How do you guys spend sub 700$ on food

[wcinewbie]

We spend <$700 per adult on food, but still live lavishly. Our institution does not offer free food for doctors. We cook daily, the dinner becomes my lunch next day. We shop at Costco, 99 Ranch, Mitsuwa, and other ethnic markets around us for fresh vegetables and variety. Cooking and meals are my intimate time with family.

To live lavishly we seek good deals. Costco in the next few weeks will have wagyu beef on sale. Costco does not advertise where the A5 wagyu is from, but last time we got it, it turned out to be kagoshima wagyu imported by Poseidon Seafood, a much rarer find in the US. For people in the know, kagoshima wagyu has won various awards. So we rather eat home cooked wagyu than eating out, and still keep under the budget!

Hold up. How do you know costco is putting their Wagyu on sale?

[ACN]

Looked up our numbers. Family of two with a toddler in 2021. We love to travel, eat out at good restaurants, and buy whatever groceries we want (Costco, meat market, local grocery store). Typically good fish and meat with lots of fresh fruit and veggies. We go out for breakfast every weekend. I'll eat out lunch 1-2 times/week. We do blue apron for two meals usually every other week to change it up.

2017: R 8600 G 3500
2018: R 8800 G 4400
2019: R 11400 G 4600
2020: R 10900 G 7400 (pregnancy increase?)
2021: R 4100 G 3200 YTD

Don't look at food budget. Only live once and I love good food.

I also have a take out my residents and students a few times per year. Spent $500 the other week taking 6 of us out for a dinner. So that's included in there.

[Lordosis]

We spent 1k a month on groceries. I expect that will go up as the kids eat more. Another 300 or so at restaurants.

Lithium. Dishes are the least of my worries...

We upgraded our 8 way apple slicer to a 16 and that has been fantastic.
I prefer gala apples. We have a lot of local apples in the fall. But right now we get them by the bag. We go through them way too fast to do anything fancy. 5-6 a day.

[Fugue]

Really interesting trend. Normally on this forum these threads are a genitalia-measuring contest of how frugal someone can be, sometimes to almost ridiculous extremes.

Food seems to be the exception. Which honestly makes sense, it shows the difference between being cheap and frugal. When you’re frugal, you are willing to spend on things that matter. Food budget matters when it comes to health. Obviously some of the spending like eating out is superfluous, so I think it is also a reflection of priorities.

Single so mine is about 200-300. Lot of Aldi and I do eat out a fair amount but never any place fancy. Prefer the hole in the wall joints. Sushi is my only indulgence.

[WorkingToFish]

One thing that helps us is my dad is single and retired and hunts year round so we never have to buy meat! Always have a giant freezer full of venison, turkey, bear, moose, elk, etc. I try to add to that my fishing when I can. I suppose we get chicken and wild salmon sometimes but it's from Costco. Fresh veggies/fruits from the market is our splurge. Otherwise years of living on simple ingredients (I still love canned sardines and beans/rice) and learning how to cook with different spice profiles to create flavorful cuisine on a budget has paid off! haha

I have to say that waygu beef above though...? there's nothing in the wild that looks as amazing as that

Would be a fun exercise to calculate the cost per pound of meat that you get from your dad. I bet all those licenses and traveling and tags makes for a pretty penny! Nonetheless, awesome that you are able to get this from him!

[Dusn]

Aldis. Walmart (for non-produce, their produce sucks). Ethnic grocery stores.

[jfoxcpacfp]

Aldis. Walmart (for non-produce, their produce sucks). Ethnic grocery stores.

I’m surprised at at the Walmart produce disses - our Walmart has great produce, everything fresh, firm, and well-stocked. Aged produce is quickly removed.

Now that I’m single, it seems like I spend hardly anything on food. I like to make a big pot of black or pinto beans and use it through the week in various easy suppers (the only meal of the day I eat) - bean burritos with lots of fresh veggies, beans and cornbread, bowl of beans with avocados, cilantro, onion, green chili salsa, etc. Or I’ll buy a pizza and have it for 3 suppers.

Get all groceries at Walmart and order special add-ons (such as green chili salsa from El Pinto by the case, coffee beans from Peet’s when on sale, etc). Rarely have an interest in eating out because I prefer the dogs’ company.

[Hatton]

I am pretty snobby about apples and tomatoes and oranges. I will only buy tomatoes from a farmers market. I used to grow them myself. Apples are great from the local orchard when in season. Otherwise tart Granny Smith's that I individually select. I have really developed a taste for Sumo mandarins and Temple oranges. I buy bags of precut steamer bags of broccoli, carrots, and green beans. I eat cereal for a couple meals.

[wideopenspaces]

Are you including coffee shops and fast food or only restaurants ?

We don't do coffee shops (grew up Mormon so coffee wasn't a thing. No longer Mormon but I don't even like the smell. I know, I'm sure this sounds crazy to most!) and my husband is the only one who really eats fast food and that is not often.

[Dusn]

I’m surprised at at the Walmart produce disses - our Walmart has great produce, everything fresh, firm, and well-stocked. Aged produce is quickly removed.

Now that I’m single, it seems like I spend hardly anything on food. I like to make a big pot of black or pinto beans and use it through the week in various easy suppers (the only meal of the day I eat) - bean burritos with lots of fresh veggies, beans and cornbread, bowl of beans with avocados, cilantro, onion, green chili salsa, etc. Or I’ll buy a pizza and have it for 3 suppers.

Get all groceries at Walmart and order special add-ons (such as green chili salsa from El Pinto by the case, coffee beans from Peet’s when on sale, etc). Rarely have an interest in eating out because I prefer the dogs’ company.

It may be that I’m going to Walmart at the wrong time. I’ve noticed that even at Aldis, if you go late in the day, all the fresh looking produce is gone and the remaining produce looks like it’s already spoiled.

[wideopenspaces]

I’m surprised at at the Walmart produce disses - our Walmart has great produce, everything fresh, firm, and well-stocked. Aged produce is quickly removed.

Now that I’m single, it seems like I spend hardly anything on food. I like to make a big pot of black or pinto beans and use it through the week in various easy suppers (the only meal of the day I eat) - bean burritos with lots of fresh veggies, beans and cornbread, bowl of beans with avocados, cilantro, onion, green chili salsa, etc. Or I’ll buy a pizza and have it for 3 suppers.

Get all groceries at Walmart and order special add-ons (such as green chili salsa from El Pinto by the case, coffee beans from Peet’s when on sale, etc). Rarely have an interest in eating out because I prefer the dogs’ company.

I shop at Walmart weekly for most of our food. They have good bananas and envy apples, onions, bagged spinach, sometimes their pears are ok. But it's hard to find a single avocado or tomatoes on the vine and their precut stuff just doesn't look great to me. So I'm kind of mixed on it. I'm sure it varies by region.

My grandma died last fall but she showed me the glory of a good pot of beans(among many other cooking tips). We cook with those a lot in the winter, like you :-)

[endo4jc]

I’m paying 8.99/lb for grass fed ground beef here

Show off

[TheTodd]

I spend on average 800/month for the family of 4. My kids love fruit and berries which adds up, but all too happy to pay the price there.alternate between TJs and costco

As others have mentioned routine use of doordash or Uber eats adds up fast. If you want the convenience without the cost you can buy some pretty good pre made meals at Trader Joe’s for 3-4 bucks a pop.

[CordMcNally]

I am pretty snobby about apples and tomatoes and oranges. I will only buy tomatoes from a farmers market. I used to grow them myself. Apples are great from the local orchard when in season. Otherwise tart Granny Smith's that I individually select. I have really developed a taste for Sumo mandarins and Temple oranges. I buy bags of precut steamer bags of broccoli, carrots, and green beans. I eat cereal for a couple meals.

I've discovered cara cara oranges over the last month or so and eat several a day. I've never heard of Temple oranges but I'm going to keep an eye out for them.

[NumberWhizMD]

Or I’ll buy a pizza and have it for 3 suppers.

I feel like we could be great friends.