Home
Log in / Sign Up
    Private Messages   Advanced Search   Rules   New User Guide   FAQ   Advertise   Contact Us  
Forum -> Household Management -> Finances
What is a normal monthly food bill
Previous  1  2



Post new topic   Reply to topic View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother
Currant


 

Post Fri, Nov 26 2021, 10:30 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
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 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.....


This is a very diverse community that you are asking.

In my opinion it’s normal and pretty thrifty even. Food is expensive and not an area to be cheap in at all.
Shabbos is supposed to cost money, that’s oneg shabbos.
I have the same family size and spend minimum of $1500 a month in food.
Back to top

justforfun87




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Nov 26 2021, 10:37 am
Yea so I am trying to get over the guilt of spending large amount on food for my family. Truth is you should be feeding your family fruits, veggies, salmon, etc. I think if you refrain buying brisket for dinner weekly let go of the guilt. Food costs are a lot. I have to learn how to minimize waste but once you figure that out and can afford to spend the money you spend on food just be ok with it.
Back to top

amother
Bluebell


 

Post Fri, Nov 26 2021, 11:00 am
If a family keeps cholov yisrael and pas yisrael, then they will definitely have a much higher grocery budget than a similar non-Jewish family. We don't keep these, so the only things we pay more for are meat and shredded cheese. On the other hand, if we didn't keep kosher and therefore have very few takeout options, I would buy so much more takeout. We save a lot more on takeout by keeping kosher than we spend extra on meat and cheese.

Having a breadmaker is great for keeping costs down. We never have to buy challah or pizza because the dough is easy to make.

Also, try to minimize your use of single-serving packages for things like yogurt, applesauce, popcorn, and other snack foods. We use single-serving packages for school lunches and when traveling, but we try to buy large jars/tubs/bags for at-home snacking.
Back to top

amother
Blue


 

Post Fri, Nov 26 2021, 2:56 pm
Our food bill is now $500/week, prices have gone up. This includes papergoods. 2 adults 7 children. Normal food is expensive, it's up to you to decide what's a must-have and what's a luxury. For example I only buy salmon and roasts for yomtov, so that's a few times a year.
Back to top

amother
Sapphire


 

Post Fri, Nov 26 2021, 3:00 pm
We’re a couple and a toddler.
Our weekly groceries cost us around $250. Included some, but not all paper goods.

At one point we were really struggling and had to reach out to an organization to help us out, they put $250/week on our account at the supermarket.
I’m think that’s the average.
For reference, we’re in Brooklyn and don’t buy anything crazy.
Back to top

amother
Electricblue


 

Post Fri, Nov 26 2021, 3:30 pm
You should spend as much money as you can afford to feed your family in the manner you want to feed them.

If you need to economize there are ways to do so - again how much depends on how much money you need to save. You can feed families relatively inexpensively - oatmeal for breakfast; only frozen vegetables; legumes for dinner or you can save less drastically by buying chicken on sale and fresh produce when it is in season.

I don't understand questions about what is "normal" as different families have different incomes.

Feeding my family healthy food which they like is a priority for me so I spend a lot on fresh fruits and vegetables; chicken, fish, yogurt etc. This is all within reason as I am not buying a small pint of raspberries out of season for $6.00 but there is always high quality fresh produce in season.

I don't spend a lot of money on take out and for the most part DH and I take lunches to work unless we are meeting people for a social occasion. I also don't spend money on expensive coffee but I do have a great Nespresso machine that makes lattes and espressos to rival Starbucks. At work I keep some fancy teabags and I also keep cold drinks to avoid paying more at the vending machine.

I suppose I could save money by serving beans or other non-animal proteins but I feel fish or chicken is a better choice for my family and I am able to spend that money.

We do economize in other ways - we don't spend money on vacations because that isn't a priority versus everyday good food. We don't spend money on other items that might be a priority for other people like "name" clothing. Everyone's priorities are different - for our family it is food, education and enriching experiences and saving money for the future and emergencies so life isn't a scary roller coaster economically.
Back to top

amother
Steelblue


 

Post Sat, Nov 27 2021, 7:37 pm
No! You are doing great and absolutely normal!
Back to top

amother
Cinnamon


 

Post Sat, Nov 27 2021, 7:48 pm
amother [ Fuchsia ] wrote:
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.


I dont think it's so low.
I know my sister in law told me she spends like 700-750 a month on food (and she serves beautifully, buys tons of snacks for her kids, makes tons of salads, full suppers every night)
they are a family of 9...
(we are a family of 8 and I spend a bit less but I'm crazy careful...if I have leftover Shabbos chicken, even one piece, I put it into a pan in the freezer and label it..when I have enough for a supper I serve it....among other ways of stretching food
Back to top

DVOM




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 27 2021, 9:31 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
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.....


We are a family of 7, spend about 500$ a week on food and household goods.

I don't know if that's a lot or a little, but it's what works for us.

There's nothing wrong with what your eating, but you can definitely economize if you want to.

Off the top of my head looking at your grocery list, I'd substitute carrots and zucchini for the broccoli, frozen talapia or eggs for the salmon. Chummus is the easiest and yummiest thing in the world to make yourself from dirt-cheap canned chickpeas. Buy lettuce that you wash and check yourself for a fraction of the cost of prepared lettuce. For fruit, stick with apples and bananas rather than strawberries and grapes. Buy big cans of oatmeal, not the little packets.

Or not. Like I said, if you've got the money stick with what your doing. There's certainly nothing wrong with it.
Back to top
Page 2 of 2 Previous  1  2 Recent Topics




Post new topic   Reply to topic    Forum -> Household Management -> Finances

Related Topics Replies Last Post
Kosher food Towson, Maryland
by amother
17 Today at 9:59 am View last post
Shopping and food
by amother
2 Yesterday at 4:20 pm View last post
Do babies keep spitting up after starting food?
by amother
2 Yesterday at 12:02 am View last post
S/O stuck with bill-great ideas! 0 Mon, Mar 25 2024, 11:43 pm View last post
Any fleishig fast food place open today?
by amother
11 Sun, Mar 24 2024, 7:53 pm View last post