Comments on: What’s An Appropriate Home Food Budget for a Family of Four?

By: owlhaven

owlhaven — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:48:42 +0000

I spend about $800 a month to feed 11-12 people, most of whom eat like adults. That averages to less than $300/mo for the ‘average’ family of 4, and I feel pretty good about that.

I think one commenter, above, probably said it right that Trent is probably managing a ‘liberal’ meal plan at a ‘moderate’ price point. If I had to go cheaper with my food budget, I could. I think $600 would be doable. But when it comes down to it, I’m not willing to sacrifice THAT much. And fortunately, because of frugal choices in other areas, I don’t HAVE to.

The really cool thing to realize about frugality is that is about HAVING choices. Being frugal in some areas often frees up the budget in areas where you are less willing to compromise. The trick is to make choices that work within your own budget.

I have a hunch that Trent is doing just fine at that.

Mary, mom to many
author FAMILY FEASTS FOR $75 A WEEK

By: Ginny

Ginny — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:21:54 +0000

A lot of this sounds like people who are overweight saying “I really don’t eat all that much.”
It’s very possible to spend way less than $770 a month on food for two adults and two preschool children, if you want to or need to. I can make six meals on one chicken, if I want to– 1/2 breast for stir fry, the other 1/2 for fried rice, 1 leg and 1 thigh for enchiladas, etc etc etc, ending with tortilla soup from the carcass.
May I suggest that Trent try a month with a lower food budget and see what happens?

By: Glenn

Glenn — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:59:48 +0000

Don’t dismiss the infant. I assume food includes formula or infant food and those things are really expensive. We had twins and couldn’t wait to get them off formula we were going through a large tin+ a week (@ $25 – 30 a tin). If “food” also includes non-food baby items – wipes, diapers etc. then that baby is using their fair share of that $770.

$770 doesn’t seem unreasonable, though it definitely depends on where you live and the priority you attach to food and thus the types of food you buy.

By: Heidi

Heidi — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:38:14 +0000

I have a family of 4 in New York. I clip coupons and closely follow the sales in the store circular. It’s rare that I buy anything that isn’t on sale. I buy a ton of fresh produce. We eat a lot of meat but I am working hard to get more vegetarian meals into our diet. I recently let my warehouse club membership expire because I can (mostly) get the same good prices at the regular grocery store, although I have to pay more attention and wait for the sale to come around. I use a breadmaker every week (have not bought any store bread since June 2008! only hot dog rolls, although I really should try them with dough from the breadmaker) (When I run out of yeast, I will go with a friend who has a warehouse club membership because the yeast there is WAY cheaper than the little packets in the grocery store. The flour, too.) I use a credit card (have never carried a balance) and every so often I can redeem the “points” for a grocery store gift card. My monthly bill is about $380 and that includes all toiletries, cleaning supplies, medicines, soaps etc. Does not include cat food, I count that separately.

By: Rosa

Rosa — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:17:48 +0000

I live in Minneapolis too, and we spend about $500/mo – we only buy local freerange meat & grassfed milk & butter, which is more expensive but

1) we can afford it and
2) I grew up downstream of here and don’t to be responsible for manure spills anywhere.

It’s totally possible to spend less – when I was a stay at home mom we spent about 1/3 less on food (same amount of cooking) and before that we were pretty much freegan for a few years – in 2000 my grocery budget was $50/mo for two people.

But that doesn’t mean you have to. I think the commentator who said Trent’s family is eating the “liberal” meal plan on the “average” budget is spot on.

By: Penny

Penny — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:13:55 +0000

Hi All,

Quick update for me. Family of two in Minneapolis, all toiletries included, about $45/week (we eat almost exclusively at home). I suppose if we had two younger kids, we’d be looking at perhaps $400/month? $700 sounds really insane to me unless you live on the coast or something?

By: GYM CHICK 97

GYM CHICK 97 — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:11:41 +0000

I could definitely see spending over $700 a month on food, however, our new rule is everything must go before we food shop. I’ll buy basics (milk, eggs, bread, peanut butter) but that’s it. Once snacks are gone that’s it! We’ve gone from soda to sparkling water at $0.68 a bottle and we love it. My food bill went from the over $700 to about $400 a month. i diligently clip coupons, make a list based on the supermarket add and plan my meals for 2 weeks so I’m sure I have what I need and don’t need to “run out quickly” for something. We all take lunches to work/school. We only let them buy lunch on Friday’s when it’s pizza day and that money comes from extra change during the week that gets put into a jar. I could spend upwards of $50 a week on food at work if I bought lunch….i refuse too!!! I’m definitely getting alot of helpful tips from this website….Glad I stumbled upon it.

By: Aprill

Aprill — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:44:26 +0000

WOW- I got on this website to get some money saving tips. After seeing this I think I should start my own site. I have a family of 6 and my budget is $400/mth. That includes all of our cleaning and paper goods too (shampoo, laundry, hygene, dish det. etc.). Even if we went out once a week at $50 each trip my amount for 6 is considerably lower than Trents. I did look up the amount we would get for food stamps if we were unemployed and for my famiy size it would allow up to $981/mth just for FOOD. Do we wonder why Americans are so fat and lazy?!?

By: Three4Me468

Three4Me468 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:02:59 +0000

WOW! My family inlcudes my husband, son-10, daughter-8, other daughter-5. We spend aproximately $800 per month. I would need to track the in-between stops for bread and milk and add the school lunches I allow them to buy. And now I WILL. I have learned alot here. You think your doing something right and then! BAM! I almost had it right. I never by ANYTHING that isn’t on sale or that I don’t have a coupon for. If I really HAVE to have it I will buy the storebrand. I can see now that this is only a good beginning. Something I have noticed, the cheaper I buy the heavier we all get. When I prepare meals that include lots of fresh vegitables and fruit my grocery bill is higher and dramatically so. The local farm market is not much savings at all. We are talking cents per month. BUT! I am trying to grow my own, seeds are very inexpensive. And I have a groundhog issue. aaargh! NO! I will NOT eat the groundhogs LOL I know a few of you were thinking it. The figure above does include toiletries and cleaning products. I stock up when these items are on sale and I have coupons at the same time. I will be taking bits of informationfrom here to help reduce my monthly grocery bill. I saw some great ideas. Thanks. $770 is not splerging, but we MAY be able to do a little better. I am going to try.

By: josh

josh — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:20:23 +0000

We have a total of 4…two adults and two children …we have a total of 120 a week for gas, necessities and food…we don’t buy any junk food, no can or boxed food…we buy meat, veggies, fruit, grain(bags you have to cook up lentels, bean,etc.), eggs, milk, yogurt…we are very simple

By: Louis

Louis — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:38:32 +0000

I think a lot of people leaving these comments have a difficult time with math. $400/month for a family of 4???? That breaks down to $13/day for the family, $3.33/day per person, $1.11/meal per person. It costs more than that for a head of lettuce and a tomato! We’re at about $800/month. That is a little less than $9/meal for 4, which seems pretty cheap to me.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:36:58 +0000

I like your budget number because it is a lot higher than mine. However, I think that unless you have diapers and (if you use it) formula in that calculation, you probably could count your children as one adult, which would put you a bit higher than average.

For me, frugality in the marketplace is KNOWING that you are spending more for a given option, and deciding that it is still what you want to do. I have seen people just blindly saying “this is what’s on TV, has the best, brightest packaging, or is just in front of my hand” and end up paying a lot more for identical items. Likewise, I have a friend who would die if she had to use margarine instead of butter and another who wouldn’t dream of hand-me-down clothes for her family… but they both know the costs of those choices.

By: Laura Jane

Laura Jane — Sun, 03 May 2009 12:02:12 +0000

I really appreciate your sharing this. I was beginning to feel guilty about my grocery budget: $220 a month for one person for all grocery items (food, household items, paper products, toiletries, etc.) When reading a lot of websites/blogs about this subject, it seems that many people spend a lot less on groceries than I do. However, this is a conscious decision I have made for several reasons. First, I am blessed with the income to be able to spend that amount (and still have a very good amount left at the end of the month to go toward my debt). Second, I am prioritizing my health and weight loss and therefore I would prefer to eat a lot lean meat and fresh produce and very little breads/cereals/starches that don’t really fill me up rather than save 100 dollars a month. Third, I have also made a conscious decision not to spend several hours each weak clipping coupons, looking for deals, and shopping because many other things (such as having time for exercise) are more important to me. I do buy most of my groceries at Aldi so I buy the cheapest possible of the things I do buy and I do still try to buy the produce and things that are on sale, but I just don’t spend hours poring over coupons and sale papers. Fourth, I do spend less in other areas to make up for it. That said, I think your amount is very reasonable and it is a very personal decision based on your priorities and goals. I don’t think being wise with your money means spend the absolute least amount possible in every area – it means consciously deciding what you value and what is important to you how much it’s worth. To me, it’s definitely worth an extra $100/month not to spend countless hours chasing every grocery deal and to be able to have very healthy, convenient foods available for myself.

By: NotLocal

NotLocal — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:52:42 +0000

Some of you are clueless – the cost of living varies depending upon where you live. Two adults and two boys are probably going to eat more than two adults and two girls – two adults who have small frame and possibly work in an office are going to eat less than two adults that might work in construction – the “average” is from all areas – so sure, some will make it on $300 a month – while some might need $800 a month – anyone here have teen boys that play sports?!?!

By: Leona

Leona — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:11:01 +0000

Wow, Trent, I’m not gonna say you spend too much, but I have never had that much to spend on my family.
I didn’t see the first article, but does this just include food? OR is it petfood, cleansers, toiletries, etc.??
I agree w/Lalina – you have it, so you spend it.
We NEVER eat out, don’t have a garden (lots of times I get it from the mark-down bin in the produce dept.), and I use sales/clubs/and group cards.
I don’t want to sound like a reverse snob, but I guess since we don’t have the money, my kids expect very little as far as steaks, or “fancy foods”. It’s just a lifestyle thing. If this is
budgeting for you and your family, then great –
I think alot of people can’t do it, tho’.

By: Lalina

Lalina — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:52:49 +0000

Trent: You spend that much because you have it to spend. I am a single mom w/ 3 teenage girls to feed. We bring it in at $350-400 month.After a breast lump, I was told: no more hormone-containing milk/meat. So, organic only. I think if we dared buy the cheap milk and the cheap meat i could bring this baby in at WAY less. I bake the week’s bread every weekend, that’s a way to balance out the high cost of organics. EVERYTHING we eat is cooked at home, period. I don’t use coupons cuz we only buy bulk. And the bottom line is–I JUST DON’T HAVE MORE MONEY EVEN IF I WANTED TO SPEND IT!!! I only use cash. No credit cards. Also, my grocery bill includes TP, printer ink, kitty litter/catfood, laundry soap, light bulbs . . the works. My godsend is the extra freezer I bought years ago–buy/cook/freeze in bulk. There’s always food in our house! AND–we virtually never get sick and we’re slim ‘n’ healthy too. Hey hey.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:30:04 +0000

I’m always looking for ways to save money in my grocery budget. We spend $125 a week for our family of 5. It could probably be lower, but we do love to eat.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:35:01 +0000

We have a family of four. Two under three years of age and my husband and myself. And I figure that we spend at least$700 a month at the grocery store. Plus we probably spend another $50 eating out a month. It is hard for me to believe how people say they spend so much less. Especially with more people in their family. I guess I have alot of food allergies, so some of the foods I buy are more expensive. Like quinoa is a staple for me (cause I have a gluten intolerance). Most of the really cheap foods I am allergic to (like eggs, bread, peanut butter, tomatoes, etc). But we still stick with low cost, but healthy foods and don’t buy junk foods. We also drink mostly water. We eat lots of produce, meats, and whole grains. So $700 for a family of four seems about right to me, and when my little ones get older, we will be spending a little more.

By: Barb

Barb — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:41:22 +0000

I live in the Midwest – just quit my job in March and am trying to feed my family on a budget. We are a family of four w/two teenage boys – (adds to the bills!) For food – including all work lunches and school lunches which I pack at home, I have averaged about $700 per month, so I think Trent is about right. I use coupons, shop store specials, etc. We eat meat about 4-5 nights per week.

By: Mona

Mona — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:03:06 +0000

Quote from The Simple Dollar September 2006.

Once I understood my budget both in and out, I put strong caps on all of my frivolous spending. I allowed myself to spend a bit on entertainment, but I strongly budgeted it. I also began to cut down on frivolous spending even on things like groceries, where I taught myself how to shop in a much more frivolous fashion using tools like coupons and shopping lists.

How quickly we forget. Trent, if you used coupons in 2006 – why did you stop?