[PTheD]

How much money (in United States Dollars) do you or your family spend on food? Of course the number of people is going to influance the food budget, as well as the price of foods in your area, actually there are a lot of variables, but dispite that, I'm interested in the food budget of some locals on the boards.

The reason this question came to my head is that I am starting to enter the world without the umbrella of my parents money and am trying to start a diet and food budget that are inexpensive and healthy. As a result the question of how much the individuals and familys that make up Head-Fi's members became intriguing to me.

 

[jefemeister]

I live alone and spend around $300 a month in groceries and another $35 give or take a week on lunches (I go out all the time for lunch.) I don't eat breakfast save an occasional Pop-Tart, shop at a decent but not fancy grocery store, and eat relatively healthy. I cook entire balanced meals more or less from scratch. I don't buy exclusively fancy gourmet stuff but I do on occasion. I hardly ever buy store brand food though--my mom didn't, so I won't either. I make a decent living and I always told myself the two things I would never skimp on are food and heating/air-conditioning as desired. Hope it helps.

edit: my grocery bill estimate includes household items like soap, detergent, lightbulbs, etc.

 

[dwchin]

I'm a single person who spent around $40-50 a week on food while in college. I cook my own meals (dinner, sometimes lunch) and also had frequent salads while on campus. Now that I'm without the convenience of dining halls, I can expect to spend probably around $75 a week on meals. I eat relatively healthy foods (salads, meat, veggies and fruit) and I don't usually buy the so-called junk foods unless it's for a treat. It's not difficult to find affordable healthy foods, as long as you're up to cooking your meals yourself

 

[ken36]

man, woman, dog, cat.

 

[XxATOLxX]

For our house of 4, my mom usually goes to Costco every 2 weeks and spends about $200 for groceries, laundry detergent, etc. etc..

 

[jjcha]

I used to spend $201+ every Monday night for dinner at Lawry's the Prime Rib in Tokyo. Double-sized serving of the diamond cut prime rib (a.k.a. the "beef bowl") was around $140 ($70 x2), plus appetizer ($25), sides ($20), drinks ($40). Kinda nuts, now that I think about it, considering I did this almost every Monday for about two years. No wonder they threw me a special "going away" dinner and gave me a bottle of wine.

But weekly alone-time with a monsterous prime rib's been a tradition for a while. I guess sometimes you just have to spoil yourself...

Of course during college I lived on a $125 weekly food budget, which was pretty easy to stick to, even with going out to dinner once in a while in Washington DC.

Best,

-Jason

 

[PTheD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjcha I used to spend $201+ every Monday night for dinner at Lawry's the Prime Rib in Tokyo. Double-sized serving of the diamond cut prime rib (a.k.a. the "beef bowl") was around $140 ($70 x2), plus appetizer ($25), sides ($20), drinks ($40). Kinda nuts, now that I think about it, considering I did this almost every Monday for about two years. No wonder they threw me a special "going away" dinner and gave me a bottle of wine. But weekly alone-time with a monsterous prime rib's been a tradition for a while. I guess sometimes you just have to spoil yourself... Of course during college I lived on a $125 weekly food budget, which was pretty easy to stick to, even with going out to dinner once in a while in Washington DC. Best, -Jason

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[terrymx]

i live alone, i usualy eat a bagel and a sandwich and something else a day. at most bowl of rice + little meat for dinner and eggs plus bacon and bread for breakfast. i think i spend $50 for food a week. wish it was less though.

if i have to live in a farm however i would eat a bit more. it really depend on how much energy i need for that day.

 

[toasteroven]

My family spend about $60 a week on food. We rarely go out to eat, always cook. Sometime I get allowances for a big Mac once in a while, but that's about it.

Strictly blue collar family.

 

[PTheD]

Is there any kind of government calculated average per person for money needed to eat per week? Like something from the USDA or FDA or something? Anybody know?

 

[ilikemonkeys]

I count beer as food.

 

[toasteroven]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PTheD Is there any kind of government calculated average per person for money needed to eat per week? Like something from the USDA or FDA or something? Anybody know?

Well, the government does hand out food stamps. So it's like they intentionally let you starve. But you can't live on food stamps alone.

My family is stuck in the middle. We make too much to qualify for food stamps, but not enough to be able to eat out once a week.

 

[zotjen]

Quote:

I am starting to enter the world without the umbrella of my parents money and am trying to start a diet and food budget that are inexpensive and healthy

You'll probably want to avoid health food stores since they tend to be on the pricey side. You should be able to find enough healthy stuff at your local supermarket, sticking to fruits and veggies, whole grains, etc. without going over your budget.

 

[Kirosia]

I still live at home with the parents, and we don't spend much on groceries. My mom eats at work and my dad cooks for himself. I usually just hit the stop & shop. (Admittingly with my mom's cash or whatever I have left in the bank, still haven't found a part-time job) I have a couple marinades and sauces, normally I just get some steak, chicken, pork chops, hamburger meat, etc. and cook for myself. I want to be able to learn to make really good food, both my parents are fairly skilled at making asian cuisine. (I prefer american/european food though) But . . . if I got a few bux in the wallet, I may hit one of the small deli/pizza shops for a quick fix.

Overall, probably a few hundred a month for the 4 of us.

 

[MuZI]

$200-300 per week for myself alone.

I have 2 extra refridgerators in the garage for everything. 5 meals a day.

3,200cal Diet.
If you're wondering why, look at my signature.