Groceries

[999roses]

For those living on their own, what types of food do you pick up weekly and how much do you spend? I guess if you live in North America (kinda difficult to compare if you're in Asia or something).

I've spent $35 and $30 each week for the last 2 weeks...kinda more than I want and I"ve been picking up things that are on sale.

My rationale is that I'm currently stocking up on comparatively less perishable foods (canned foods, frozen, uncooked noodles, etc) and once I have enough of those, I can just buy vegetables/fruits/meat and that won't cost so much. My ideal budget would be < $25 and I mean, it really can go there quite easily if I just discarded the $4.50 muffins that I bought. I guess I'm trying to strike a balance between not being wasteful, yet not cheating myself of food I want to eat.

[xJadedx]

I haven't moved out yet, but I plan to have $200 a month for groceries.

[S Beaver]

i usually get $150 at costco, and god knows how long that lasts me...\

i haven't actually calculated my groceries, yikes!

[999roses]

Costco? I really wanna go there, but no car and there's no way I'm busing my way back with all those big packages. But hopefully my parents can drive me when they visit me.

My family used to spend like $100 a week lol. But we ate relatively well/expensive ~ lots of seafood, meats, etc. I'm losing weight from my current "diet" haha.

[S Beaver]

well, your family also has more people...so it makes sense to spend more.

I suppose you also have take into account of whether or not you're planning to eat out if you have no time to cook.

Personally, I'd rather go extra broke than cut myself from decent food. In school, the most important thing is not your grades, but your health.

[999roses]

Well the way I see it, most of it is a luxury vs. need thing. For example, I COULD have yellow peppers that are a huge rip off or tomatoes which are on sale. Both are equally healthy....but one is gonna make more fo a dent in my wallet. For food, more $ doesn't necessarily mean more healthy.

I don't really "analyze' these issues in the grocery store, I just pick it up if I feel I really wanna eat it at that moment, and sometimes not if I am willing to sacrifice my luxury food needs for a moment.

My family has like 2 extra people lol. But my dad eats a lot, so maybe he could count for 2 people =P

[xJadedx]

It also depends on what you're making. If you're making a sandwich, then just get the large cheap red tomatoes as opposed to the vine tomatoes.
But say you're making Kung Pao chicken, then you can't substiture cheap tomatoes for more expensive peppers, since the taste would be off.

[S Beaver]

Well the way I see it, most of it is a luxury vs. need thing. For example, I COULD have yellow peppers that are a huge rip off or tomatoes which are on sale. Both are equally healthy....but one is gonna make more fo a dent in my wallet. For food, more $ doesn't necessarily mean more healthy.

I don't really "analyze' these issues in the grocery store, I just pick it up if I feel I really wanna eat it at that moment, and sometimes not if I am willing to sacrifice my luxury food needs for a moment.

My family has like 2 extra people lol. But my dad eats a lot, so maybe he could count for 2 people =P

well yes, certianly there is the luxury vs. essentials. i mean, we can't all afford lobster every day no matter how much we want to eat it. but on a usual basis, i don't make a distinction between the regular foods. even if the tomatoes arn't on sale, i would get them (of course, on sale is an extra plus ). for the most part, regular raw produce won't budge your wallet too much. it's usually the eating out that does it.

[expression]

$30 to 35 is really good actually. I'd say $120-150/month is fair. So Roses, looks like you have the potential to be a good wivey.

[999roses]

Ha I cut it down to $23 this week! But I guess I cheated because my parents helped me shop last weekend and got me a lot of other stuff so I really only needed to buy fruits/vegetables/other misc. stuff.