Wow, thanks so much for all the great advice! I really appreciate all of you taking the time to pore over my tracking spreadsheet.
Here are a few thoughts and reactions:
Coffee -- Busted. We've been participating in a local buyer's club that gets shade-grown, fair trade, organic coffee in bulk from a Mayan co-op. Typical industrial coffee plantations are environmental nightmares, so this indulgence eases our guilt. It also tastes about 400 times better than industrial coffee. And it costs about $10/lb vs. $4.56/lb for a big can of Folgers at Walmart. So our choice here is to cut back on consumption (currently a full 12-cup pot daily between my wife and me), or go back to feeling guilty about drinking shitty coffee. Or we could do without coffee entirely. Not likely to happen, but it helps to think about what the true necessities are.
Meat -- We do eat meatless meals 2-3 times a week. We always shop around for sales and stock up when we find good deals. A couple of commenters remarked that they never pay more than $2/lb for meat. Although we do eat a lot of chicken that costs less than $2/lb, it is nearly impossible in our locality to find any other kind of meat for that price. On-sale pork butts once in a while, but that is rare. And cheap seafood options simply do not exist here - believe me, we've searched high and low. The most likely options that I'm seeing are 1) cut down on variety and focus even more on the cheap chicken, and 2) eat more meatless meals and replace the protein with legumes.
Produce -- I was as surprised as you that we spend about the same amount on fresh produce as on meat. We do buy in-season, and as I said, the farmer's market stuff is generally only a little more expensive than the supermarket produce. We just eat a lot of produce. Although we do grow a few peppers in pots on our deck, our yard is not conducive to gardening (hilly, shady, and full of deer). So the option here appears to be to reduce variety and focus on the least expensive options. Not really willing to reduce consumption as we are trying our best to eat healthfully.
Alcohol -- Totally unnecessary, but as with the coffee, we are unlikely to cut it out entirely. We are not quite hitting the CDC definition of heavy drinking, but we do need to reduce consumption. The homebrewing should help, as long as I keep it basic and don't start buying a bunch of expensive equipment and fancy specialty ingredients.
Waste -- We waste very little. We cook enough to have leftovers, which I take to work with me for lunch. Once in a while we'll end up throwing out a few odds and ends that have been in the fridge too long, but in general, our waste is negligible.
Shopping around -- Several folks mentioned shopping around at various budget conscious stores. In our small rural town, we have Walmart, Kroger, Shop N Save, and the farmer's market. We patronize all of these establishments for the things that they do best and/or cheapest. Our only warehouse option is Sam's Club, which is 50 miles away. We do shop there on occasion in conjunction with shopping trips that we make on behalf of our local arts center, but the distance prevents this from being a regular shopping option.
Cheese -- Not sure why this generated so much discussion, as it is a fairly small part of the overall picture. Since my wife found out she has high cholesterol, we actually eat a lot less cheese than we used to. The fancy cheeses are bought in fairly small quantities, and they go in the freezer to be used a little at a time in various recipes over the course of several months.
Make stuff yourself -- Yes, we generally do this. My wife is the main cook, and she is very good at it. Our total prepared food bill was under $20/mo. Some days when my wife is busy with other things, she needs a night off from the kitchen. Gimesalot - we only spent $1.41/mo on prepared pizza. Not sure what you're looking at when you say $16.
The bottom line is that we just eat a lot, both in amount and variety. My wife has always complained that I eat enough for three people. I'm active and blessed with a high metabolism, so I've never counted calories in my life. I'm sure I blow the 2,000 cal/day diet out of the water. I'm not seeing any easy, no-brainer solutions. I think it will come down to reducing variety and analyzing every purchase.
Thanks again, guys.