What's a realistic amount to spend on a monthly food bill?

aquatanica

I just went over me and my hubby's food expenses and found out that we've already spent $250 on restaurants and $350 on groceries this month (and it's just the 22nd). I figure there's 75 meals in a month (counting breakfast as half a meal, plus 30 lunches and 30 dinners). If we don't spend any more on money this month, that will equal to about $8 per meal. 

Coming from a very frugal family, I'm used to my mom complaining if the food bill for 4 people was over $400 a month. However, she has the money to buy food in bulk and store it in a deep freezer. My husband and I don't have the money or space to do that. 

My husband and I (25 and 22) have been married for 3 months and just exited the broke college student diet. We're having fun buying chicken strips, making tacos, etc. My husband sometimes works long hours and will bring home Taco Bell or McDonald's after work. Several times a week, I work mornings and afternoons, and then nanny for a 4 month old baby at night - during which I pick up something quick along the way. In addition, I have numerous severe food allergies, so cooking "easy" is difficult...

Any ideas or tips? 

BlueBirdMB

Since we put the offer in on our house in June, we've cut back on eating out.  We used to go out maybe once a week for dinner, or maybe every other week for dinner.  Now we go months without eating out for dinner.  We try to save the restaurants for special occasions like birthdays, anniversary, etc, only.  

I am constantly on the run all day because my job (I am self-employed) means I travel constantly.  I do eat out for lunch a few days a week.  I spend about $20-$30 a week on lunches, which is about $80-$120 a month.

For groceries, including food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies, we spend about $450 a month.  I also find it difficult to cut back.  We also have a lot of food allergies/sensitivities, and substitutes are very expensive.  I also try to eat as fresh as possible- very little processed or prepared food and mostly organic meats at least, if not also organic fruits/veggies.

Here's my opinion, eating out is definetely more expensive, so we try to cut that out.  We've saved a couple hundred dollars each month by cutting that out.  Otherwise, eating well is a big monetary priority for us.  I won't compromise on that if I can afford it.

When I feel that I've spent too much on food by cooking exciting things that I want to cook, I cook something that make a lot and gives a lot of bang for the buck.  Stews are my go to, some type of egg dish, or a whole chicken recipe (whole chickens are a lot less than buying chicken parts).

Here's some good recipes that are online: http://pinchofyum.com/crockpot-red-lentil-curry

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/best_crock_pot_recipes?slide=11#leaderboardad

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Poached-Eggs-in-Tomato-Sauce-with-Chickpeas-and-Feta-368963

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Braised-Chicken-with-Tomatoes-and-Olives-em-Poulet-Provencal-em-241766

http://pinchofyum.com/parmesan-baked-eggs

  

bpphoto785

I recommend going to the grocery store as little as possible. For us, that's a big shopping every other week and a quick trip in between for things like milk. 

Also, if you're able to look at your upcoming weeks and plan ahead that will help a lot. That way you can make meals to grab on the go instead of grabbing fast food. I try and do a lot of my meal prep on my days off to make it easier during the week. 

And try keeping staples of your favorite quick meals stocked. That way if you find yourself in a pinch, you can whip something up instead of eating out. Limiting the times you eat out will save you A LOT of money! Now when H & I go out to eat, and get a bill for $60, I realize we could buy a weeks worth of groceries for that! 

chrisnjay05212010

I budget $400/month for groceries (including, food, cleaning supplies etc)  I shop every other week (except for those quick milk trips) and I plan my meals for those two weeks so i have all the ingredients i need on hand.  I also pick up things i know that i regularly use when they are on sale.  We eat out maybe once a week, sometimes its take out other times it might be at a restaurant.  I always bring lunch (using leftovers from dinner) for work that way i can save the money there and I bring breakfast from home to work as well.  I do try and keep quick dinner/lunch type items on hand too that way if its a busy night we dont have to resort to take out (chicken patties, frozen pizza, etc)    

Could you pack something to bring to your evening job? Like a sandwich or prepare things ahead of time for dinner so that your husband can just heat it up when he gets home?

strickland8052

$400 to $500 for groceries. $120 to $150 for eating out. That is only eating out once a week. Our eat out dates are usually $20 lunches for 3 weekends out of the month; then we will do one nice dinner for about $60 each month.

KatieCutie05

We spend about 360 a month on groceries and between the two of us about 100 dollars on lunches/dinners out throughout the month. (most of that is DH because he works 2 jobs and has to grab dinner before going to his next job)

We were spending about 50-100 more before we started budgetting, shopping sales, buying in bulk. And then i'd end the month with an empty refridgerator and empty pantry. It took 2 months to get our stock up without blowing our budget but we did it. You just don't do it all at once.... its little by little as it goes on sale. Now I spend 360 a month on Groceries/ basic household items and i end the month with the pantry and freezer stocked full.

I started out just paying attention to sales and coupons and bought off of that..... if something i bought a lot of or would need in the near future went on sale - i bought a few to last me 1-2 months. We did get a Foodsaver system as a gift which is great because we vacuum seal our meats and theyll stay fresher longer. But honestly they are still good for easily 4 months in regular ziploc bags and we'll eat it long before then. So its not necessary but it is nice to have.