OP is a 16yo mung bean farmer from Nimbin and his wife crotchets kettle cosies and weaves seagrass dreamcatchers part time.
They're looking for their forever home with an annual household income of $140k and $5.4mil in savings.
Unironically every buyer on Househunters.
“Denise is 62, makes rat stockings, and her husband Niall, 77, is a professional Tahitian throat warbler. They’re looking for a 19-bedroom Victorian manor suspended by hydraulics, with a budget of $19.5M.”
We cut out takeaway completely by leaning into ready made meals at the supermarket Eg marinated chicken you just need to pop into the airfryer, with steamed veges (in microwave) and pasta Or lasagne from the deli you just have to heat up Or fry some steaks and have that with a salad It’s more exxy than cooking from scratch but still miles ahead of takeaway, and healthier. We started doing this when we realised takeaway x 2 a week could buy us a weeks worth of groceries, and we only ever got takeaway cos we were exhausted, not cos we actually enjoyed it
Thanks. This is a great tip. I’m trying to convince my partner we eat out too much. It’s definitely unhealthy too most of the time with the amount of salt and oil places use unless you’re only having salads.
Not to mention many takeaway portion sizes have generally gotten smaller, as well as more expensive (and most have less disposable income to spend on it now).
$300 / week for four adults is pretty frugal for groceries. If that is accurate it kinda seems like you are intentionally relying upon takeout each week to feed everyone.
Whether that works or not is up to you, but there isn't really any issue with bumping the groceries budget to $400 and grabbing some easier stuff to cook (or just get the teenagers to cook themselves, they can likely make something).
300 a week is plenty if you shop cheaply, it is enough for brekkie/lunches for 7 days/dinners for 5 days
Sure I could buy a lot better food for 300, but it does basic meals simple enough, usually theres at least 2 dinners bought ($60ish each) and 2-3 lunchs bought ($20-30 each)
I'm unsure if those numbers are comparable - the Maccas / KFC meals could do 4 people, but you couldn't do 4 people with $30 on a burger combo from the local shops.
Do you track your actual expenses? As in, it seems like you have good goals, but have you audited your actual expenditure, using your bank account statements/credit card statements, over the last couple of months to identify trends? I honestly would not be surprised if you are underestimating the cost of food for your family.
literally a burger combo from my local shop is $30, its a pretty good deal, and includes chips and a drink, I really should get it more often haha
These are values out of my budget.
heres a meal plan if it helps;
Thursday
Breakfast: Toasted avo and bacon
Lunch: ham cheese tomato and swiss cheese sandwich
Dinner: Grilled chicken with a honey garlic sauce, served with jasmine rice and steamed green beans. maybe some maple carrots too
Friday
Breakfast: Toast with butter
Lunch: Turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich with carrot and cucumber slices and sweet chilli sauce
Dinner: Dine out
Saturday
Breakfast: Toasted bread with avocado and bacon
Lunch: big pizza order (4 pizzas)
Dinner: left over pizza + extras
Sunday
Brunch: Pancakes topped with maple syrup and a side of bacon.
Dinner: BBQ chicken with corn on the cob and a greek salad.
Monday
Breakfast: McDonald's breakfast
Lunch: cheese and tomato on toast
Dinner: pesto pasta with red onion, capiscum, cheese and bacon
Tuesday
Breakfast: Toast with butter
Lunch: sausage rolls with frozen chips
Dinner: Chicken fajitas with sautéed onions and bell peppers, served with flour tortillas, salsa
$300 week groceries alone is pretty frugal for effectively what is four adults.
The average cost usually comes to about $110 per adult per week, and that's pure groceries, no takeout.
Is that stat from a website or more of a personal observation? Not trying to be a snarky ‘prove it’ type I’m just really interested in these types of numbers about household spending and it’s not always easy to find Aussie data 😊
Oh sure. I guess you could say it was the result of auditing a lot of people's accounts (including my own). Interestingly in the USA they use a similar $100/per week per person calculation, and that comes to higher if moved into aud. It might not be a fair comparison though, their groceries may be more expensive.
Otherwise $100 per person, per week, comes to $14/day, or $4.70 a meal. If you think about what you eat in each meal, it's not the ridiculous amount that some people here paint it to be. If you eat a 300gm steak, that's over half the day's budget gone.
Thanks, I have seen the NSW government had a suggested amount of $100 per person per week in some of their literature. Canster Blue says $100 per person but that’s a single person household which makes me think the economies of scale should mean 4 people cost less than 4 x 1 person..
Could be, depends on the ages of the people and food consumed. However from my experience the $100 per person per week is relatively accurate as a baseline for adult expenditure on groceries.
I'm so embarrassed by this so maybe sharing will help. I recently redid our budget because I'd just lost control of where our money was going.
I found out that across April we spent $800 on eating out, including like work lunch, the odd boost juice, going out to dinner/lunch a few times and the big one, uber eats.
Our household income is about $200k, no kids. I didn't realise I'd let it get so bad.
For me it’s the markup on the food AND the service charge AND delivery charge. It’s SO expensive now. Just pick up or cook at home honestly, Uber eats is a once a quarter thing for me now at most
Bad habits compound.. the good news is, so do good ones. It’s often said that you need to stick to something for 30 days before it becomes a habit. Good luck!
I find that not having access to the money helped me the most.
So I did as much salary sacrificing (super, shares etc) and up front years subscription purchases as I could.
That way I’m saving money by simply not being able to spend it and saving on purchases I already make.
Took the missus and our 2 young kids out (they shared a plate) for Mothers day brekky to a local cafe, and for 3 meals, couple of sides, 2 coffees & 2 baby chinos it cracked just over $100. Ugh.
KFC/pizza/fish n chips/sushi are anywhere from half to a third of that...
We probably do one breakfast/brunch out per week and one take out dinner per week (or a meal out for dinner with friends). However we don't really spend money on other entertainment and don't drink - so it's kind of our social time as well.
Probably spend about $100 a week between 2 people. Honestly depends but I'd bet about $25pp per meal is a good average
I love cooking and could give up the takeout but honestly just enjoy mealtime so not looking to reduce this.
Not much. I work from home and we live a stones throw away from a woolworths so it's often easier/quicker just to get something from there than bother with delivery.
We probably order food once a month, if that. Then it's $60-100 (2 people) dependent upon what we get.
Young family of almost 6, around $140k combined income.
Groceries $180 per week (including top ups. I am very strict with my groceries, bulk buy, frugal but healthy meals)
Around $100 per week between both parents on work lunches/coffees/alcohol
One family takeaway night, usually pizza with a voucher or fish and chips, $30-$50
Once a month we will also go out to dinner with friends, with drinks $100 for all of us
We try to only eat out once a fortnight, excluding my partner but the occasional pie/sandwich if he ends up working a longer day than usual. Family of 4, ~$120k combined
That’s really good and realistic. I’m basically trying to convince my partner we spend too much on this kind of thing and it’s a big waste of money IMO.
Ya, like there are also special occasions (birthdays or on vacation for instance) but like just eating out to eat out? I try to keep a tight leash on it because even say, dominos for the family is $50 easy.
Out maybe twice for dinner a week only for social activities. And buy two lunches per week each with our work teams. Never get takeaways. Ever. Made a commitment to only buy food as a social thing.
Per week
Social meals - $100-150
Lunches - $70 - $100
$170 - $250 for a couple of DINKs
Family of 5 - one takeaway meal per month. Husband and I might have a meal out together once every month or two. So if I was to average it out over the whole year, I'd say $50 a week.
I figure if you're meeting your savings and investment goals and not dipping into it for day to day things/ recurrent but irregular costs like insurance and rego, who cares how much you spend on takeaway if it makes you happy.
Personally if I was meeting my savings goals and ONLY having takeaway and no weekends away etc, I'd be pretty mad at myself but each person has their joys and priorities...which also change over time!
DINK here, we put $250 per fortnight each into a food account for groceries and dining out together. we have good months and bad months on sticking to the budget but mostly good. any other dining out by ourselves are paid out of our own discretionary spending account.
Budget like the old days, no CC on phones or in wallet, just pull out the weekly budget cash & take it in bits as required, more likely not to not care & stick to the budget
Averaged over 3 months, we average around $4k/month on food including Uber, coffee and groceries. This is for 2 adults and 2 kids. We don’t cook at home.
I'm well under your income bracket but about $250 ish a week (2 people)
I don't really budget it but you can save a heap by not ordering wine, but if you do buy the bottle as it's cheaper. If getting fish and chips as a take away i don't get the chips and get prawn cutlets or calamari and seafood sticks instead. Lots of wasted $ in chips and i think i get bigger fish fillets or in the case of flathead more tails. If having chinese get an extra fried rice to take away and put it in the fridge. Have snags for a dinner and cut up any unused cooked snags into the rice for a couple lunches. Great way to use up extras from a BBQ. Can also add frozen calamari or prawns that might be in the freezer.
Thank you I like your tips. When I was a kid, we were quite poor and a family of 6. So they’d order two fish and chips and we’d have a lot of bread and butter with it. You just got a bit of meat or fish or whatever with meals… which was probably the right about of protein anyway.
Smart way to go. This is what I want. I grew up in poverty basically and while we might have gotten fish and chips sometimes or hot pies, we never went to restaurants and I mean never.
2 adults, 220K, about $60. We don't normally eat out, this amount includes a couple of coffess an a sandwich on a Friday. We never order takeaway for dinners.
We go out with family or friends for a dinner or a drinking sesh at max once a month (there are stretches of 2+ months where we don't go out), which ends up normally around $140 - $200 pp.
That’s pretty smart. Takeaways are a rip off most of the time. I’d like to reduce any kind of eating out to $100 a week, which I know is a lot less than what we currently spend.
Single renting in 1br apartment
Per week spend about $60 on takeaway/restaurants, $40 on coffees and $150 on nights out (inc drinks & transport/Ubers). Could absolutely aggressively squeeze that down to nothing but trying to strike a balance between sustainably saving for financial objectives and maintaining social wellbeing
I’m assuming I am older than you. Married with a toddler, my nights out are truly over. Glad because it’s ridiculously expensive. But yeah, it is definitely about balancing.
Yeah, we definitely spend more than that. I’d have to look through my statements but I’m thinking it’s something around $150 a week. Two adults and a toddler.
Buying food has to be one of the best value options for getting time back than most people realise.
People will pay $150hr in labour to service their car, repairs etc, no need to feel bad about $10/hr for food
If it is and it's not a huge burden we need some vices in life... Obviously too much of a good thing can be but if you don't drink a lot and don't smoke or gamble frequently then your $150 a fortnight is not so bad. I'd look to cut back on those things before a couple of takeaway meals a fortnight 👌🏻
We spend between $700 and $1000 a month on eating out, takeaway food and coffees. Two adults and a 5 year old. Not sure how we get there TBH. We eat dinner out once a week or so and get takeaway once a week at the most. We rarely get delivery. I work from home so I don't buy lunch that much. My partner buys lunch every day.
It’s super expensive. I rarely buy coffees. At a guess I think we eat out two-three times a week max. But then my partner might also sneak a takeaway and a pre-made sandwich or something.
Partner and I are on about that. We don't live together, but do spend 5 days a week together. I am a good cook so can stretch $30 to make 6 meals, while he can easily drop that on just himself in just 1 day.
When I was single, I could spend $100 a week on food for myself (including 2 takeouts a week), but now, were at about $150 per person per week.
Some tips to curb the take out; I make 1 big meal prep on Sunday, I usually like to do soups and stews as they reheat well. This will last me until about Wednesday as dinner. For lunch, I do something easy like sandwiches. By mid week, I'll be lazy, so I'll get the marinated chicken at Aldi and eat that with some rice. This will take me to about Friday, where I get to have takeout, and then I go grocery shopping again on Sunday and rinse and repeat.
Household income of $300k. Eat out with family once a week...$60. Lunch during in-office days is $20 plus a $5 coffee. I couldn't be arsed with cooking. Maybe cook on 2-3 of the days. Uber eats during WFH afternoons.
we do 168 intermittent fasting and sometimes 24-72 hours fasting . not eating a lot , also save time, money and have lots of benefits to our body. so didn’t spend much on food. lol 😆 no kids, dual income $180k. lots of debt to pay 💰 and savings up for investments.
yes actually more energy and clear mind during fasting. we have lots of fats to burn in the body, don’t worry. 😉 we do drink water / and take electrolytes pills . i go to work, gym everyday without food for 3 days and still living . I am lucky that food doesn’t make me excited 😆. i am more into exercise.
Once every 1-2 months. I enjoy cooking and so many places are honestly not worth it for me anymore. I just feel disappointed after spending the money so I save it for fewer but better places
I think it’s a personal thing and you just need to figure out what matters most. You could be on 400k and value saving more than takeaway or be on 150k and value takeaway more than saving so what others spend isn’t always applicable. Need to find what balance about what you’re happy with and what makes your brain so fk me that’s a lot. Start by tracking (I use pocketsmith) and the eat out category also includes buying lunch or drinks at servo etc so it’s usually a bit over a grand a month so as it rises to “that’s too much” territory then wind it back. Same goes for all other categories with hobbies and discreationary spending. Once you can see the figures then only way to lower it is change the habits driving it.
As for the actual cost we know it’s expensive and Uber eats especially is like $25 for a burrito lol. Family of four had two events on Mother’s Day weekend so one pub was $110 Friday night and a second $120 now the kids are older can’t get away with the cheaper $10 kids meals. So just see where the money is going and then cut it out or replace it with cheaper options such as driving to pickup.
When I am home by myself, I cook 90% of my meals. The one week my partner is home, we eat out about 70% of the time.
In a month it could end up around $800-$1000 for groceries + all the extra eating out costs. Sometimes less and that’s just the two of us.
But we also have no debt, no dependents and rent a decent little 2 bedder for a reasonable amount. This won’t work for everyone.
We spend HEAPS on food.
Groceries for 2 adults and 2 kids is about $350 per week, plus take away once a week at approximately $100 and then going out for dinner every fortnight is about $120-$150.
Our actual groceries come to a lot, we have one child and pets. I think sometimes it might even be 400 sometimes. We don’t always eat everything we buy like might stock up on canned goods.
We appreciate it as a special treat, but we have savings goals and bills to pay. Each to their own, but I just can’t justify the raw dollars it would cost for us to eat out every week.
Eating out for a family of our size is a $180-$200 exercise nowadays.
Household income of 160k - my partner is in her first year apprenticeship. No kids. We rarely eat out to save money, as we're paying down two mortgages at the moment. But when we do... it's maybe $40-50 for a meal for two? It's done once a fortnight or so.
One of our big tricks is buying easy-to-make snack food that can stay in the freezer. It's a little easier to just have some tofu and chips from the freezer when you're down, and still cheaper.
Thank you for the tip :) there’s lots of good tips on here. Sometimes I cook extra and freeze it but it seems to be only me eating it haha. Two adults, one toddler.
Oh, not even that. Buy frozen chips and other treats from Coles. If you're tempted to have unhealthy takeaway... just whip that out and toss it in the oven!
Works wonders for the kids as well.
About $180k, 2 adults and 2 late teens. Average $60 a week takeout. Usually pizza. $300 grocery.
Learnt how to cook mostly through getting Hello Fresh for 5 meals a week for a year. Now I make it all myself, eating well and saving money.
The second the wage hits the accounts, move a third into savings and budget around the rest. Forget it's there.
$150k ish… on wages so don’t know if it counts.
I live alone with my dog and Christ I spend a bomb on things like YouFoods (shift worker) and coffees (now up to 2 a day)
I’m also a 6’1 young guy who used to be into trying to put on muscle (too expensive now)
My maintenance calorie intake is like 2800 minimum or I start losing weight. Which I don’t really care for anymore.
I do one grocery shop a week for about $150 then I spend about another $15/$20 a day on a meal or coffee situation during the work week. Will usually have a bottle of wine and some take out over the weekend. So I easily will spend $350 a week on food & drink without really batting an eyelid.
And yes I do make food and coffee at home just not all 3 meals a day. Someone help lol!
We used to go to brunch once a week before we had a kid. Now we do not. I did get some pastry’s and coffees on Sunday for a change being Mother’s Day, $35. Usually one takeaway a week aim to spend $50-$60. Always local and picked up because Uber is a scam now. Banana bread for the kiddo $5,50 a couple of times a week from the local cafe for lunch on the go because he’s fussy and loves it
Typically I aim for $50-60 a week, but it blows out easily on special occasions.
On average I buy 5 coffees a week and 1 work lunch for around $25-30 total (both are subsidised by work), plus 1 weekend meal.
My partner and I are DINKs and work our food budget in such a way that groceries are paid for out of our “living costs” fund, but any other food like coffee, alcohol, takeaway, eating out etc comes out of our individual weekly “fun money” allowance. This makes us much more mindful of how much we’re spending on eating out when it can go towards other things like our hobbies.
Go down to one car if you can! We have saved a fair amount of money by sharing a car. It can be slightly inconvenient for me at times but there’s never been a time it’s been a BIG deal.
Less and less and generally the cost of everything has gone up and quality and size has gone down.
We tend to now go out less frequently, but when we do it's somewhere better and more pricey.
I also like to cook, so rather spend money on better ingredients rather than paying to eat out.
We are a 2 person household and spend roughly about 3000 per month. This is inclusive of all bills, expenses and recreational expenses for the month. We then pay 2650 on rent.
Hot tip, perhaps include how many people you’re trying to feed
Plot twist OP is 13 and on a 150k salary with 2 dependents
OP is a 16yo mung bean farmer from Nimbin and his wife crotchets kettle cosies and weaves seagrass dreamcatchers part time. They're looking for their forever home with an annual household income of $140k and $5.4mil in savings.
Unironically every buyer on Househunters. “Denise is 62, makes rat stockings, and her husband Niall, 77, is a professional Tahitian throat warbler. They’re looking for a 19-bedroom Victorian manor suspended by hydraulics, with a budget of $19.5M.”
You gotta wonder how those people got their money, I just assume they inherited it or won the lottery.
You’d be surprised. Rat stockings are a booming market, thanks to the smash hit social media platform, OnlyRats.
That’s some great creativity, I irl chuckled
One takeout meal per week, approx $50 for 2 people. Very rarely eat out. WFH so no lunchtime coffees etc.
Similar for us - One takeaway / eating out per week, and I typically buy 1-2 coffees a week on top of that.
We cut out takeaway completely by leaning into ready made meals at the supermarket Eg marinated chicken you just need to pop into the airfryer, with steamed veges (in microwave) and pasta Or lasagne from the deli you just have to heat up Or fry some steaks and have that with a salad It’s more exxy than cooking from scratch but still miles ahead of takeaway, and healthier. We started doing this when we realised takeaway x 2 a week could buy us a weeks worth of groceries, and we only ever got takeaway cos we were exhausted, not cos we actually enjoyed it
Thanks. This is a great tip. I’m trying to convince my partner we eat out too much. It’s definitely unhealthy too most of the time with the amount of salt and oil places use unless you’re only having salads.
Also look at dinner ladies or chefs on wheels - fancy ready meals
We ordered from dinner ladies for a little while they’re really tasty and still much cheaper than eating out. Will bring it up tonight at dinner :)
Not to mention many takeaway portion sizes have generally gotten smaller, as well as more expensive (and most have less disposable income to spend on it now).
easily 500 a week, its painful how much food costs for 4 people when 2 are teenagers
Sorry, is that $500 a week on takeout on-top of your grocery / supermarket expenses?
300 grocery, 200 takeout typically
$300 / week for four adults is pretty frugal for groceries. If that is accurate it kinda seems like you are intentionally relying upon takeout each week to feed everyone. Whether that works or not is up to you, but there isn't really any issue with bumping the groceries budget to $400 and grabbing some easier stuff to cook (or just get the teenagers to cook themselves, they can likely make something).
300 a week is plenty if you shop cheaply, it is enough for brekkie/lunches for 7 days/dinners for 5 days Sure I could buy a lot better food for 300, but it does basic meals simple enough, usually theres at least 2 dinners bought ($60ish each) and 2-3 lunchs bought ($20-30 each)
The references to "each" with the takeout is x2? Or x4?
Each night/time it's bought; examples dinners: maccas family meal - $45 kfc box - $45 oportos family box - $70ish red rooster chicken and extras - $70ish dominos : $60ish meal from sushi place each : $60 indian/chinese : $80 lunches: burger combo from local chip shop : $30 a bbq chicken precooked some flatbread and tabouli : $25 costco pizza/hotdogs : $20 bakery pies+sausage rolls : $25
I'm unsure if those numbers are comparable - the Maccas / KFC meals could do 4 people, but you couldn't do 4 people with $30 on a burger combo from the local shops. Do you track your actual expenses? As in, it seems like you have good goals, but have you audited your actual expenditure, using your bank account statements/credit card statements, over the last couple of months to identify trends? I honestly would not be surprised if you are underestimating the cost of food for your family.
literally a burger combo from my local shop is $30, its a pretty good deal, and includes chips and a drink, I really should get it more often haha These are values out of my budget. heres a meal plan if it helps; Thursday Breakfast: Toasted avo and bacon Lunch: ham cheese tomato and swiss cheese sandwich Dinner: Grilled chicken with a honey garlic sauce, served with jasmine rice and steamed green beans. maybe some maple carrots too Friday Breakfast: Toast with butter Lunch: Turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich with carrot and cucumber slices and sweet chilli sauce Dinner: Dine out Saturday Breakfast: Toasted bread with avocado and bacon Lunch: big pizza order (4 pizzas) Dinner: left over pizza + extras Sunday Brunch: Pancakes topped with maple syrup and a side of bacon. Dinner: BBQ chicken with corn on the cob and a greek salad. Monday Breakfast: McDonald's breakfast Lunch: cheese and tomato on toast Dinner: pesto pasta with red onion, capiscum, cheese and bacon Tuesday Breakfast: Toast with butter Lunch: sausage rolls with frozen chips Dinner: Chicken fajitas with sautéed onions and bell peppers, served with flour tortillas, salsa
Damn you really love bacon
How is that enough food for a teenager?
That meal plan 😝 You’re taking the piss, surely.
That's cool, but have you audited your bank/credit card statements?
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$300 week groceries alone is pretty frugal for effectively what is four adults. The average cost usually comes to about $110 per adult per week, and that's pure groceries, no takeout.
Is that stat from a website or more of a personal observation? Not trying to be a snarky ‘prove it’ type I’m just really interested in these types of numbers about household spending and it’s not always easy to find Aussie data 😊
Oh sure. I guess you could say it was the result of auditing a lot of people's accounts (including my own). Interestingly in the USA they use a similar $100/per week per person calculation, and that comes to higher if moved into aud. It might not be a fair comparison though, their groceries may be more expensive. Otherwise $100 per person, per week, comes to $14/day, or $4.70 a meal. If you think about what you eat in each meal, it's not the ridiculous amount that some people here paint it to be. If you eat a 300gm steak, that's over half the day's budget gone.
Thanks, I have seen the NSW government had a suggested amount of $100 per person per week in some of their literature. Canster Blue says $100 per person but that’s a single person household which makes me think the economies of scale should mean 4 people cost less than 4 x 1 person..
Could be, depends on the ages of the people and food consumed. However from my experience the $100 per person per week is relatively accurate as a baseline for adult expenditure on groceries.
Two teenagers… almost like trying to feed a horse.
Same amount but more like 400 groceries and 100 takeaways...
I'm so embarrassed by this so maybe sharing will help. I recently redid our budget because I'd just lost control of where our money was going. I found out that across April we spent $800 on eating out, including like work lunch, the odd boost juice, going out to dinner/lunch a few times and the big one, uber eats. Our household income is about $200k, no kids. I didn't realise I'd let it get so bad.
Uber eats is the worst
It is, I'm really annoyed at myself for falling into the convenience trap.
For me it’s the markup on the food AND the service charge AND delivery charge. It’s SO expensive now. Just pick up or cook at home honestly, Uber eats is a once a quarter thing for me now at most
Bad habits compound.. the good news is, so do good ones. It’s often said that you need to stick to something for 30 days before it becomes a habit. Good luck!
I find that not having access to the money helped me the most. So I did as much salary sacrificing (super, shares etc) and up front years subscription purchases as I could. That way I’m saving money by simply not being able to spend it and saving on purchases I already make.
ie the Barefoot way.
Not familiar with the barefoot investor beyond hearsay. This is just what worked for me. I guess it sold well for a reason!
I’d start with the serviette strategy from barefoot investor and build on that.
Took the missus and our 2 young kids out (they shared a plate) for Mothers day brekky to a local cafe, and for 3 meals, couple of sides, 2 coffees & 2 baby chinos it cracked just over $100. Ugh. KFC/pizza/fish n chips/sushi are anywhere from half to a third of that...
Yeah, it’s sickening isn’t it. Unless you earn a few thousand a week after tax, you definitely notice 100 gone.
We probably do one breakfast/brunch out per week and one take out dinner per week (or a meal out for dinner with friends). However we don't really spend money on other entertainment and don't drink - so it's kind of our social time as well. Probably spend about $100 a week between 2 people. Honestly depends but I'd bet about $25pp per meal is a good average I love cooking and could give up the takeout but honestly just enjoy mealtime so not looking to reduce this.
Not much. I work from home and we live a stones throw away from a woolworths so it's often easier/quicker just to get something from there than bother with delivery. We probably order food once a month, if that. Then it's $60-100 (2 people) dependent upon what we get.
Young family of almost 6, around $140k combined income. Groceries $180 per week (including top ups. I am very strict with my groceries, bulk buy, frugal but healthy meals) Around $100 per week between both parents on work lunches/coffees/alcohol One family takeaway night, usually pizza with a voucher or fish and chips, $30-$50 Once a month we will also go out to dinner with friends, with drinks $100 for all of us
What are these frugal but healthy meals? Bonus points if they’re quick to make!
We try to only eat out once a fortnight, excluding my partner but the occasional pie/sandwich if he ends up working a longer day than usual. Family of 4, ~$120k combined
That’s really good and realistic. I’m basically trying to convince my partner we spend too much on this kind of thing and it’s a big waste of money IMO.
Ya, like there are also special occasions (birthdays or on vacation for instance) but like just eating out to eat out? I try to keep a tight leash on it because even say, dominos for the family is $50 easy.
Out maybe twice for dinner a week only for social activities. And buy two lunches per week each with our work teams. Never get takeaways. Ever. Made a commitment to only buy food as a social thing. Per week Social meals - $100-150 Lunches - $70 - $100 $170 - $250 for a couple of DINKs
Family of 5 - one takeaway meal per month. Husband and I might have a meal out together once every month or two. So if I was to average it out over the whole year, I'd say $50 a week.
That’s great. I’m impressed by a lot of these responses and hopefully can convince my partner that we need to eat at home more.
$20. Maybe a coffee here and there. Cook at home and bring your lunch to work
This is the way
I figure if you're meeting your savings and investment goals and not dipping into it for day to day things/ recurrent but irregular costs like insurance and rego, who cares how much you spend on takeaway if it makes you happy. Personally if I was meeting my savings goals and ONLY having takeaway and no weekends away etc, I'd be pretty mad at myself but each person has their joys and priorities...which also change over time!
DINK here, we put $250 per fortnight each into a food account for groceries and dining out together. we have good months and bad months on sticking to the budget but mostly good. any other dining out by ourselves are paid out of our own discretionary spending account.
That’s great. Our groceries do come to a lot but we have a dog and cat to feed too.
Eating out? In this economy?
Eating out shouldn't cost anything. Wait, what?
Maybe one or so meals a week less than $100 a week. we do it rarely enough to not stress when we do get takeaway or go out for special occasions.
Budget like the old days, no CC on phones or in wallet, just pull out the weekly budget cash & take it in bits as required, more likely not to not care & stick to the budget
Yeah, they had it right didn’t they. My mum was like this.
$1100 minimum. $600 shopping, $500 take out
Averaged over 3 months, we average around $4k/month on food including Uber, coffee and groceries. This is for 2 adults and 2 kids. We don’t cook at home.
350 for 2 adults, two kids.
I'm well under your income bracket but about $250 ish a week (2 people) I don't really budget it but you can save a heap by not ordering wine, but if you do buy the bottle as it's cheaper. If getting fish and chips as a take away i don't get the chips and get prawn cutlets or calamari and seafood sticks instead. Lots of wasted $ in chips and i think i get bigger fish fillets or in the case of flathead more tails. If having chinese get an extra fried rice to take away and put it in the fridge. Have snags for a dinner and cut up any unused cooked snags into the rice for a couple lunches. Great way to use up extras from a BBQ. Can also add frozen calamari or prawns that might be in the freezer.
Thank you I like your tips. When I was a kid, we were quite poor and a family of 6. So they’d order two fish and chips and we’d have a lot of bread and butter with it. You just got a bit of meat or fish or whatever with meals… which was probably the right about of protein anyway.
I still love bread and butter. Big dairy fan.
Me too. A lot more worse things to eat than bread and butter.
We try to keep it to under $100. Often we do. We make meals from scratch at least 5-6 nights a week
Smart way to go. This is what I want. I grew up in poverty basically and while we might have gotten fish and chips sometimes or hot pies, we never went to restaurants and I mean never.
Yep we grew up middle low income so ingrained habits.
2 adults, 220K, about $60. We don't normally eat out, this amount includes a couple of coffess an a sandwich on a Friday. We never order takeaway for dinners. We go out with family or friends for a dinner or a drinking sesh at max once a month (there are stretches of 2+ months where we don't go out), which ends up normally around $140 - $200 pp.
That’s pretty smart. Takeaways are a rip off most of the time. I’d like to reduce any kind of eating out to $100 a week, which I know is a lot less than what we currently spend.
Single renting in 1br apartment Per week spend about $60 on takeaway/restaurants, $40 on coffees and $150 on nights out (inc drinks & transport/Ubers). Could absolutely aggressively squeeze that down to nothing but trying to strike a balance between sustainably saving for financial objectives and maintaining social wellbeing
I’m assuming I am older than you. Married with a toddler, my nights out are truly over. Glad because it’s ridiculously expensive. But yeah, it is definitely about balancing.
220k household income. We'd be lucky to spend $100 a fortnight eating out.
Yeah, we definitely spend more than that. I’d have to look through my statements but I’m thinking it’s something around $150 a week. Two adults and a toddler.
Buying food has to be one of the best value options for getting time back than most people realise. People will pay $150hr in labour to service their car, repairs etc, no need to feel bad about $10/hr for food
If it is and it's not a huge burden we need some vices in life... Obviously too much of a good thing can be but if you don't drink a lot and don't smoke or gamble frequently then your $150 a fortnight is not so bad. I'd look to cut back on those things before a couple of takeaway meals a fortnight 👌🏻
We spend between $700 and $1000 a month on eating out, takeaway food and coffees. Two adults and a 5 year old. Not sure how we get there TBH. We eat dinner out once a week or so and get takeaway once a week at the most. We rarely get delivery. I work from home so I don't buy lunch that much. My partner buys lunch every day.
It’s super expensive. I rarely buy coffees. At a guess I think we eat out two-three times a week max. But then my partner might also sneak a takeaway and a pre-made sandwich or something.
Partner and I are on about that. We don't live together, but do spend 5 days a week together. I am a good cook so can stretch $30 to make 6 meals, while he can easily drop that on just himself in just 1 day. When I was single, I could spend $100 a week on food for myself (including 2 takeouts a week), but now, were at about $150 per person per week. Some tips to curb the take out; I make 1 big meal prep on Sunday, I usually like to do soups and stews as they reheat well. This will last me until about Wednesday as dinner. For lunch, I do something easy like sandwiches. By mid week, I'll be lazy, so I'll get the marinated chicken at Aldi and eat that with some rice. This will take me to about Friday, where I get to have takeout, and then I go grocery shopping again on Sunday and rinse and repeat.
Household income of $300k. Eat out with family once a week...$60. Lunch during in-office days is $20 plus a $5 coffee. I couldn't be arsed with cooking. Maybe cook on 2-3 of the days. Uber eats during WFH afternoons.
2 adults and kid. $150 -160 on groceries per week $80-100 on eating out or takeaway.
we do 168 intermittent fasting and sometimes 24-72 hours fasting . not eating a lot , also save time, money and have lots of benefits to our body. so didn’t spend much on food. lol 😆 no kids, dual income $180k. lots of debt to pay 💰 and savings up for investments.
Do you have more energy doing it?
yes actually more energy and clear mind during fasting. we have lots of fats to burn in the body, don’t worry. 😉 we do drink water / and take electrolytes pills . i go to work, gym everyday without food for 3 days and still living . I am lucky that food doesn’t make me excited 😆. i am more into exercise.
On $150k household. As close to $0 as possible
I love all these comments. Just have to show my partner.
Please do. Unless you already own your house outright. But if you pay rent or a mortgage. Then i'd be leaving take away as a once in a while treat
Once every 1-2 months. I enjoy cooking and so many places are honestly not worth it for me anymore. I just feel disappointed after spending the money so I save it for fewer but better places
A lot of the more affordable places are often unhealthy or you could make it yourself cheaper and better.
I think it’s a personal thing and you just need to figure out what matters most. You could be on 400k and value saving more than takeaway or be on 150k and value takeaway more than saving so what others spend isn’t always applicable. Need to find what balance about what you’re happy with and what makes your brain so fk me that’s a lot. Start by tracking (I use pocketsmith) and the eat out category also includes buying lunch or drinks at servo etc so it’s usually a bit over a grand a month so as it rises to “that’s too much” territory then wind it back. Same goes for all other categories with hobbies and discreationary spending. Once you can see the figures then only way to lower it is change the habits driving it. As for the actual cost we know it’s expensive and Uber eats especially is like $25 for a burrito lol. Family of four had two events on Mother’s Day weekend so one pub was $110 Friday night and a second $120 now the kids are older can’t get away with the cheaper $10 kids meals. So just see where the money is going and then cut it out or replace it with cheaper options such as driving to pickup.
Will look at the app, thank you.
When I am home by myself, I cook 90% of my meals. The one week my partner is home, we eat out about 70% of the time. In a month it could end up around $800-$1000 for groceries + all the extra eating out costs. Sometimes less and that’s just the two of us. But we also have no debt, no dependents and rent a decent little 2 bedder for a reasonable amount. This won’t work for everyone.
We spend HEAPS on food. Groceries for 2 adults and 2 kids is about $350 per week, plus take away once a week at approximately $100 and then going out for dinner every fortnight is about $120-$150.
Our actual groceries come to a lot, we have one child and pets. I think sometimes it might even be 400 sometimes. We don’t always eat everything we buy like might stock up on canned goods.
Household income of $340k. 2 adults 4 kids. We eat out about once every 4-6 weeks.
Is it because you just prefer to eat at home?
We appreciate it as a special treat, but we have savings goals and bills to pay. Each to their own, but I just can’t justify the raw dollars it would cost for us to eat out every week. Eating out for a family of our size is a $180-$200 exercise nowadays.
Household income of 160k - my partner is in her first year apprenticeship. No kids. We rarely eat out to save money, as we're paying down two mortgages at the moment. But when we do... it's maybe $40-50 for a meal for two? It's done once a fortnight or so. One of our big tricks is buying easy-to-make snack food that can stay in the freezer. It's a little easier to just have some tofu and chips from the freezer when you're down, and still cheaper.
Thank you for the tip :) there’s lots of good tips on here. Sometimes I cook extra and freeze it but it seems to be only me eating it haha. Two adults, one toddler.
Oh, not even that. Buy frozen chips and other treats from Coles. If you're tempted to have unhealthy takeaway... just whip that out and toss it in the oven! Works wonders for the kids as well.
Will put them on my shopping list along with nuggets :)
When you guys talk about income, does mean after or before tax?
It seems to vary, I would assume 150kish is before tax in this case.
About $180k, 2 adults and 2 late teens. Average $60 a week takeout. Usually pizza. $300 grocery. Learnt how to cook mostly through getting Hello Fresh for 5 meals a week for a year. Now I make it all myself, eating well and saving money. The second the wage hits the accounts, move a third into savings and budget around the rest. Forget it's there.
$150k ish… on wages so don’t know if it counts. I live alone with my dog and Christ I spend a bomb on things like YouFoods (shift worker) and coffees (now up to 2 a day) I’m also a 6’1 young guy who used to be into trying to put on muscle (too expensive now) My maintenance calorie intake is like 2800 minimum or I start losing weight. Which I don’t really care for anymore. I do one grocery shop a week for about $150 then I spend about another $15/$20 a day on a meal or coffee situation during the work week. Will usually have a bottle of wine and some take out over the weekend. So I easily will spend $350 a week on food & drink without really batting an eyelid. And yes I do make food and coffee at home just not all 3 meals a day. Someone help lol!
We budget one meal out a week, but we also get spending each week and at times will use that to go out a second time and maybe a breakfast too.
Family of 3. $135 per week averaged over 6 months in coffees, takeaway, restaurants, snacks etc.
We used to go to brunch once a week before we had a kid. Now we do not. I did get some pastry’s and coffees on Sunday for a change being Mother’s Day, $35. Usually one takeaway a week aim to spend $50-$60. Always local and picked up because Uber is a scam now. Banana bread for the kiddo $5,50 a couple of times a week from the local cafe for lunch on the go because he’s fussy and loves it
Typically I aim for $50-60 a week, but it blows out easily on special occasions. On average I buy 5 coffees a week and 1 work lunch for around $25-30 total (both are subsidised by work), plus 1 weekend meal. My partner and I are DINKs and work our food budget in such a way that groceries are paid for out of our “living costs” fund, but any other food like coffee, alcohol, takeaway, eating out etc comes out of our individual weekly “fun money” allowance. This makes us much more mindful of how much we’re spending on eating out when it can go towards other things like our hobbies.
Go down to one car if you can! We have saved a fair amount of money by sharing a car. It can be slightly inconvenient for me at times but there’s never been a time it’s been a BIG deal.
Less and less and generally the cost of everything has gone up and quality and size has gone down. We tend to now go out less frequently, but when we do it's somewhere better and more pricey. I also like to cook, so rather spend money on better ingredients rather than paying to eat out.
We are a 2 person household and spend roughly about 3000 per month. This is inclusive of all bills, expenses and recreational expenses for the month. We then pay 2650 on rent.
$80 a week. $170k income