How Much Do You Spend On Groceries?

[snifter]

How much do you spend on groceries every week or month? How many in your family?

[Rowena]

Anywhere from 200-300 a month. Though this month with thanksgiving at hand more like 400. (And yes this is for two people...)

[kareng]

Way too much but it has very little to do with flour replacements. Just spent $65 on groceries. Could have probably cut at least $15 off it if I wanted to. Use jar pasta sauce instead of fresh tomatoes and arugula. Buy the Parm cheese in the can instead of good quality shredded Parm & Asiago. Probably could have saved $6 by shopping for some of theis at Walmart. We are fortunate that we can spend this but I could economize if needed. I probably only spend an extra $15-20 bucks a month extra on gluten-free products like pasta or bread. We are 4 people : 1 celiac disease adult, 1 adult, 2 teen boys

[missy'smom]

Three of us-2 gluten-free, although some specialty items get used by all 3 of us in order to avoid cross-contamination and simplify the cooking process.

We shop at several stores in town, picking up this and that here and there in order to get the things we need and want. The less budget friendly items are not carby, gluteny food replacements but things to support my low-carb diet and additional food allergies-meat, nuts, diary alternatives, nut-free "peanut" butters, allergen-free condiments, sugar substitutes, not all of which are consumed in great quantity, but are pricey even as a "special treat". Gluten-free alone is more budget friendly. There are ways to manage the budget, just ask Lots of good advice to be had from folks here.

[sunnybabi1986]

We spend about $300 a month, and that's for hubby and myself and a toddler. I buy things like rice mixes and chocolate almond milk which aren't really necessary, but I'm in love with, so our bill could probably drop a bit if I *really* tried

I stock up on pasta, cookies, baking mixes, crackers, etc on Amazon and am careful to always buy meat on sale, never paying more than $2.50/lb. One month we really really cut back on the unnecessary items and got our monthly groceries down to $200, but I really like my indulgences and that was a little extreme for me

[scarlett77]

I'd say it is somewhere around $600-$700 a month for 5 of us. The gluten-free replacement do hurt a bit. Plus the fact that we go through 2 gallons of milk a week don't help either. We use a lot of eggs and bacon too. We hardly ever eat out and I pack my lunches for work.

[cap6]

around $ 300 or more for 2, 1 is celiac. We try to buy some organic and lots of fresh fruits & veggies. That is what gets expensive, not so much the "celiac" food.

[sb2178]

$40-$60/week if consuming meat (snazzy local stuff it is). $35 if not. If I'm gardening, I can knock it down to $30. Typically make 19 or 20 of 21 meals, and all snacks except for the occasional stray apple from the cafeteria.

Splurges: fake pasta, cocoa powder, larabars, chocolate, crackers now and then, occasional box of cookies or mix.

[Cypressmyst]

Easily $400 a month for my husband and I. All organic and local when possible, both of us gluten free and only eating free range meats.

Our Larabar habit is a killer, as between the two of us we go through 4 boxes a month. O_o 64 Larabars!

However, we no longer eat out once a week (Or at all really), so that is $35-$45 that helps to supplement the grocery bill. And no more stops at Quiznos for a sub or McDonalds for whatever it was that my husband considered to be food from that place. That adds up too.

Plus organic food tastes soooooo much better. I don't miss eating out very often.

People may also want to list their city/state. I live in the Oshkosh, WI area but food down in Milwaukee is even more expensive and I'm sure parts of California are ridiculous.

[srall]

My daughter and I are gluten free, my husband pretty much only eats tortillas in the house...other than that we're pretty gluten free. I pick up things here and there too, am almost entirely organic and I estimate that I spend $400 per month. But no more eating out which for us was a very costly expense. So health-wise and financially I think we're better off.

[K8ling]

We spend between $200-225 per paycheck. I am feeding a husband who eats enough to feed a small country, myself, and a toddler.

[kareng]

So I went to my Oct statement to see what I spent on groceries. Hard to tell on theWalmart & Target charges. But it's looking like about $1000 a month including Gatorade and Cheez-it's. Teen boys love meat, juices & choc milk. I...... I... No wonder I never have any money!

[T.H.]

About $700-$800 a month for a completely gluten free, 4 person family. That's with veggies, fruits, meats, grains, beans, and nuts. If we get dairy or processed foods, it's more - I spend more on my stupid food sometimes than on my mortgage.

One big killer for us is the meats. I'm very sensitive to antibiotic residues because of my allergies to antibiotics, and the kids seem to be headed the same way, so we have to hunt carefully for meats which don't have this. And they cost the earth, ugh. We try not to have too much. Add to that my own stupid diet. The only meat I can have (and I haven't been able to eat beans or nuts yet) runs us about $60-$70 a week. Just for my meat.

I will be SO glad when I can have other food that is not so expensive!

[cap6]

wow kareng !! Did I read that right? $1,000??? Whew! I'm glad my kids are all grown now. My daughter is a family of 5 and I don't know how she manages. I admire those of you with kids in the home!

[ravenwoodglass]

It's just me now and the cost is about $50 a week. I buy meat in bulk and freeze most of it. I get pork chops one week, chicken the next, sometimes a big roast if they are on sale which I then cut up into small ones. The only gluten free specialty stuff I get on a weekly basis are bread and pretzels and sometimes a cake mix. I do a lot of rice, pasta (I use Thai Kitchen rice noodles rather than specialty gluten-free pastas) and potatoes with veggies etc. I actually spend less than I did on gluten because I don't buy all the premade frozen and boxed items that were the staple of my diet before, in part because by the end of the day I had no energy to actually cook anything.

[sahm-i-am]

We spend $800 - $1000 a month for a family of 4, but that is what we spent before gluten free. 2 of us are Celiacs but mainly we all eat gluten free. I sometimes make 2 different kinds of pancakes, pasta, etc. but with CC and us being so new at this lifestyle, right now it is easier and safer for us to all be gluten free.

We are trying to get our monthly bill lower (braces for both girls in January!) and I'm using a website T.H. posted a while ago - Open Original Shared Link Casein-free-diet.talkaboutcuringautism.org/gfcfsf-foodstamp-monthly-menu.html . Lots of good ideas in there but since this was written the price of food has risen drastically, so I don't know if I could feed us on $321 per month.

I stay away from prepackaged gluten-free foods, make alot of our own stuff and try to buy organic and whole foods when possible.

[jerseyangel]

I would say $400-$500 a month for 2 of us.

[Skylark]

I'm in one of those ridiculous parts of California and I'm at $200+ a month for one person. I don't eat a lot of weird/expensive foods either. Cheese, milk, meats, and produce are just generally expensive here.

[snifter]

Wow I'm spending way to much!! I estimate $1000 a month but I do have a 1 year old. So that's diapers and formula, but we just switched to whole milk! This is great info Thanks for the feedback!

[mommyto3]

We were spending $1200/month for a two adults and 3 kids (1 adult and all kids on gluten-free) but I've since cut out most of the organic fruits and veggies to save money so we're sitting at about $1000 now. Our Udi's bread alone costs us $15 - $20 per week!!!

[bonnie blue]

There are three of us here myself, husband and daughter, we spend about $500.00 a month, but since we hardly ever eat out we find we are still saving money. Also the lifestyle change has all of us eating healthier:)