However, about 6 weeks ago I started noticing little things, like how the guacamole I buy was now $10 per pound instead of $8. Or that the bread I buy was getting to be about $6 a loaf. I decided to track my spending to closely not really to reduce costs, but to get a clear picture on what we were spending.
Since I love a good challenge, I did tighten up on impulse buys and really thought twice before putting something in the cart (do I really need pumpkin spice nut pods?). By doing this, I thought I’d be wowed with my savings.
I have shared peeks into our grocery spending over the years. Obviously a lot has changed over time, like the fact that I’m feeding 4 people full meals instead of babies and toddlers, but it still was surprising to see our monthly spending in 2013 was $676 (averaging $116 a week) and in 2014, $176.20 a week, and in 2015, $165 a week. In January of this year, it was only $168.
So how about now? From September 19 – October 19, I spent $1,256.57 on groceries, averaging $314.14 a week!
I am shook. Unlike previous counts in years past though, this might contain more types of items, like our food costs plus things like trash bags, supplements, wine, toothbrushes, etc, but still, wow.
Our breakdown of spending looked like this:
- Whole Foods: $352.26
- Costco: $308.95
- Publix: 201.60
- Butcher Box: $162.18
- Thrive Market: $85.17
- Nespresso: $63.19
- Food Lion: $49.13
- Aldi: $34.09
I polled IG yesterday asking for people to share their average weekly spending and as of this morning, this was the breakdown of the 1,253 people that responded:
- less than $100 a week: 74
- between $100-$200 a week: 715
- between $200-$300 a week: 374
- between $300-$400 a week: 90
- And at least a handful of people messaging me asking if there was an over $400 option.
Now I am well aware this doesn’t take into account family size, geographical location, stores shopped, etc, etc, but I found it still interesting to see.
I asked IG another question: what are you doing to keep your grocery budget in check (or are you not)? Here are some of the responses:
- Honestly our grocery bill is higher than our mortgage right now due to higher prices. 😳
- I am not 😖 We eat almost every meal at home and quality is important. We are at $200 a week!
- Buy high quality produce and meat at Sprouts but get pantry staples at Aldi or Walmart.
- It’s a struggle!
- Eating less meat and buying more dry goods.
- I need tips on how to waste less food!
- We’re not 😩 Family of 6 and it feels impossible as a working mom with less time to prep/plan.
- I’m not. Four kids that eat constantly means we just shift other things in the budget.
- Coupon shopping online.
- Aldi.
- Using everything! No food waste. Making stock. Using freezer.
- We butcher our own meat and can with from our garden but with growing boys I’m still averaging $250-$300 a week.
- We cut back on beef, meal plan around sales, and use digital coupons.
- Not shopping at Whole Foods.
- Costco. Less meat, less extras, more planned.
- Ordering groceries online and only getting what we need.
- Less recipes; just cooking food.
- Encouraging my husband to be aware of portions so we can stretch leftovers to two meals.
- Doing better about shopping my pantry and freezer first.
- Buying in bulk in season then stocking the pantry.
This is just a sample, as I had over 100 responses, but the message was clear: the majority of people definitely notice a difference. The most popular responses were: 1) I’m not keeping it in check; it’s out of control. 2) More vegetarian meals. 3) Aldi.
This exercise for me personally was to get a clearer picture. Would I like it to be lower? Absolutely. However, food is a priority for us. I do buy organic most of the time and we eat every meal except for a dinner a week at the house.
Still, after seeing my results, I’ve stepped up my process a little bit, too.
This month my goal is this: shop the freezer and choose my meats for the week. I really like Butcher Box because I can get a variety of meats and I know they are all top quality. We are also purchasing a half cow (I’ll let you know the cost per pound breakdown as soon as we get that info, if you’re curious).
After choosing my meats, browse the sales at Whole Foods and Publix. I see which one has more of the items I will buy on sale. I plan my meals (and plan to do better at adding in at least one vegetarian meal a week) and write my list. I go through my pantry and freezer to cross off anything I already have, then go shopping for the bulk groceries of my week.
Usually I’ll also end up swinging by Costco, Aldi, or Food Lion at some point during the week to restock pantry staples. And that’s it!
I wasn’t aiming to keep things as low as possible, but I was really trying to watch it all closely and I’m quite surprised at how high my total ended up being. I look forward to continuing to track, though I imagine things will only continue to increase as we head into the holidays.
What’s your current food shopping experience?
Are you noticing higher prices where you are? What tips are helping you keep things under control? Or are you just rolling with it?
Allison says
Yes- I feel like we spend so much and then run out of food before the end of the week – Ugh! I have been trying to be better about “scrounging” up a meal or
Two in the pantry or freezer so I can try to delay my grocery shopping by a couple days – I feel like that could help my budget in the long run
Brittany Dixon says
I think that’s a great idea. I try to work in one “eat the fridge/pantry” dinner a week for the same reason. It helps us reduce food waste and clear things out that need to be eaten.
Marissa says
I can’t say that I’ve noticed higher prices in our area. We are a family of 5 and I do Walmart+ delivery (weekly) and Costco 2x/month. We’re between $150-200/week. That includes things like paper towels and such though, possibly even diapers. Our Walmart is great and I can get almost anything organic there that I want. They carry Primal Kitchen mayo and dressings and all the Siete products, along with many others. If I were you & trying to lower the grocery budget, I would attempt to cut out Whole Foods completely. We cook & eat extremely healthy meals at home and we’re able to get everything at Walmart & Costco that we need for those meals!
Brittany Dixon says
That’s awesome! Where do you get most of your produce? Maybe I’ll try a month of cutting out Whole Foods but I’m so partial to their produce 🙈
Laura says
For what it’s worth, one time I was with another mom at a playdate and she brought grapes for the kids. I noticed the bag had a Whole Foods label on the side but the brand on the bag of grapes was the exact same brand I purchase at Aldi.
Another time I bought a box of store brand stick butter at Sprouts, and when I got it home and had a stick of the Sprouts store brand butter and a stick of the Aldi store brand butter on the counter, I noticed that both had the exact name factory/production number on the paper wrapper.
Lastly, because of what I do for a living, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with commercial meat producers/packers who have said they pack chicken and pork for name brands you’d know right alongside, for example, Kroger brand.
My understanding is that this is the case for many food products (one producer for many brands).
Brittany Dixon says
I’ve totally heard that, too! Like store brands are often name brand with the private label.
Laura says
Costco will really make short term costs appear to go up, but in reality I think everything there is good quality and value, so as long as we don’t waste food I don’t feel like we are overspending (although I do zero tracking). But things like wine/ alcohol, house items, toiletries will rack up a bill fast. Plus, much of what I buy there lasts way more than a month, including meat that goes in the freezer, canned items, etc. I often buy over $100 in items to make bulk batches of dishes (chili, soups, etc) that go in the freezer and last months. My refrigerator is almost always at the point of barely being able to shut the door (but I’m good with that, because I’ve got a good organization system). So for my family coming up with an actual monthly estimate that is anything close to accurate would be difficult without considering a full year or at least multiple months of purchases. Much of what I buy and have been buying at Costco has not gone up much or at all, like Atlantic Salmon (farmed) has been $9.99 per pound for years, wild shrimp $12.99 per pound, and other staples like rice, flour, Dave’s bread (I think $7.50 for a 2 pack) as well as most produce items that are in season. Other than Costco, I mostly do all other shopping at King Soopers (similar to Krogers, Fred Meyer, etc.) for smaller items, specialty items, and more produce.
One cost peaked my interest- $63 on Nepresso- is this a monthly supply or more? Just curious, since that sounds so expensive! I love my coffee but since we make 8 cups a day and I’m chugging 3 of those cups half asleep at 6 am, I don’t get the expensive stuff. Costco usually offers decent whole beans at amazing prices, about $4- $5 per pound. 8 cups a day, 7 days a week is probably only costing us $15- $18 per month. I once calculated the cost of switching to a local roaster and at the volume we drink it would cost us approximately $800 extra per year! Totally NOT worth it for us!
Brittany Dixon says
The coffee probably lasts us about 6 weeks, but yes, to see it in writing definitely highlights how expensive it is. I don’t drink it everyday (I’m a morning tea drinker but sometimes will do a half caff later in the day) and it’s super convenient for David to grab a cup on his way out in the early mornings, but for the days he works from home, we should definitely use our regular coffee pot because he goes through so much 🙂
Laura says
One more thing- school lunches have been free this year and last in Colorado, or at least in my county, and I’m sure that’s the case around the country! We probably are actually spending less on groceries now that I don’t have to provide 2 packed lunches a day (and boy do I NOT miss packing lunches!). I’m sure the hot lunches my boys eat are a tad less healthy than what I pack, but I’m willing to let go of that for the convenience and cost break. My 8 year old eats so much now, it is nothing for him to put down a large burger and sides for lunch.
Sarah says
I do Whole Foods delivery weekly and find I am actually comparable to and or saving with that option depending on the week compared to my old Harris Teeter bill. The food is such good quality compared to any of our other options. A friend takes my Costco order once a month and I supplement our weekly food with shelf stable Costco items (snacks primarily). We usually only eat 2-3 meals a week with meat (1 chicken, 1 fish, maybe some ground turkey) which reduces the bill. Recently our consumption of food has gone up a bit (growing girls!) so I have started to buy a few items “less” fresh-i.e. some canned fruit which i never used to, but it can be a savings during non peak seasons for fruit. I also try to maximize # of servings per item (ex: it is less expensive per serving to buy a cantaloupe for $2.50 that feeds all of us for 2 meals than a small container of blueberries for $4.99 that gives us each 5 berries). It’s not that I won’t buy the blueberries still, but I’ll buy them frozen and we’ll use them for oatmeal and yogurt instead of fresh.
Brittany Dixon says
That is why I tend to stick with WF, too, for the quality of their produce that really does seem to be at a comparable price. And such a great point about keeping the servings in mind. I just bought a bag of mandarins at Costco for a good price and they are lasting us all week (and the kids love them). I’m going to try to reduce the number of meals we have with meat; I know that makes a difference.
Dominique says
Would love to see more of this series if you continue tracking and all. For us, it’s just my husband and I, and we are usually at about $100-150 a week (in the Midwest), including toiletries and household things like paper towels. Costs are DEFINITELY going up here, and I usually shop Aldi first for pantry items and dairy (not fresh veg, as the Aldi produce has consistently been crappy in my experience), then Sam’s Club for a lot of fresh veg, frozen items, and household goods. Meat I will sometim s pick up at the commissary, where it’s consistently lower in price, or swing by Kroger if there’s a good special. Funny enough, Meijer (sort of like a super Walmart but a bit nicer) is the only place near us that has decent fresh onions – we used to live on the west coast and I never had issues with that, so maybe it’s a regional thing?
Overall, I have to rely on knowing what stores have the best deals on what kinds of groceries, and then keep an eye out for specials and buy a bit extra when the price is lower than normal. A lot of shops near us are limiting quantities of items now (again!) so it takes a bit more strategy!
Brittany Dixon says
That’s too funny about the fresh onions! I’ve had the same experience with produce at Aldi, which makes me hesitant to buy fresh from there, but like you, I love it for pantry staples like chips and salsa! I do think I’ll keep sharing. It’s been interesting for me to track and I’ve picked up some great tips from others during it, too!