close to the $450/$500 per month they spend on average

My Floormates: I am now trying to shop for my floormates in my building exclusively as to bring down everyones grocery budget inclusively. By having as much communal groceries as possible, and stocking up on clearouts, markdowns, and blowouts wherever possible. For example, I picked up 15lbs of Clementines from my store for less than $6 so everyone can get a little fresh fruit in their diets, and I get the benefits of cost sharing it.

EDIT: ALL THESE BUDGETS INCLUDE PAPER PRODUCTS, AND PERSONAL CARE (HABA) TOO

[sweetmomma]

What is HABA?

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[coupon girl]

HABA is health and beauty aids

[coupon girl]

My grocery bill for the 2 of us is before pandemic $550 a month now it runs around $600-640 but again i have been stocking up with coupons quite a bit before pandemic my health and beauty items were very low -now i am quite stocked up .Plus we eat meat 2 or 3 times a week .


I dont have a rcss in my area ,just no frills is a bit farther away but a sobeys is close by.Walmart is not getting my business since they stopped price matching and people during the pandemic are not wearing their masks properly there .

[HermanH]

I have long been curious what other households spend monthly for food. I am a 50+ yr old male and, for me, food is only those items I actually consume. I get the appropriate daily 2000 calories and eat a healthy diet according to the Canadian Food Guide. As I interpret them:

1/2 lb (225g) bread and grains ($0.25)
1/2 lb (225g) meat ($1.50)
25 oz (750mL) milk ($0.75)
3 lb (1000mL) fruit and veg ($1.00)

Total daily cost = $3.50

I was on another forum where an Irish member said that he could feed his family for $2 Euro ($3 CDN) / mouth per day and it got me thinking about how much it costs me in Edmonton. I wouldn't call it a starvation diet because I can actually gain weight on this regiment, but it has no luxuries like chocolate, cookies, or other delicacies. It is pretty basic, but cheap as heck. If I spy a good deal, I buy plenty to store or freeze. I still consume according to daily dietary needs and thus meet the Food Guidelines.

If I press a bit harder, I think that I can get it under $3 / daily (i.e. go vegetarian) without too much difficulty.