Food - NYC | Imamother

lamplighter

Wed, Jun 22 2011, 4:04 pm

I'm trying to work out a food budget.
Not including paper goods but including meat, fruits and vegetables, what is reasonable to spend monthly?
We are a couple expecting our first baby.
Anyone do the math per child?

kalsee

Wed, Jun 22 2011, 4:09 pm

for the first 6 months it's nursing and/or formula.
For the next 6 months , until a year , whatever solids I gave were not budgeted for- mainly chicken soup with extra veggies mashed in, or a banana here and there. Just odds and ends.

JAWSCIENCE

Wed, Jun 22 2011, 4:38 pm

Do you live in Brooklyn, the upper west side, lower east, Queens etc.? Prices will vary A LOT based on your answer.

lamplighter

Wed, Jun 22 2011, 5:29 pm

brooklyn. I find that the prices vary all the time actually which makes it harder.
How do you work out a food budget?

seeker

Wed, Jun 22 2011, 6:25 pm

I also find it hard to keep track with prices fluctuating. I don't have a very solid budget, I basically kept track of what I spent for a few months, figured out the average, and found it satisfactory so I basically just tried to keep doing what I was already doing - stocking up nonperishables on sale and buying everything else where the price is right.

As a couple with no baby yet my food expenses were probably around $200 per month. But that's probably deceptive because we used to get invited out a lot for Shabbos and sometimes supper too.

I nursed my baby exclusively for 6 months and even after that she got mostly breastmilk, so for about a year baby barely makes a dent in the food budget. (Diapers, clothes, etc... now that's a different story!)

chocolate moose

Wed, Jun 22 2011, 7:10 pm

Lampy, don't you get WIC ?

mirror

Wed, Jun 22 2011, 7:34 pm

Deleted.

Last edited by mirror on Sun, Jan 03 2016, 11:55 pm; edited 1 time in total

lamplighter

Wed, Jun 22 2011, 7:44 pm

No, I don't get WIC. That would be nice though. The 2 responses with numbers are of a huge range!

Fabulous

Wed, Jun 22 2011, 8:19 pm

OPINIONATED wrote:

$750 Per month for a couple.

that's a lot. Do you eat a lot of red meat? I think it's reasonable to expect $400 - $500 with meat and chicken.

mummiedearest

Wed, Jun 22 2011, 9:52 pm

ok, you need to be aware of a few things, and you need to factor in another few things.

a)produce prices fluctuate. pay attention to these. lower prices mean that particular item is in season and generally better quality. this is an area where you do not want to spend more regularly per pound.

b)certain items can be bought in bulk when on sale. absolutely worth it.

c) shopping at one particular store for everything is a money waster, though a time saver.

d) you are pregnant, so the cost of food will be higher than when you're not. if you plan to nurse, you'll save a bundle on formula, but you'll probably be hungrier than when pregnant, so your grocery bill may seem higher than you expect.

e)if you plan to use formula (or even if not, this can come in handy) go on all the formula companies' websites and sign up for home mailings. they will send you a few checks a month to cover formula costs. these checks are good at any store that takes checks. so even if your kosher grocery store doesn't take manufacturer's coupons, these will be usable.

I have two kids, and I find that half my shopping trip every week is fresh produce. I cook with a lot of fresh ingredients, and I've trained my kids to eat their veggies. it's a very healthy way to eat, but it's not cheap. however, I don't spend a lot of money on canned goods, breads, snack items, and processed stuff. I spend between $120 and $180 a week for a family of four, and the expensive weeks come when I have to restock certain pantry items. pantry items make a big difference in a grocery bill.

I'm a regular at my local grocery store, and they occasionally send me coupons in the mail (not very frequently, really...) and I find them useful. they're usually something like $20 off a purchase of $100. when I get these, I make a separate shopping trip and buy $100 worth of meat and poultry. I freeze these, and it lasts me quite a while. it definitely gets me more meat for my money, and I try to get the weekly specials, so I end up with a really big collection of stuff.

when it was just the two of us, I spent around $65 a week on my large shopping trip. I inevitable forgot a few things, though, so let's call it $80 a week. dairy prices have gone up some since then, and certain produce prices have as well (oranges got more expensive, I believe). we almost never went out for meals. I made full meals, but only one course. we had milchig dinner about twice a week, I think.

grocery bills depend somewhat on your lifestyle. you can certainly lower it if you decide to be more aware of prices and sales opportunities. my husband trained me to compare prices when we first got married Smile

he did a good job.

btw, you can get some home items/grocery items online for cheaper than store prices. amazon has an interesting grocery section. next time you shop, note the prices of things you use regularly. then check online. if you can buy it cheaper per unit, it's often worth it to buy in bulk, especially if they give you free shipping.

peppermint

Thu, Jun 23 2011, 3:28 pm

Fabulous wrote:

OPINIONATED wrote:

$750 Per month for a couple.

that's a lot. Do you eat a lot of red meat? I think it's reasonable to expect $400 - $500 with meat and chicken.

Where did you come up with these numbers? We spend less than $200 per month. We hardly go away for shabbos and eat chicken often.

My secret: We use lots of coupons and stock up when there is a good sale

Betti

Thu, Jun 30 2011, 4:03 pm

I find it that GEFEN is very expensive and charges about 10% to 30% more then Libers Kemach Ungars Etc.. And I don't buy that their quality is better.

bwaybabe85

Thu, Jun 30 2011, 4:21 pm

We spend $400-$500 a month on food. We try to buy a lot at Costco, but what we have to buy from our local grocery store (in Manhattan) is VERY expensive. And we don't even buy any red meat other than stew beef for cholent...

Alef Bais

Thu, Jun 30 2011, 7:09 pm

OPINIONATED wrote:

$750 Per month for a couple.

That IS a lot. More than what I spend for a family of 5.

seeker

Thu, Jun 30 2011, 7:27 pm

We don't have a costco membership, but I do stock up when things are on sale in regular places. You can save a lot on things like paper goods (kleenex, toilet paper) if you stock up, places like Shoprite and Target have great deals periodically and I find room to stash a couple month's worth. Also dry goods like flour, pasta, etc. (I just realized that OP excluded paper goods. I do include paper goods in my grocery budget but I also use very little so it doesn't make much of a dent.)

lizza1984

Thu, Jun 30 2011, 11:01 pm

peppermint wrote:

Fabulous wrote:

OPINIONATED wrote:

$750 Per month for a couple.

that's a lot. Do you eat a lot of red meat? I think it's reasonable to expect $400 - $500 with meat and chicken.

Are you counting cleaning products ie laundry detergent, bottle water , and other dry goods?

Strudel

Fri, Jul 01 2011, 12:34 am

peppermint wrote:

Fabulous wrote:

OPINIONATED wrote:

$750 Per month for a couple.

that's a lot. Do you eat a lot of red meat? I think it's reasonable to expect $400 - $500 with meat and chicken.

Less that $200 for two people a month? Really?
You feed both of you on a budget of approx $6 a day, three complete meals, plus snacks, drinks 7 days a week? You're entire Shabbos costs less that $10?
Sorry, but I have a tough time believing you.

aidelmaidel

Fri, Jul 01 2011, 1:09 am

I spend about $150-200/week on groceries, paper goods, detergent, etc. I make a trip to costco every other month which averages about $300 each trip.

We are 2 adults, 2 full time kids, and 2 part-time teenagers.

We have a lot of guests.

Happy 2B

Fri, Jul 01 2011, 1:13 am

we are a couple with no children and spend probably about 800.00 a month. Every time I go to the grocery it adds up so fast. I go for one thing and spend 200.00 dollars. I don't see how you can live a whole month on what I do in one week.

If you are spending less than 200 dollars a month do you buy fresh fruits and veggies? do you buy fish? and chicken and and and.......

maybe there is something wrong with me.

seeker

Fri, Jul 01 2011, 5:08 pm

Strudel wrote:

peppermint wrote:

Fabulous wrote:

OPINIONATED wrote:

$750 Per month for a couple.

that's a lot. Do you eat a lot of red meat? I think it's reasonable to expect $400 - $500 with meat and chicken.

Yes, really. I posted a similar budget (approx $150 plus going away 2-3 Shabboses a month) We stock up on sales, use coupons, and comparison shop. We don't eat a lot of meat (two fleishig meals a week, on average) and barely use anything disposable. I rarely buy any prepared foods. We mainly drink tap water, some juice, and we buy soda for a treat when we're home for Shabbos. I plan menus ahead so I can shop just a few times a month; the less time you spend in stores the less you spend. My lifestyle would probably cost us more than $200 a month if we were to include all Shabbosim at home, but not by much - certainly not double. And we aren't starving or deprived.