Food budgeting as newlywed

herqueendom

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 12:19 pm

How much did you spend a month or a week on groceries for 2 people as a newlywed? I live on boro park and my husband thinks I spend too much money on groceries. How can I make things cheaper? We both eat meat and fish which can also be on the pricier side. Im just trying to find ways to eat well balanced meals and save money

ra_mom

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 12:31 pm

herqueendom wrote:

Tell him to make a menu of what he wants to eat for the week. It should include breakfast, lunch and snacking, not just dinner. He needs to include your likes too.
Then send him to the supermarket on his own. He should save all receipts.
If food runs out mid-week, he's responsible to refill.
Tell him you need his help, because you can't manage to spend less. He would need to do this for 3 weeks in order for him to realize how much food really costs. (1 week he can still finagle here and there with extra pasta found in the cabinet, picking up a dish from his mom. 3 weeks will give him clarity.)
He'll be begging you to take over after 3 weeks and realize he has to man up and that this is the cost of real life.

asmileaday

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 2:14 pm

ra_mom wrote:

Doesn't necessarily mean that op is frugal. I find grocery shopping habits is a mentality you grow up with. Some people will buy lots of pre made food, chocolates, pastries etc... Others only buy strict basics.
I think op should go shopping together with dh for a few weeks so they can learn each other's habits and find a common middle ground.

If I recall correctly our grocery expense as newlyweds was about $250 a month. But that was 16 years ago!

lasagna

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 2:21 pm

I'm a recent newlywed (married abt 2 yrs). We live in OOT community with decently priced merchandise. I was raised to compare prices and make as much as you can from scratch (within reason). Our budget is arnd $100-150 a week. $150 was closer to yr or when I restock on things. So, $400 a month.

baby12x

Sun, Jan 26 2020, 2:27 pm

You're going about it backwards

How much can you afford to spend on food a month/week?

Then make it work.

Shop sales
Cut down on meat and fish
Spend time finding the best deals on the most expensive food you buy and then stock up if you can
Etc

gold2

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 5:49 am

make a menu plan, why should her husband do it? Unless they both want it that way. At least for your cooked meal lunch/supper and see what you need to buy at the beginning of the week,what you can make yourself etc.. you will also be able to plan your time well that way knowing you are making a fancier supper one night on the day you have more free time.

What I do is... I buy one or two max three ready made sauces eg bbq sweet chili soy, etc.. unless you eat more than that in absolutely everything and don't buy a new sauce which you rarely use until you've finished one of them. try to make recipes with what you have at home or when you buy ingredients think "will I use this again?" If it gets used time and time again then even if it's expensive at least it's money well spent.

I like to treat myself with one or two special ingredients at home at a time but not to have a pantry full of them eg sesame oil sorry if this is a mainstay for some of you, its just an example.

You can also substitute ingredients in recipes, you don't have to buy everything they tell you, sometimes it gets out of hand.

You also need to get to know what you both like and after a while, you will learn good habits, what you absolutely need and what are extras which you can sometimes allow yourself as often as you would like.

Think what is a need and what is a want... good luck!!!

nelliesmellie

Thu, Apr 02 2020, 10:26 pm

$200-$250 per person per month. Depending on where you live. Brooklyn would be closer to the $200 mark as food is cheaper there than OOT. Ive lived in both so that statement is from experience. As far as budgeting, you make it work within the amount that you set. Which means if you run out toward the end of the month, you make what you already have stretch (noodles for dinner etc) until you fall into a steady buying routine by smart shopping different store specials etc to make the budget work. It’s very satisfying to accomplish your budget goals so don’t give up!

RuralIma

Thu, Apr 02 2020, 11:51 pm

I don't remember how much we spent as newlyweds but as a family of 3 we spend about $300/month on groceries. Before we do any shopping I make sure I have at least a general idea of what I want to cook so we're not buying things that are just going to go bad before they're used, check the pantry/fridge/freezer first and plan things around what we already have and then buying whatever else we need. We also never go out to eat, the closest kosher restaurants are like 9 hours away Rolling Laughter

So that also helps keep cost down but it is also really annoying sometimes. Also we don't eat a lot of meat so that helps as well.

Einikel

Fri, Apr 03 2020, 12:00 am

RuralIma wrote:

So that also helps keep cost down but it is also really annoying sometimes. Also we don't eat a lot of meat so that helps as well.

That’s really impressive!👏👏👏