Realistic food budget for two?

**janelane** · 04-22-2008, 02:33 PM

Hi all, I hope this is an okay place to ask this, I'm just getting started here

What, in your wise and learned frugal opinions, is a realistic grocery budget for two adults? I'm not trying to get rice and beans low, just reasonable. We really don't eat many boxed foods besides cereal, I'm going for whole fruits and veggies, mostly chicken and fish for meat, and organic dairy.

I'm looking forward to checking out the local farmers' markets when they start in May, I've never been to any. Am I going to see better prices there?

I do shop with lists and follow a budget, but I feel like I could be doing much better, and I really have no idea what other people spend on groceries. I just wonder what I should be challenging myself to shoot for.

tia! ~ janie

**nuisance26** · 04-22-2008, 02:57 PM

~I feed my family of four for $225 a month but I buy inexpensive meats, regular dairy and lots of frozen and canned veggies. I would think $250-300 a month would be reasonable for the two of you. HTH!~

**justpeachy92** · 04-22-2008, 03:00 PM

No idea what a realistic budget for 2, I shop for a family of 6, on a good month I will come in under $700 for food, household, dog food and personal care items. I don't know if farmer markets vary across the nation, but here the prices aren't much lower then the grocery store, though the produce does taste better and I know I am supporting a local farm. I have found some of the farmers here will give a better deal if you buy in bulk, so that is what I do. I don't have the time being in school fulltime to tend a garden, it is easier for me to go buy a couple of bushels of corn and freeze it.

**stinkbug** · 04-22-2008, 03:16 PM

Again....one of those things that's relative to where you live, wages, etc. For us.... about 200-300 month and we eat pretty much like you do. Farmer's Market will not necessarily be cheaper, but fresher and probably better quality.
We're in the PNW...so YMMV.

**Ceashels** · 04-22-2008, 03:24 PM

Hi JaneLane, I'm outside the northern tip of Charm City.

We budget $100/week for 2 adults including health and beauty items and some pet items. I do most cooking from scratch and we always have fruits and veggies available. We eat few convenience foods with the exception of cereal and when I am under the weather and DH (dear husband) needs to do the cooking.

I have been trying to get that budget cost lower but the costs of groceries seems to drive it to its max. And it doesn't help that DH is a big fan of meat and diet cokes (we've been slowly working on those).

There are some local farm stands in the Perry Hall/White Marsh Area and I find their prices are a little better than the supermarkets, but not by much. The quality though makes it worth the price.

**i.m.cheap** · 04-22-2008, 03:30 PM

I would say $300 a month for the two of you would be a good goal. The farmer's markets here are higher than the grocery stores, some examples: Asparagus $4.00 a bunch, tomatoes $3.00-4.00 a pound.

**chevy_chick95** · 04-22-2008, 03:41 PM

For DH and I, 1 cat and 1 dog, both small we are at $80 but for summer and farmers market purposes I will be bumping it up to $100-$120. We eat the same things we ate before, no boxed foods, i just make almost everything from scratch..

**Marie78** · 04-22-2008, 06:50 PM

We budget $250-$300 a month for the two of us and two cats. This includes all food and household (paper products, lightbulbs, toiletries, and cat food and litter).

**janelane** · 04-22-2008, 07:47 PM

Thanks everyone! It's only been recently that I've really been keeping track, and I just needed a goal. I think I'm going to aim for under 400 including toiletries and four ravenous cats and see from there where we can cut back. But things are kind of expensive in this area.

*waves at Ceashels, I'm down in Ellicott City! We were in Towson for seven years. And my dh is a diet soda junkie, too. He runs out of the case we get from Sam's and finds a reason to stop and grab one from a convenience store somewhere, which is even more expensive. Grr! We're working on it, too.

**Frugal Cook** · 04-22-2008, 11:16 PM

Originally Posted by janelane

And my dh is a diet soda junkie, too.

Us soda junkies find it better to make our own, http://sodaclubusa.com, and eliminate all the can storage/recycling. Even when drinking the regulars instead of diet the sugar was cut down drastically. Just a thought.

**nuisance26** · 04-23-2008, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by Frugal Cook

Us soda junkies find it better to make our own, http://sodaclubusa.com, and eliminate all the can storage/recycling. Even when drinking the regulars instead of diet the sugar was cut down drastically. Just a thought.

~I had no idea you could buy a soda making machine. That's awesome!!~

**lgw** · 05-03-2008, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by Marie78

We budget $250-$300 a month for the two of us and two cats. This includes all food and household (paper products, lightbulbs, toiletries, and cat food and litter).

We have the same family composition, and this is about what we spend.

**mombottoo** · 05-03-2008, 10:40 AM

I generally used to spend roughly $500 per month for 3 adults. Since coming here I am trying to stay as near to $300 as possible. I do use some conveinence foods (hamburger helper, mac & cheese), but generally we are meat & potatoes kind of people with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.

I would try writing down the meals you cook most often and figure out your food budget from there. Once you know how you typically eat, you will be able to figure out where you can cut corners without hurting quality.

**Hucky** · 05-04-2008, 05:57 AM

I shop for just me and my son (5) and we budget $120 a month NZ (which is about a $100US) but try to limit spending to about $80 of that and save the rest so I have some reserves to stock up when I see a really great special!!

When you have a good stock pile you find that you can buy only really good deals so you start to spend a lot less. I used to spend about double this and people have no idea how I can spend so little but I do...:surprise:

Get food anyway you can, I eat breakfast at work because they have milk there, I swap canned products with lots of people so I get lots of variety and my mum loads me up with the stuff (and my ex mil, got to love her!). Also when I see a fruit tree just off the side of a small country road while travelling

I get picking.

**forHISglory** · 05-04-2008, 12:45 PM

I'm in the midwest. Food prices here have been going up so much that it's hard to know how to budget. In January I was at $100 for 2 adults. Now in May, I'm budgeting $200 for us. This does not include health/beauty aids (we have an almost zero budget there), nor pet food. It does include any eating out that we may do. So my food budget is just that: food. I also do a lot of charity cooking, that is, taking meals to families in need. And that is part of my budget, also.