View Full Version : Food budgeting question(s)
I hope this isn't a stupid question (I know, I know: there are no stupid questions). :)
I just found out we waaay overspent on food this month. To the point where one day before payday, I had less than $1 in my checking account.
I don't really know how to create a food budget. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that. I have this weird figure in my head of what food "should cost" and it's really outdated.
Can someone suggest some easy ways to determine what we "should" be spending on food every month? Do you start with tracking what you buy, and doing an average of some sort? What complicates things is that we shop at the Evil Big Box, and our food and toiletries etc. are all on the same receipt. And I am not sure if my partner has receipts for the past several months (chances are he might, though).
I must also add that I am on a very special diet, with some costly requirements. I honestly don't know how people do this "we eat on $25 a week" stuff. I think I'm being as frugal as I can be.
Thanks!
I would just track every penny you spend on food for three months and then average it out. Everyone is different, so I don't think there's any right budget. Once you average it out, maybe try to budget 10% less and see if you can achieve that.
I have two food budget line items: One is "basic food." I figure if I had to economize, this is the number that would be rock bottom for me. (just FYI, that figure is $367 for 2 adults). Then I have a "splurge food" line item in my "Wants" category (I budget according to the All Your Worth system of Needs/Wants/Savings.) While I don't dissect every receipt, I generally try to assess how much of my food budget is "real food" vs. cookies, candy, soda, etc.
Good idea, catherine. Thank you.
For the record, we don't buy much in the way of "snacks" other than some stuff I take to work (I need to eat every couple of hours, very small meals, so I try to eat nuts and sunflower seeds, for e.g.). When I get soda, I buy the "house generic brand." But it does sound like a good approach to look at what's absolutely necessary vs. splurgy stuff.
I categorize most grocery-store expenses under "Food - Groceries" (we also have a "Food - Dining Out" category when appropriate). Little expenses, like paper towels or new sponges, generally stay in the food category. Larger expenses, like the big box of laundry soap, go into the "Household - Maintenance" category. We have no pets, so there's no need to categorize that spend. I find it's easier to track what we spend on food that way rather than cloud it with a lot of non-food items we buy. I will admit, though, that I've never not bought something because we didn't have money "left" for it. Usually the price alone does that for me ("No way am I spending $x a pound for that!"). My continuing battle is to buy smarter, carry less "inventory", and toss less waste.
As for how much to spend, there are way too many variables, I think, to come up with a good recommendation. I know somewhere on this board in the last year or two there was a thread about some national surveys of monthly food bills that listed cost ranges for low spenders, high spenders, etc. But even those are no better than a guide.
Lots depends on the food you buy (perishable organic food costs more than CAFO and chemicals), where you buy it (food desert Kwik-E-Mart, farmer's market, Evil Big Box), and where you live (I think Minnesota tends to spend more than average on food; seems like the South spends less). Food sensitivities (what you have to buy or can't buy) play a part; so does your family's practice (there are families which don't like eating leftovers); so does how you can supplement (meals provided by employers, food stamps, gleaning clubs, etc.).
Hope that helps you figure out what works for you.
frugalone, I'm with you. Food budgeting is hard! But I think catherine has a good suggestion and I would second it. Track for a few months and then average it all out. I wouldn't worry too much about the fact that your toiletries are on the same receipts...make it easy and call your category "groceries & toiletries" instead of just "groceries" if that is easier for you. Then you just have to remember that when you, inevitably, make mental comparisons to what other people are spending that hour number includes toiletries.
And Steve makes an excellent point. There are way too many variables to realistically compare your number to anyone else's. We're a two person household, but those two people are endurance athletes. We eat a lot compared to most adults!!! So I try to avoid comparing what we spend to what other people spend because it's not an apples-to-apples comparison (pun intended!).
When we want to trim our food budget, we look at what our most expensive items are on a per calorie basis and then try to find an acceptable alternative. Most recently that meant cutting out expensive pints of premium ice cream in favor of eating homemade chocolate tapioca pudding. It also meant instituting a moratorium on store-bought bread and yogurt. Now we make those at home.
Hope that helps!
I just want to offer my sympathy. Food budgeting is one of the most frustrating parts of my life, and probably the thing that causes the most discord in my relationships. I'm tired of being the one to say, "Yeah, but we don't have money in the budget for that."
I think, from reading the Tightwad Gazette, that I should be able to feed a family of four on $400 a month. I used to budget $600 a month as a "compromise" budget. That didn't really work. Now, $800 is the compromise budget, but it is not odd for us to spend $1000 a month on groceries. Given that I cook most things from scratch, I just.don't.understand.it. Here's this week's menu: Sunday, Pad Thai; Monday, lentil soup; Tuesday, tofu and vegetable stir fry; Wednesday, tamale pie (from the Laurel's Kitchen cookbook); Thursday, rice and dal; Friday, black beans in some form. I haven't thought about Saturday yet. That's our typical dinner menu for a week. My daughter is a vegetarian. My wife is currently a little miffed at me because her doctor told her she should follow the Body Ecology diet, and that diet does not allow for beans. We don't eat pasta because I stopped eating it because my doctor wants me on a Paleo diet, and when we stopped, my wife lost thirty pounds, so now pasta is not allowed in the house. We also no longer drink. My wife wants me to cook more meat, (and my doctor agrees with her), but I don't feel like we can afford it, and I don't believe it is ethical. We do have salmon about twice a month. My daughter usually eats PB&J every day for lunch, day in and day out. My son either eats at his elementary school, or he takes a pastrami sandwich. I make kefir and sauerkraut, and we eat a lot of it. I like to blame my wife for raising the grocery bill because she's always picking up a bottle of Yin Ciao with Echinacea, or Ayuvedic Pitta pills, or calcium magnesium citrate, etc - sometimes there's three or four bottles of herbal medicine if she is the one who goes to the store. She also buys Think Thin bars by the case because that's what she likes for lunch. But I don't sit down and divide herbal things out, and blaming her probably doesn't help anything. Except I'm always blaming myself - "my God, I shouldn't be buying free range eggs! What was I thinking, buying organic black beans!" I also start bristling over treats -- my wife likes carob chips from Vitamin Cottage and usually eats three bags a week at around $6 a bag, mixed with raisins, (about $5 a week), and raw almonds, (about $6 a week). I buy one dark chocolate bar, about $2.5, a month and nibble away at it. But the whole frugal thing is mostly my thing alone. She appreciates that I'm careful with the income and cook all the meals and do most of the shopping, but she's not personally looking for ways to cut corners, and she's correct in pointing out that her treats don't come anywhere close to the average worker's bar bill. I have to cede her that one, but it also feels hard when I'm cutting corner's on other things, and when I'm trying to stay under budget and going way over every month.
Still, even with all those things, our basic, vegetarian, all homemade diet just does not seem like it should cost more than $500 a month, much less the $1000 a month we usually hit. Then I have to raid all sorts of other things in the budget to try to get it to work out.
I'm constantly beating myself up about my monthly grocery budget, (as people who read my posts on this forum can attest). So there you go - absolutely no useful advice, but a little bit of sympathy.
(Edited to add: if I could have stuck with $400 a month, the mortgage would have been paid off long ago. $5545.71 left on the balance and counting....)
I second each of the points already made by the previous posters. Your food budget will be personal to you.
A Price Book was extremely helpful to me so I would know how much my food actually costs. Unfortunately food prices are continuing to rise, esp good/real food.
Check how nutritionally dense the food is that you eat. Get the most for your money. Beef has about 10% RDA of Iron per 100grams, whereas octopus has approx 45% RDA of Iron per 100grams but it costs less than 2x as much. These kinds of price comparisons can be done with most of your food choices.
Our budget for 2 adults, is about $600 as my husband does Ironman Triathlons. On Sunday he did a 27 mile trail run probably consuming about 2700 calories, plus he needs about 2200 for basic daily sustenance so thats about 5000 calories for one person!
That hits the budget hard, even though I cook from scratch and mostly vegetarian!
haha.. sorry to laugh, Paul, but I can identify. My DS and DDIL just moved in with us. I figured, 4 people v. 2--economy of scale, right? Our food expenditure should go down.
But we spent over $170 more.. and I feel like you in that if it were just me, I could eat very, very simply. I love soups, and I love making soups, and one batch of soup gives me about 6 meals. And I eat very little meat, so how much can a few lentils and celery cost? Some people don't like leftovers, but I don't get that. Use up what you have for Pete's sake! DH generally agrees with me, except he's a meat-and-potatoes guy who love to cook with loads of fat and I'm a vegetarian who likes stuff simple and just how God made it. So we do argue about that sometimes. We spent 641 on food this month, which was over $171 more than we usually spend. Who knows why.
DS/DDIL eat all the time, and we tease them about their "feedings"--although I have to cut DDIL some slack since she's 7 months pregnant.
One great reality check I get is from Dave Ramsey--I know you tune in to him, Paul. Dave does believe that you have to be realistic about food. He talks rice and beans beans and rice, but he always pushes back on callers who say they are trying to cut back their food budget to unrealistic amounts.
Shoot, I guess we do have to eat. Unless we grow it all ourselves or dumpster dive, we're going to have to buy food.
Teacher Terry
1-30-14, 7:24pm
We combine our groceries and toiletries and try to spend about 400/month for 2 people. This does not include eating out. We shop once a month and spend about 300. Then we use the last 100 to supplement during the month. If we have a month with a lot of expenses then I try to keep it lower by eating more of what is in our pantry and freezer. We also usually have company for dinner about once per week.
Whew.
I hear ya.
Especially pcooley.
We're vegetarians and we eat pretty simply. Lots of eggs, beans, TVP. I can no longer eat pasta (which I miss, BTW) but we've been getting along w/o it. I brown bag my lunch Every Single Day. When I see the kind of frozen-snacky-junk-food stuff in most people's carts at the Evil Big Box, I wonder what their food budget could possibly be.
However, it just seems like yeah, the cost of decent food keeps a-rising.
I think part of the problem with the overspending is that Partner goes to the store in unplanned trips, and I think this definitely leads to buying more than planned. I think I'll have to bring this topic up (I believe I did once before, but the unplanned trips continue. Partner can be rather impulsive).
With cooking from scratch, the budget should be more easily made. PC. I think you should make a project of finding out what is actually in the grocery budget. Sound like there are supplements and such that you dont really consider groceries but others in the family do consider as groceries. It is bothering you so figure out what your meals are costing. Then you would be working and making decisions from a base of knowledge and not guilt or assumptions or whatever and you can discuss each item more honestly. I suspect the vegetarian diet you described is half what is being dumped in the budget assuming no waste.
Plus there is nothing wrong with your wife making her purchases but if it bothers you so much, classify them as wife's discretionary expenses and not as a grocery budget line item. Not a judgement but would help with your concern over how much you really are spending on the family meals.
I may grumble, and at times I may get stressed out, my wife and I each balance each other nicely. If I don't "worry" about the food budget, then it shoots up to about $1200 a month, which also means I'm eating too much Jarlsberg cheese, buying too many of the junky snacks my son wants, and buying too much take-out sushi at Trader Joe's. Sometimes I do split the supplements out of the total and deduct them against my wife's discretionary balance, (and tell her). I can be too frugal. I would say my wife has a natural tendency not to waste money willy nilly, and in that I'm lucky. But when she feels like she needs something, she needs it. I'm lucky that her needs run in the direction of carob chips and osha tincture, and not in the direction of weekends at the spa or trips to the Caribbean. There are things we could do better at, but our tendencies create a very balanced life for the family overall. I said somewhere else that I'm a person of extremes - before I got married, I would eat pinto beans and rice for two weeks straight, (only a slight exaggeration), and then I would go out for a big dinner when I was finally feeling hungry and disgusted with the monotony. I would also periodically get rid of almost everything in a fit of simplifying, and then I would replace things I should not have gotten rid of, costing me even more money. I don't know how many pairs of stereo speakers I had and gave away when I was single. Our current pair I bought at Radio Shack probably sixteen years ago. I am not an ascetic Buddhist hermit as much as I like to pretend I am one. My wife steadies me in that regard.
I hope this isn't a stupid question (I know, I know: there are no stupid questions). :)
Let me just say for the record, yes, there ARE stupid questions. Your current questions aren't, but yes, people ask plenty of stupid questions. It's like the whole better to give than receive BS. It's just another lie we tell little kids to try and get them to behave in a certain way.
But seriously, to answer your questions, I agree with catherine. Track it for a few months and average it out. When I was tracking our expenses I broke food into luxury and necessity food. Tuna steak was luxury. A bag of rice was necessity.
Personally I do the opposite of Steve. Routine toiletries like toilet paper fall into our food budget. (yes, we don't eat toilet paper, but on the other hand if we didn't eat we wouldn't need toilet paper...) For us it just seems to make sense (and is easier) to lump all the ongoing household consumables like that into one budget. All items that we need for daily living that get consumed over time are included such as laundry detergent. Yes, a bottle of it will last a year, but a long term average will even that out.
The other thing to keep in mind is that food is one of those items that keeps going up in price, at least in my recent experience. If you're budgeting x for food each month now I'd be budgeting 1.1x for food a year from now. Otherwise you will find yourself coming up short as the months progress and wondering why your new budget still isn't working for you unless you switch from hamburger to dog food like the BLS does when they calculate inflation.
The curious thing I've noticed is that we actually spend less on food now that we live across the street from Safeway. Instead of a Big Shopping Trip every couple of weeks with lots of overbuying because we happen to be there, we just buy exactly what we need to be able to make whatever it is we want for dinner on a given night. So we don't end up with excess of anything since it's just a ten minute errand to walk over and get whatever we need at the moment. Some stuff we still get from Costco (giant boxes of honey bunches of oats, etc) and most of our fresh produce is from our CSA, but all the other stuff is bought as needed from Safeway, $5 or $10 at a time.
Grocery expense tracking is one of the things I have kept up with through the years so I have a record for at least the last ten years for monthly expenditures. For me, it is like a hobby to watch where money goes. I would say it averages around $425 a month for two adults. The past year or so it bumped up about $100 a month. Since we want to retire shortly, I really want to cut it back closer to $425 again. I include non-food items like toilet paper but recently started making any pet-related items as a separate category. Even as prices rise, I think making some adjustments can keep things reasonable. I am not buying quite as much organic as before as I often can't justify the price difference. ie organic pintos vs regular. Unless one buys organic at the farmer's market and knows its source, I am beginning to think it is one big marketing scheme to part us with our money. Also, I do shop at three different stores each week but all are close to the house or on the way home. I routinely stock up on things like oats and nuts at Natural Grocers. Also making our own beans, stock, etc from scratch saves money. Luckily, DH is finally on board and appreciates my frugality. Here is a little food spending survey link I came across recently: http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/01/calculator-food-spending-budget-frugal
Or if you want to see average spending by city:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuHOPshyxQGGdEowT21KN0ZobWQxUHFQcVcxN1Nae mc#gid=0
SteveinMN
1-31-14, 10:58am
On an Internet cooking forum in which I participate, a woman with a family of 10 (!) outlined how she keeps her family's food budget low:
(paraphrasing)
We buy from neighbors and friends, direct from farmers, and in big quantities. I shop the Grocery Outlet, the co-op, sales, and Azure Standard.
Living in the U.S. Northwest, she can get organic apples for under $1.19 a pound (our co-op charges $1.99-$3.99 a pound depending on variety and locality) and pastured lamb for under $3 a pound (I don't think I can touch lamb -- even ground -- here for under $4.99 a pound in quantity at the Farmer's Market, never mind what it costs at WF or the co-op). It goes without saying that she does a lot of scratch cooking, has a number of willing hands in the kitchen, and doesn't brook many preferences at the table.
goldensmom
1-31-14, 11:39am
I've tracked every penny out for over 12 years so I know what to buy at what price and I've seen food prices rise over 300% in that time. Our food budget is $200/month, sometimes it is a little over and sometimes under depending on what is on sale but it averages $200 for 2 adults. We also have a 'entertainment' catagory in the budget which includes meals out about twice a month and it is rarely over $40/month. We eat the same meals and buy on sale, freeze and store when possible. I don't just go to the grocery store with a list I check the sales and buy from that. It always amazes me to see the grocery carts ahead of me in line, piled to the top with foods I would never be able to afford and stick to the budget. I am amazed but not disheartened as I like the way we do it.
Miss Cellane
1-31-14, 12:28pm
On an Internet cooking forum in which I participate, a woman with a family of 10 (!) outlined how she keeps her family's food budget low:
(paraphrasing)
Living in the U.S. Northwest, she can get organic apples for under $1.19 a pound (our co-op charges $1.99-$3.99 a pound depending on variety and locality) and pastured lamb for under $3 a pound (I don't think I can touch lamb -- even ground -- here for under $4.99 a pound in quantity at the Farmer's Market, never mind what it costs at WF or the co-op). It goes without saying that she does a lot of scratch cooking, has a number of willing hands in the kitchen, and doesn't brook many preferences at the table.
And she seems to know quite a few people who produce food.
I think a lot of how much you spend on food depends on your location. Here in New England, farmer's markets and roadside stands have only a few months of operation. Even in the city where I live, there are no food outlet stores and the nearest Aldi's is over 50 miles away. While we do have three grocery store chains in town, plus Walmart and Target, there really aren't any other thrifty shopping choices, except for a newly-opened Trader Joe's 20 minutes away. There are CSAs in the area, but most require that you drive to their somewhat remote locations weekly, during a limited pick-up window, to get the food. And they only operate during the summer.
Whereas when I lived in a much larger city, there were more supermarket options, odd lot stores that sold food at reduced prices, more outlet stores for bakeries and the like, small fruit and vegetable stores a few blocks from my apartment, and the CSAs brought the food to more convenient local pick-up sites.
I'm single and I live alone. While I try to take advantage of buying larger sizes for a lower per unit cost, that only works well on some foods, the things that won't go bad before I have time to eat them. So for some foods, I end up buying the smaller, more expensive size, to avoid waste.
I average about $40 a week on food. Some weeks it's only $25 and some weeks, when I run out of what seems like everything, it's closer to $75. I cook mostly from scratch and bake about half the bread that I eat. I eat meat/fish/poultry about 4 times a week, but I do eat a lot of cheese and yogurt. Snacks are mostly cheese and crackers, fresh fruit or popcorn.
Tanglefoot
1-31-14, 1:54pm
I'm a pretty frugal eater, and don't formally budget, but I've picked up some habits/strategies that have really kept my food cost much lower than it used to be:
-Before leaving home, take inventory of the fridge/cupboards and make a list. Don't buy anything you already have.
-Shop strategically--have a plan for everything you buy.
-Draw out the shopping trip interval. Can we make it to Wednesday? How about Thursday? Maybe even next week?
-No meat/seafood/poultry
-Very little cheese
-I try to only use cash. I don't carry much of it, so it puts me more into "famine mode" than the illusive money pile (credit card).
-Don't buy anything in boxes--you're paying for the boxes and the printing (and overly-processed food usually comes in boxes).
-Don't buy anything you see advertised--you're paying for the ads.
-Avoid convenience/overly-processed/overly-packaged items.
-Don't let coupons/sales convince you to buy more than you would have without them.
-Use the cost/unit figures on the price tags to select products...do math calculations when needed.
-On bulk purchasing, don't buy more than you can use in a reasonable amount of time, especially for perishables.
-When you reach the end of your shopping list, proceed directly to checkout and don't think of touching anything else.
-Don't shop when hungry.
-Don't shop when in a hurry.
I'm a pretty frugal eater, and don't formally budget, but I've picked up some habits/strategies that have really kept my food cost much lower than it used to be:
-Before leaving home, take inventory of the fridge/cupboards and make a list. Don't buy anything you already have.
-Shop strategically--have a plan for everything you buy.
-Draw out the shopping trip interval. Can we make it to Wednesday? How about Thursday? Maybe even next week?
-No meat/seafood/poultry
-Very little cheese
-I try to only use cash. I don't carry much of it, so it puts me more into "famine mode" than the illusive money pile (credit card).
-Don't buy anything in boxes--you're paying for the boxes and the printing (and overly-processed food usually comes in boxes).
-Don't buy anything you see advertised--you're paying for the ads.
-Avoid convenience/overly-processed/overly-packaged items.
-Don't let coupons/sales convince you to buy more than you would have without them.
-Use the cost/unit figures on the price tags to select products...do math calculations when needed.
-On bulk purchasing, don't buy more than you can use in a reasonable amount of time, especially for perishables.
-When you reach the end of your shopping list, proceed directly to checkout and don't think of touching anything else.
-Don't shop when hungry.
-Don't shop when in a hurry.
I like this list of "don'ts"!
Can you tell me more: What is your average monthly food expenditure, and what are some examples of your favorite meals? (I'm assuming all your meals are vegetarian)..
frugal-one
1-31-14, 5:01pm
-Don't buy anything you see advertised--you're paying for the ads.
Thought the list was good except for this... Many times these are loss leaders and a good buy.
Tanglefoot
1-31-14, 8:11pm
Sorry, I'm thinking of media ads aired/printed by food producers, not store circulars or store ads.
I'm usually between $50 and $100/month for food. Correct on the vegetarian menu. I really like vegetable and bean soups, grains (quinoa, polenta, faro, millet), rice & beans, plantains, pastas, baked meatless enchiladas, lasagna and eggplant, meatless hominy pozole, meatless fajitas, grilled veggies, veg stir-fry... I'll definitely eat the same thing for several days...
I'm a pretty frugal eater, and don't formally budget, but I've picked up some habits/strategies that have really kept my food cost much lower than it used to be:
-Before leaving home, take inventory of the fridge/cupboards and make a list. Don't buy anything you already have.
-Shop strategically--have a plan for everything you buy.
-Draw out the shopping trip interval. Can we make it to Wednesday? How about Thursday? Maybe even next week?
-No meat/seafood/poultry
-Very little cheese
-I try to only use cash. I don't carry much of it, so it puts me more into "famine mode" than the illusive money pile (credit card).
-Don't buy anything in boxes--you're paying for the boxes and the printing (and overly-processed food usually comes in boxes).
-Don't buy anything you see advertised--you're paying for the ads.
-Avoid convenience/overly-processed/overly-packaged items.
-Don't let coupons/sales convince you to buy more than you would have without them.
-Use the cost/unit figures on the price tags to select products...do math calculations when needed.
-On bulk purchasing, don't buy more than you can use in a reasonable amount of time, especially for perishables.
-When you reach the end of your shopping list, proceed directly to checkout and don't think of touching anything else.
-Don't shop when hungry.
-Don't shop when in a hurry.
Great list - thanks for this. A good reminder!
I feel like we spend more money than we should (insert self judgement here!) but, on the other hand, we eat at home more than we did in earlier years. DH took a "fat class" (our name not the official name of a University sponsored program for staff to re-learn eating habits) and we eat significantly smaller portions of meat than pre-class and eat more veggies and fruit.
I have a grocery budget but my goal is always to come in lower because that is my slush fund/put it away $$. On the other hand, as long as we are eating healthy, I have no problem spending the full budget. Cleaning supplies are included in the grocery budget.
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