Grocery Shopping.. How much do you spend?

United States
May 11, 2007 7:21pm CST
My husband expects us to live off of $ 100 a week at the grocery store. To me, that is insane. Especially when meats are expensive. Some weeks we need toilet paper, paper towels and laundry detergent all at the same time. It's crazy. How many people are in your family and how much do you spend at the grocery store? I tried K-mart because they seem to be cheaper but their meats are the best. I have tried cheaper stores but yet don't get meats that are great either. The only place here is Harris Teeter that seems to have great meats. I guess I am one that will pay more for a less fatty but delicious taste of meat. We don't buy junk food often so I know that is not where the money is going. If I can, I will buy store brand instead of name brand. Sodas seem to be so darn expensive as well . Any advice or wanna chat about this??
3 people like this
14 responses
@Lifez2short (4962)
• United States
12 May 07
Ok honestly we are a family of 6 4 kids and 2 adults. And we spend porbably 130 at the store a week. But I'm a bargin hunter and a huge coupon clipper.
3 people like this
• United States
12 May 07
Ah ha.. Coupons. One thing I don't do. I don't get the paper so I don't get to cut coupons. That is awesome that you have 6 and only spend $ 130. WOOHOO. Thanks for sharing
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (93944)
• United States
12 May 07
Also, besides coupons, you can get samples that will come in handy. Try googling "free walmart samples" and they have quite a few that would come in handy. They don't require you to do anything for them. Beware of sample offers where you have to agree to sign up for two more offers. They are worthless.
• United States
25 May 07
That is such a good idea about the Walmart freebies. Awhile back I got some of their free shampoos samples and it held me out for two days till I could get back to the store. Great suggestion. I had forgotten about the freebie angle!
@mrsbrian (1949)
• United States
12 May 07
Wow $100.00 a week im not sure I could do it. How many in your family? My next question is dose your husband go grocery shopping with you? because if he dosnt he could be in for sticker shock.I would make him do the shopping for a week so he could see how prices are.I shop a lot of like aldis which is a deep discount store anD some walmart,kroger depends on the sales. As far as coupons you said you dont get the paper,but you do have internet and there are so many places on the internet to get free coupons,ones you can print out. My husband was the manager of a grocery for years,so he knows what is a good buy and what isnt,so I never go grecying without him.
2 people like this
@AmbiePam (93944)
• United States
12 May 07
I think www.boodle.com is a good coupon site.
1 person likes this
• United States
12 May 07
Just husband and I and then the animals we gotta feed. If I made him do the shopping, he would come back with as little as possible and I would starve for a week. LOL I seem to remember the condiments that he always forgets. He always always always leave something behind. Yes, definetly need to find online coupons to cut out. Thanks for reminding me to get them online :)
1 person likes this
• United States
25 May 07
Thanks for the link! I checked it out, and love their coupons and money saving tips! What a life saver you are! Oh, I just thought about something. You can buy lots of staples on Amazon.com and online for just about the same price as local stores, plus some even offer free shipping. Seems that my husband and I spend more money simply by going into the store. So, we try to stay out of stores whenever possible. Plus, you can get real deals on shampoos and lotions and stuff from the online Avon site.
@carlaabt (3504)
• United States
13 May 07
I usually spend less than $200 each month on groceries. That's for my husband, my 15 month old son, two dogs, a cat, and me. If you count toilet paper, paper towels, detergent, etc, it's probably a little bit more. Usually I go shopping twice a month, and spend around $85-90 each time. We still have to buy milk and bread in between, but that's usually it. My husband is military, so we can get a lot of our food really cheap at the commissary. i watch for sales, and don't go to grocery stores off base, unless they are having a good sale. We watch sales on base, too, when I'm actually there. We stock up on sale priced items. And I use A LOT of coupons. We get the paper for the coupons, plus I print a bunch of them out online. If you aren't already a member of mypoints.com, you should check them out. You get points for online shopping, reading mail, etc. They can be traded in for giftcards, and they have a lot of different choices. Anyway, they also give you points, if you use their link to coupons.com. So you get the free printable coupons, and points at the same time, so you get a really good deal.
1 person likes this
• United States
16 May 07
Yes, My dad was in the military and I miss the buying stuff at the commissary. Thanks for the tips on getting coupons and gift cards. I appreciate that and will be looking into it this week. Much appreciated.
@lightningMD (5931)
• United States
12 May 07
If I had 100.00 a week for groceries I'd jump up and down and cheer. We spend between 30.00 and 35.00 a week on groceries. That includes our paper products and laundry stuff. We also spend around 70.00 a month at angelfood ministries. So we spend around 200.00 a month on groceries. There are three of us. We do our shopping at Aldie's discount store their prices are much cheaper than other places. We dont buy much junk at all. Just popcorn usually. Sodas are a treat if there is any money left after buying necessities. I shop with a calculator too.
1 person likes this
@mrsbrian (1949)
• United States
12 May 07
Lightning how do you do it? and what is angelgood ministries?
1 person likes this
• United States
12 May 07
Holy smokes... $ 30- $ 35??? I can't believe that.. Are you living off of noodles?? Do you buy meats at all with this?? That is amazing. I better not show my husband this or he is going to put me on a lower budget. Thanks for responding. + from me :)
• United States
25 May 07
Way back when, my husband got laid off his job we had about $35 a week to spend on groceries. And, we just scrimped or did without on the rest of the stuff. Sometimes you really do have to make the best with what you have. And, honestly now that the crisis is over, sometimes I just wish we could go back to spending next to nothing on groceries. We'd have so much more to save. Good for you though. Happy to see a smart shopper! Way to go.
• Malaysia
13 May 07
things are so expensive, aren't they? yet there are just so many things to buy. i think whenever my mom and i shop at the grocery store, it would be above $100. the things that we need, along with other stuffs that we got attracted to while browsing thru the grocery store..ugh..i could use that $100 to buy a nice pair of shoes lol.. :P there are hypermarkets here but although it might seem a little bit cheaper than the normal supermarket, some of the items sold are not of good quality.
• United States
27 May 07
When i go shopping it always takes me two days to get planned. I grab all the grocery store flyers and make my lists. Make my little map so i can hit the stores all in one shot. I always make a list. And my number one rule is Never buy anything not on my list.. :D
• United States
16 May 07
Yes, you are right. I think there are always things that attract us to buy them at the grocery store. :) Thanks for responding!
• United States
25 May 07
Have you considered crockpot or slow cooker recipes. You can make a big bunch of food (really good tasting too!) for under $20, and then freeze what's leftover for another day. I don't use the slow cooker nearly as much as I should. There are tons of free recipes online that I'm sure you and your spouse would enjoy.
1 person likes this
• United States
27 May 07
Never even thought of that. Thanks so much for the tip. I like that idea very much because then I can let it cook all day and not do anything. WOOHOO!! My kind of cooking.
@wahmoftwo (1296)
• United States
12 May 07
We spend about $150/week on grocericies. We are a family of two kids and two adults. I also have four day care kids during the week. We also eat out a couple of times a week (not included in the figure I gave). If you have enough storage space you might considers shopping at Sam's or Costo if there is one nearby. If there were only two of us I think we could get by on $100/wk pretty easily.
• United States
16 May 07
That is great to only spend that much. I definetly need to get my Sam's club membership back. It did save me money, especially on the bulk items like toilet paper, paper towels, laundrey detergent, dog food and soda. Thanks for responding.
@usmcsgtwife (4997)
• United States
27 May 07
I spend about 125.00 every 2 weeks.. but I shop on base and you can get lots for fairly good prices
@venshida (4836)
• United States
12 May 07
Its just me and my daughter, and we spend about $50 to $75.00 weekly. We shop at Aldis, plus clip coupons for the regular grocery store.
• United States
16 May 07
I have heard good things about Aldis.. Wish we had one here.
@AmbiePam (93944)
• United States
12 May 07
Good grief, girl. I say feed the rest of the family and forget about letting your husband eat! That's the only way to spend just 100 dollars a week at the grocery store. Of course, I'm only sem-kidding. I spend about a 100 dollars a week, and it is just me and my two dogs. I swear their food costs more than mine! Not to mention puppy pads, and all that jazz. Do you have an Aldi's near you? They are the cheapest grocery store I know, but be sure to bring your own bags to put the groceries in. They have boxes sometimes, but other times they are out. And they don't have any plastic or paper bags to give you.
• United States
16 May 07
LOL , My thoughts exactly. Unfortunetly, there is only hubby and I in the household I wish that he would go for 1 month food shopping instead of me to see how much it really cost to get groceries. Thanks for responding.
1 person likes this
• United States
27 May 07
I forgot your original question LOL I spend about 75.00 a week for two people. But that doesnt include my toiletries and paper products :D I also love kroger... Man you gotta love those 10 for $10.00 specials!!
• United States
12 May 07
We spend about $200.00 a week for a family for 4 when my husband is home from offshore. When he's gone, we spend about $100.00 a week. I do most of my shopping at Kroger - yes, they are more expensive on many things, but their sales can't be beat. I'm also a Kroger member - and get coupons in the mail all the time for 20 bucks off and other coupons. Between their high quality meats (Wal Mart meat bites!) and the sales, coupons and everything, I come out way cheaper than going to other grocery stores. Clip those coupons woman!
• United States
12 May 07
Wow, that is awesome. I definetly need to clip coupons and take some serious notes from you. Thanks for sharing Bun!!! I gave you an + rating!
@mari123 (1861)
• China
12 May 07
there are five people in my family,and we spend $35 a week at the grocery store.in our country,the meat is cheap,$1.2 for o.5 kilogram.we like to eat vegetable,and the price of vegetable is cheaper than meat,so the food budget is about $5 a day in my family.what about your country?
1 person likes this
• United States
16 May 07
Wow, I want to live in your country :)
@dentidle (293)
• Switzerland
4 Jun 07
I usually stick with a budget. When extra stuff is needed like toilet paper, laundry product the budget ties can be loosened a bit.