She Says: Building a Healthy Kitchen on a Budget
This month’s Hangry Pants challenge stems out of necessity. With a new apartment, new bills and unemployment on my end, comes the need to keep track and limit how much we spend how food. This is something that we will continue even after the month is over, but we need to start now.
Obstacles in Food Budgeting
Heather: My biggest challenge will be my desire to eat healthy, natural organic food. I think I might need to say good bye to some of my favorite fancy yogurts, nut butters and Ezekial English Muffins. Also, I am a little sad because I think some of my experimental baking will have to be put on hold for awhile, at least until I find a job to purchase some of the ingredients!
Mark: I need to learn to stop eating out. Pretty simple I guess.
Shopping Trip #1
Because we just moved in we had no food at all we are starting from scratch (not counting some some things I “borrowed” from my parents’ house like Arnold Sandwich Thins, brown rice, wheat berries and Sun Crystals). We did our first grocery shopping Friday night at Stop & Shop and spent about $120 on food and 4 MetRx Colossal bars for Mark to keep in his car.
Good News: Almost everything was on sale!
Bad News: Mark likes Lean Pockets and gross canned soups.
My favorite budget buy: Chobani Greek yogurt at 10 for $10!
Most expensive items: (1) Extra Virgin Olive Oil at $7.49; (2) Thin Sliced Chicken Breast at $6.67 ($5.29/lb.); (3) Boar’s Head Buffalo Chicken Breast at $5.84 ($9.99/lb)
Next time: The Stop & Shop Simply Enjoy hummus is $3.29, so next time, I will make my own!
Now I will admit I’ve never kept track of my food spending. In college I had a meal plan, in law school food was not a priority, when working in N.Y.C. I learned to love cooking and baking and the money wasn’t an issue and last year at home my parents kept the kitchen stocked. To me, $120 seems like an awful lot of money for two people, but I think it will be less as we go along and I don’t need to buy expensive staples like olive oil.
Help from You
This is our first go at budgeting groceries, so we’ll need to ask for help from time to time. Our first questions are (1) how much do you spend on groceries per week; and (2) how many people are you shopping for? We need to figure out what a reasonable amount of money for two people is.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
This is definitely a challenge that I can learn a lot from! I agree about my favorite healthy staples, some of the organic brands I buy may have to be put on the back burner when I head to school in a few weeks…tear
(1) I usually go to the store for my parents, me and my brother (4 people) once a week
(2) usually it’s around $100 dollars, but that does not include random items my mom may or may not pick up during the week
I think $120 for pretty much stocking your kitchen after moving in is pretty standard and definitely reasonable.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Hubby and I spend about $35-$50 a week for the two of us. I try to keep it on the lower end of that range, though.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Chobani 10 for $10! That’s amazing! I spend about $30 a week on groceries for just me. I used to spend more, but I went on a must-save-money kick back in Sept. (sort of a game to see how much I could save in the face of outrageous NYC living costs and my modest salary) and never looked back. I did cut out some of my old favorites b/c they’re so expensive (RIP daily blueberry breakfasts) but I’m still eating healthy!
January 4th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
I spend about 75- 100 a week for myself, my husband and the baby, however, since the baby is allergic to dairy and gluten free, and I am celiac, we do need to spend extra on specialty foods. However, I do cook mostly from scratch, and am attempting to learn to cook beans from scratch to save on that.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
I would say I spend around $50/week and I’m only shopping for me, but that is Canadian dollars, so I have no clue how that translates – seems like food might be more expensive here. I would say though that it can range anywhere from $40 – $75 per week, just depending on what I’m buying (seems like everything runs out at the same time!) I know I could spend less if I chose some different things, but there are some things I just don’t want to give up on.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
I grocery shop every other Friday and typically spend $160-$180 for 4 of us….2 adults, 2 kids. I always look for discounted fresh meat because I bring it home and freeze it so I have it for later use. I also try to stick to the store brand. It’s not always the best quality, but for canned and pantry items, it works for us. One thing I don’t skimp on is fresh fruit and veggies. They’re a must!
Good luck!
January 4th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Hey Heather! This is always a huge challenge. I spend $150/week but this includes all of our bathroom items (shampoo, face lotions, toilet paper, etc etc). This is for all of our meals for a full week except 1 dinner out. I think this is a very reasonable amount!
January 4th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
This is something I definitely need to keep better track of as well.
I spend about $100 every 2 weeks for grocery staples, and I would guess another $10-20 during the week for spur of the moment things. So that would average out to about 80 a week on the high end.
My tip to save would be to look for deals on chicken and stock up. Last week I bought the thin sliced chicken for only $3.49 a lb. I don’t typically shop at Stop and Shop, but if it’s anything like the pathmark we typically shop at they will have chicken on sale one week and then again like 3 weeks later. So buy enough to last you until it goes on sale again, once you get the system down you’ll be able to save a ton on chicken. The Chobani sale is also a typical thing at our local foodtown so if it’s the same at stop and shop it will be that price about once a month.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Mal and I have a new budget of $75 per week. We usually spend around $100 a week, but we rarely check prices, use coupons, etc. Usually, we just want to get shopping over with as quick as possible! We’re trying to spend more wisely in 2009. We were just over budget by $2 this first week, which is great for us!
January 4th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
we spend anywhere from $90 – 150/week for the 2 of us. i pretty much only shop at whole foods. honestly, time is more of a factor than money these days so i am willing to pay more for healthy foods that are convenient. i do make a list and plan out my cooking every week though!
January 4th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I spend somewhere between $30-$50 a week for me and my boy (who eats enough for the two of us). I usually try to keep it on the lower end, but if there is a good sale on something I use, I always stock up.
$120 of stocking your bare kitchen is pretty good actually. I think when I did it last, it was way more than that! Plus my boy is like Mark, he likes to put all kinds of icky things in the cart too!
January 4th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
We spend between 50-80 dollars a week. However, i will say that I def feel there is never enough be the end of the week. Perhaps more money spent at the store would mean less stops at Panera.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
FABULOUS tips!! Thanks!!
I shop for my parents and me.
January 4th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Megan, You also get Billy’s Whole Foods discount. No fair!!!!!
January 4th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
we spend around $50 at the grocery store and about $10 at the produce store… that’s for 2 people, me & bill… that’s food only and i’ve learned to stop buying some of my comfort healthy items, i will let myself buy 2 chobani each week, but no more than that b/c they are pricey :/ instead of buying canned beans, i buy them uncooked and have been cooking them on sundays… same thing w/ rice… it really does help cut down on grocery bills… i also scope out the ads every friday so i can look and see what’s on sale and incorporate that in my meal planning for the week
we wind up going to sam’s club once a month or so to buy napkins, paper towels, stuff like that…
January 4th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
i am REALLY into starting to food budget. i have attempted several times to keep track but i go to the grocery store so often, it’s really hard for me to keep up with it. lame excuse, i know. i tend to spend around $50/week on groceries, and then above and beyond that are any additional going out to eat or coffee type things. i can DEFINITELY do better. and when elliot and i move in together we will hopefully do a REALLY good job of budgeting and making things with leftovers and stuff. i’m looking forward to following along with your notes, you have it so well organized!!! i like the list of most expensive items, and the “next time” notes.
January 4th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
I spend way too much, probably $70 or so for just me. I spent $75 tonight at Wegmans, but that also included dog shampoo and drano which added like $10. Cutting back on my food spending is one of my current goals. I’m trying to plan my meals out more and not buy overly priced items, like Greek yogurt, quite as much. I’m also eating much less meat these days which helps.
January 4th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
I spend about $40 to $65 a week for me and my husband. We go to Costco about once a month and buy all of our meat, bars (zbars and clif bars), and wine there – I can’t really guesstimate how much we spend regularly there since our bill always includes dog food and random things we pick up (books, paper towels, etc.)
January 4th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
great shopping job. Amazing deal on chobani! and I love the yogurt tower in the photo. I get really annoyed that the only grocery store near me, which happens to be right under my building, doesn’t accept coupons. Pretty much everything is organic, but so expensive, amy’s dinners are $7!
January 4th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
i love this idea we too are working on being better about our food budget. I spend about 5o dollars or a little less a week, Mark and my hubby are a lot alike. Matt lives on Lean Pockets! I am jelouse you got those yogurts for sooooo cheap I went to buy them today and they werent even at our market anymore!!!! A great way to save money is to make sure not to make any grocery store stops during the week, eat all the food yo have before going out AGAIN! Because I am going Vegitarian it will be cheaper for us because meat is SOOO expensive.
January 4th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Good challenge!
Tonight Bill and I spent $200 on groceries at Whole Foods for two people. We hadn’t shopped in three weeks, so we had a lot of items to buy. We normally spend $150 every two weeks, sometimes more and sometimes less. But we live in an expensive area – not sure what prices are like your way?
January 4th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Hey Heather, I laughed when I read this post because I just posted about our weekly grocery shopping. Chris and I try to buy as much as we can at Costco, and we save thousands by doing this. We rarely eat out, and I am always preparing something in the kitchen. Therefore, we spend a lot on groceries…probably about $150 – $200 a week…but we come home for lunch everyday and maybe eat out once or twice a month. It’s hard, especially when I would love to buy all organic and some of my favorite items I can only find at Whole Foods which is so pricey. Good luck – you can make it work!
January 5th, 2009 at 12:33 am
I would say the boyfriend and I spend about $80/week or so on groceries. Not terrible, but I’m sure we could do better. However that includes most/all of our lunches for the week as well as 6 dinners per week. We try to limit eating out to once per week…keeps my wallet thicker and my waist thinner
Good luck with this new challenge!
January 5th, 2009 at 1:07 am
I try to keep my grocery bill between $40-$50 for just myself, but I shop almost exclusively at Whole Foods (due to my not having a car and WF’s proximity to campus), so it would probably be less at a regular grocery store.
January 5th, 2009 at 1:23 am
I’m embarrassed to say that we probably spend between 100-150 each week on groceries… Plus we eat out 2-3 times a week for dinner. It’s just two of us =/ When I did Kath’s challenge back in Nov it was so hard. We barely scraped by and I think we only made it because our families kept feeding us (we went to visit Bobby’s and my dad came to visit us and bought us food).
January 5th, 2009 at 2:00 am
We spend about $150/week on groceries, two adults and two kiddos. We don’t eat out (maybe once a month?) and we have three meals and two snacks a day, and lots of fresh fruits and veggies so it adds up pretty quick!
January 5th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Oooh, I wish I could be of help but since I’m living in the UK I think the cost of living is much higher. I think (if we REALLY added all food up), my husband and I could easily spend about $100/week on groceries in the US. Healthy food is expensive!
I’m curious to know what you guys come up with!
January 5th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Good luck! We’ve been doing this challenge ourselves for the past few months. Sadly, I used to spends upwards of $100-120 a week, maybe $150ish if we ate out, but now we spend between $50-60 total for all food related expenses a week. It makes me sad some times, just because I love grocery shopping and finding new products and such, but its become easier. We eat a ton of homemade soups and pasta, and Brent has found a new love for bananas because they’re so cheap.
January 5th, 2009 at 9:11 am
hi heather.
just posted on my blog about eating well on a budget. thought i’d try and help you and mark out.
when i am shopping for myself i spend between $30 and $75 a week, depending on if I am stocking up for my pantry or not. when PB and I are shopping for his place we spend about $200/2 weeks, or $100 a week.
I think that the two of you did really well for your first shopping trip. You will probably spend a lot less after your first 2 months living together as I am sure you will need to buy random items to stock your place like spices, baking ingredients, etc. which can always be pricey. I feel that with your goals of eating well and (probably) mark’s appetite (if he is anything like pb) then $100-$120 would be a good weekly goal for you two.
Also, hope the move went well!
January 5th, 2009 at 9:25 am
On an average week, I probably spend about $30 on just myself. BUT, before y’all go all big spender on me, I rarely eat out. Like, maybemaybe once a week, if that, and I brown bag my lunches. And prices in North Jersey are higher, I think, than in other parts of the country.
I eat a ton of produce, and I usually spend $20 just on that…but I get a lot by forgoing anything organic and shopping at a huge semi-cracy grocer with ridiculously low prices on produce (apples for $.99/lb, lettuce for $.69 a bunch, etc.). I’ve also started boiling beans instead of buying canned ones, which helps.
But yeah. Sometimes I will also drop $3 on a single bar of chocolate because it obvi improves the quality of my life.
January 5th, 2009 at 9:34 am
I live in DC metro area and shop mostly at Wegman’s and Trader Joes. For a few weeks in Oct/Nov I was going to Whole Foods and spending upwards of $100/wk on my husband and I. This is waaaaaay too expensive! That was NOT including the multiple “incidentals” that occured throughout the week and did NOT include going out to eat!
I am shopping exclusively at Wegman’s now, its the cheapest in the area. I am trying to stick to a budget of $50-60/week for the 2 of us. This is pretty reasonable. I of course try to spend under that but the holidays have gotten in the way.
I should mention that me having just gone vegan has helped ALOT!
Hubby’s mom also buy us chicken/fish from Costco so we normally don’t buy meat anymore. (sometimes she’ll get a big bag of frozen stir fry veggies for me – its convenient for me so that I always have “fresh” veggies on hand – its really hard to buy veggies and have them be fresh after like 5 days and I really dont want to go to the grocery store more than 1x weekly, its just asking for trouble otherwise!)
Hubby works many weeknights so I really only “plan” for 2 cooked dinners per week – Planning meals helps IMMENSELY! and every weeks or so, I will make a huge pot of some sort of veggie soup/stew which lasts us a while, so I freeze half and we eat half (mostly me for lunches).
Hummus – buying the uncooked bags of beans is so much cheaper!
stock – if you buy a lot of the cartons of veggie broth or chicken broth to make soups, its cheaper just to buy some boullion cubes instead and dissolve those in hot water – plus you save the environment some!
I also wrote to Ezikiel & Amy’s and they sent me coupons! So I have those to use, otherwise I’m not a big coupon person.
I also don’t really buy organic anymore. Sue me. Right now, I’m ok with that. A can of beans in organic section is like $2, but reg canned beans that are generic wegmans brand are more like .62 cents – its really really hard to justify organic – know what I mean?
I don’t go to trader joes as often anymore – just to buy a few items only they carry at a decent price like buffalo burgers (for hubby) or vegan candy cane joe joes (like oreos).
We still haven’t managed to stop the going out process, although we do go out less than we did before so I guess thats progress? I also tend to order something on the menu and eat half and take half for lunch at work so that helps!
January 5th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Heather, I can’t believe I’m admitting this but we’ve spent around $650/month for food in the last 6 months (that’s when we started tracking) and up to $850 during months we’ve thrown parties. This included alcohol like fancy beers that my husband likes and wine for the house. This month, though, we set the groceries only budget to $450/month, checked sales online and were under $100 for the week when we went grocery shopping yesterday. I think with planning, it’s very doable. Of course we already have all the basics so it definitely takes a little extra money to build up your kitchen cupboards. Good luck!!
January 5th, 2009 at 10:24 am
I do not go to the grocery store weekly. Even with a list it’s just too time consuming because I have to go down every aisle thanks to my type A personality. Instead we go every couple of weeks and do a huge trip. We spend a lot for just the two of us. However I don’t feel bad about that. I like having a stocked pantry and freezer because if I feel like making whatever, I want those items on hand. Wanting to make something and realizing you can’t because you don’t have the ingredients drives me bonkers.
What kills our budget is the fresh veggies and fruit. Produce is not cheap but it’s a necessity so there’s not a lot to be done about that.
I also don’t get my meat from the grocery store. We are lucky to have a local market close by where we can get local farm raised beef, pork, and chicken. All free-range, grass fed, and no hormones or antibiotics. Since Mark still eats meat, that might be something for you guys to check out, a place to get good quality meat at a decent price.
Buy in bulk (which is what we do) and then you only have to purchase meat every so often. Right now we only buy meat maybe every 3 months or so.
January 5th, 2009 at 10:46 am
I spend a little under $150/week on two adults, three kids (7, 9 & 14). That’s for breakfast, packed lunches and supper each day. We only eat out once or twice per month.
Spent a month last year keeping the cost at $25/person ($125/week). It went pretty well, but I think we can do better. This year, I’m trying to do a once a month bulk trip for staples, so I’m picking up only the fresh items during my 2-3 store trips (bike w/basket). This was my stock up week – the total between last weeks groceries and the stockup on spices, rice, flour, flax meal, couscous, sugar, etc., was almost $250.
$120 for two when you’re starting from bare cupboards doesn’t sound bad at all.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:04 am
I would say we spend around $100 for two of us – that does include some toiletry products though. I need to be better about it this year though. cant wait to see how you all do – i love seeing other people’s groceries for some reason.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:17 am
I shop for myself and my boyfriend once a week at anywhere from $50–75. It’s hard to judge, though, as that includes cleaning/bathroom supplies, too. Our first trip to the store to “stock our kitchen” after we moved was definitely around $150!
We might have a week of eating more processed food (bread, veggie burgers), which will cost around $75, then a week where we barely go to the store and rely on pantry staples. Last night I made black bean&rice burritos (which we’ll eat leftovers of tonight) and it was probably a $2 meal. If you can stick to beans, grains, and frozen veggies (and rely on farmers markets or a food co-op) you’ll save TONS of money!!
January 5th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I live in Central Florida, eat very healthy (healthily?) and buy organic or local whenever possible. That said, I OFTEN go over my planned $80/week budget and come in closer to $100/week for two people. We buy meat and canned goods in bulk when they are on sale, and when our freezer/pantry is full, the weekly total can come down to about $60.
Hope that helps!
Katy
sillytatertot.blogspot.com
January 5th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
What a great challenge! Oh wow I’m so excited to see how it goes!
Okay, please don’t judge too much. We spend between $150 and $200 every week. For me and Rob. But that includes cat litter and cat food and stuff…
January 5th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I love this challenge! Can’t wait how it goes for you.
It changes A LOT for us week to week- just me and my sister to buy food for. I write down absolutely everything I spend money on, even if its just tea at a coffee shop, and I love doing that. Just helps me keep track of it all.
One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was a couple giftcards to Safeway hehe.
That’s a great bargain on the yogurt! I get organic carrots because they taste better, and organic yogurt because its the only kind I can find that doesn’t have added junk to it… when it comes to food, I spend more for the quality healthy stuff (but DEFINITELY shop the sales). I cut back in other ways (walking instead of getting a bus pass, not going out clothes shopping a lot, only getting one drink at the bar etc. Unless I can persuade someone else to buy me another drink.
).
January 5th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
I can’t wait to see how this experiment goes. I’m hoping it will help me with my New Year’s resolution to spend less on groceries. I’m also unwilling to give up certain healthy foods like organic greens and Ezekiel muffins.
January 5th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Wow, I was just reading some comments, and I feel cheap! My husband and I also have to be extremely low-cost in everything, because I still don’t have a job. I’d say we definitely spend no more than $50 a week, on average. Part of the help for us is we live in a small town, so the majority of stores don’t carry a lot of organic options, or specialty items like Ezekiel bread, Chobani yogurt, etc. I am religious about checking sales. Every week I wait to go grocery shopping until all the sale ads are out. Staples that I can keep in the pantry and know I will use I will stock up on when they’re bogo free, especially if I have coupons I can use at the same time. I only buy fruits and veggies that are on sale (eat seasonally! this will also help if you have a farmer’s market near you, which we don’t, but I hear you can get good deals at most).
As far as protein products – stock up on legumes (get dry beans, it’s cheaper) and for any meat, stock up when it’s on sale. The main meat I get is boneless skinless chicken breasts. Winn Dixie (grocery store near me, not sure if they’re national or not) sometimes has b/s chicken breasts bogo free, so I’ll buy several packages and then come home and trim them, package them in 1 or 2 breast baggies, write a date on the outside, and freeze them.
Also – I’ve heard people save a lot of money by baking bread themselves. I’ve also had to cut down on variety…instead of having a few fruits on hand, I’ll pick one, maybe two on sale. Definitely don’t get any more than what you know you will use.
Last suggestion – clip coupons! http://www.coupon.com is good but the best source for coupons is picking up a newspaper on Sundays – you can get SO many coupons then.
Haha I have a ton more suggestions. I’ve had to learn to master the art of frugal living! I think I’m going to write a post about frugal living this week, and I’ll put it up in my tabs for easy reference. Hope some of these suggestions help! (Sorry so long!)
January 5th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Hi there!
Living right in Boston – I’m not sure if groceries are more expensive….but I typically spend about $50 a week for just myself! I do shop mostly at Trader Joes and Whole Foods but occasionally I do hit up Shaws for the deals.
I probably eat 90% of meals at home (packing breakfast and lunch and dinners at home) so I tend to burn through more grocery money.
Trader Joe’s really is the best deal in town for cheap organics and frozen vegetables. And for the cost of box of baggies (or a few piece of reusable tupperware) you can make your own portion sized snacks (yogurts, cereal, nuts etc) – that’s where alot of my dollars were going before I had to put the smack down on myself!
Good luck!
January 5th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
I like the new experiment!
When I was cooking for me and my boyfriend last year I would spend $80 a week on the food for the two of us, but that doesn’t count his snacky food he would buy on his own.
Now that its just me I spend about $50 a week on food and that’s with eating about 90% meals at home.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:22 am
I spend about $100 per week for me and my boyfriend on food. I would say about $80 is spent on groceries and $20 per week is spent on eating out. We have a joint credit card and charge all of our groceries to that then split the bill at the end of the month. I vary supermarkets between stop & shop, shop rite, whole foods, and trader joe’s so I can try and get the best deals at each.
January 6th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
i shop for myself, my boyfriend and my daughter, i usually spend around 80 dollars a week. Im dairy and gluten free, my daughter is gluten free and the boyfriend wants meat with everything… im surprised i dont spend more! but i eat the leftovers and really budget our food.. (I also get food from my parents.. i eat with them a couple nights a week! lol)
January 7th, 2009 at 12:26 am
fun challenge!
i know this is late but i figured i’d chime in anyway!
I spend about $40-$60 a week for Jeff and I. I shop mostly at Trader Joe’s, Harris Teeter ( a nicer chain reg. grocery) and sometimes Lowe’s Foods, Food Lion, Kroger, Whole Foods, Fresh Market, WalMart for the staple/canned/packaged kinda stuff. I really look around for the best deals and try to plan it in to where i’m headed that day. We eat about 90% at home since I also make him breakfast and lunches to take to work in addition to dinner together.
I rarely spend over $275/month but Jeff pays for when we “eat out” which can be anywhere from 1-4 times a month.
But as you can tell from my blog, I get organic milk, organic produce as much as possible, we eat alot of lean meats too.
Metrx bars or other similar bars through netrition.com sometimes cheaper than in the store too…
I use couponsuzy.com but it doesnt really offer alot of stuff I use. Mostly, I just shop the deals at the stores for that week. It’s so interesting that one store has the same item for half as much as the other some weeks…
January 7th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Great challenge you two! Ahhhh grocery bills. Ours are way higher than I would like, between $120-$150 per week (for 2 people). This usually includes some personal care items and extra yogurt and frozen broccoli for our dogs (long story), but still, its a lot. I wish we could reduce it but we’re not happy when we do. We tried shopping at Kroeger instead of Whole Foods and were downright bummed when we left because we had to compromise on so many things we love. We’ve finally accepted that we are food snobs, and have cut back in other areas of our life to compensate. We reduced our cable package to just the local channels (only $10/month instead of $80), eat less meals out and are resisting the urge to get a gym membership. I also clip tons of coupons, which is actually a very satisfying feeling, and limit the number of oikos/fage I buy a week.
I can’t wait to keep up with how you do!
March 19th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
i love this song!! it is so awsome!!