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What is a normal monthly food bill
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Oct 22 2021, 11:05 am
for 2 adults and 1 toddler?
Trying to start budgeting but no clue what is normal.

We are not huge eaters but we both work full time, and don't have time for price comparison and sales shopping or running to Trader Joes or Aldis. And I do buy some prepared food but not a ton (pizza and yogurt for my kid, deli, and sometimes thinned chicken)

Food includes paper goods, foil pans, containers etc.

We live in town.
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Oldest




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Oct 22 2021, 11:09 am
David Ramsey (I think) recommends $100 per person per month. Start with this and see if you need to adjust it higher or lower depending on your family's needs
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amother
Fuchsia


 

Post Fri, Oct 22 2021, 11:10 am
There is no such thing as normal as every situation is different. Can you afford your bills? Are you hungry or malnourished? Do you have a lot of waste?

Why would comparing make any sense. People have different eating habits, different availability products and prices, and different needs regarding prep/convenience.
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amother
Daphne


 

Post Fri, Oct 22 2021, 11:12 am
Oldest wrote:
David Ramsey (I think) recommends $100 per person per month. Start with this and see if you need to adjust it higher or lower depending on your family's needs


Wow that sounds extremely low. Especially for kosher food and making Shabbos which costs a lot.
I think I was spending around 800$ a month when my family was that size.
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amother
Fuchsia


 

Post Fri, Oct 22 2021, 11:13 am
Oldest wrote:
David Ramsey (I think) recommends $100 per person per month. Start with this and see if you need to adjust it higher or lower depending on your family's needs

That makes no sense. Does he keep kosher and have Shabbos and YT?Does a 2 year old and a 17 year old eat the same? Does a 98 lb woman and a 350 lb man eat the same. Do you really that the same food is the same price in different communities. (It is not)
It’s perfect for a person who lives in a theoretical box. Can't Believe It

ETA you know that comes out to less than $3.5/day. About $1/meal. What does a yogurt cost? A can of tuna? A roll?
Sound Perfect for communist China in the 1950’s where you were rationed rice and people stole and ate each others babies.
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Oct 22 2021, 11:14 am
amother [ Fuchsia ] wrote:
There is no such thing as normal as every situation is different. Can you afford your bills? Are you hungry or malnourished? Do you have a lot of waste?

Why would comparing make any sense. People have different eating habits, different availability products and prices, and different needs regarding prep/convenience.


Thank Gd we are not hungry. We are looking to take out a mortgage soon and we need to get our budget in order and figure out how much we spend monthly, and what we can afford.

I wanted to make sure we are in normal ballpark for food bills.

(Also, to be honest, DH and I argue about bills a lot, so its good to have objective opinons of whats normal.)
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Oct 22 2021, 11:16 am
Oldest wrote:
David Ramsey (I think) recommends $100 per person per month. Start with this and see if you need to adjust it higher or lower depending on your family's needs


Omg. Hiding We probably spend this much per week, not per month.
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amother
Gold


 

Post Fri, Oct 22 2021, 11:27 am
OP, I’ll tell you what DH and I are doing right now. We’re also trying to figure out how much we spend on food bc we want to be saving iyH and want to make sure our money isn’t flying out the window.
(Us plus 2 kids). So for this month, we’re writing down every single time we swipe the credit card. DH texts me how much he spends and I write it down in my notes in my phone. I do the same. You can also get Mint (an app) and give them all your credit cards and they do it for you.
This is not only for groceries, we’re trying to figure out how much we’re spending in general.
A big part of this is that we’re only spending in needs and maybe some wants. We want to see what a basic month would look like if we don’t spend extra.
So yes, I had to buy my kids clothes this month, and I bought snacks, and some ice cream, etc. I also got takeout maybe twice since I’m bH pregnant. The point of this is to see what a minimum month would look like for us.
Why don’t you do the same? Keep track of your spending for a month, and try not to spend extra. Yes, DH can get you flowers for shabbos, and you can buy beer, etc. (meaning not only basics). But during this month try not to get much convenience food, only get snacks your kids will eat instead of stocking your shelves, only get the food you will eat that week and not just buy, etc.
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amother
Strawberry


 

Post Fri, Oct 22 2021, 11:56 am
Deleted
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amother
Milk


 

Post Fri, Oct 22 2021, 12:08 pm
Empty nesters here
So 2 adults
Occasionally have 6-8 ppl over for Shabbat
Less when covid hit
I say we spend around $500 - $600 a month on average

There are weeks I spend more and some I spend less
If I see a lovely roast I’ll buy it that week even if I don’t eat it that week
If I go to Costco I’ll stock up
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amother
Amaranthus


 

Post Fri, Oct 22 2021, 12:10 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
for 2 adults and 1 toddler?
Trying to start budgeting but no clue what is normal.

We are not huge eaters but we both work full time, and don't have time for price comparison and sales shopping or running to Trader Joes or Aldis. And I do buy some prepared food but not a ton (pizza and yogurt for my kid, deli, and sometimes thinned chicken)

Food includes paper goods, foil pans, containers etc.

We live in town.


Considering that prices are skyrocketing now, double the estimates.
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Smile1234




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Oct 23 2021, 8:27 pm
Track what you’re spending every month this month and next month and you’ll get an idea.
If you use credit cards for everything it’s very easy, if you use cash it will take a bit more effort to keep track.
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amother
Oatmeal


 

Post Sat, Oct 23 2021, 9:02 pm
I spend about 1k a wk. Family of 6 . Yes we buy some takeout for shabat etc
I don't c how.I can spend less.
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amother
Nasturtium


 

Post Sat, Oct 23 2021, 10:04 pm
David Ramsey is a gentile who can buy literally anything to eat. Don’t even go there.

I consider myself a frugal shopper. I can’t go to many stores (like you say) and usually must order in because time is money etc, but I look at the online sale sheet before ordering and try to be conservative as possible and make as much as I can by myself.

For two adults, five kids bea”h it’s usually $500 a week. (Some weeks are less, but I find that invariably it evens out the next week when I have to purchase more for the lack of the previous week.) Ans this is me buying cheapest brands, buying minimal processed foods (never mind takeout), and trying to simplify as much as possible!

Of course YT is MUCH more because of chicken, meat, etc.
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stillnewlywed




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Oct 23 2021, 10:10 pm
2 adults, 1 toddler

We spend about $200 a week and are almost always home for shabbos. I do try to get my fruits/veggies at Aldis sometimes and pasta, peanut butter, spices, mayo, canned goods etc at Target (online)

We rarely do takeout
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amother
Phlox


 

Post Sat, Oct 23 2021, 10:21 pm
stillnewlywed wrote:
2 adults, 1 toddler

We spend about $200 a week and are almost always home for shabbos. I do try to get my fruits/veggies at Aldis sometimes and pasta, peanut butter, spices, mayo, canned goods etc at Target (online)

We rarely do takeout


Same ball park. Around 800 a month. 2 adults, 2 toddlers.
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amother
Currant


 

Post Sat, Oct 23 2021, 11:23 pm
2 adults one toddler

Home every week for shabbos is about $350 a week.
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SG18




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Oct 24 2021, 6:59 am
$500 for the month. We eat chicken/meat 6 out of 7 days of the week (lactose intolerant) and shop around for the best prices.
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amother
Blue


 

Post Sun, Oct 24 2021, 7:25 am
$450/week
2 adults, 7 children ages 18-2
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Nov 26 2021, 10:27 am
Bumping this.

We tracked our food spending through Mint and the month is over yet, and we are over 800 already, not inlcuding any takeout, which is under a sparate category.

Is this normal? I don't know what we ccould/should cut down on. We never have meat during the week, but idk, normal food is expensive!
Cottage cheese, salmon, lettuce, chicken, broccoli, sweet potatoes, fruits, chummus, oatmeal, yogurts etc are all regular normal healthy food that we mainly eat (not anthing crazy healthy or organic) but they cost so so much!
I guess we could live on Cheerios and potatoes and bread.....
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