How much do you spend on food a month?

amother

Cerise

Fri, May 28 2021, 8:37 am

I spend about $150 a week or $600 a month for a family of three OOT. And I am moderately careful. No clipping coupons or buying things only on sale. Yes, some stocking up. Yes, buying only in cheapest stores (no Whole Foods for me). No takeout (there isn't any here anyway) and ordering in only happens 1x a month or less.

amother

Honeydew

Fri, May 28 2021, 9:35 am

6 little kids + 2 parents in Lakewood, average of $650 a month but a lot of variation. We get the lunch boxes and school kids get lunch in school.
Does not include diapers but does include detergent, paper goods and the like.

pinkpeonies

Fri, May 28 2021, 9:38 am

amother [ Honeydew ] wrote:

please explain to me how?? my shopping trips are NEVER under $350, and when they are, I always have to run out again!

amother

Honeydew

Fri, May 28 2021, 9:49 am

pinkpeonies wrote:

please explain to me how?? my shopping trips are NEVER under $350, and when they are, I always have to run out again!

I order a lot from amazon, walmart, target. Moadim lsimcha order sukkos and pesach (included). Once a week fill in chicken, dairy, fruit and vegetables that we didn't get in the box. Buy on sale, bake my own challah and cake, no takeout but pretty much buy whatever I need in the store. Some of my kids don't eat much chicken Sad

amother

Coffee

Fri, May 28 2021, 10:02 am

moadim l'simcha IS cheaper but is not open to everyone so yes that will bring down the budget but I can't avail myself of it.

Bnei Berak 10

Fri, May 28 2021, 10:03 am

busy mommy wrote:

I think there is a key factor missing here. A family of 6 with all kids under the age of five is very different than 4 teenagers.
I try to budget pretty carefully and I spend around $1100 a month for a family of 7. My kids are not teenagers yet but eat like adults. I buy in bulk and do a once a month food shopping in Walmart. Shabbos, fruits and vegetables, and dairy I do on a weekly basis.

Tnx for pointing it out! numbers can't be compared unless you state kid's ages

amother

Powderblue

Fri, May 28 2021, 10:11 am

amother [ Coffee ] wrote:

moadim l'simcha IS cheaper but is not open to everyone so yes that will bring down the budget but I can't avail myself of it.

Ooc whats moadim lsimcha

naomi2

Fri, May 28 2021, 10:13 am

Family of 5 and we are big eaters, in Brooklyn. 1600 a month
I don't understand how people spend so little. I always try to buy on sale and have 1 or 2 meals a week that are parve and cheaper but my grocery bill is usually between 375 and 425 a week. We rarely eat out or get takeout so I didn't include it.

4g01o

Fri, May 28 2021, 10:16 am

I don't know exactly how much we spend, but we're a family of 6 and spend a lot more than that. I broke it down into weeks and converted it into pounds. It doesn't sound too much to me, but then again I'm not very good at budgeting.

amother

Coffee

Fri, May 28 2021, 10:54 am

moadim l'simcha is a program that sells food at cost to certain people but I think you need to buy the stuff in bulk.

where we live it's for people who are work for the community, teachers, rebbeim, rabbis, kollel people, mikvah attendants... since we are a small community that is over half of my kids classes. My daughter came home and was like everyone's talking about what they are getting in the moadim l'simcha order, are we getting. no... It is done I believe twice a year and I have a friend who said that's when she stocks up on all her meat, chicken....

I think some places it might also be for very large families or people who struggle financially, don't know. when my dh asked the shul rabbi what the trucks were, it was made clear that it wasn't for us...

I live OOT and we get it so if you think you would qualify for such a thing might be worth asking about it.

amother

Ginger

Fri, May 28 2021, 11:03 am

amother [ Ginger ] wrote:

I spend a ton....about 1200-1500 and I have 4 kids. One infant and 3 others under 10 who are super picky. I dont go out to eat much.

Wanted to add. My kids all need to take home lunch so I make 5 DIFFERENT lunches each morning. I have picky kids so I need to buy what they will eat. Also I dont get any food boxes, govt programs, wic, etc. I also love to cook and experiment so adds to the cost and I buy certain things that are expensive since I try to be healthful.
Also I keep a very very very stocked house. Full fridge/freezer and pantry bh.
Not sure how ppl spend so little.

amother

Chartreuse

Fri, May 28 2021, 12:32 pm

About $1600-$2000 for a family of 5. This includes household essentials like disposable paper goods, tissues, paper towels, cleaning detergent, rubber gloves, disposable pans, silver foil, parchment paper, plastic bags, plastic tableclothes, soap, shampoo, toothpaste......

amother

Honeydew

Fri, May 28 2021, 12:33 pm

amother [ Coffee ] wrote:

moadim l'simcha IS cheaper but is not open to everyone so yes that will bring down the budget but I can't avail myself of it.

Gourmet Glatt and Bingo have sales pesach/sukkos time that are cheaper than moadim lsimcha. It's just simpler for me to get everything in one place and know that I ordered it in advance and can count on it.
Oh, forgot to add no WIC or foodstamps

small bean

Fri, May 28 2021, 1:02 pm

flowerpower wrote:

Month or week?

Month. I was striclty talking food.

I was in the grocery today and this is what I noticed. I don't buy drinks. We drink either water or milk/coffee/tea. No juice, no seltzer, no soda. I don't buy prepared sauces and stuff like that. I don't buy baked goods. None of these are concious decisions but they are just not things that we like.

thunderstorm

Fri, May 28 2021, 3:11 pm

Family of 7, ( 4 adults, 2 teens and a toddler), a minimum of $1600 a month and this only includes food and paper goods . Another $100-$200 for regular household items and cleaning products. And I am extremely stingy and frugal. I stick to a strict budget and sometimes I serve eggs for dinner because chicken or fish is too expensive that week. Not sure how anyone does it for less and I don’t touch the freezer section either . We don’t do takeout either .