Grocery Haul for Two and My 26 Week Average and Questions! :)




Good morning friends! I hope your week has been going great. At the end of this weeks haul I am posting my weekly average and I have a few questions for you on groceries and your budget. I'm very curious to see what people spend on food and how many they are feeding. 
 

On to this weeks shopping. My first stop was Winco.. 

 


As you can see I remembered my half & half this week! Ha, ha.. I purchased milk, sour cream, an 18 count eggs, some sliced montery jack cheese and tater tots (potato rounds is the generic version).



I needed to restock my pantry with some canned items. I got diced tomatoes, the generic version of Rotel tomatoes, green chilies, crushed pineapple, a big can of tomato soup, chili beans, and canned milk. I also picked up mustard and caeser salad dressing, 2 Powerades, bbq chips and some dried tortellini cheese filled pasta..




I will be making some beef tortellini soup and the recipe I was loosely following called for a package of frozen tortellini. I had sticker shock when I found it in the frozen aisle. It was almost $5 for a 12 ounce bag! There was no way I was going to pay that price. Luckily Winco has a great bulk foods area. I found what I needed for $2.98 a pound and that bag you see is approximately a pound (1.07lbs to be exact). I already know that what I have there will be more than enough to make my soup. I'll probably get 3 or 4 meals out of it and I spent $3.19 on it. 

 


Finally there was my weekly supply of fruits and veggies. I still had some romaine lettuce, spinach, grape tomatoes and cabbage at home for salad making. I picked a few roma tomatoes, beets, celery and an acorn squash. Fruit was the regular apples, bananas, and oranges.

My grocery total for Winco was: $45



Next stop was Costco:



Costco was fairly simple. I purchased ranch dressing, Kings Hawaiian dinner rolls (which were delish, I used them to make ham and cheese sliders to go with our tomato soup), some Pub Mix and mixed nuts for my hubby's lunches, 20lbs of organic unbleached flour (I'm getting in a baking mood! :), and a bottle of avocado oil. 
 

Total for Costco this week was $64

Grand total for groceries this week: $109

*******************



My 26 Week Average and Questions

I started posting these grocery hauls in the middle of March. Ironically when I went back to see how many weeks it's been (up to last week, not including this weeks post), it had been 26 weeks. That is half a year of grocery spending (although obviously, not half a calendar year). In any case, here is what my numbers looked like:

Total amount spent on food for the last 26 weeks: $2805

~this includes only food, not household items such as cleaning supplies, napkins, tp, pet supplies and so forth

Our weekly average for 26 weeks (not including this week as I calculated these numbers before shopping for the week) was:

$108 (rounded up from $107.88)

This would be a monthly cost of:

$468


This is the first year of shopping for just the two of us. Of course I did have family over and had a big family gathering in the summer and spent more during those times than I would for two people.

I would love to know what you spend/budget on groceries each week or month.

Here are my questions for anyone who would like to share..

1.What do you spend each week or month on groceries? What do you budget for groceries each month?

2. Do your totals include household goods, cleaning supplies, pet food?

3. How many people do you feed?

4. Do you have tips for keeping your grocery costs down that you would like to share?


That's all for this week's Grocery Haul!

Comments

  1. I spent $293 this month. That includes pet food and house supplies. There are 3 adults in my household. We have our own eggs, garden veggies, herbs, some fruits that I can or freeze. I cook from scratch 3 meals a day. Try to keep my monthly bill at $350 or below. We are buying milk right now as the goats are dried off till they kid.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is great on your monthly bill! I miss my chickens and garden. Soon I hope to have them again. It is a help on the grocery costs.

      Crystal

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  2. Hi Crystal,

    My monthly totals vary a bit each month. We have the two adults and one child 50% of the time. He works out of town and takes all meals with him. His work is 12 hour days on Fri., Sat., and Sun. so he takes three breakfasts, three lunches, and three suppers. He takes care of breakfast and lunch and I always make frozen meals out of leftovers any time I have any.

    Then we have two daughters who live out of state and one is even out of the country but they both come home during Christmas and summers. So my budget is 2 1/2 people most of the time and 4 to 5 for about 12 weeks of the year.

    My budget is also broken up into categories for groceries, health and beauty, cat, prescriptions and medicine, and misc. I typically hover around $500 to $550 per month but it increases during summer and Christmas. It also decreases right after the New Year and late summer. After the New Year I challenge myself to do pantry/freezer usage and summer I have a lot of home grown veggies so I tend to buy less in general.

    Tips? I am probably not much of a cautious spender as I used to be because I don't have to be anymore. The kids are grown and pretty self sufficient so I don't have to make meals for them so much anymore. They can buy and make their own meals when they are home or I'll include them if they tell me they will be present for a meal. I still like good deals but I don't need a lot of anything anymore. I do like a generous pantry and freezer so I don't have to run out and buy a single item either.

    Alice

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    Replies
    1. Hi Alice! I so can relate to the fluctuating grocery bills. Ours are getting a little more evened out now that everyone is on their own. But then I have them all here suddenly I'm going from feeding 2 to feeding 20 or more! I definitely see the budget soar at those times. I also do the pantry/freezer challenge at the beginning of the year. And yes, like you, I'm not as cautious as I once was due to the fact I don't have to be. I think of it as the seasons of life! :)
      Crystal

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  3. We hav e spent the same on groceris for the last 15 yeas, I get 120 dollars cash for 2 weeks. and on occasion some of my money covers some more or hubby might help if I am shopping with him. I used to feed 5 people now feeding 3. . We cook one main meal a day. Snacks and hubby takes care of his lunch unless he takes something from home which is rare.
    So if you average it, I spend 500 bucks a month, rounding up. for 3 people. We want for nothing. Thanks for asking, It is awsome to see how you shop and see how different or similar we are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds pretty good to me for 3 people. You're doing great. I like to see the differences and similarities as well. Thanks for the comment!
      Crystal

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  4. I just did my nine month totals. We have averaged 186.81 / month for groceries and 55.82/ month for eating. Together, that means we average 243.65 / month. And about $4.02 / day/ person since I am feeding two people. This is for food only and does not include non food items. We are not vegetarian and eat meat daily. I maintain a stockpile and shop sales to keep it full. We do not garden. My budget is flexible to take advantage is sales. But, I try to never go over $361/ month which is the government's thrifty level for food for two people.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! That is amazing Sandy! I'm very impressed. I would love to see your menu :), and get some ideas. I think you are doing amazing on your grocery budget! Thank you for sharing!
      Crystal

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  5. Hi
    I do most of my shopping once a month at Costco,getting all of my meat,frozen products like vegetables, fish, etc, dairy products,, cereals,snacks, can goods and all paper, and cleaning products, the total averages around
    $300-350, then set aside $100 for whatever else might be needed, usually fresh produce.
    We live on Social Security,
    There is only the 2 of us, we have raised 5 kids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Bernice, that is very good for the 2 of you. I love shopping at Costco. You can get some great deals there. Thank you for taking the time to share, I appreciate it!
      Crystal

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  6. My husband and I are empty nesters and we spend $100 weekly. This includes health and beauty items and paper products.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Latosha! That is very good! Thank you for the comment and sharing your budget info! Crystal

      Delete

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