Idea of average food costs

[hunniebun]

I was reading a blog and found this little table. It is the first time I have seen anything like it and thought it was super useful.  Having spent many years in the 'liberal' spending category, we are now solidly in the the moderate working towards the low.  I thought it was interesting enough to share.

[cautiouspessimist]

That is interesting. Turns out I'm right in the middle of 'Thrifty' and 'Low Cost'. (about $200/mo)

[beltim]

We recently had a discussion about this: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/antimustachian-wall-of-shame-and-comedy/usda-average-cost-of-food-at-home/

[2Birds1Stone]

This has been posted before if you want to do a search.

My SO and I are well beneath the "Thrifty" category. As I am assuming most on these boards are.

[ketchup]

I don't keep exact track of it, but we're (household of two adults in our 20s) somewhere between thrifty and low-cost (closer to thrifty, but varies month-to-month as we stock up on things or don't).  And we eat WELL (almost entirely grass-fed/pastured meat/eggs and shitloads of fresh produce, granted we know how to grocery shop and don't buy stupid things).  If we cared less about nutrition, we could easily survive on half the thrifty number.

Does this chart include gratuitous eating-out?  Because all the numbers seem really high.

[rocketpj]

Hmm, we fall between the low and moderate categories - but that is here in Canada, where a lot of the basics are more expensive (especially now with the burgeoning USD affecting produce imports and protein costs).

This is a very locally specific metric - different things cost more or less in different places, for any number of reasons (local retail rent being one of many factors).

[Zikoris]

I've always been a bit puzzled by that - shouldn't a couple spend less (or at least the same) as they would individually, rather than more?

[kimmarg]

This chart is updated every month, although the updates lag about a month. Here is the most current.

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodPlansCostofFood/reports

It is based on the cost of specific items in a variety of Us cities (sorry Canada). Personally I use the thrifty one as my food budget. I find that is a good cut off in my area to not be too extravagant without being too difficult to achieve.

[Rosy]

Thrifty category for us, including beer and wine and we eat very well.

[bop]

I've always been a bit puzzled by that - shouldn't a couple spend less (or at least the same) as they would individually, rather than more?

The image in the original post is missing the footnotes of the table.  Footnote 3 (for individuals), for example, says:
"The costs given are for individuals in 4-person families. For individuals in other size families, the following adjustments are suggested: 1-person—add 20 percent; 2-person—add 10 percent; 3-person—add 5 percent; 4-person—no adjustment; 5-or 6-person—subtract 5 percent; 7-(or more) person—subtract 10 percent. To calculate overall household food costs, (1) adjust food costs for each person in household and then (2) sum these adjusted food costs."

Footnote 4 (for a family of 2) says:
"Ten percent added for family size adjustment."

You can find a recent copy of the table with footnotes here:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodJul2015.pdf.

[Teacherstache]

Family of 4 - thrifty plan says we should be spending about $160/week. We actually only spend about 60% of that or about $90/week.

[Zikoris]

Footnote 4 (for a family of 2) says:
"Ten percent added for family size adjustment."

You can find a recent copy of the table with footnotes here:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodJul2015.pdf.

I get that they're doing that, I'm just puzzled as to why. If Person A spends $100/month on food and Person B spends $130/month on food, them moving in together should not result in >$230/month food bill. In fact, it should be slightly less than the sum due to efficiency.

[Purple Economist]

Footnote 4 (for a family of 2) says:
"Ten percent added for family size adjustment."

You can find a recent copy of the table with footnotes here:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodJul2015.pdf.

I get that they're doing that, I'm just puzzled as to why. If Person A spends $100/month on food and Person B spends $130/month on food, them moving in together should not result in >$230/month food bill. In fact, it should be slightly less than the sum due to efficiency.

They add 10% compared to those two individuals being a part of a four-person family.  If those two were individuals living on their own, they would add 20% to each of their individual numbers (as a part of a four-person family).  If they are part of a two-person family, they add 10%, so they are adding less when two people live together versus them living apart.

[asauer]

Wow.  I complain every month about how much we spend on food but it turns our we're below the thrifty average cost.  I'll stop complaining now!

[hunniebun]

It would be nice if there was a Canadian equivalent!  I have never seen anything like this before. 

[hunniebun]

Oh the other thing that for me is important is that when I grocery shop, I also purchase personal care items which isn't strictly food. Likely 20% my food and personal care budget is personal care stuff. I have been meaning to start dividing the two to get a better picture of what our strictly food spending is.

[Zikoris]

Footnote 4 (for a family of 2) says:
"Ten percent added for family size adjustment."

You can find a recent copy of the table with footnotes here:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodJul2015.pdf.

I get that they're doing that, I'm just puzzled as to why. If Person A spends $100/month on food and Person B spends $130/month on food, them moving in together should not result in >$230/month food bill. In fact, it should be slightly less than the sum due to efficiency.

They add 10% compared to those two individuals being a part of a four-person family.  If those two were individuals living on their own, they would add 20% to each of their individual numbers (as a part of a four-person family).  If they are part of a two-person family, they add 10%, so they are adding less when two people live together versus them living apart.

Got it. It sure seems like a weird way to present the data though - I would assume most people looking at it would be trying to see how they compare to other people in their demographic, so a single 28 year old woman would look up that row to see how her spending measured up.

... So the lowest amount for my demographic (female, 19-50) would actually be $200 A MONTH just for one person??? Going up to $400 for the more expensive option? Holy jesus, if that's how much food Americans eat I can see why everyone down there is so overweight... $400 would be what we spend in Canada to feed two people for two months.

[Leanthree]

Got it. It sure seems like a weird way to present the data though - I would assume most people looking at it would be trying to see how they compare to other people in their demographic, so a single 28 year old woman would look up that row to see how her spending measured up.

This exists more for SNAP (colloquially:food stamps) benefit calculations than any other reason. That is why Dept. of Ag collects so much data on this sort of thing.

[acroy]

Holy moley... that's a $hit-ton of money on food, even for the thrifty plan!
We spend about $700/mo to feed family of 8. The $700 includes non-food 'groceries': soap, TP, etc. We eat very well and could cut it down if needed.

Holy moley...

[Roboturner]

WOW my SO and I are almost half of the "thrifty" plan.... ultra-thrift?

[smalllife]

Hm, between thrifty and low for us (household of two where spending on food is the extravagence thay gets the SO on board with many other things) which is surprising because I tend to think we are spendypants in that area.

[Sailor Sam]

OHshit, guys. I'm slack jawed with astonishment, and not in a good way.  I'm at the high end of Liberal. Actually, I'm only within Liberal if I adjust up the 20%. My average weekly grocery bill is $84.

I'm actually genuinely astonished and distressed. I've been cruising along FOR YEARS with the idea that ~$80/week was pretty thrifty for a meat eater. I comparison shop! I buy in bulk! I started a price book, just to get a better handle on prices around here. I really thought I was optimized.

It's been a while since I've been so bugeyed wrong in my perceptions. Wow.

[Dexterous]

We're slightly below the "thrifty plan" as a couple, and that includes going to dinner once or twice a month with friends and buying other household items (TP, detergent, etc.). 

My wife does the grocery shopping, and I'm not sure how she spends so little!  :)  I used to spend much more than her at the same places.

[tardis]

I'm between thirfty and low as a Canadian vegetarian.

http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/industry-markets-and-trade/statistics-and-market-information/by-region/canada/comparative-consumer-profile-canada-and-the-united-states/?id=1410083148458

This isn't an equivalent spreadsheet, but a very interesting statistical breakdown of Canada vs. US spending and demographics.  Scrolling to about halfway down gets you to a table comparing categories within grocery spending.  The biggest differences are Canadians spend more on meat/seafood/dairy (42.8% vs 29.6%), fruit (13.2% vs. 5.3%) and less on non-alcoholic beverages and "other" (9.6% vs 27.6%).

Measured by weight, the average Canadian consumed approximately 36 kg more vegetables than meat, while Americans, on the other hand, consumed 16.7 kg more meat than they did vegetables.

So meat at least, is more expensive as it's +2.8% for Candadians as a percentage of total costs.  Some interesting tidbits to be found in there.

[fattest_foot]

Wow.  I complain every month about how much we spend on food but it turns our we're below the thrifty average cost.  I'll stop complaining now!

Yeah, my wife and I both think we spend way too much on groceries, but apparently we're right outside of the thrifty category.

I can't even imagine how much food we'd have to be throwing away a month to bump up into a higher category.

[clarkfan1979]

Food + bathroom stuff (shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc...) is about 600/month for two adults. I just try to focus on zero waste. The freezer is my friend.

[Bracken_Joy]

Used to be well above the "liberal" amount, now between "thrifty" and "low-cost".

This made me feel awesome about the changes we've been making. Thanks!

[FrugalWad]

Wow, I spend half of the thrifty plan on myself, and that's still eating plenty of fruits and veggies. I guess we can create a plan below thrifty: miserly.

[KisKis]

Wow, I spend half of the thrifty plan on myself, and that's still eating plenty of fruits and veggies. I guess we can create a plan below thrifty: miserly.

I'll join you in the miserly category.  This chart is crazy to me.  $569.40/month for a family of 4 is thrifty??  I feel like we eat like kings, and my carefully tracked expense sheet is showing an average of $377.86/month for the past 8 months (kids ages 4 & 6).  This includes eating out.  I guess "thrifty" is if we upgrade to all organic...

[Roboturner]

Wow, I spend half of the thrifty plan on myself, and that's still eating plenty of fruits and veggies. I guess we can create a plan below thrifty: miserly.

I'll join you in the miserly category.  This chart is crazy to me.  $569.40/month for a family of 4 is thrifty??  I feel like we eat like kings, and my carefully tracked expense sheet is showing an average of $377.86/month for the past 8 months (kids ages 4 & 6).  This includes eating out.  I guess "thrifty" is if we upgrade to all organic...

Ahhh yes, "Organic," the smuggest synonym for "needlessly expensive"

[Moostache]

Yeah, I am on the low end of between $100 and $200 per month for just myself.  I can't imagine actually spending $200/mo unless I am eating out some.

Wow, I spend half of the thrifty plan on myself, and that's still eating plenty of fruits and veggies. I guess we can create a plan below thrifty: miserly.

[Uturn]

hmmm, not often I find myself on the wrong end of a spending scale.  Looks like I have some work to do.

[1967mama]

http://www.dietitians.ca/Downloads/Public/CostofEatingBC2011_FINAL.aspx

Page 8 of this document has calculations for figuring out eating costs in BC -- it is from 2011 but the most recent I could find. Hope this helps some of my fellow Canucks! Other provinces are available as well.

[Zikoris]

http://www.dietitians.ca/Downloads/Public/CostofEatingBC2011_FINAL.aspx

Page 8 of this document has calculations for figuring out eating costs in BC -- it is from 2011 but the most recent I could find. Hope this helps some of my fellow Canucks! Other provinces are available as well.

Holy hell, now we're up to $525 a MONTH for a family of two? Further proof that I live in Crazy Town, where standard practice is be withdrawing at least double the amount a reasonable person would spend on food, and immediately lighting half of it on fire. Because at that level of volcano-wastefulness you're either having caviar for breakfast every day, or torching bills.

[broketriathlete]

Very interesting!! I'm right in between thrifty and low cost. Question: how can I stay in that category but eat healthier? I notice that my food buying has been BOGO's for processed and canned foods, but I notice I'm not feeling 100% because I'm putting "junk" in my body.

[Bracken_Joy]

Very interesting!! I'm right in between thrifty and low cost. Question: how can I stay in that category but eat healthier? I notice that my food buying has been BOGO's for processed and canned foods, but I notice I'm not feeling 100% because I'm putting "junk" in my body.

There are some awesome threads on this on the forums about this subject. Recently a guy from Maine had a pretty big one that had a lot of good ideas, maybe someone will link to it... I'm being lazy.

Key question is what is your idea of healthy? There seem to be two main camps on the forums: the vegetarian/vegan crowd, and the paleo/clean eating crowd. Either way, everyone seems to agree that whole foods are ideal, rebate apps like Ibotta and Checkout51 help, and buying on sale and stocking up rock.

Edit: I felt guilty for my lazy. Here you go: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/i-need-help-from-fellow-frugal-healthy-eaters-groceries-are-killing-us!/

[broketriathlete]

Very interesting!! I'm right in between thrifty and low cost. Question: how can I stay in that category but eat healthier? I notice that my food buying has been BOGO's for processed and canned foods, but I notice I'm not feeling 100% because I'm putting "junk" in my body.

There are some awesome threads on this on the forums about this subject. Recently a guy from Maine had a pretty big one that had a lot of good ideas, maybe someone will link to it... I'm being lazy.

Key question is what is your idea of healthy? There seem to be two main camps on the forums: the vegetarian/vegan crowd, and the paleo/clean eating crowd. Either way, everyone seems to agree that whole foods are ideal, rebate apps like Ibotta and Checkout51 help, and buying on sale and stocking up rock.

I'd say clean eating. Less sugar for sure! I can tell when I've had too much sugar. My head is foggy and just feel like crap. Also less processed foods! I'll take a look around and see if I can find the threads.

[Bracken_Joy]

Very interesting!! I'm right in between thrifty and low cost. Question: how can I stay in that category but eat healthier? I notice that my food buying has been BOGO's for processed and canned foods, but I notice I'm not feeling 100% because I'm putting "junk" in my body.

There are some awesome threads on this on the forums about this subject. Recently a guy from Maine had a pretty big one that had a lot of good ideas, maybe someone will link to it... I'm being lazy.

Key question is what is your idea of healthy? There seem to be two main camps on the forums: the vegetarian/vegan crowd, and the paleo/clean eating crowd. Either way, everyone seems to agree that whole foods are ideal, rebate apps like Ibotta and Checkout51 help, and buying on sale and stocking up rock.

I'd say clean eating. Less sugar for sure! I can tell when I've had too much sugar. My head is foggy and just feel like crap. Also less processed foods! I'll take a look around and see if I can find the threads.

Added the link above, sorry I was being lazy! Here it is for good measure, since you commented before I edited: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/i-need-help-from-fellow-frugal-healthy-eaters-groceries-are-killing-us!/

[Tigerpine]

Threads like this are why I love this forum so much!  I never would have known that such a chart exists otherwise.

Unfortunately, I've been very consistently in the liberal category this entire year at least. My goal is $200 / month starting next month.  I've already surpassed that threshold this month... :(

[broketriathlete]

Thank you for that! Checking it out now!

[Jakejake]

Very interesting!! I'm right in between thrifty and low cost. Question: how can I stay in that category but eat healthier? I notice that my food buying has been BOGO's for processed and canned foods, but I notice I'm not feeling 100% because I'm putting "junk" in my body.

1. Look for what's in season, and fresh produce that is marked down for cosmetic blemishes. Example: today I was casing browsing kroger, and noticed their pie pumpkins are $1 each. I weighed one - it was 4 pounds. I got two. For 25¢ a pound, I have a cheap source of cooked winter squash, I can make it into a soup, or mash it for smoothies, plus I can roast the seeds. It's a heck of a lot of food for two dollars.

2. Be flexible with your meals. Don't go shopping with a list based on ingredients you need for a meal plan. Get the deals, then figure out the meals. Have some staples on hand for when this doesn't work out. (Beans, rice, etc.) I know I've posted this before, but let the grocery gods dictate your luxury items. In my house this means maybe going a year or two without brie even though I love it - but when it's marked way down or I get a deal on it, I buy a half dozen wedges and just enjoy the hell out of it. For a while a local butcher had beef tenderloin at 3.99/lb and we would eat it a few times a week. Now it's at least double that and we haven't had it this year.

3. The disclaimer: I got a bag of iced animal crackers for free yesterday with a coupon and I'm eating this as I type. I suck.

[Cassie]

It is shocking how much people spend on food. WE are between the thrifty & low cost plan.

[golfreak12]

Man, some of you guys are doing a great job on FOOD.
Me and my wife set a $600 food budget at the beginning of this year. We thought it was a lot but thats only $20/day.
We haven't gone over the $600 limit yet, always around $400-$500 range.
We never eat out. Out ideas of eating out is Chick-fil-a, Chinese buffet or crawfish. We never go a normal restaurant anymore.
Even those places will set us back $14/$28/$30 each time.
I'd love to see if we're able to live on a $400 food budget but thats only $13/day. I'd love to save money but I don't want to live like we're poor either.

[Cassie]

WE shop at Winco which is reasonable.  We eat meat at every dinner. We have steak 1x/week.  We buy the very lean hamburger which is expensive so definitely not eating like we are poor & usually have company for dinner 1x/week.

[Lizzy B.]

If you like this sort of thing and want to take it to the next level, the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics releases a report that details spending in all categories, including transportation, clothing, entertainment, etc. collected from the annual Consumer Expenditure Survey.  They then parse that data in lots of ways, grouping spending by income, income quintiles, age of respondent, size of consumer unit (aka household), and a million other things.  They group expenses oddly (separating reading materials from BOTH entertainment and education?) and it’s not immediately apparent what each category includes.  It’s still really interesting data, though.

I really like that they split food spending into groceries (food in the home) and food out of the home.  I’m always shocked what a large percentage of food spending is spent out of the home.  Our food bill is higher than I’d like, but at least our percentage of food out isn’t huge.

I think 2013 is the most recent data that they’ve released.  You can find the pdf here:  http://www.bls.gov/cex/csxann13.pdf.  The breakdowns I talk about are listed near the end in the statistical tables.

I spent an enjoyable couple of hours tallying our expenses in each category and then comparing them to expenditures of people with varying incomes.  Turns out we drink booze like rich people, but dress like we make less than minimum wage.  It’s all about priorities, right?  :-)

[gt7152b]

My family of 4 is beating the thrifty plan including restaurants and alcohol which includes lots of craft beer for my wife and I. We also eat quite well.

[gt7152b]

Very interesting!! I'm right in between thrifty and low cost. Question: how can I stay in that category but eat healthier? I notice that my food buying has been BOGO's for processed and canned foods, but I notice I'm not feeling 100% because I'm putting "junk" in my body.

Try to buy real food instead of the pre- packaged stuff. You will be eating much healthier and probably saving more money too. Anytime I see a fancy package on food I think about what percentage of the retail price goes into the marketing. Calculate $/lb for everything. That $4 bag of 8oz potato chips won't look so yummy when you can buy a 10lb bag of potatoes for the same price.

[frompa]

...
I think 2013 is the most recent data that they’ve released.  You can find the pdf here:  http://www.bls.gov/cex/csxann13.pdf.  The breakdowns I talk about are listed near the end in the statistical tables.
....

Hey Lizzy B., thanks for that reference.  I too spent some time enjoying all that data and comparing where we are to everyone else.  It's fascinating stuff. 

[Cornelia]

http://www.dietitians.ca/Downloads/Public/CostofEatingBC2011_FINAL.aspx

Page 8 of this document has calculations for figuring out eating costs in BC -- it is from 2011 but the most recent I could find. Hope this helps some of my fellow Canucks! Other provinces are available as well.

Holy hell, now we're up to $525 a MONTH for a family of two? Further proof that I live in Crazy Town, where standard practice is be withdrawing at least double the amount a reasonable person would spend on food, and immediately lighting half of it on fire. Because at that level of volcano-wastefulness you're either having caviar for breakfast every day, or torching bills.

I did a search on the site and found the 2013 BC family of four average for a "nutritional food basket of groceries/month"... $914!!! 

Holy moses!

[Urchina]

Our family of 4 fits the usda profile almost perfectly and we are somewhere between the low-cost and thrifty plans including my husband's usual lunches out, school lunch once a week for the kids, a regular wine habit and huge quantities of fresh produce (easily half of our grocery budget - we eat a Loy of fruits and vegetables). I suspect the fact that we cook from scratch and have nearly zero processed foods in the house (unless you count Tillamook Cheddar cheese, condiments, plain canned beans and dried pasta) helps with this.

Can we get  a better-optimized, lower-cost food budget? Sure, but I'm happy we're starting from a nice point.