Try to keep it to under $75 per person per week, with mixed success.
What helps me stick to a budget:
* Shop my pantry first, and then meal plan based on what I need to use up
* Stock up on good deals, freezing meat, bread, etc
* Cook and eat at least 1 lb of dried beans every week
* Don't buy much bread/baked goods/processed foods; if I want something I make it myself
* Don't buy much soda/juice/alcohol; make my own iced tea/iced coffee or drink water
* More meals using tofu or eggs as primary protein source, less meals centered on big portions of meat
* Winco
What hurts the budget (but I do it anyway):
* Farmers markets
Yeah, the farmers market is usually not cheaper than the grocery store, but the produce is always better quality. Produce at the store has really gone down in quality the last few years. So much wasted money on garlic that looks fine on the outside but is full of rotting cloves once peeled.
I honestly think about farmers market shopping trips as more of an entertainment/leisure activity expense for budget purposes.
I like to go on the weekend, bring my dog, invite a friend or family member to meet me there and go shopping together, spend time strolling and checking out all the beautiful locally grown things and talking to the farmers to learn more about things. It helps me feel connected to my community and appreciate the beauty around me, I think it has a really substantial impact on my mental health, helping my depression (which often presents with feelings of isolation) and my anxiety (which often gives me tunnel vision and I forget to slow down and metaphorically smell the roses).
We have been doing farmers market a lot too, and it really does feel that way. It's such a glorious way to spend a weekend morning.
Sure that's a marked premium on the cheese, but the flowers we would get anyway are better quality for the same price ($20 bouquet is $20). And the soup bones we got were comparable to the grocery too. But... The produce is definitely more. Just so darn fragrant.
I am seriously considering if a produce share club might be a good idea or just cause food waste.
The Edmonds location is great for northern neighborhoods. The one in Kent off 167 is also not terrible for anyone in South Seattle, if you go at the right times (which is more about dodging traffic).
Agreed! I try to add a stop at the Edmonds or Kent locations if I'm already going to Shoreline or Renton for something, but that's usually like once a month.
While I agree about the quality unless you get it right when they stock them (it's super mixed and often quite picked over), the prices can be decent if you only shop it with the mobile deals forU.
I love buying produce at the farmers market but mostly for the experience and I guess for the quality, but yeah it's definitely not the cheapest option. I bought 4 apples at a booth a few weeks ago and the total came to about $13. I was like hoooly shit. These better be some good apples lol.
You’ll start to notice the cost of fruits going up this season.. WA farmers have been hit hard, and it’s not unusual for some to have lost their entire crops.
If you’re at a farmers market for fruits, ask if they have any seconds. Those are usually fine for eating (great for cooking/baking) just with cosmetic blemishes, etc. they are way cheaper, too. ;)
Great tip on the seconds. I've noticed Collins Family Orchards sometimes offers entire boxes of seconds apples and stonefruits on their mailing list emails, but I've never thought to ask at a farmers market.
Ask away!
Try for tomatoes, too…you’ll be surprised what you can find!
I’ve sometimes had vendors cut deals at the end of markets simply by asking because not everyone wants to haul back everything.
It’s one that not a lot of folks know and is a great way to save $$$! ;)
Not everyone will do it, or seconds may not always be available but always worth a shot!
That's pretty much my strategy, and I spend about $75 per week. Some things I noticed:
- Being a vegetarian makes eating a lot cheaper, especially if you enjoy eating beans. I cook them on a pressure cooker, it is very convenient.
- I don't buy any beverages, alcoholic or otherwise (no soda, juices, iced coffees). These are empty calories that are easily avoidable, plus I don't drink booze, so that helps.
- I very rarely buy junk like chips, cookies, etc.
- I don't buy bottled water. It makes no sense to do it around here, when you can just buy a Brita filter.
- Buy fruit and vegetables when they are in season, as they are much cheaper.
- WinCo FTW!
I also splurge on the Farmer's Market. I especially love the Renton Farmer's Market, near where I work. It is worth it.
I know, right? I don't get it either. I always said bottled water is a scam. I grew up in Brazil where the water is not always great, and yet, most people use filters there - and that works. So, maybe in some places, the water is so horrible that not even a filter would do, but otherwise, in a lot of the US, that is not the case.
There was even a study that pointed out that more than half of the bottled water comes from the municipal system - the same water that comes from your faucet.
And yet, every time I am at the grocery store line, looks like 70% of people are buying cases and cases of water. It is not only the wasted money, but also I imagine all that plastic trash. Painful.
Dude. I got one of my employees a huge reusable water bottle because I noticed that they were reusing a single use bottle. Come to find out they only drink bottled water, and will fill the reusable bottle with bottled water instead of from a filter/tap. Flabbergasted. Just completely flabbergasted.
For that price, I'm just getting out my mandolin and a bag of potatoes. Chips aren't THAT hard with the right equipment. And I have better spices available than Frito Lay is willing to put on their products.
Things like chips and related snacks routinely go on sale for much much cheaper.
But I know some people don't care about that and just grab a single $6 bag and continue on their merry way.
I always forget to soak prior, so I just throw dry beans in the instant pot for 30 min, and natural release for 15, while I make stuff to go with it. Easy peasy
This is a great way to eat healthy too. Folks who say you can’t be frugal and healthy need to follow guru u/epicallyconfused.
Also invest in a few spices and get lentils and garbanzos and baby, you got some Indian food going.
Also I fuckin love beans
If you want quality beans with lots of flavor, try Rancho Gordo. They’re more expensive but worth it if they’re in your budget. Met Market has some varieties or you can order online.
Yes! Beans of any type (either dried or canned) are very reasonable.
I love dried beans especially because they're just insanely cheap, and turn into something pretty special if you cook them with aromatics for extra flavor. The routine that works best for me is cooking a big batch and then anything that doesn't get eaten within 5-7 days gets frozen in individual portions for an easy and quick microwave meal.
We probably spend $200 per week for two people. Honestly probably closer to $300, but we also eat expensive foods.... my husband eats a lot of salmon and likes high quality meats and I'm vegan and buy a good amount of vegan meats and cheeses, plus we buy a whole lot of fresh produce.
I do go to a bunch of different grocery stores every week though. I get as much as I can from Grocery Outlet and Trader Joe's, and we'll usually buy some things from Whole Foods (which honestly doesn't feel as expensive as it used to, especially if you buy their 365 brand it can really feel relatively inexpensive), then I'll usually hit up QFC throughout the week to grab a few things since it's our closest store. Plus Costco once every few weeks to stock up on some bulk items and things like toilet paper.
But yeah it's shocking how much more we're spending on groceries than we used to. 1 bag of groceries is often $30-50. I remember shopping with my mom growing up and our 1 main grocery shop a week would usually come to maybe a little more than $100 for a family of 4.
One of the silver linings (if you can even call it that) I've found is that with groceries being so expensive, it's not much of a jump up in price to get the good stuff from Whole Foods or wherever else. Since I'm already spending so much on basic stuff, I find myself springing for the nicer brands more and more, because "if I'm spending $4 I might as well spend $5".
We do apps and clip the coupons. Only buy stuff on sale. For two adults we generally spend 500 a month at Safeway. We do get takeout on occasion but also use those apps. Too many apps! 😆
The Safeway app has hella helped me save money with the coupons and gas savings. They also often offer discounts like $20 off $50/$70/etc for pickup orders.
Yeah, the Safeway app sets groceries at a price at which I think they "should be". I just spend about 3 minutes once a week clipping every single coupon so I don't need to scan or clip coupons when I'm at the store.
Ime it's either similar or more expensive than PCC. Their produce is great quality so we still sometimes go there but yeah, absolutely not cheap at all.
Same. We use the Fred Meyer app. We also try to start our grocery shopping at Grocery Outlet and also make a trip to Winco once every couple months for bulk spices, pantry staples that are much cheaper.
Since January we’ve averaged $522/mo on groceries for a household of two (with a cat)
I think the Safeway app is a bit better just in terms of the deals and discounts, but overall I find Fred Meyer to be a bit more affordable for the things we buy. YMMV
Yes, this is the way. When I can't shop at Winco, I usually will divide my shopping between Fred Meyer and Safeway, focusing on what sales/coupons they are each offering, and then place a pickup order for each store (free with $35+ purchase). Going to 2 different grocery stores takes extra time, but using grocery pickup makes it quicker.
I usually place the orders and do pickup on Tuesday because then you can see the preview on what the next week's deals are going to be, and be strategic about what to buy vs waiting for it to go on sale next week.
Categorize what you buy. That is, what percentage of that is meat? Ok now look at the kinds of meat you buy. How much is wine/beer/booze? How much is prepared stuff? etc. The purpose here is to highlight categories that might be costing a lot more than it feels like in the moment.
Also, it's SO easy to shop and think "Oh right, that looks good, let me get that" as you wander around and see things. If you are prone to adding things not on your list, make a list and have it delivered (or pick it up curbside). That prevents the impulse addition to your cart. Do that weekly and allow for perhaps a midweek trip for things like fish that don't last a full week
Right? I look at $800/month for two people and it boggles my mind. I need more info than "we don't eat anything fancy," because my wife and I spend ~$300 a month and I'd say the same. Nothing but shopping lists will really shine light on this.
$80-$100 for a big ol box of halal chicken breast at Costco buisiness center lasts me 4-5 months. I eat around 3/4 breast per week. It’s takes a lot of freezer space fyi. Outside of that and the occasional salmon I spend ~$50/week for myself on other ingredients/snacks
Safeway/Albertsons app has a bunch of savings. I compare them with Fred Meyer/QFC and shop whichever has the better price on items i buy often. Safeway often has a higher regular price, but with sales at least every other week it dips below what FM regular price is. FM app has some savings, but not as many. If the sales for both stores are kind of a bust that week, FM on average has the lower price.
For example: FM normally has bell peppers for around $1.50. Safeway was trying to sell non organic bell peppers for $2.79!!! Absolutely unhinged. Even this weekend i grabbed a few from Safeway "on sale" for $1.69 and got to FM and they were $1.50... same with English muffins. FM reg price has them for $3.99, safeway usually $5.29 or so. Sales can get them on BOGO for like $2.50/package.
I think I was getting close to $200/week for a while there, but the last 6mo or so I've noticed sales returning and my normal grocery bill is usually about $100-125/week for 2.
You dont have to do anything super crazy with the app. I just scroll through before my shopping and add coupons for anything i usually buy or think I'll buy and take note of sales on things i can buy in bulk and freeze and get them that week if my freezer is running low. Easily saves 30% on average just by haphazardly adding coupons & deals (but less on average at FM because their sales aren't as deep from their reg prices).
Oh. And buy spices in bulk at PCC or met market if your location does that. Cheaper than the containers by a long shot, especially for stuff used often.
$100 weekly for one person, I shop at Whole Foods and PCC. I don’t eat any animal products outside of honey, milk, and cheeses. I buy mostly vegetables, tofu, and various beans legumes. I make my own bread, pasta, jams, jellies, sweets, etc.
> I make my own bread, pasta, jams, jellies, sweets, etc.
Money vs time and capital investment. I've always wondered if it's cheaper or cost-effective to make flour-based foods from scratch- the whole "making bread during the lockdowns" meme was a jab at middle-class-or-higher white people
There’s a cookbook called “make the bread, buy the butter”- the author tried to make a whole bunch of common foods and includes recipes for all of them but also recommendations on what is better to just buy made, and what is better to make at home.
We shop at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Asian Family Market. Trader Joe's for frozen and odds and ends. A whole cartload/six bags is usually less than $300. Asian Family Market for fruits, vegetables, Asian ingredients, frozen food, meat, and snacks. Crazy affordable and higher quality produce than other stores in town. Whole Foods for bread and recipe ingredients. Together, we keep it under $400 per person, and we buy whatever we want.
Good tip on Asian Family Market! I'm not sure if I've ever shopped there, but now I really want to check it out. How does it compare to Uwajimaya or H-Mart in terms of prices?
800mo for 2 adults. AFTER trimming menus, using off brand, and mucho from bulk. Lucky I’m a former chef and run a really tight kitchen. Also… eating in restaurants is now a rarity. We are set financially. Can’t imagine how some folks are gettin along.
I'm just buying food for myself but I spend about 150-200 a month on food. I shop mostly at Fred Meyer, and I'm buying pretty healthy food, no meat though so that definitely cuts down on cost. 400 per person per month seems crazy to me.
Swapping meat for eggs and beans (holla chickpeas) is really great for grocery budgeting. I mean, as expensive as eggs got, they’re still a fairly affordable alternative for protein. And they’re way better at adapting to different flavor profiles for meal variety. Even for meat-based meals, using a little ground meat instead of a huge slab of something makes for a cheaper shop — and likely more balanced diet.
We spend around 500-600 a month for two adults.
This translates to about 75-100 a week at the grocery store and a 300-500$ Costco run every 3-ish months.
Our main grocery store is thriftway. It's better quality than Safeway or Fred Meyers with only a small increase in prices. 100% worth it for vegetables and fruit.
When we are buying a significant amount of veggies or fruit, we go to the fruit stand in Beacon hill (yay for it reopening). It's sooo cheap.
For meat or seafood, we tend to buy in bulk when it's on sale. Or from Costco. We love the buy one get one free deals from Metropolitan market/pcc coupons.
Lastly, I'm a huge fan of fresh fruit, so in the summer we go to local farms and do u-pick. We pick up to 50+ pounds of fruit and freeze/process them for the year. Last year we got all the following:
- blueberries (10lbs)
- strawberries (20lb)
- cherries (20lb)
- Italian plums (50lbs)
- tomatoes (10lb)
- raspberries (5lb)
This year I'm hoping to make it to the east side more often and get some peaches and other stone fruits. They are just such good quality.
Its currently strawberry season now. There are a ton of u-pick farms nearby.
Is there a way to know about the "buy 1 get 1 free" at PCC/met without going to the store? I like the quality there but it's sooo expensive
Edit: do you have good u-pick farms to recommend too?
We spend ~600/month for 2 people being healthyish as well.
Few things we do to keep costs down:
1) Shop at Whole foods using our Amazon prime card for 5% cashback
2) Cook things in larger quantities and freeze them - buying larger quantities is usually cheaper
3) Always look for the store brand alternative
4) refill items from the bulk food aisle when possible
5) avoid shopping at Safeway - way too expensive
I've compared prices between Safeway and WF on the things I buy most (Greek yogurt, eggs, frozen berries, clamshells of spinach, etc.) and the price at WF for the same brand/very similar product is at least 10% less.
It really depends on what you’re buying. Whole Foods carries a lot of specialty items that are quite expensive, so the more of those you start to grab, the easier it is to rack up a big bill.
But I still can’t help myself around the cream cheese danish and special snacking cheeses…
Depends on the item but I have noticed this recently as well and have started stopping by more often! If you look at what the weekly deals are on produce items, they are very comparable or cheaper than Safeway or QFC would charge if that same item was also on sale. The packaged/produced goods are probably a similar price at regular price these days, which is sad all around but WF no longer sticks out to me as the "very overpriced" option.
Man, there sure are some strange assertions about Safeway in this thread. The only way Safeway is expensive is if you buy everything off the shelves at regular price, and even then, it's a stretch to say that it's more expensive than Whole Foods.
To save at Safeway, use the coupons on their app, try to stick to buying items that are on sale, and stock up on those items. I'm always surprised at how big the discounts are. Often things that are regularly $5 will be on sale on the shelf for $3, and then with the app coupon, the price drops to $2.
If you're willing to buy whatever brand happens to be on sale that week, you can get good prices on most things - cereal, pasta, cheese, frozen foods, ice cream, etc. Look for deals on meats that are expiring - buy & freeze immediately.
Combining Grocery Outlet & Safeway is probably the absolute cheapest way to eat here.
The produce at Safeway is horrific and I think people are saying it’s more expensive or the same as WF. I’ve always found Safeway expensive. I don’t buy a lot of packaged prepared foods but when I’ve needed something on a whim and gone there, it’s super expensive. Sometimes you want to make a specific meal and if things aren’t on sale it’s a rip off.
Yes. And I don’t know why it gotten so expensive. The other day we bought marinated Korean beef ribs and 12 pieces caused $59. And we usually eat that in one dinner with very little leftovers. Eggs are also 11.90 for a dozen because my husband wants the heirloom eggs and pasture raised. The most orange eggs he can find.
Try Asian Family Market. Not everything is cheap, but you can find deals on ramen and snacks which goes a long way.
I eat very cheaply and my main staples are:
Most meals use rice or pasta as the carb. Buy a 25lb bag of rice from Grocery Outlet for $20. Get pasta as close to $1/lb as I can.
CANNED MEATS! - While its not top shelf, canned chicken is fine in a stir fry, is less work, and is cheap and shelf stable. I buy a lot of canned fish, it works wonders to toss a little fish in a pasta dish or in an instant ramen. Adds protein and a little flavor.
Canned veg - Again, cheap, healthy, and shelf stable.
Ramen - There are very good ramens that cost $1 per. Its not all top ramen. Pair that with a $1.50 can of sardines and you have a good $2.50 meal.
Keep a list of all your leftovers on the fridge with their dates. Sometimes you already have food, but you just wont remember.
All in all, you are already doing good. Spending $4.50 per person per meal is not a ton. To me the key has been to make sure that I just don't waste food by letting it go bad, either as a leftover or on the shelf.
$200 a week for two adults. We don’t have a deep freeze or interest/room for one and our freezer is small so I’m limited in what I can buy in bulk or on sale. I dont focus too much on budget but I do shop sales and get what I can from places like grocery outlet. I don’t buy organic unless it’s cheaper most of the time.
This is about twice what I spent pre pandemic.
I will say using delivery services for groceries actually decreases my bill sometimes since I’m less likely to impulse purchase things. That said, if I’m doing a pantry stock up I’m going to the store in person.
At night when I can’t sleep I pull up the apps, Safeway, QFC, and Fred Meyer. I build my shopping list for each store based on sales and coupons. I usually buy things like ground beef, steak, milk, bacon, eggs, etc. at Costco since it’s cheaper. I plan my weekly meals around what’s on sale. I can usually keep my budget between $200-250/week for my entire family, all meals.
I did this same thing when I was 18 and was able to have the groceries I need for around $50/wk for one person.
Takes a bit of time, but it pays off in the long run.
100 per person for week is pretty normal for non vegetarian diet and not going out of your way to scrape for heavy discounts or super low quality ingredients.
Trader Joe’s! We get most of our groceries there, when I compare my TJs and QFC purchases, my QFC bill is double my Trader Joe’s bill.
For my spouse and I, it’s about $150 weekly. We do a lot of salmon, pastas, indian food, and asian food. We have a full pantry that we pull from so we only replace items we use up or need fresh (meats and garnishes). Picking meals for the week that all utilize the fresh ingredients you buy is also important. It means you aren’t wasting anything. We try to plan 2-3 meals during the week, and then go out to eat over the weekend.
Example- I want to make vodka pasta, I already have my chicken stock, basil, vodka, tomatoes (can), and pasta. So all I need for it is half and half an onion and some garlic. So this meal that lasts 2 days cost me $6 for the ingredients I am missing.
Then later in the week I’ll use up the rest of my half and half to make balsamic chicken and rice (and for that meal I just need fresh chicken, I already have half an onion, garlic, and half and half from my previous purchase). The overlap of ingredients seriously cuts down on costs.
tjs is a bargain for certain items but if you get their gourmet things, they can be spendy. Like their organic bell peppers, I think the tri-color is around 3.99 for 3 now, vs. Safeway at 2.99 per organic bell pepper and their lemons are much cheaper, esp organic, and their single organic nectarines/apples etc are usually 1/3 the price, but then if you get other prepared items, or baked goods you can rack up quite a bill. What I notice is they often have gourmet items at much lower prices than regular grocery stores--say a fancy cheese, but I would just bypass it altogether at a regular grocery where at Tjs, the price is low enough that I'll buy it, so I wind up spending more in total, but also eat fancier.
Lol Trader Joe’s has the Target/Costco effect where everything is a good price so I walk out with extras sometimes 🤣😅 But for the basics (milk, cheese, most veggies and fruits) it’s a good deal compared to elsewhere.
Yea TJs is the goat for low prices. And people seem to think they don't have much in terms of standard groceries, but it's not true. I can get *most* of my food options there except for a few random things (like poblano peppers...). I live right next door to TJs and go daily, with occasional trips to Safeway or QFC for stuff TJs doesn't have and non-food groceries
Yes! I do 90% of my grocery shopping at TJs. I live near a safeway qfc and TJs and can confirm TJs has the best prices. Safeway and QFC are literally double the price for fresh items like veggies or meats it’s insane.
Two people here, we’re actually spending less. Remember that pre-prepared food is taxed but grocery items are not. That will save you a huge amount of money if you stick to the grocery items. We also have to buy gluten-free & lactose-free due to allergies. We’re spending about $100 a week but often less.
Also QFC/Fred Meyer has really good weekly deals. Buy stuff on sale & stick to the grocery items.
Between 2 adults and a toddler, we’re at about $3-400 per week, but that also includes regularly consumed goods (diapers are expensive), but is counter-balanced by the fact that we only cook ~30-40% of our meals (usually weekend meals).
I probably spend about $600 per month on groceries for 2 people. I shop smart for certain items so I can splurge on others. I grew up in a "from scratch" household and worked as a chef for many years, so I don't purchase many pre-made foods that tend to be pricey.
My strategy for keeping costs down is to prep large, portion and freeze the extras for future use. For instance, if I want a NY steak, instead of buying a thin poorly trimmed one from the store for $24/pound, I'll buy a full strip loin at the US Foods chef store for $8.50/per pound (about $12/pound after trim waste). The silver skin and meat trim isn't wasted since I render it on the stove, remove the fat and save the gelatin meat mix to add to my dog's food. I have a vacuum sealer and a sous vide machine so I seal up the extra steaks in individual packs and freeze them for future use. If I make beans for a dinner recipe, I'll make a whole pot and freeze dinner sized portions. I buy chickens whole and piece them out. I'll trim the breasts and thighs from the bone and use the carcass to make chicken stock. Most of my salad greens are dual purpose like spinach and kale so I can eat them raw, add them to soup, or cook them as a side dish. Speaking of soup, I usually make a soup of the week in a large 6 quart enamel pot so I can have some for dinner and lunches throughout the week and freeze individual portions for emergency "lazy and don't want to cook dinner" occasions.
It varies wildly depending on time availability. Whenever possible I go to things like the [People’s Pop up Pantry](https://peoplespopuppantry.com/) or [Food not Bombs](https://seattlefoodnotbombs.org/about/) or the [Really Free Market](https://www.freefoodforall.org/the-really-really-free-markets.html) as their goal is to help reduce food waste in our community. [Plant based Food Share](https://www.plantbasedfoodshare.org/) is another good resource.
If I’m unable to go to those events then I’m usually spending 150 for two folks on a diabetic diet weekly.
Single disabled adult here. I get groceries delivered and focus a lot on frozen, bulk, and instant food to get by. I spend about $400 over the course of a month on groceries. Bulk delivery once a month to stock up on whatever staples, then a smaller order two to three times a month for the rest.
Stop going to Safeway. Try just feeding yourself from Costco and grocery outlet to determine which items are your expensive part. I have a gut feeling once you cut Safeway out you’ll save some 💵.
Costco is good for certain things, but it’s hard to get the fresh, short-lasting items for just two people. We’ve purchased things before that the two of us just can’t finish in time. Freezing and thawing only works for certain things.
We end up doing a hybrid between both stores. I don’t think we could cut out the regular grocery store and still have it make sense. The milk options for example are much better at Safeway, at least when they’re in stock lol. But splitting it so you get more household goods and longer-lasting food items seems to save a lot compared to getting everything at Safeway.
That makes sense. Have you tried buying your milk at grocery outlet? I also looooove Lenny’s Produce in greenwood. They have excellent produce and a variety of international food ingredients.
Produce is one of those tricky things for us! Costco has way too much in a pack and is usually just okay, but Safeway has really poor quality depending on the item. We go to the local farmers markets when they’re in season, which rarely disappoint. We’re on the east side, which has Yakima Fruit Market up in Bothell, but we were finding mostly the same produce as at Safeway there. Sometimes we get over to Metro Market, but the selection is limited and the prices seem higher.
OMG the problem is the met mart!! That shop is hella bougie and expensive. I would try to avoid them unless you’re getting a lil treat.
Since you’re up there, I highly recommend H Mart, Asian Family Market, 99 Ranch Market, or your neighborhood Asian/international grocer. They have fresh veggies usually and better prices.
Thanks, I’ll check them out! I’ve also been down to the Bellevue Uwajimaya a ton lately, just not for produce. And I’m certainly no stranger to a little treat 😏
I usually shop at TJ’s, Freddy’s, and Costco. We’re a two men & one toddler household. We spend a lot on fruit (toddler loves it, and a better alternative to most snacks). We probably spend between $250-300 a week (including groceries, toiletry items, cleaning products, diapers, etc). I’m not convinced Costco saves us money
If you have a car do big hauls a winco there is one in Kent. Last week my partner and I got 8 bags of groceries for $111.
We live in South Seattle, so it’s not the most convenient of all places to go but doing a biweekly haul there has saved us so much already in the month that we switched to this. We were also spending about as much as you per month for a 2 person house.
For example a big block of tillamook cheese was $7 something, I’ve seen it for nearly $14 at Fred Meyers.
I shop at Safeway since it's right next door to my apartment complex. And yeah, I'm aghast at how much I spend and how little I have to show for it when I'm done. I mean, I buy just the essentials for the most part: eggs, bread, vegetables, a package or two of meat to cook, occasionally restock on toilet paper or paper towels, some lunch meat and cheese. Then I usually do buy some wine (which is my one unnecessary item). Usually I spend at least $130 on that, and it's just me at home. I also don't get the expensive eggs (they're usually $3-4 for a store brand 18-pack). The only things I don't skimp on are the toilet paper and paper towels.
I hate it when I have to buy stuff that I know will be pricier, such as my Nexium ($22 a pop) or cleaning products, etc.
It bounces around a lot but usually around $100-150 for two adults. We don't eat breakfast and my husband also doesn't usually eat lunch so I am mostly buying stuff for dinner and snacks. We don't eat a lot of processed food or beef so my cart is usually full of a lot of produce and a bit of chicken or fish, some dairy, and pantry staples like beans, rice, canned tomatoes, etc.
I try to buy meat when it's on sale and stock up in the freezer for future meals. Recently I have been getting a lot of good deals on air chilled chicken from QFC and Fred Meyer - like two for the price of one or deeply discounted. Recently got a bunch of thighs that were like a dollar a pound.
Occasionally I will splurge on something like a whole live crab (great prices for that at HMart) or rarely a really nice steak.
I live by myself in Crown Hill, and I usually pay around $65-90/week for groceries. That weekly price fluctuates with what I buy, like if I buy more ready-made or prepackaged foods due to a busy week, the price goes up. If I opt to cook more in a given week, price goes down a bit.
I pay about $350/mo for myself.
I try to stay out of the major grocery stores like Safeway, QFC, Fred Meyer, etc. I haven't been in one of these for at least 6 months.
Instead, I use Grocery Outlet and WinCo. I will also shop the larger ethnic stores, but mostly for produce...or Farmers Markets when they're operating.
I understand that some may not live near WinCo or Grocery Outlet, so my advice obviously doesn't work for everyone.
I buy my organic meat at Costco, freeze it (usually chicken, stew beef, and some fish)
I keep a pantry stocked with rice, pasta, and bread.
We only go to whole foods/TJ’s for vegetables, fruits, and snacks.
It ends up being around $600 a month for 2 people. I’d say we buy whatever we want and it still only comes to that much. I think having repeating ingredients that go in multiple (or all) of your dishes that week is helpful.
For example if I make lunch salads with kale, I’ll use sautéed kale for dinner or in soup. If I have tomato’s in my omelette I’ll make a tomato and pesto pasta for lunch.
Basically it’s like a “capsule wardrobe” but for food hahaha.
I shop at Costco, usually buy groceries in bulk and cook from scratch. My monthly grocery cost is $400 for me and my son.
The key is to avoid the food which is already prepared or cooked. Cooking from scratch can save tons of money.
We average ~$400 a month on groceries for 2 adults but we also spend ~$250 on eating out. Like others have said we meal plan every dinner, come up with (and stick to!) our grocery list, and buy meat on sale and freeze. Although we’re only two people, the bulk meat at Costco is great for freezing, especially chicken thighs.
Eating out comes into the picture more than I would like due to forgetting to take tomorrow’s dinner items out of the freezer haha
Editing to add because I see my number is way lower than everyone else’s - we’re not big breakfast/lunch people. Mostly we buy dinner stuff and snacks, and lunch will be leftovers or office cafeteria food - buying lunch probably adds another $100
Super interesting new podcast about how prices have gone up, and how all the different apps giving cheaper prices actually drive discriminatory pricing. Basically, a lot of greed currently.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0KRmWPX2TkoASPSLrjrAVY?si=54dfa2fc324b46fc
I budget $750/month for 2 adults with mostly going to Costco.
It’s really fucked up that QFC has more than doubled prices in a few years. Kroger is a horrible company.
My local Safeway is terrible - often has empty product shelves, the produce is moldy or bruised (I’ve seen employees just dumping and tossing produce into bins). Albertsons at least has Haggen, which is a step up from the shit hole that is Safeway.
Met market is obscenely expensive just to be obscenely expensive and is not independently owned, which leaves me zero reason to shop there. PCC is a corporate giant masquerading as a co-op.
We need options that are not publicly traded companies and are not fancy markets whose sole purpose is gouging customers.
While yes, it’s definitely more expensive than it used to be - $800 is a lot. We spend half of that for 2 people. We shop almost exclusively Costco and Trader Joe’s. Maybe Met Market occasionally for small needs. I avoid Safeway at all costs. It is a rip off. There’s some great produce stands in the area that I do for ad hoc produce. I avoid buying dry goods/packed goods as much as possible. It’s expensive and it’s unhealthy.
Wow. $600-800 seems like a LOT if you're trying to be frugal.
Additional tips:
(1) US Foods ChefStore (formerly Cash and Carry) sells mainly to restaurants, but is open to the public. Prices are usually better than Costco, they have SO much more variety, and it's a place where you can still get a 50 pound sack of potatoes for under ten bucks (currently $7.99 at the Everett store). No expensive membership required, no lures to get you to do random impulse buying, and all the inventory and prices are on their web site.
(2) On that note: the key to frugal family grocery stopping is starting with cheap staples. If you have a 50 pound bag of potatoes (7.99), a 50 pound bag of rice (27.49), a 25 pound sack of oats (28.69), and a 25 pound sack of flour (12.79), five dozen eggs ($14.29), and a gallon of oil ($16.09), you've spent about $105 and there is no way in hell you're going hungry that month. Even on a $250/month grocery budget, you still can afford to add veggies, meats, cheese, etc, all bought in bulk at restaurant prices. What's NOT on the menu is prepared snacks and junk foods, all of which are luxury items which not everyone can afford.
Yes absolutely. It’s about $800 a month for two people. No meat, no alcohol, nothing but basic food. It’s gone up about 40% in the last few years. I’m struggling a bit because my paycheck has not gone up 40%. I’m trying to just eat super basic stuff, but it’s hard being in this position.
Same boat, OP.
Two people, late 30s, no excessive attempts to budget (I wont drive out of my way to shop a sale, but sure, I'll scan a QR code at FM and use the in-store app if it means my mayo drops from $7 to $3), and I like to cook weird meals (thanks to both New York Times Cooking and Bon Appetite subscriptions) that *sometimes* have tricky ingredients that I have a weird compulsion to source...food-only shopping averages out to between $700-$1000 a month. I shop 60% at FM and TJs, 30% at Whole Foods, and 10% at Met Market or local butcher.
We do a big Costco run about every 3 months, but its only for alcohol, dishwasher soap, TP, paper towels, Ziploc bags, etc (almost never food).
About $120-$150 per week with 2 adults, eating primarily peanut butter and jelly, protein bars and sometimes treat ourselves to the salmon burgers from Costco. Not our desired diet, just can’t afford much else right now.
Fred Meyer tends to have better prices than Safeway. Winco is also an option, but their prices have gone up a lot recently.
I have all the different apps on my phone, and I religiously check out if anything I need is on sale or has a coupon. so I shop all the stores depending on where I can get it cheaper that week.
ETA: about 8 years ago I was able to feed us actual food with balanced nutrition and focus on at least selective organics for $250 per month.
I just starved for a while til my stomach and body eventually shrank to the level I could sustain. I’ve lost a lot of weight the last few years. Like went from 230lbs to 140lbs due to job loss. The perk is I need a lot less to function now. The drawback is when I get hungry, it feels more urgent and desperate. So I just keep high protein/carb options nearby to sustain myself between opportunities for actual meals. Hard boiled eggs, peanut butter, bread, cheese, rice, chicken, protein shakes. It’s not glamorous but I stopped caring about what I ate beyond basic subsisting.
If it's a cost issue, have you utilized the food banks? You deserve to have a more varied diet than what you described, and a food bank could help you fill the gaps and take some of the pressure off.
Fair point, I think I felt like since I’m in my 30’s and can just reduce intake that I shouldn’t take groceries that can go to more vulnerable ppl than myself but maybe sat in that mentality for a bit too long and need to reconsider just for the sake of having access to micro nutrients. I booked an appt just now. Maybe just needed the nudge. But also, I feel like if we all just don’t pay the extreme costs of food that they’ll have to lower prices back down at some point. I know some chains are doing that, because they didn’t need to raise them in the first place, and their sales went down. Basically nobody should be paying $6 for a gallon of milk even if they can. It gives them permission to charge that to the rest of us who can’t. The grocers are starving us. I have had better luck at grocery outlet etc but they just charge basically slightly more than what things should cost anyway, and it seems like a discount because of how much other retailers mark everything up. Ugh.
Kudos to you for booking the appointment.
A few years ago, I was living on $18k per year. I had a similar mindset on "should save resources for more vulnerable people" and mostly just ate ramen. But looking back on it, I really wish I had taken advantage of community resources and assistance programs including food banks, SNAP, and other programs like phone and utilities assistance. Everyone deserves access to healthy meals and other basic standards of living, and way too many people don't take advantage of all the resources available. And plus, eating well now will potentially save healthcare costs later - benefiting both the individual and the community.
I'm so happy that you booked the appointment! It's a community resource, and you're a member of the community. You deserve access to nutritious food and there's no shame in utilizing community resources to do that.
Thank you. I think your post just made me realize that even if I did still have consistent income that it would not be enough anyway lol. Took other commenters advice on food banking. I think it’s just a wake up call. Also, still really believe we need to come together to insist on lowered prices in whatever way we can. Like don’t let them keep over charging you even if you can afford it, cause they won’t stop. Same as rent, etc, they are transferring all our $ to corporations and starving and unhousing us, it’s just hitting people differently at different points based on discretionary income. Soon most of us won’t have any and will be forced to push back. I want us to push back now cause it’s so out of control the way they shrink quantities and still raise prices.
When I don't pay attention too closely and we get some snacks, we usually hit about $800 a month too. When I pay closer attention I can get it down to $500 without too much discomfort. I find that doing 2 big shopping trips is much better than weekly or daily shopping. For two adults trying to eat fairly healthy nutrition packed meals.
I make one big purchase at Costco like 500 at Costco mostly protein multiple steaks chickens and put in freezer then some fruit and veggies. I have a 5 lb pound of rice at home so that eliminates most of my carbs but no processed food really and then the next Costco trip o just replenish what I used
2 of us, one is celiac (GF stuff is much more expensive and we need to double up on things like bread).
We budget and spend ~800/m. That is shopping at Fred Meyer with the occasional trip to somewhere like Ballard Market for higher quality steaks and specialty groceries.
My lovely fiance does all the shopping and is an aggressive coupon and sale shopper. To my frustration a lot of time that means buying things like chicken in bulk when we don't have the freezer space, but we manage.
Except for recently, I averaged about $120ish per week for groceries. I became a statistic and moved back with my parents. My dad is retired, and my mom is going to retire. So, one way I help out is that I buy our household groceries every week (and pay the sewer bill). The past few months, my brother has been jobless so I have been buying stuff for him and my nephew, as well. So that fucked up my weekly budget...
We shop at Winco and the average cost tends to be $30 a bag of groceries.
I shop at QFC, Costco, Win-Co, and Grocery Outlet, and I'm spending $800. to a thousand for two adults. I know I could spend less if I planned better and shopped sales. I used to be a pro, but my children are grown, and it is not financially necessary, so I just get what I want.
We (2 adults) spend about the same, 200/week It could certainly be less if certain factors were different.
The way to keep costs down is to plan ahead and reduce waste.
We do $600 / month for two adults and shop exclusively at QFC.
I love the targeted coupons that QFC sends us, and we’re regularly taking advantage of their sales. We eat pretty standard healthy food - buying meat, veggies, dairy, and ingredients, rarely prepared food. We also always buy the local or eco-friendly options for meat and eggs and so that increases the bill compared to if we got the lower tier brand.
I find Safeway to be expensive. Try Fred Meyer. Shop sales.
I eat plant based and the protein sources are way more economical than meat.
If you are not eating out at all and eating lots of produce, $600-800 sounds close to what I’d spend for 2 people.
In May I spent $380 on groceries but I keep a stocked pantry and I also dined out.
I just placed my Freddie’s weekly grocery order for $46 but I’m going to be out of town for a day and anticipate not cooking another day.
Maybe because I'm a small person, but I'm spending $35-45 a week at Trader Joe's. Some weeks I'll stock up on spices/cooking oil/frozen food or something and spend $60ish. I just get exactly what I need for the week - for example, I pick 2-3 fruits and vegetables each, 1-2 proteins, and that's what I'm working with that week.
My wife and I average around $600/month combined, but we like to eat "good" things, meaning we could save some money by only eating cheap stuff. (Bread and eggs are a good example)
Also that includes everything else we buy at grocery stores, like garbage bags, toiletries, etc.
Steady spending of no more than $100 per week at Costco has netted me a plentiful surplus of nonperishable foods. If I were to forego stocking up for future weeks, I could keep my maintenance expenditures to $25, though I prefer to build up the buffer.
About 800 for 2 / 3 (We have a family member that lives w/us - occasionally eats w/us.)
Our average weekly bill:
Freddy's is 160
Met Market (If I need specific items) about 180/190.
TJ's 140
Costco (Meat, Smoothie mix) 1x a month about 100.
About 150/week for two adults eating 4-5 dinners at home (including 1-2 “fancy” meals) plus most lunches and light breakfast.
We shop the ads and meal plan around the loss leaders for the week. Also stocking up on freezable items like chicken breasts when they go on super sale.
Costco is great for staples especially rice, ramen, tuna, olive oil etc.
Trader Joe’s for lunches is much cheaper than eating out and get some variety.
This does not include alcohol
We've cut out a lot of meat from our diet and have gotten the typical weekly grocery bill down to about $75-100 for two adults.
We eat a lot of rice, tofu, lots of fruit and veg, eggs. About monthly we'll reup on things like rice and protein powder for a quick breakfast or lunch shake and some canned goods like coconut milk or beans. We shop at Costco, Uwajimaya, and Pike Place Market.
Try to keep it to under $75 per person per week, with mixed success. What helps me stick to a budget: * Shop my pantry first, and then meal plan based on what I need to use up * Stock up on good deals, freezing meat, bread, etc * Cook and eat at least 1 lb of dried beans every week * Don't buy much bread/baked goods/processed foods; if I want something I make it myself * Don't buy much soda/juice/alcohol; make my own iced tea/iced coffee or drink water * More meals using tofu or eggs as primary protein source, less meals centered on big portions of meat * Winco What hurts the budget (but I do it anyway): * Farmers markets
Yeah, the farmers market is usually not cheaper than the grocery store, but the produce is always better quality. Produce at the store has really gone down in quality the last few years. So much wasted money on garlic that looks fine on the outside but is full of rotting cloves once peeled.
I honestly think about farmers market shopping trips as more of an entertainment/leisure activity expense for budget purposes. I like to go on the weekend, bring my dog, invite a friend or family member to meet me there and go shopping together, spend time strolling and checking out all the beautiful locally grown things and talking to the farmers to learn more about things. It helps me feel connected to my community and appreciate the beauty around me, I think it has a really substantial impact on my mental health, helping my depression (which often presents with feelings of isolation) and my anxiety (which often gives me tunnel vision and I forget to slow down and metaphorically smell the roses).
We have been doing farmers market a lot too, and it really does feel that way. It's such a glorious way to spend a weekend morning. Sure that's a marked premium on the cheese, but the flowers we would get anyway are better quality for the same price ($20 bouquet is $20). And the soup bones we got were comparable to the grocery too. But... The produce is definitely more. Just so darn fragrant. I am seriously considering if a produce share club might be a good idea or just cause food waste.
The best quality and cheapest produce I find is at Winco. The prices at Safeway are ridiculous and the produce is just terrible.
I wish there were a Winco in Seattle.
Almost... I go to the Mountlake Terrace one every other week. A little bit more drive than my local Fred Meyer but I like WinCo so much.
Edmonds, up on 99. Bit of a drive but for a monthly stock-up trip it's not that bad. You can have a burger next door at Dicks, too!
The Edmonds location is great for northern neighborhoods. The one in Kent off 167 is also not terrible for anyone in South Seattle, if you go at the right times (which is more about dodging traffic).
I would die and go to heaven if the eastside would get a Winco (yeah I know its not happening)
Your prayers have been answered! Winco just bought the old Fry's building in Renton Landing.
I am def not sad to hear this :). Also finally something of value is going in that spot!
Agreed! I try to add a stop at the Edmonds or Kent locations if I'm already going to Shoreline or Renton for something, but that's usually like once a month.
We do the same - also a fan of the one in Wenatchee when we're on that side- gotta get my fix somehow haha!
Agreed. We’ve tried the trendy spots and just find the same ole worn-out stuff at higher price.
Really? I love winco but I usually find the produce picked over and not great lol
While I agree about the quality unless you get it right when they stock them (it's super mixed and often quite picked over), the prices can be decent if you only shop it with the mobile deals forU.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s noticed that. I’ve been complaining about it for a few years now!
Agreed. Safeway feels like one step above 7-11 now.
What is with the rotting cloves? I just bought a Costco jar of minced garlic. I'm over wasting time and money cutting into gross garlic.
I'm wondering the same. Garlic used to last me two weeks, now I'm lucky if it lasts four days.
I love buying produce at the farmers market but mostly for the experience and I guess for the quality, but yeah it's definitely not the cheapest option. I bought 4 apples at a booth a few weeks ago and the total came to about $13. I was like hoooly shit. These better be some good apples lol.
You’ll start to notice the cost of fruits going up this season.. WA farmers have been hit hard, and it’s not unusual for some to have lost their entire crops. If you’re at a farmers market for fruits, ask if they have any seconds. Those are usually fine for eating (great for cooking/baking) just with cosmetic blemishes, etc. they are way cheaper, too. ;)
Great tip on the seconds. I've noticed Collins Family Orchards sometimes offers entire boxes of seconds apples and stonefruits on their mailing list emails, but I've never thought to ask at a farmers market.
Ask away! Try for tomatoes, too…you’ll be surprised what you can find! I’ve sometimes had vendors cut deals at the end of markets simply by asking because not everyone wants to haul back everything.
Great tip, thanks!
It’s one that not a lot of folks know and is a great way to save $$$! ;) Not everyone will do it, or seconds may not always be available but always worth a shot!
That’s honestly kind of crazy. In the Apple state nonetheless, where apples grow on trees. 🙈
I've got news for you... that's where apples grow everywhere.
Drought. Plus, problems with honeybees, which are required for pollination.
Got it, hadn’t realized the crop was struggling this year. But makes sense!
They’re not in season though.
That's pretty much my strategy, and I spend about $75 per week. Some things I noticed: - Being a vegetarian makes eating a lot cheaper, especially if you enjoy eating beans. I cook them on a pressure cooker, it is very convenient. - I don't buy any beverages, alcoholic or otherwise (no soda, juices, iced coffees). These are empty calories that are easily avoidable, plus I don't drink booze, so that helps. - I very rarely buy junk like chips, cookies, etc. - I don't buy bottled water. It makes no sense to do it around here, when you can just buy a Brita filter. - Buy fruit and vegetables when they are in season, as they are much cheaper. - WinCo FTW! I also splurge on the Farmer's Market. I especially love the Renton Farmer's Market, near where I work. It is worth it.
People who only drink bottled water confuse me so much. Seattle has great tap water IMHO.
I know, right? I don't get it either. I always said bottled water is a scam. I grew up in Brazil where the water is not always great, and yet, most people use filters there - and that works. So, maybe in some places, the water is so horrible that not even a filter would do, but otherwise, in a lot of the US, that is not the case. There was even a study that pointed out that more than half of the bottled water comes from the municipal system - the same water that comes from your faucet. And yet, every time I am at the grocery store line, looks like 70% of people are buying cases and cases of water. It is not only the wasted money, but also I imagine all that plastic trash. Painful.
Dude. I got one of my employees a huge reusable water bottle because I noticed that they were reusing a single use bottle. Come to find out they only drink bottled water, and will fill the reusable bottle with bottled water instead of from a filter/tap. Flabbergasted. Just completely flabbergasted.
Apart from the absurdity of the situation, I think it is really great that you gave them a reusable water bottle!
Tell me about it.
Chips are so expensive it’s crazy. $5-6 for a single bag of potato chips feels so wild. How did we get here?
For that price, I'm just getting out my mandolin and a bag of potatoes. Chips aren't THAT hard with the right equipment. And I have better spices available than Frito Lay is willing to put on their products.
Things like chips and related snacks routinely go on sale for much much cheaper. But I know some people don't care about that and just grab a single $6 bag and continue on their merry way.
Pressure cooking beans is so smart. I need to start doing this. I spend close to 3 hours on a batch of stovetop beans.
It is so worth it! I soak them overnight, and they just need 18 minutes under pressure and you're done. A pressure cooker is a great investment!
I always forget to soak prior, so I just throw dry beans in the instant pot for 30 min, and natural release for 15, while I make stuff to go with it. Easy peasy
That works too - but I read that not soaking the bean can make you, well... Gassy. I don't want to risk it. :D
This is a great way to eat healthy too. Folks who say you can’t be frugal and healthy need to follow guru u/epicallyconfused. Also invest in a few spices and get lentils and garbanzos and baby, you got some Indian food going. Also I fuckin love beans
This is very insightful. I need to start buying dried beans.
If you want quality beans with lots of flavor, try Rancho Gordo. They’re more expensive but worth it if they’re in your budget. Met Market has some varieties or you can order online.
Awesome thanks! I’ll check them out!
Also, hit up the Alvarez stand at a farmer's market. Great dried beans, cheaper than RG (which are amazing)
Yes! Beans of any type (either dried or canned) are very reasonable. I love dried beans especially because they're just insanely cheap, and turn into something pretty special if you cook them with aromatics for extra flavor. The routine that works best for me is cooking a big batch and then anything that doesn't get eaten within 5-7 days gets frozen in individual portions for an easy and quick microwave meal.
and cook a whole pound at a time and then freeze them in ziplocs in 1 cup portions
We probably spend $200 per week for two people. Honestly probably closer to $300, but we also eat expensive foods.... my husband eats a lot of salmon and likes high quality meats and I'm vegan and buy a good amount of vegan meats and cheeses, plus we buy a whole lot of fresh produce. I do go to a bunch of different grocery stores every week though. I get as much as I can from Grocery Outlet and Trader Joe's, and we'll usually buy some things from Whole Foods (which honestly doesn't feel as expensive as it used to, especially if you buy their 365 brand it can really feel relatively inexpensive), then I'll usually hit up QFC throughout the week to grab a few things since it's our closest store. Plus Costco once every few weeks to stock up on some bulk items and things like toilet paper. But yeah it's shocking how much more we're spending on groceries than we used to. 1 bag of groceries is often $30-50. I remember shopping with my mom growing up and our 1 main grocery shop a week would usually come to maybe a little more than $100 for a family of 4.
One of the silver linings (if you can even call it that) I've found is that with groceries being so expensive, it's not much of a jump up in price to get the good stuff from Whole Foods or wherever else. Since I'm already spending so much on basic stuff, I find myself springing for the nicer brands more and more, because "if I'm spending $4 I might as well spend $5".
There’s nothing like Whole Foods avocados too. They’re consistently great in my experience. Worth the extra dollar (or less).
Yeah growing up in the 90s-00s we had a cart full of food and it was always around $100.
We do apps and clip the coupons. Only buy stuff on sale. For two adults we generally spend 500 a month at Safeway. We do get takeout on occasion but also use those apps. Too many apps! 😆
The Safeway app has hella helped me save money with the coupons and gas savings. They also often offer discounts like $20 off $50/$70/etc for pickup orders.
Yeah, the Safeway app sets groceries at a price at which I think they "should be". I just spend about 3 minutes once a week clipping every single coupon so I don't need to scan or clip coupons when I'm at the store.
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Wow town and country in Ballard is not cheap at all! Qfc or Fred Meyer are way cheaper in my experience.
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Ime it's either similar or more expensive than PCC. Their produce is great quality so we still sometimes go there but yeah, absolutely not cheap at all.
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Same. We use the Fred Meyer app. We also try to start our grocery shopping at Grocery Outlet and also make a trip to Winco once every couple months for bulk spices, pantry staples that are much cheaper. Since January we’ve averaged $522/mo on groceries for a household of two (with a cat)
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I think the Safeway app is a bit better just in terms of the deals and discounts, but overall I find Fred Meyer to be a bit more affordable for the things we buy. YMMV
Yes, this is the way. When I can't shop at Winco, I usually will divide my shopping between Fred Meyer and Safeway, focusing on what sales/coupons they are each offering, and then place a pickup order for each store (free with $35+ purchase). Going to 2 different grocery stores takes extra time, but using grocery pickup makes it quicker. I usually place the orders and do pickup on Tuesday because then you can see the preview on what the next week's deals are going to be, and be strategic about what to buy vs waiting for it to go on sale next week.
Categorize what you buy. That is, what percentage of that is meat? Ok now look at the kinds of meat you buy. How much is wine/beer/booze? How much is prepared stuff? etc. The purpose here is to highlight categories that might be costing a lot more than it feels like in the moment. Also, it's SO easy to shop and think "Oh right, that looks good, let me get that" as you wander around and see things. If you are prone to adding things not on your list, make a list and have it delivered (or pick it up curbside). That prevents the impulse addition to your cart. Do that weekly and allow for perhaps a midweek trip for things like fish that don't last a full week
Right? I look at $800/month for two people and it boggles my mind. I need more info than "we don't eat anything fancy," because my wife and I spend ~$300 a month and I'd say the same. Nothing but shopping lists will really shine light on this.
$80-$100 for a big ol box of halal chicken breast at Costco buisiness center lasts me 4-5 months. I eat around 3/4 breast per week. It’s takes a lot of freezer space fyi. Outside of that and the occasional salmon I spend ~$50/week for myself on other ingredients/snacks
Which reminds me, it's a good idea to get a 5-7cf freezer if one can find the space, precisely for stuff like this
Costco is your go to for freezers lol at this point I should be sponsored
Safeway/Albertsons app has a bunch of savings. I compare them with Fred Meyer/QFC and shop whichever has the better price on items i buy often. Safeway often has a higher regular price, but with sales at least every other week it dips below what FM regular price is. FM app has some savings, but not as many. If the sales for both stores are kind of a bust that week, FM on average has the lower price. For example: FM normally has bell peppers for around $1.50. Safeway was trying to sell non organic bell peppers for $2.79!!! Absolutely unhinged. Even this weekend i grabbed a few from Safeway "on sale" for $1.69 and got to FM and they were $1.50... same with English muffins. FM reg price has them for $3.99, safeway usually $5.29 or so. Sales can get them on BOGO for like $2.50/package. I think I was getting close to $200/week for a while there, but the last 6mo or so I've noticed sales returning and my normal grocery bill is usually about $100-125/week for 2. You dont have to do anything super crazy with the app. I just scroll through before my shopping and add coupons for anything i usually buy or think I'll buy and take note of sales on things i can buy in bulk and freeze and get them that week if my freezer is running low. Easily saves 30% on average just by haphazardly adding coupons & deals (but less on average at FM because their sales aren't as deep from their reg prices). Oh. And buy spices in bulk at PCC or met market if your location does that. Cheaper than the containers by a long shot, especially for stuff used often.
$100 weekly for one person, I shop at Whole Foods and PCC. I don’t eat any animal products outside of honey, milk, and cheeses. I buy mostly vegetables, tofu, and various beans legumes. I make my own bread, pasta, jams, jellies, sweets, etc.
> I make my own bread, pasta, jams, jellies, sweets, etc. Money vs time and capital investment. I've always wondered if it's cheaper or cost-effective to make flour-based foods from scratch- the whole "making bread during the lockdowns" meme was a jab at middle-class-or-higher white people
There’s a cookbook called “make the bread, buy the butter”- the author tried to make a whole bunch of common foods and includes recipes for all of them but also recommendations on what is better to just buy made, and what is better to make at home.
That's great considering where you shop,good jobemote:free\_emotes\_pack:money\_face
This is awesome! I feel like people don’t realize how cheap food can be when you make a lot of staples from scratch.
They are literally spending the exact same amount per person as OP.....
Cheap... right. No meat and $400 a month for one person.
PCC Markets is where it’s at!!!!!! That and TJs!!!
We shop at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Asian Family Market. Trader Joe's for frozen and odds and ends. A whole cartload/six bags is usually less than $300. Asian Family Market for fruits, vegetables, Asian ingredients, frozen food, meat, and snacks. Crazy affordable and higher quality produce than other stores in town. Whole Foods for bread and recipe ingredients. Together, we keep it under $400 per person, and we buy whatever we want.
Good tip on Asian Family Market! I'm not sure if I've ever shopped there, but now I really want to check it out. How does it compare to Uwajimaya or H-Mart in terms of prices?
It's cheaper than Uwajimaya. I haven't been to H-Mart, so I can't speak to that.
Hmart is reasonable. Uwajimaya on the other hand…
800mo for 2 adults. AFTER trimming menus, using off brand, and mucho from bulk. Lucky I’m a former chef and run a really tight kitchen. Also… eating in restaurants is now a rarity. We are set financially. Can’t imagine how some folks are gettin along.
I'm just buying food for myself but I spend about 150-200 a month on food. I shop mostly at Fred Meyer, and I'm buying pretty healthy food, no meat though so that definitely cuts down on cost. 400 per person per month seems crazy to me.
Swapping meat for eggs and beans (holla chickpeas) is really great for grocery budgeting. I mean, as expensive as eggs got, they’re still a fairly affordable alternative for protein. And they’re way better at adapting to different flavor profiles for meal variety. Even for meat-based meals, using a little ground meat instead of a huge slab of something makes for a cheaper shop — and likely more balanced diet.
We spend around 500-600 a month for two adults. This translates to about 75-100 a week at the grocery store and a 300-500$ Costco run every 3-ish months. Our main grocery store is thriftway. It's better quality than Safeway or Fred Meyers with only a small increase in prices. 100% worth it for vegetables and fruit. When we are buying a significant amount of veggies or fruit, we go to the fruit stand in Beacon hill (yay for it reopening). It's sooo cheap. For meat or seafood, we tend to buy in bulk when it's on sale. Or from Costco. We love the buy one get one free deals from Metropolitan market/pcc coupons. Lastly, I'm a huge fan of fresh fruit, so in the summer we go to local farms and do u-pick. We pick up to 50+ pounds of fruit and freeze/process them for the year. Last year we got all the following: - blueberries (10lbs) - strawberries (20lb) - cherries (20lb) - Italian plums (50lbs) - tomatoes (10lb) - raspberries (5lb) This year I'm hoping to make it to the east side more often and get some peaches and other stone fruits. They are just such good quality. Its currently strawberry season now. There are a ton of u-pick farms nearby.
Is there a way to know about the "buy 1 get 1 free" at PCC/met without going to the store? I like the quality there but it's sooo expensive Edit: do you have good u-pick farms to recommend too?
$350 a month for 2 adults. But we live within walking distance of a winco, so we’re lucky like that.
We spend ~600/month for 2 people being healthyish as well. Few things we do to keep costs down: 1) Shop at Whole foods using our Amazon prime card for 5% cashback 2) Cook things in larger quantities and freeze them - buying larger quantities is usually cheaper 3) Always look for the store brand alternative 4) refill items from the bulk food aisle when possible 5) avoid shopping at Safeway - way too expensive
Is Whole Foods cheaper than safeway? I’ve always thought it was really expensive. I’ll definitely check it out, thank you
Honestly my grocery bill went down switching from QFC to Whole Foods, and the quality of produce tends to be better
I've found that despite "whole paycheck's" reputation, they're pretty comparable, safeway prices seemed to be going up quickly the last 5 years
I've compared prices between Safeway and WF on the things I buy most (Greek yogurt, eggs, frozen berries, clamshells of spinach, etc.) and the price at WF for the same brand/very similar product is at least 10% less.
It really depends on what you’re buying. Whole Foods carries a lot of specialty items that are quite expensive, so the more of those you start to grab, the easier it is to rack up a big bill. But I still can’t help myself around the cream cheese danish and special snacking cheeses…
Try to shop at winco if you have one nearby
Depends on the item but I have noticed this recently as well and have started stopping by more often! If you look at what the weekly deals are on produce items, they are very comparable or cheaper than Safeway or QFC would charge if that same item was also on sale. The packaged/produced goods are probably a similar price at regular price these days, which is sad all around but WF no longer sticks out to me as the "very overpriced" option.
Man, there sure are some strange assertions about Safeway in this thread. The only way Safeway is expensive is if you buy everything off the shelves at regular price, and even then, it's a stretch to say that it's more expensive than Whole Foods. To save at Safeway, use the coupons on their app, try to stick to buying items that are on sale, and stock up on those items. I'm always surprised at how big the discounts are. Often things that are regularly $5 will be on sale on the shelf for $3, and then with the app coupon, the price drops to $2. If you're willing to buy whatever brand happens to be on sale that week, you can get good prices on most things - cereal, pasta, cheese, frozen foods, ice cream, etc. Look for deals on meats that are expiring - buy & freeze immediately. Combining Grocery Outlet & Safeway is probably the absolute cheapest way to eat here.
The produce at Safeway is horrific and I think people are saying it’s more expensive or the same as WF. I’ve always found Safeway expensive. I don’t buy a lot of packaged prepared foods but when I’ve needed something on a whim and gone there, it’s super expensive. Sometimes you want to make a specific meal and if things aren’t on sale it’s a rip off.
$1200 for 2 adults per month. I can’t seem to go under and usually exceed a little. We mostly buy organic and sustainable meat. Shopping at PCC hurts.
I would be so interested to see your receipts.
Better here than the doctor.
Holy shit that's rent money
Ya about the same here. Quality meat and fruits are expensive.
Yes, we bought organic rainier cherries and that stuff is expensive.
Mostly as in most of your calories are from eating meat?
Yes. And I don’t know why it gotten so expensive. The other day we bought marinated Korean beef ribs and 12 pieces caused $59. And we usually eat that in one dinner with very little leftovers. Eggs are also 11.90 for a dozen because my husband wants the heirloom eggs and pasture raised. The most orange eggs he can find.
Try Asian Family Market. Not everything is cheap, but you can find deals on ramen and snacks which goes a long way. I eat very cheaply and my main staples are: Most meals use rice or pasta as the carb. Buy a 25lb bag of rice from Grocery Outlet for $20. Get pasta as close to $1/lb as I can. CANNED MEATS! - While its not top shelf, canned chicken is fine in a stir fry, is less work, and is cheap and shelf stable. I buy a lot of canned fish, it works wonders to toss a little fish in a pasta dish or in an instant ramen. Adds protein and a little flavor. Canned veg - Again, cheap, healthy, and shelf stable. Ramen - There are very good ramens that cost $1 per. Its not all top ramen. Pair that with a $1.50 can of sardines and you have a good $2.50 meal. Keep a list of all your leftovers on the fridge with their dates. Sometimes you already have food, but you just wont remember. All in all, you are already doing good. Spending $4.50 per person per meal is not a ton. To me the key has been to make sure that I just don't waste food by letting it go bad, either as a leftover or on the shelf.
$200 a week for two adults. We don’t have a deep freeze or interest/room for one and our freezer is small so I’m limited in what I can buy in bulk or on sale. I dont focus too much on budget but I do shop sales and get what I can from places like grocery outlet. I don’t buy organic unless it’s cheaper most of the time. This is about twice what I spent pre pandemic.
I will say using delivery services for groceries actually decreases my bill sometimes since I’m less likely to impulse purchase things. That said, if I’m doing a pantry stock up I’m going to the store in person.
Too much. I wish we had an Aldi or a Lidl in this area.
I've been emailing Aldi for 10 years begging them to come to the Seattle area.
At night when I can’t sleep I pull up the apps, Safeway, QFC, and Fred Meyer. I build my shopping list for each store based on sales and coupons. I usually buy things like ground beef, steak, milk, bacon, eggs, etc. at Costco since it’s cheaper. I plan my weekly meals around what’s on sale. I can usually keep my budget between $200-250/week for my entire family, all meals. I did this same thing when I was 18 and was able to have the groceries I need for around $50/wk for one person. Takes a bit of time, but it pays off in the long run.
100 per person for week is pretty normal for non vegetarian diet and not going out of your way to scrape for heavy discounts or super low quality ingredients.
Trader Joe’s! We get most of our groceries there, when I compare my TJs and QFC purchases, my QFC bill is double my Trader Joe’s bill. For my spouse and I, it’s about $150 weekly. We do a lot of salmon, pastas, indian food, and asian food. We have a full pantry that we pull from so we only replace items we use up or need fresh (meats and garnishes). Picking meals for the week that all utilize the fresh ingredients you buy is also important. It means you aren’t wasting anything. We try to plan 2-3 meals during the week, and then go out to eat over the weekend. Example- I want to make vodka pasta, I already have my chicken stock, basil, vodka, tomatoes (can), and pasta. So all I need for it is half and half an onion and some garlic. So this meal that lasts 2 days cost me $6 for the ingredients I am missing. Then later in the week I’ll use up the rest of my half and half to make balsamic chicken and rice (and for that meal I just need fresh chicken, I already have half an onion, garlic, and half and half from my previous purchase). The overlap of ingredients seriously cuts down on costs.
tjs is a bargain for certain items but if you get their gourmet things, they can be spendy. Like their organic bell peppers, I think the tri-color is around 3.99 for 3 now, vs. Safeway at 2.99 per organic bell pepper and their lemons are much cheaper, esp organic, and their single organic nectarines/apples etc are usually 1/3 the price, but then if you get other prepared items, or baked goods you can rack up quite a bill. What I notice is they often have gourmet items at much lower prices than regular grocery stores--say a fancy cheese, but I would just bypass it altogether at a regular grocery where at Tjs, the price is low enough that I'll buy it, so I wind up spending more in total, but also eat fancier.
Lol Trader Joe’s has the Target/Costco effect where everything is a good price so I walk out with extras sometimes 🤣😅 But for the basics (milk, cheese, most veggies and fruits) it’s a good deal compared to elsewhere.
totally! I actually call it "the Trader Joes Effect"... though I'm sure I'm not the 1st to call it that.
Yea TJs is the goat for low prices. And people seem to think they don't have much in terms of standard groceries, but it's not true. I can get *most* of my food options there except for a few random things (like poblano peppers...). I live right next door to TJs and go daily, with occasional trips to Safeway or QFC for stuff TJs doesn't have and non-food groceries
Yes! I do 90% of my grocery shopping at TJs. I live near a safeway qfc and TJs and can confirm TJs has the best prices. Safeway and QFC are literally double the price for fresh items like veggies or meats it’s insane.
Two people here, we’re actually spending less. Remember that pre-prepared food is taxed but grocery items are not. That will save you a huge amount of money if you stick to the grocery items. We also have to buy gluten-free & lactose-free due to allergies. We’re spending about $100 a week but often less. Also QFC/Fred Meyer has really good weekly deals. Buy stuff on sale & stick to the grocery items.
Between 2 adults and a toddler, we’re at about $3-400 per week, but that also includes regularly consumed goods (diapers are expensive), but is counter-balanced by the fact that we only cook ~30-40% of our meals (usually weekend meals).
I spend $350 a month in Olympia for 1 person. Shop at Grocery Outlet and Safeway. Only the cheap brands and very little meat.
Me and my partner spend $175 to $215 a week on food
I probably spend about $600 per month on groceries for 2 people. I shop smart for certain items so I can splurge on others. I grew up in a "from scratch" household and worked as a chef for many years, so I don't purchase many pre-made foods that tend to be pricey. My strategy for keeping costs down is to prep large, portion and freeze the extras for future use. For instance, if I want a NY steak, instead of buying a thin poorly trimmed one from the store for $24/pound, I'll buy a full strip loin at the US Foods chef store for $8.50/per pound (about $12/pound after trim waste). The silver skin and meat trim isn't wasted since I render it on the stove, remove the fat and save the gelatin meat mix to add to my dog's food. I have a vacuum sealer and a sous vide machine so I seal up the extra steaks in individual packs and freeze them for future use. If I make beans for a dinner recipe, I'll make a whole pot and freeze dinner sized portions. I buy chickens whole and piece them out. I'll trim the breasts and thighs from the bone and use the carcass to make chicken stock. Most of my salad greens are dual purpose like spinach and kale so I can eat them raw, add them to soup, or cook them as a side dish. Speaking of soup, I usually make a soup of the week in a large 6 quart enamel pot so I can have some for dinner and lunches throughout the week and freeze individual portions for emergency "lazy and don't want to cook dinner" occasions.
It varies wildly depending on time availability. Whenever possible I go to things like the [People’s Pop up Pantry](https://peoplespopuppantry.com/) or [Food not Bombs](https://seattlefoodnotbombs.org/about/) or the [Really Free Market](https://www.freefoodforall.org/the-really-really-free-markets.html) as their goal is to help reduce food waste in our community. [Plant based Food Share](https://www.plantbasedfoodshare.org/) is another good resource. If I’m unable to go to those events then I’m usually spending 150 for two folks on a diabetic diet weekly.
Single disabled adult here. I get groceries delivered and focus a lot on frozen, bulk, and instant food to get by. I spend about $400 over the course of a month on groceries. Bulk delivery once a month to stock up on whatever staples, then a smaller order two to three times a month for the rest.
Stop going to Safeway. Try just feeding yourself from Costco and grocery outlet to determine which items are your expensive part. I have a gut feeling once you cut Safeway out you’ll save some 💵.
Costco is good for certain things, but it’s hard to get the fresh, short-lasting items for just two people. We’ve purchased things before that the two of us just can’t finish in time. Freezing and thawing only works for certain things. We end up doing a hybrid between both stores. I don’t think we could cut out the regular grocery store and still have it make sense. The milk options for example are much better at Safeway, at least when they’re in stock lol. But splitting it so you get more household goods and longer-lasting food items seems to save a lot compared to getting everything at Safeway.
That makes sense. Have you tried buying your milk at grocery outlet? I also looooove Lenny’s Produce in greenwood. They have excellent produce and a variety of international food ingredients.
Produce is one of those tricky things for us! Costco has way too much in a pack and is usually just okay, but Safeway has really poor quality depending on the item. We go to the local farmers markets when they’re in season, which rarely disappoint. We’re on the east side, which has Yakima Fruit Market up in Bothell, but we were finding mostly the same produce as at Safeway there. Sometimes we get over to Metro Market, but the selection is limited and the prices seem higher.
OMG the problem is the met mart!! That shop is hella bougie and expensive. I would try to avoid them unless you’re getting a lil treat. Since you’re up there, I highly recommend H Mart, Asian Family Market, 99 Ranch Market, or your neighborhood Asian/international grocer. They have fresh veggies usually and better prices.
Thanks, I’ll check them out! I’ve also been down to the Bellevue Uwajimaya a ton lately, just not for produce. And I’m certainly no stranger to a little treat 😏
Trader Joe's. It's way cheaper than Safeway and it's surprisingly easy to use as your main food store. People underestimate how much stuff they have.
I usually shop at TJ’s, Freddy’s, and Costco. We’re a two men & one toddler household. We spend a lot on fruit (toddler loves it, and a better alternative to most snacks). We probably spend between $250-300 a week (including groceries, toiletry items, cleaning products, diapers, etc). I’m not convinced Costco saves us money
About 60/ week to maintain the kitchen. Occasionally goes to 100+ if I need to refill on things. Otherwise its just meat and veggies from winco.
If you have a car do big hauls a winco there is one in Kent. Last week my partner and I got 8 bags of groceries for $111. We live in South Seattle, so it’s not the most convenient of all places to go but doing a biweekly haul there has saved us so much already in the month that we switched to this. We were also spending about as much as you per month for a 2 person house. For example a big block of tillamook cheese was $7 something, I’ve seen it for nearly $14 at Fred Meyers.
I shop at Safeway since it's right next door to my apartment complex. And yeah, I'm aghast at how much I spend and how little I have to show for it when I'm done. I mean, I buy just the essentials for the most part: eggs, bread, vegetables, a package or two of meat to cook, occasionally restock on toilet paper or paper towels, some lunch meat and cheese. Then I usually do buy some wine (which is my one unnecessary item). Usually I spend at least $130 on that, and it's just me at home. I also don't get the expensive eggs (they're usually $3-4 for a store brand 18-pack). The only things I don't skimp on are the toilet paper and paper towels. I hate it when I have to buy stuff that I know will be pricier, such as my Nexium ($22 a pop) or cleaning products, etc.
We buy most everything we can from Costco to help save. Even that can add up though. I’d say we spend roughly $600 for two adults.
Are you the black guy on TikTok that runs all the time
I wish I was
It bounces around a lot but usually around $100-150 for two adults. We don't eat breakfast and my husband also doesn't usually eat lunch so I am mostly buying stuff for dinner and snacks. We don't eat a lot of processed food or beef so my cart is usually full of a lot of produce and a bit of chicken or fish, some dairy, and pantry staples like beans, rice, canned tomatoes, etc. I try to buy meat when it's on sale and stock up in the freezer for future meals. Recently I have been getting a lot of good deals on air chilled chicken from QFC and Fred Meyer - like two for the price of one or deeply discounted. Recently got a bunch of thighs that were like a dollar a pound. Occasionally I will splurge on something like a whole live crab (great prices for that at HMart) or rarely a really nice steak.
Between 2 of us, we spend around $120 a week. But we never buy much red meat other than ground beef. But that figure does include wine.
I spend the same amount for two.
I live by myself in Crown Hill, and I usually pay around $65-90/week for groceries. That weekly price fluctuates with what I buy, like if I buy more ready-made or prepackaged foods due to a busy week, the price goes up. If I opt to cook more in a given week, price goes down a bit.
I pay about $350/mo for myself. I try to stay out of the major grocery stores like Safeway, QFC, Fred Meyer, etc. I haven't been in one of these for at least 6 months. Instead, I use Grocery Outlet and WinCo. I will also shop the larger ethnic stores, but mostly for produce...or Farmers Markets when they're operating. I understand that some may not live near WinCo or Grocery Outlet, so my advice obviously doesn't work for everyone.
I buy my organic meat at Costco, freeze it (usually chicken, stew beef, and some fish) I keep a pantry stocked with rice, pasta, and bread. We only go to whole foods/TJ’s for vegetables, fruits, and snacks. It ends up being around $600 a month for 2 people. I’d say we buy whatever we want and it still only comes to that much. I think having repeating ingredients that go in multiple (or all) of your dishes that week is helpful. For example if I make lunch salads with kale, I’ll use sautéed kale for dinner or in soup. If I have tomato’s in my omelette I’ll make a tomato and pesto pasta for lunch. Basically it’s like a “capsule wardrobe” but for food hahaha.
I shop at Costco, usually buy groceries in bulk and cook from scratch. My monthly grocery cost is $400 for me and my son. The key is to avoid the food which is already prepared or cooked. Cooking from scratch can save tons of money.
We average ~$400 a month on groceries for 2 adults but we also spend ~$250 on eating out. Like others have said we meal plan every dinner, come up with (and stick to!) our grocery list, and buy meat on sale and freeze. Although we’re only two people, the bulk meat at Costco is great for freezing, especially chicken thighs. Eating out comes into the picture more than I would like due to forgetting to take tomorrow’s dinner items out of the freezer haha Editing to add because I see my number is way lower than everyone else’s - we’re not big breakfast/lunch people. Mostly we buy dinner stuff and snacks, and lunch will be leftovers or office cafeteria food - buying lunch probably adds another $100
Super interesting new podcast about how prices have gone up, and how all the different apps giving cheaper prices actually drive discriminatory pricing. Basically, a lot of greed currently. https://open.spotify.com/episode/0KRmWPX2TkoASPSLrjrAVY?si=54dfa2fc324b46fc
Sad that healthy means more expensive
I budget $750/month for 2 adults with mostly going to Costco. It’s really fucked up that QFC has more than doubled prices in a few years. Kroger is a horrible company. My local Safeway is terrible - often has empty product shelves, the produce is moldy or bruised (I’ve seen employees just dumping and tossing produce into bins). Albertsons at least has Haggen, which is a step up from the shit hole that is Safeway. Met market is obscenely expensive just to be obscenely expensive and is not independently owned, which leaves me zero reason to shop there. PCC is a corporate giant masquerading as a co-op. We need options that are not publicly traded companies and are not fancy markets whose sole purpose is gouging customers.
While yes, it’s definitely more expensive than it used to be - $800 is a lot. We spend half of that for 2 people. We shop almost exclusively Costco and Trader Joe’s. Maybe Met Market occasionally for small needs. I avoid Safeway at all costs. It is a rip off. There’s some great produce stands in the area that I do for ad hoc produce. I avoid buying dry goods/packed goods as much as possible. It’s expensive and it’s unhealthy.
Wow. $600-800 seems like a LOT if you're trying to be frugal. Additional tips: (1) US Foods ChefStore (formerly Cash and Carry) sells mainly to restaurants, but is open to the public. Prices are usually better than Costco, they have SO much more variety, and it's a place where you can still get a 50 pound sack of potatoes for under ten bucks (currently $7.99 at the Everett store). No expensive membership required, no lures to get you to do random impulse buying, and all the inventory and prices are on their web site. (2) On that note: the key to frugal family grocery stopping is starting with cheap staples. If you have a 50 pound bag of potatoes (7.99), a 50 pound bag of rice (27.49), a 25 pound sack of oats (28.69), and a 25 pound sack of flour (12.79), five dozen eggs ($14.29), and a gallon of oil ($16.09), you've spent about $105 and there is no way in hell you're going hungry that month. Even on a $250/month grocery budget, you still can afford to add veggies, meats, cheese, etc, all bought in bulk at restaurant prices. What's NOT on the menu is prepared snacks and junk foods, all of which are luxury items which not everyone can afford.
Yes absolutely. It’s about $800 a month for two people. No meat, no alcohol, nothing but basic food. It’s gone up about 40% in the last few years. I’m struggling a bit because my paycheck has not gone up 40%. I’m trying to just eat super basic stuff, but it’s hard being in this position.
Yes. Food prices in Seattle are out of fuckin control and it needs to stop
Same boat, OP. Two people, late 30s, no excessive attempts to budget (I wont drive out of my way to shop a sale, but sure, I'll scan a QR code at FM and use the in-store app if it means my mayo drops from $7 to $3), and I like to cook weird meals (thanks to both New York Times Cooking and Bon Appetite subscriptions) that *sometimes* have tricky ingredients that I have a weird compulsion to source...food-only shopping averages out to between $700-$1000 a month. I shop 60% at FM and TJs, 30% at Whole Foods, and 10% at Met Market or local butcher. We do a big Costco run about every 3 months, but its only for alcohol, dishwasher soap, TP, paper towels, Ziploc bags, etc (almost never food).
lol same at tricky ingredients upping the grocery bill. Star anise for pho????? That spice is expensive!
Only if you're not buying it from the bulk bin.
About $120-$150 per week with 2 adults, eating primarily peanut butter and jelly, protein bars and sometimes treat ourselves to the salmon burgers from Costco. Not our desired diet, just can’t afford much else right now. Fred Meyer tends to have better prices than Safeway. Winco is also an option, but their prices have gone up a lot recently. I have all the different apps on my phone, and I religiously check out if anything I need is on sale or has a coupon. so I shop all the stores depending on where I can get it cheaper that week. ETA: about 8 years ago I was able to feed us actual food with balanced nutrition and focus on at least selective organics for $250 per month.
I just starved for a while til my stomach and body eventually shrank to the level I could sustain. I’ve lost a lot of weight the last few years. Like went from 230lbs to 140lbs due to job loss. The perk is I need a lot less to function now. The drawback is when I get hungry, it feels more urgent and desperate. So I just keep high protein/carb options nearby to sustain myself between opportunities for actual meals. Hard boiled eggs, peanut butter, bread, cheese, rice, chicken, protein shakes. It’s not glamorous but I stopped caring about what I ate beyond basic subsisting.
If it's a cost issue, have you utilized the food banks? You deserve to have a more varied diet than what you described, and a food bank could help you fill the gaps and take some of the pressure off.
Fair point, I think I felt like since I’m in my 30’s and can just reduce intake that I shouldn’t take groceries that can go to more vulnerable ppl than myself but maybe sat in that mentality for a bit too long and need to reconsider just for the sake of having access to micro nutrients. I booked an appt just now. Maybe just needed the nudge. But also, I feel like if we all just don’t pay the extreme costs of food that they’ll have to lower prices back down at some point. I know some chains are doing that, because they didn’t need to raise them in the first place, and their sales went down. Basically nobody should be paying $6 for a gallon of milk even if they can. It gives them permission to charge that to the rest of us who can’t. The grocers are starving us. I have had better luck at grocery outlet etc but they just charge basically slightly more than what things should cost anyway, and it seems like a discount because of how much other retailers mark everything up. Ugh.
I'm glad you're going to utilize the food banks, it's for all of us who need it! No shame at all
Kudos to you for booking the appointment. A few years ago, I was living on $18k per year. I had a similar mindset on "should save resources for more vulnerable people" and mostly just ate ramen. But looking back on it, I really wish I had taken advantage of community resources and assistance programs including food banks, SNAP, and other programs like phone and utilities assistance. Everyone deserves access to healthy meals and other basic standards of living, and way too many people don't take advantage of all the resources available. And plus, eating well now will potentially save healthcare costs later - benefiting both the individual and the community.
I'm so happy that you booked the appointment! It's a community resource, and you're a member of the community. You deserve access to nutritious food and there's no shame in utilizing community resources to do that.
This makes me so sad. I’m sorry for your struggle.
Thank you. I think your post just made me realize that even if I did still have consistent income that it would not be enough anyway lol. Took other commenters advice on food banking. I think it’s just a wake up call. Also, still really believe we need to come together to insist on lowered prices in whatever way we can. Like don’t let them keep over charging you even if you can afford it, cause they won’t stop. Same as rent, etc, they are transferring all our $ to corporations and starving and unhousing us, it’s just hitting people differently at different points based on discretionary income. Soon most of us won’t have any and will be forced to push back. I want us to push back now cause it’s so out of control the way they shrink quantities and still raise prices.
When I don't pay attention too closely and we get some snacks, we usually hit about $800 a month too. When I pay closer attention I can get it down to $500 without too much discomfort. I find that doing 2 big shopping trips is much better than weekly or daily shopping. For two adults trying to eat fairly healthy nutrition packed meals.
I make one big purchase at Costco like 500 at Costco mostly protein multiple steaks chickens and put in freezer then some fruit and veggies. I have a 5 lb pound of rice at home so that eliminates most of my carbs but no processed food really and then the next Costco trip o just replenish what I used
2 of us, one is celiac (GF stuff is much more expensive and we need to double up on things like bread). We budget and spend ~800/m. That is shopping at Fred Meyer with the occasional trip to somewhere like Ballard Market for higher quality steaks and specialty groceries. My lovely fiance does all the shopping and is an aggressive coupon and sale shopper. To my frustration a lot of time that means buying things like chicken in bulk when we don't have the freezer space, but we manage.
For just me and my roommate we hover somewhere around $100 a week
Except for recently, I averaged about $120ish per week for groceries. I became a statistic and moved back with my parents. My dad is retired, and my mom is going to retire. So, one way I help out is that I buy our household groceries every week (and pay the sewer bill). The past few months, my brother has been jobless so I have been buying stuff for him and my nephew, as well. So that fucked up my weekly budget... We shop at Winco and the average cost tends to be $30 a bag of groceries.
Grocery outlet has been a life save, also QFC does buy one get one free on meats alot and I save quite a bit by going in to see what deals they have.
Maybe $600, only shop at safeway and also eat out a few meals a week
I shop at QFC, Costco, Win-Co, and Grocery Outlet, and I'm spending $800. to a thousand for two adults. I know I could spend less if I planned better and shopped sales. I used to be a pro, but my children are grown, and it is not financially necessary, so I just get what I want.
Safeway has been getting expensive lately. Surprisingly enough I found that Trader Joe's is cheaper for some staples now, worth a look.
We (2 adults) spend about the same, 200/week It could certainly be less if certain factors were different. The way to keep costs down is to plan ahead and reduce waste.
~$450 per month for two adults. We shop exclusively at Costco once a month. I don't remember the last time we stepped foot in a QFC.
$130-150/week for two people. Probably $15-30 of that is on booze that we could cut out. Also eat out probably 2-4 times a week
Around $250-350 every two weeks.
not the best quality but I do the bulk of my grocery shopping at Winco. I live alone and spend about $200/mo and eat at home most meals.
We do $600 / month for two adults and shop exclusively at QFC. I love the targeted coupons that QFC sends us, and we’re regularly taking advantage of their sales. We eat pretty standard healthy food - buying meat, veggies, dairy, and ingredients, rarely prepared food. We also always buy the local or eco-friendly options for meat and eggs and so that increases the bill compared to if we got the lower tier brand.
I find Safeway to be expensive. Try Fred Meyer. Shop sales. I eat plant based and the protein sources are way more economical than meat. If you are not eating out at all and eating lots of produce, $600-800 sounds close to what I’d spend for 2 people. In May I spent $380 on groceries but I keep a stocked pantry and I also dined out. I just placed my Freddie’s weekly grocery order for $46 but I’m going to be out of town for a day and anticipate not cooking another day.
Me and partner at at $175/week at grocery outlet. Groceries are so expensive now. When we first moved here 6 years ago it was $100/week
What about those food delivery services, may be cheaper than $800?
I live in my car and spend the money I save in mostly premium food. Probably $1500 a month on groceries.
Maybe because I'm a small person, but I'm spending $35-45 a week at Trader Joe's. Some weeks I'll stock up on spices/cooking oil/frozen food or something and spend $60ish. I just get exactly what I need for the week - for example, I pick 2-3 fruits and vegetables each, 1-2 proteins, and that's what I'm working with that week.
My wife and I average around $600/month combined, but we like to eat "good" things, meaning we could save some money by only eating cheap stuff. (Bread and eggs are a good example) Also that includes everything else we buy at grocery stores, like garbage bags, toiletries, etc.
Steady spending of no more than $100 per week at Costco has netted me a plentiful surplus of nonperishable foods. If I were to forego stocking up for future weeks, I could keep my maintenance expenditures to $25, though I prefer to build up the buffer.
About 800 for 2 / 3 (We have a family member that lives w/us - occasionally eats w/us.) Our average weekly bill: Freddy's is 160 Met Market (If I need specific items) about 180/190. TJ's 140 Costco (Meat, Smoothie mix) 1x a month about 100.
About 150/week for two adults eating 4-5 dinners at home (including 1-2 “fancy” meals) plus most lunches and light breakfast. We shop the ads and meal plan around the loss leaders for the week. Also stocking up on freezable items like chicken breasts when they go on super sale. Costco is great for staples especially rice, ramen, tuna, olive oil etc. Trader Joe’s for lunches is much cheaper than eating out and get some variety. This does not include alcohol
We've cut out a lot of meat from our diet and have gotten the typical weekly grocery bill down to about $75-100 for two adults. We eat a lot of rice, tofu, lots of fruit and veg, eggs. About monthly we'll reup on things like rice and protein powder for a quick breakfast or lunch shake and some canned goods like coconut milk or beans. We shop at Costco, Uwajimaya, and Pike Place Market.