Are there other places you can scale back? Have you taken into consideration that if you aren't working, you can use a significant portion of your gas money and other expenses to buy tasty foods?
There are two of us, and I picked $81 - $100/week. That's what it will average out to - I usually have two big $ weeks and two smaller $ weeks that make up the month. However, now that we are both off and home for the summer, that's probably going to go up to something over $100 per week, since we'll both be eating everything at home.
I buy my meat in bulk and deep freeze it, so I generally am not buying meat on a weekly basis. I get most of my fruit and veggies from our faux-CSA deal for $25/week, so that keeps that fairly reasonable.
We don't really go out to eat much - one breakfast out per week, and dinner maybe every week and a half/2 weeks.
What's your budget? I voted 81-100, but we're on the low end of that.
We try to spend $80 each week. DH thinks that's high, but I have to get really creative to stay under it.
Lol.
I'm spending more than $70/week for myself and a 2 year old. Food only. And I don't buy organic or grass fed anymore. Its almost all produce, dairy and protein. I don't buy many premade things either.
I do buy wine And coffee every week, and that number represents 95% of our food spending. But still. I think you are doing great at $80 a week.
Post by statlerwaldorf on May 23, 2012 23:08:47 GMT -5
With staying at home, I am able to spend more time cooking and researching frugal recipes which keeps our costs down. This is also our first year gardening. I started from seeds and if I manage to not kill them all it should save me a little money too. I would guess if I worked full time we would probably eat out more often than we do.
Post by statlerwaldorf on May 23, 2012 23:25:28 GMT -5
I have been trying to avoid spending a lot because I'm afraid I'm going to kill them all. I already killed one of my cucumber plants. I have been very tempted to spend a lot at the greenhouse and buy all of the plants. I go to a community garden which saves on the costs. I'm hoping to put a garden in our yard, but we need it to be fully fenced in because of all of the deer and other animals from the woods. It will take a long time to recoup those costs.
I thought I killed my zucchini and squash because all the flowers would fall off and no fruit but google says something about male and female plants and lack of pollination or whatever. In any case, it isn't dead like I thought it was.
Post by statlerwaldorf on May 23, 2012 23:48:01 GMT -5
I have no idea. I just planted them last week. It looked like something tore it out of the ground. The roots were out of the ground and everything. It was in the middle of my plot and there is a large fence to keep animals out. The rest of my plot was fine including my other cucumber plants. Those were some that were donated from the elementary school and now I feel guilty for killing little Billy's plant.
We spend $70/week on food for two people, but that doesn't include booze and it doesn't include special event food (that comes out of a seperate budget). It does include pet food and toothpaste and paper towels.
But we also buy nearly everything at costco and have 2 fridges and a deep freeze. So...yeah. Not typical. And it was HARD for the first couple of months. Now it's just automatic.
Honestly, our amount varies so much depending on work, if we see friends, if I feel adventurous with new recipes, etc, that there really isn't a good number that I could use for the "average" week, especially with knowing how many meals. I will say that I'd think $80 seems perfectly reasonable, but again, I am grocery budget-adverse.
Post by ChillyMcFreeze on May 24, 2012 8:02:09 GMT -5
We normally spend $80 per week for two people, and that's without many luxuries... coffee every few weeks, the occasional steak. For the summer, we're trying to keep it around $60 and it is HARD. Like, cereal for dinner hard. Giving up tasty food is the worst. It's do-able, but I would try to cut elsewhere and keep a few things you love. (Both of my numbers include toiletries and non-food groceries, btw.)
We average $150/week for two adults and two kids (4 & 2), but that does include non-food items. Still, I.don't think $80 sounds high at all.
Does your DH share in any of the meal planning, shopping, or cooking? If not, maybe invite him to help you with that one week -- or better yet, just let him be totally responsible for it one week -- and see how it goes.
Post by charminglife on May 24, 2012 8:59:11 GMT -5
We're between 80 - 100 for two people, shopping sales and using coupons. If I'm including booze then its closer to 100 - 110. Your DH is crazy if he thinks you're overspending, especially if you eat a lot of meat.