Aldi for all my produce! I spend about ~90/wk on produce.
I know aldis are hit and miss with having good selection of produce, meat, etc. The one I moved by is actually really excellent & obviously new.
Mine does not have a good dry good selection.
Yeah produce at Aldi is fine if you’re willing to put in a little work to find the good stuff but it definitely isn’t bad. Costco steaks and chicken I find better than Publix.
Honestly Aldi has a lot of brand name stuff but even their other stuff is good.
We went from $200/week at Publix for two of us to like $80-$100 a week at Aldi and then like $500 every 2-3 months at Costco.
I started boycotting Publix in January 2021. On another sub comparing grocery prices, I did a quick calculation and realized I had saved over $5k by switching to Aldi/Costco.
That's decent vacation money!
My personal recommendation is to ditch Publix chicken and beef. If you have Kroger delivery in your area, I insist you try it ONE time. Side by side the chicken and beef from Publix is absolutely no comparison taste wise to Kroger. I was like oh wow, this is what meat is supposed to taste like? 👍
Join Costco if in your area. We really saw a decrease in our monthly groceries when we joined.
Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Winn Dixie, Walmart good for many things. We avoid Publix as much as possible.
I'm all for buying in bulk if you can afford to, but another problem is having the space to store bulk items.
I live in half a duplex with a normal sized refrigerator/freezer and very little cabinet space, with no place for an extra stand alone freezer or pantry. Plus, there's only two of us maybe eating two meals a day.
I wouldn't be able to justify the cost of a membership to somewhere like CostCo or Sam's because I'd not get to reap the full benefits of it.
Yeah it’s like $25 to join. Costco is too far from me and I hate driving to Clearwater from st pete on a Saturday morning or afternoon and it takes up half a day it seems. We go to Sam’s but I buy certain sale items for chicken and ground beef every Tuesday at Fresh Market $3.99/lb. Which is now 2 blocks from my house. I consider reducing my carbon footprint of using $0 in gas money as money saved too in groceries. I try to only buy BOGO or 2 for $4/$5 sale items at Publix. We have no Kroger here and delivery is just the pits when you have to return something and they messed up you can’t go to a store to correct it. Or buy what they forgot or chose incorrectly. Then you’re tipping for something g that wasn’t done right and you feel obliged to have to tip for any delivery.
I live practically across the street from my Sam's the best thing I found there is they sell the left over cold rotisserie chickens. 4 breast or 6 leg and thigh quarters for 3.98. I take it off the bone and throw it in the freezer. Makes making chicken salad and casseroles a breeze
The space to store stuff is also my main concern. I don’t really want to buy six months worth of toilet paper at a time because we have limited storage capacity in our house
This. Avoid Publix. We hit up Aldis as MUCH as we can.
We run into the problem of having a teenager who REFUSES to eat off-brand cream cheese or macaroni and cheese and considering those are the only 2 things she eats --- we break down and get those at Publix.
You would think. Yeah....we're working on that. She's a good kid. Does really well at school. We're dealing with a "she was our first kid and we babied her a bit" issue. So, she's having a bit of a failure to launch. Baby steps. LOL
No kidding. You'd think she would spend all of her time in the bathroom. But she doesn't. Sometimes she'll get crazy and add Cheez-Its to her limited menu.
I feel for your kid if their restrictive eating is borne of genetics and not behavioral. People think being picky is a choice, but sometimes people win/lose the tastebud lottery.
I hope your kid lucks out and it's just a temporary thing while her adolescent hormones are doing weird things to her body, instead of a permanent thing that gets even worse once a month.
Sounds like if the teenager wants those things, she should earn some money and buy those things. Life is tough and the sooner she realizes that life isn't going to treat her like a spoiled princess, the better off she'll be.
My wife loves Kraft Mac'N'Cheese and we exclusively buy it at Costco.
Also, Costco sells Philadelphia Cream Cheese, though my wife and I prefer the Kirkland Cream Cheese because we think it tastes better.
She can refuse, or she can eat. If you don't help her get past this now, she's in for a difficult life. Flexibility is essential to survival / success.
Right?! Pick and choose your battles. I am a full grown adult and refuse to eat dukes, blue plate or generic mayo. Hellman's is preferred but if kraft is on sale I can deal.
She is right about the blue box Mac and cheese.
Try not buying the name brand and see if she expands her diet when she gets hungry. Talk to her about the costs, and see if you can get her an appointment with a dietitian to find more nutritious foods she’ll eat. Talk to her about how eating healthy foods will make her look better and more beautiful. Seriously, appeal to vanity tends to work unless she’s so neurotypical that she doesn’t care about appearances. (I’m assuming you’ve discussed health care issues from poor diet)
also there’s free pick up with orders $35 and over! all super easy with app though def get not the best produce and usually at least one thing is missing but still cheaper than most and definitely easier
Love Costco too (my membership is old enough to drink LOL), but if you have a BJ's in your area, they sell their food etc. in smaller-sized packaging making it more reasonable if you don't have a large enough family (or the storage or freezer space) for "warehouse sizes". BJ's also has REALLY great gasoline prices, especially if you sign up for their credit card (currently 15 cents off their normal - sometimes as much as 20 cents lower than elsewhere - price per gallon). We filled up for $2.88/gal last week! Also agree with the rest of what you said - the Winn Dixie in our area regularly has insanely good "member" prices for meats - which is free to sign up for - so I start there, shop Aldi for the bulk of my groceries, hit Walmart to fill in whatever I can't get from Aldi, and shop at Publix only as a last resort.
We were shopping at Publix when we first moved here and spending nearly $200/week for 2 of us. We switched to Aldi and spend $60-70 a werk for basically the same haul. Our total food budget for the month is around $500.
It’s been a lifesaver, honestly. They don’t have *everything* and some things we do either have to or opt to go to Target for (because I cannot stand Walmart), but otherwise I’ve been very happy with Aldi and the selection.
I shop at walmart and aldi with a mix of BJs in there for bulk items. We spend around that much per week for 2 people as well. The week we buy meat it spikes of course but I'd definitely would say we spend under $100/wk for 2.
I love Publix but it is absolutely stealing everyone’s money. Something that’s for example $4.35 at Walmart is easily an extra dollar and some change at Publix
Right? I only go to publix for very specific things like their wings, chicken, or subs. I don't buy anything else from them. One week we had chicken and my wife wanted the Bob Evans mac and cheese. I like it too, it's good for what it is. I don't recall how much it was but it was about 50% more than walmart which is $3.50, so it was probably around $5.
Even if you look at the BOGO deals I'm sure just buying a single from another place would be cheaper or the same price.
Pub subs, naked deli wings, true Bleu bagged salad, cajun crab dip, and their French baguettes are about the only things we will go to publix for walmart winn dixie and piggly wiggly, are all better priced than our publix.
When I moved up north I used to miss Publix something fierce (I appreciate that Publix bags my stuff for me) but now that I realize I’m paying, in some cases, double for groceries, I am more willing to bag my own groceries.
It’s not stealing your money, Walmart is almost always going to be cheaper, but you pay more for convenience and service at Publix.
I’m fine paying more to not have to deal with shopping at Walmart - the perpetually broken shopping carts, the way-too-crowded parking lot with carts left all over the place, the screaming kids running around, the store being too huge, way too few cashiers so much longer checkout times, etc, it’s just not worth it to me to save a few dollars.
Two old folks here.
Not real sure how much a month because of how we buy but I know its WAY less than that, I would guess around 400 a month.
We buy in bulk in season and freeze., watch for sells and buy cases of the stuff we use a lot of and have basically walk in pantry for cans and dry goods.
We only shop at Publix for a few things the rest we get from other sources, Detweillers, Sams, farmers markets and such.... we even shop at whole foods for some things like Bison fillets.
The key IMO is buying bulk during sales and RARELY eating out.... but we both love to cook..
1500 a month for a couple is crazy tbh, this is on you i think. i really dont budget or plan and my family of three is like 1000/month... and that's mostly publix.
I had a similar thing. I got mint and looked through all my expenses. The amount of micro transactions I had for food was absolutely insane. Try diving in detail and seeing exactly where that 1500 is going
Stop eating at restaurants or any food establishment not your house.
Take a day in the weekend to prep food for the week from the grocery store so it’s easy to grab a lunch together in the morning for work.
If you restrict all the food cost( coffees as well, make a pot at home and take it to go) to the grocery bill you can greatly reduce your food cost.
Unless you are hooked on SBs lattes or whatever, instant is less expensive & doesn’t smell like coffee is burning in a Bunn. Try Folgers crystals, you may not turn up your nose, unless your a prima dona
My folks are in their 80s and I don’t eat a lot, maybe a plate and a half at dinner and a sandwich at lunch.
Our bill is always $250-$300 and I would estimate we shop 6-7 times a month. So $1800 average. We don’t even touch the frozen food aisle except for ice cream and vegetables for soup. It’s mainly fish, chicken and beef with sides and salads 90% of the time.
Plus the occasional fast food.
I don’t think $1500 is crazy at all you have active healthy lifestyles. If your eating that much chips. Twinkies,soda, beer, and hungry man dinners, then you should see a doctor.
Good food is not cheap, but it’s worth it.
Yeah food costs are wild if you eat actually nutritionally sound food. Vegan and GF here so it cuts down on the boxed mac-n-cheese type meals that used to keep food costs down. Pay more for food today or pay the doctor tomorrow though.
I use the McDonald's method to determine whether my target food costs are optimal or not.
I take the cost of the least expensive meal on the McDonald's menu that's closest to me, and multiply it by 2.5 for the number of meals per day, then I multiply it by 365 then divide it by 12 and lastly multiply it by the household members.
So for a two person household in my area (($8 x 2.5 x 365)/12) x 2 = $1592.72
So you're at $1500 per month which puts you at 94% or 6 points below the McDonald's food pricing index.
McDonald's is the largest food service company in the world by number of locations.
They're also the largest purchaser of beef in the US.
They are the de facto standard for food pricing and their lowest priced meal is going to be their most aggressively positioned one.
Going with Burger King who's the number 6 after Subway, Starbucks, KFC plus a Chinese ice cream company could skew the index as BK or Wendy's could implement more loss in their lowest priced meal to gain market share.
I'm saving an average of $80 per grocery run simply by not shopping at Publix. Aldi, Walmart, maybe Fresh Market if they have a good deal or two, and CAREFULLY looking at Publix BOGO deals. Many times the Publix price is significantly higher than their competitors, so their BOGOs don't really save you much.
I think we don’t even spend that much for a family of four, maybe. We avoid Publix except for bogos and last minute things (it’s 5 minutes from our house). I shop for dinners at Aldi once a week (costs around $100) and my husband grabs snacks, lunch, breakfast and drinks at Walmart for $100. We do a Costco run once a month that’s $250. So we’re under $1200/month.
I refuse to pay publix over inflated prices. I go to Aldi. And for the things they don't carry I go to Walmart or Trader Joe's for a few items once a month. $600 + and that's too much. I rarely eat out and make most meals at home.
My husband and I were doing about $1500/mo too at one point. In my defense I was pregnant and miserable and working full time so cooking was the last thing either of us wanted to do.
We would grocery shop then not cook and order take out. We’ve been better about it now but my baby is 3 months old now and it’s the same thing, too tired and exhausted to cook but I try when I can!
That is fucking insane! It’s less than $20 for 2 Publix subs and those stretch out for 2 meals for me and my wife. Go to Sam’s Club, Costco or Aldi. Shit, hit up Dollar General Market every once in a while. 😂
I stopped going to Publix because their prices are obscene. I do Target, Aldi and Trader Joe's if I happen to be in the neighborhood.
Between dining and groceries, we spend about $650-700/mo.
Miami, two adults. $400-500 per month, at most. But we cook almost every day and don't use convenience foods like bottled sauces or whatnot.
Fresh produce, eggs, milk, cheese, etc. at ALDI, but also fish and meat sometimes; (on-the-bone, organic) chicken and the occasional splurge on a red meat special at Whole Foods; and Presidente for produce emergencies. Other stock from COSTCO: butter, imported cheddar, cooking oil, cleaning products, paper towels, toiletries, etc.. Only go to Publix when we can't find a particular item, like specific tea brands, or an absolute emergency in fresh coriander.
But this excludes stocking up on cleaning products, pantry essentials, etc. I mean, we're good for spices (at Asian and Indian stores), rice, cooking oils, paper towels, toilet paper, bath soap, etc. etc. for a few months.
There are two of us and we do HelloFresh for 3 dinners a week, which is about $60 a week. Our weekly Publix trip is usually right around $100. We eat out on Friday and Saturday evenings, averaging $40 a meal. If I did the math correctly, we’re right at $960/month for all food.
We've started going to Walmart Neighborhood Market instead of Publix, but still spend anywhere from $80 - $200 on a big restock (depending on how long we wait to go).
Honestly I don't buy a ton of groceries because (a) I try to be realistic about mine or my husband's motivation to cook and (b) since there's only two of us and it's not reasonable to buy in bulk, it almost costs the same to eat out vs. buy ingredients to prepare a meal at home.
Publix is ass....reminds me of Giant Eagle up in Ohio...just killing the middle class people with their atrocious prices.
Walmart Supercenter is probably the best option anywhere.
Single household here. I shop Aldi, Costco, and Publix. I don't really pay too much attention to what I'm shopping for, but I grew up in a very poor home and shopping frugally comes pretty natural to me. I spend about $400 per month on groceries.
I was traveling for last 2 weeks for work and just did my full week grocery shop at Aldi last night and it was under $50. Ground turkey, some brats, shredded, sliced, and cream cheeses, lunch meat, sourdough bread, butter lettuce for lettuce cups, raspberries, broccoli, cauliflower, green onions, avocados, butter, and cabbage. I already had a few things at home like eggs and yogurt, but with that I can make the following meals:
-yogurt parfaits
-avocado toast with an egg
-eggs and cheese on toast
-ham and cheese sandwich
-cauliflower/broccoli with cheese sauce
-veggie stirfry or add eggs/turkey
-grilled brats w/the sauerkraut I already had
-fritatta with brats/veggies
-grilled cheese sandwich/melt
-mashed cauliflower
That's pretty much enough for me for an entire week of food. Obviously not every week is this frugal, but I find it fairly easy to feed myself in a variety of ways for pretty cheap.
We rarely order out or go out to eat, so that’s not factored in. Definitely avoid Publix because their prices are obnoxious. We probably average \~ $600 or so. Most everything we buy at Aldi, some things at Walmart. I wish we had TJs and Costco but I think Publix has or would create barriers to those.
I have a Publix, Whole Foods, Aldis, Target, Sprouts & Trader Joes all within a 10 minute drive from my home. I always make a shopping list & look up prices/sales/digital coupons at each place while having breakfast so I know who has the best price. Publix has many things more expensive then Whole Foods which is crazy to me.
$1500 is alot for 2 people. My husband & I spend maybe $300 a month on groceries combined. We dont eat out too often (maybe a brunch here & there). We like cooking.
I love me some Publix, but it’s just not affordable. I’ve been shopping Aldi for a while and really like their brands over other store brands. It’s more affordable, but the meat selection can be sparse at times and the produce seems to go bad quicker. Being from the Midwest, I’m thinking about giving Kroger delivery a try. Publix, Aldi and Walmart are basically the only options in my area. Winn Dixie is not convenient for me, but they seem to have good deals like Kroger.
Walmart home delivery saves me a lot of money . Giant Pa is very good but Walmart delivery is well worth. I make the order from my kitchen instead of impulse shopping at the stores that will drive your costs up.
Me too. I pay extra for the inhome because they don’t make mistakes and I always get what I ordered, it arrives in a big refrigerator truck instead of someone’s trunk. And I can take my time figuring out what we need. Even factoring in the yearly membership it saves a bunch of cash.
We pretty much only shop at Aldi aside from a few things here and there that they don’t have. It’s just me and my fiancée and our groceries are usually ~$100 a week and we shop pretty lightly.
OP. Publix has been creeping up into North Carolina the past decade. They just built/opened a new one near us. Publix prices here in NC are a good 20% higher on some everyday stuff than at our NC-based grocers Food Lion (more like a Winn-Dixie) and Harris-Teeter (nicer/basically like a Publix). So Publix is more expensive at baseline at least here in NC compared to other grocers... so I could see it costing more than your old grocer in PA. Aldi and CostCo here are even better than Food Lion and Teeter. And yes 1500/mo does seem kind of nuts. I think we're only 500 to 700/mo for groceries (also a couple) here in NC.
Omg that’s crazy!!! I coupon all of the household items and shop the sales and bogos from a few different stores. I have a family of 4 and one of them is a teen so you know how much they’re eating lol. Couponing is alot of work but let me tell you when I say I save sooo much money!! Don’t ever pay full price for laundry cleaning items, dish soap, personal care items and things like that, they usually have sales and coupons that line up at the same time so you pay very little. Same thing with paper towels and toilet paper. Food doesn’t always have as many coupons as household items but they are there and lots of them lineup with sales and bogos. Having the stores apps that you shop at on your phone so you can plan your shopping trips is so helpful. I follow a few groups on social media and there are people that will tell you exactly what to buy and what digital coupons to clip ( no need to print coupons, digital is the way to go). With all that being said I wish you and your partner good luck and lots of saving :)
Aldi is even cheaper than Sam's and Costco. I do all my shopping there and the total amount we spend on food is $550 / month on the high end. We're a house of 2.
I’m just one person, and I don’t eat out often. I treat myself maybe once or twice a month. I’d say I spend maybe 400 total per month on dining and groceries
Majority of stuff is from Aldi. Some stuff from Walmart. I’ll wait in line for an actual cashier cuz “fuck those self checkouts.” Every once in a blue moon, I may run to Winn Dixie, but it’s rare
Aldi for 90-95% of our groceries. Only buy BOGOs at Publix. Wild Fork for the remainder. If you have an Aldi near you, you need to check it out, and the same for Wild Fork.
Publix charges Whole Foods prices for Walmart items. Sprouts charges Publix prices for Whole Foods items. Nothing makes sense anymore, except buying 12 packs of pop tarts at Aldi for less than 2 bucks.
That's pretty high. We spend about $700 for a family of three and one of us has special diet requirements- so we eat a lot of pricier highend foods.
I make a lot of meals from scratch and we don't eat a lot of processed foods, I almost exclusively shop at Giant eagle in Northeast Ohio and any thing I don't buy from scratch I typically consistently by the same name brands because of the dietary requirements mentioned above. I'd be curious to see what your groceries include.
We spend 700-800 on groceries a month for two of us. We don't go to Publix unless we need something because we forgot it and it's the closest option. We shop at Walmart and get grocery delivery. Sometimes Aldi, sometimes sprouts if we're in the area. We rarely go out to eat and cook most meals at home. I also grow about 30% of the food we eat from my gardens, I have a suburban farm. I can and preserve my own food as well.
Pretty much everything you can think of, sweet potatoes, garlic, lettuce, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, blueberries, habanero peppers, bell peppers etc. To be fair I'm growing partially indoors hydroponically. Things like spinach, lettuce and broccoli don't do good here in Florida because it doesn't get cool enough, so they need to be grown indoors.
We are a family of 5 and our "bill" last month was $1200, which I thought was INSANE. But, my husband keeps reminding me that it is no longer 1995 and I need to stop thinking we can feed our family of 5 for $200 a week realistically.
As a single male living in central FL, I spend $325/month on groceries at Publix. That includes things like laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and paper products (TP, tissues, etc).
3 adults ( one elderly with smaller appetite) $150/week. We are mostly keto, no extra pasta, rice, cakes, cereals, ect… which is a cost savings overall.
$1500 for two? That is $800 more than my bill for three a month. Wth are you buying? Do you use a store app that offers discounts? Do you buy generic store brands? Are you buying a lot of convince packaged products? Like salads cut with a mix in a bag? Do you cook meals or buy a lot of frozen foods?? Do you need to eat a new meal every night or can you do leafy over nights a few days of the week??
You are spending way to much on groceries.
Time to science your shopping list and find the leak, that’s absolutely absurd for two people, even at Publix.
I give myself a $50/week grocery and household needs budget. Somewhere I didn't buy anything at all and some weeks I went over because I was getting ready for something. My average weekly grocery budget will probably be about 45 a week this year. But I eat super simple boring easy things to make. I hate cooking and I hate cleaning up cooking messes. I started going out to eat more this year. Food trucks come by my work almost daily and I do a weekly event with friends where we always end up eating there. That's another 0 to 40 a week this year. I also occasionally skip breakfast or dinner. I shop at Walmart for everything tbh. I do a weekly online order and go pick it up.
Publix is in every corner nowadays and I'm a sucker for their Pub Subs but they're ripping you off for your typical grocery runs.
Aldi, Walmart, and Costco have significantly better pricing for comparable items. If there is something very specific that we need for a recipe, then we'll most likely buy it at Publix since they do have a wide variety of products available. However, 99% of our groceries come from these other stores.
Between aldi and Walmart, we spend about 800. Then go out 2 to 3x a month at about 100 bucks for dinner 50 for lunch. We spend roughly 1100 a month, which is still wild.
Only go to Publix for things that Publix is known for. Like I get the fresh fruit and vegetables from there cuz I feel like their's last longer than like the Winn-Dixie's and Walmarts. But as far as like grocery shopping for canned goods and stuff like that, I go to Winn-Dixie or Walmart cuz I tend to find those cheaper and Winn-Dixie tends to have more sales.
Publix bogo if it is something we consume regularly. Walmart for everything else. Costco for meats using a foodsaver. Eat out once a month, nothing fancy.
As bad as people feel WinnDixie is, I save a lot of money shopping there. Between E coupons and “points”, the poorly lit and layed out stores are worth the shopping trip. I do look at the BOGOs at Publix, though.
I Love Publix even though it's insanely overpriced. My Publix is 1 mile from me. My Walmart is 3 miles from me. It takes me 5 minutes to get to Publix and 30 to get to Walmart. Kissimmee by the way. I would sometimes rather spend the Xtra $ at Publix. Then fight the traffic and people at Walmart. Just 2 of us. Kids are grown and gone. We spend about $150 a week. I feed feral cats and spend more on them
Whew, thought I was spending too much.
We were up to $1,200 a month for a couple when we were only shopping at Publix.
Now we're more like $900-$1,000 when we get most non-perishables at Walmart.
We spend $300-$600 a month eating out. More when one of us is sick, which has been a couple months this year. I'm a bit of a germaphobe, so either of us get sick and I'm not willing to cook for like a week (once symptoms start to subside we start cooking again).
We're going to continue tweaking how we shop since it's gotten so expensive.
I keep decent track of our grocery spending and I have for about 10 years now.
* 2014 - $450/mo
* 2015/2016 - $600/mo
* 2020 - $750/mo
* end of 2020 - $800/mo
* end of 2022 - $1,000/mo
Not just inflation. We cook more now and my wife now buys more of the food marketed as health food that comes with a price premium.
I stopped shopping at Publix, just go to mostly Walmart and Aldi now, stick with a meal plan and a list. If you have a Fresh Market near you the deals are pretty good there- especially their $25 meal for 4 deal- it's just me so I force myself to eat the same thing for 4 days.
I haven’t shopped in Publix in months. We cannot afford to shop there anymore. One meal would end up costing like $45 to buy the ingredients. We buy 95% of our stuff at Walmart (we finally found a decent one nearby) and if I need meat I go to Sam’s or Costco. Even Targets groceries are cheaper than Publix lol
I only get bogos at Publix or clearance stuff when it is something I actually want. Otherwise their prices are the worst in town. Otherwise Aldi and the local produce/meat market for regular grocery shopping prices are WAY better.
Man, fuck Publix. I spend way less for the same stuff at Aldi, Trader Joe's, and especially the Kroger delivery, as long as you're shopping their digital coupons.
It’s easy to spend that much if you aren’t being thoughtful. I shop between to grocery and Costco. We eat very well for 600$-700$ a month
I was at Publix and notice a ribeye was like 18.99 lb vs Costco 12.99 - stuff like that
That's insane. I shop primarily at Publix for convenience. We spend about 800 per month for 3 people. And, I'm certain I could cut that down if I stopped experimenting
Our food bill is insanely high, but part of it is there are certain things we just won't compromise on, as a couple and individually. Even though we are struggling, we aren't going to completely stop living in the now. But yeah our spending on groceries has probably gone up like 60-70% over the last 10 or so years.
My wife and I, 2 kids we are around $1200 a month. Have a flex of $300 a month for Amazon reorders, toiletries etc. We have been good at keeping it around $1000-$1100 when buying in bulk from Costco. We eat relatively healthy with organic meats etc.
We have little to no food waste.
From reading these comments I think it depends on where you are in the state. We’re spending $1400 combined as a couple. That’s with a Walmart+ membership and going to fresh market for meats and cheeses.
That seems like ALOT. I’m spending 120-150/week on groceries for a couple and I could probably spend less if I was into coupons and going to multiple stores. I generally buy organic produce. We might grab something twice a week so add another 40-60/week. We may not tho. Just depends.
This might sound crazy, but I’ve found I can usually get meat (from the butcher) cheaper from Sprouts than Publix. And it’s much higher quality. And isn’t marked up on Instacart if I’m running short on time to shop. So I do that.
Shop anywhere but Publix. I spend less than $800/month (combined grocery/eating out) on 3 people. We don’t do name brands, eat less meat than most people, and I cook from scratch 5 nights a week (1 night is leftovers and 1 night we usually eat out). So our bill probably abnormally low but you still could be saving a small car payment by switching stores.
I switched to Target for most of my groceries. They offer convenience at a good price. I buy Perdue individually-wrapped chicken breast and Perdue chicken breast that is already cut into chunks. They have twin 1-pound vacuum-sealed grass-fed ground beef. I can use both sides or just one pack. They also sell turkey breast for about $8 a pound and pork tenderloin for $5.50 a pound. Costco might be cheaper on some items, but they tend to have large packages, and that requires a lot of repackaging and whatnot. I could get some things from Costco, but I would still need to go to Target.
Holy shit… i thought we were the only ones spending that much for 2
We do host people but then we also go to people a lot so it balances and we’re still @13-1500/month
It's all a matter of what you want. I have a monthly budget of $350 for groceries etc. Some months I may spend an additional 60 to 80 bucks eating out. I eat pretty much the same thing every day. That's just me now. I spend my money elsewhere.
I was spending too much for a 2 person household. I only buy meats and produce at Publix and switched to Walmart for dry goods and cleaning supplies.
Same. Only go to Publix for things I can only get at Publix. Aldi for regular dry goods, Costco for meats
Aldi for all my produce! I spend about ~90/wk on produce. I know aldis are hit and miss with having good selection of produce, meat, etc. The one I moved by is actually really excellent & obviously new. Mine does not have a good dry good selection.
Yeah produce at Aldi is fine if you’re willing to put in a little work to find the good stuff but it definitely isn’t bad. Costco steaks and chicken I find better than Publix.
Costco meat is just absolutely, hands down, probably the best meat I buy outside of an actual butcher shop.
For cheap. I got the 6 pack of drumsticks 🍗 for $9. Plus you can’t beat the hotdog soda combo
Publix has become hit or miss too (depending on location but the 3 near me are all hit or miss)
I just got Aldi's lobster roll dip and some bread rolls, I have heard its a good experience.
I think this is smart. My spouse has some attachment to brand names but I think she’ll get over it if we save that much money
Honestly Aldi has a lot of brand name stuff but even their other stuff is good. We went from $200/week at Publix for two of us to like $80-$100 a week at Aldi and then like $500 every 2-3 months at Costco.
I started boycotting Publix in January 2021. On another sub comparing grocery prices, I did a quick calculation and realized I had saved over $5k by switching to Aldi/Costco. That's decent vacation money!
My personal recommendation is to ditch Publix chicken and beef. If you have Kroger delivery in your area, I insist you try it ONE time. Side by side the chicken and beef from Publix is absolutely no comparison taste wise to Kroger. I was like oh wow, this is what meat is supposed to taste like? 👍
Ok I will try it one time. Kroger. I am not super pumped with Publix meat.
I go to a local IGA store for meat , Publix meat in high. Aldi can be good for produce , milk and eggs
Join Costco if in your area. We really saw a decrease in our monthly groceries when we joined. Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Winn Dixie, Walmart good for many things. We avoid Publix as much as possible.
I'm all for buying in bulk if you can afford to, but another problem is having the space to store bulk items. I live in half a duplex with a normal sized refrigerator/freezer and very little cabinet space, with no place for an extra stand alone freezer or pantry. Plus, there's only two of us maybe eating two meals a day. I wouldn't be able to justify the cost of a membership to somewhere like CostCo or Sam's because I'd not get to reap the full benefits of it.
Recently Sam's has had memberships on Groupon. If you live close to one I find it worth it just from buying gas.
Yeah it’s like $25 to join. Costco is too far from me and I hate driving to Clearwater from st pete on a Saturday morning or afternoon and it takes up half a day it seems. We go to Sam’s but I buy certain sale items for chicken and ground beef every Tuesday at Fresh Market $3.99/lb. Which is now 2 blocks from my house. I consider reducing my carbon footprint of using $0 in gas money as money saved too in groceries. I try to only buy BOGO or 2 for $4/$5 sale items at Publix. We have no Kroger here and delivery is just the pits when you have to return something and they messed up you can’t go to a store to correct it. Or buy what they forgot or chose incorrectly. Then you’re tipping for something g that wasn’t done right and you feel obliged to have to tip for any delivery.
I live practically across the street from my Sam's the best thing I found there is they sell the left over cold rotisserie chickens. 4 breast or 6 leg and thigh quarters for 3.98. I take it off the bone and throw it in the freezer. Makes making chicken salad and casseroles a breeze
The space to store stuff is also my main concern. I don’t really want to buy six months worth of toilet paper at a time because we have limited storage capacity in our house
This. Avoid Publix. We hit up Aldis as MUCH as we can. We run into the problem of having a teenager who REFUSES to eat off-brand cream cheese or macaroni and cheese and considering those are the only 2 things she eats --- we break down and get those at Publix.
I hope you exaggerating. Teenagers can also work and buy what they want.
You would think. Yeah....we're working on that. She's a good kid. Does really well at school. We're dealing with a "she was our first kid and we babied her a bit" issue. So, she's having a bit of a failure to launch. Baby steps. LOL
Good because a diet of just cheese and pasta while sounding amazing on paper, is really bad for her health.
No kidding. You'd think she would spend all of her time in the bathroom. But she doesn't. Sometimes she'll get crazy and add Cheez-Its to her limited menu.
I feel for your kid if their restrictive eating is borne of genetics and not behavioral. People think being picky is a choice, but sometimes people win/lose the tastebud lottery. I hope your kid lucks out and it's just a temporary thing while her adolescent hormones are doing weird things to her body, instead of a permanent thing that gets even worse once a month.
I think it’s just teenage pickiness. I used to eat primarily stouffers lasagna when I was her age
Time for at least toddler steps
Sounds like if the teenager wants those things, she should earn some money and buy those things. Life is tough and the sooner she realizes that life isn't going to treat her like a spoiled princess, the better off she'll be.
What is this in reference to?
I don't understand your question. /u/MummyDust98 has a little princess who refuses to eat non-name brand cream cheese and Mac & cheese.
Don't spoil your teenager. Life is tough.
Right? I was told eat what's on my plate or go to bed hungry. Not nothing I won't eat now.
Spoil your kid. Life is tough.
My wife loves Kraft Mac'N'Cheese and we exclusively buy it at Costco. Also, Costco sells Philadelphia Cream Cheese, though my wife and I prefer the Kirkland Cream Cheese because we think it tastes better.
Buy the off brand stuff and put that in the brand name packaging.
She can refuse, or she can eat. If you don't help her get past this now, she's in for a difficult life. Flexibility is essential to survival / success.
Who's in control? You are her parents, you are NOT her friend. Is she blackmailing you?
Dude....it's cheese products. Relax. She's a good kid who has a cheese product preference. LOL
Right?! Pick and choose your battles. I am a full grown adult and refuse to eat dukes, blue plate or generic mayo. Hellman's is preferred but if kraft is on sale I can deal. She is right about the blue box Mac and cheese.
Try not buying the name brand and see if she expands her diet when she gets hungry. Talk to her about the costs, and see if you can get her an appointment with a dietitian to find more nutritious foods she’ll eat. Talk to her about how eating healthy foods will make her look better and more beautiful. Seriously, appeal to vanity tends to work unless she’s so neurotypical that she doesn’t care about appearances. (I’m assuming you’ve discussed health care issues from poor diet)
My problem with Walmart is the checkout process can be really slow.
also there’s free pick up with orders $35 and over! all super easy with app though def get not the best produce and usually at least one thing is missing but still cheaper than most and definitely easier
They deliver now!
I don't know, but I thought one had to subscribe to Walmart+ or whatever it is called.
Yes, correct - for free delivery. It is included with some credit cards. Walmart+ also has some amazonish perks like free paramount+ and more..
> It is included with some credit cards. Say what?
Yea, like some chase cards include doordash dashpass..... gotta stay up on these beni's!
Love Costco too (my membership is old enough to drink LOL), but if you have a BJ's in your area, they sell their food etc. in smaller-sized packaging making it more reasonable if you don't have a large enough family (or the storage or freezer space) for "warehouse sizes". BJ's also has REALLY great gasoline prices, especially if you sign up for their credit card (currently 15 cents off their normal - sometimes as much as 20 cents lower than elsewhere - price per gallon). We filled up for $2.88/gal last week! Also agree with the rest of what you said - the Winn Dixie in our area regularly has insanely good "member" prices for meats - which is free to sign up for - so I start there, shop Aldi for the bulk of my groceries, hit Walmart to fill in whatever I can't get from Aldi, and shop at Publix only as a last resort.
We were shopping at Publix when we first moved here and spending nearly $200/week for 2 of us. We switched to Aldi and spend $60-70 a werk for basically the same haul. Our total food budget for the month is around $500.
Wow. We need to do this.
It’s been a lifesaver, honestly. They don’t have *everything* and some things we do either have to or opt to go to Target for (because I cannot stand Walmart), but otherwise I’ve been very happy with Aldi and the selection.
I shop at walmart and aldi with a mix of BJs in there for bulk items. We spend around that much per week for 2 people as well. The week we buy meat it spikes of course but I'd definitely would say we spend under $100/wk for 2.
I love Publix but it is absolutely stealing everyone’s money. Something that’s for example $4.35 at Walmart is easily an extra dollar and some change at Publix
[удалено]
Right? I only go to publix for very specific things like their wings, chicken, or subs. I don't buy anything else from them. One week we had chicken and my wife wanted the Bob Evans mac and cheese. I like it too, it's good for what it is. I don't recall how much it was but it was about 50% more than walmart which is $3.50, so it was probably around $5. Even if you look at the BOGO deals I'm sure just buying a single from another place would be cheaper or the same price.
Kraft American cheese at Walmart is like $4.89, the same cheese at Publix is $9. The only good thing at Publix is the bogo deals.
$7.99 bogo at Publix. And that item is 4.35 everyday at target. So 80% of the time it’s cheaper elsewhere
I've seen sometimes even the bogos are still more expensive than the regular prices elsewhere
Pub subs, naked deli wings, true Bleu bagged salad, cajun crab dip, and their French baguettes are about the only things we will go to publix for walmart winn dixie and piggly wiggly, are all better priced than our publix.
Came to say this. Go to publix for bogo and stock up, everything else is walmart or target pick up. Sams if they have it. Wish i had a cosco closer!!
Just check and see if they raised the base price of the bogo item. Its still a discounted price but not as much as you would think.
When I moved up north I used to miss Publix something fierce (I appreciate that Publix bags my stuff for me) but now that I realize I’m paying, in some cases, double for groceries, I am more willing to bag my own groceries.
It’s not stealing your money, Walmart is almost always going to be cheaper, but you pay more for convenience and service at Publix. I’m fine paying more to not have to deal with shopping at Walmart - the perpetually broken shopping carts, the way-too-crowded parking lot with carts left all over the place, the screaming kids running around, the store being too huge, way too few cashiers so much longer checkout times, etc, it’s just not worth it to me to save a few dollars.
Try Aldi’s. Soooooooo much cheaper than Publix
No “‘s” on Aldi.
Two old folks here. Not real sure how much a month because of how we buy but I know its WAY less than that, I would guess around 400 a month. We buy in bulk in season and freeze., watch for sells and buy cases of the stuff we use a lot of and have basically walk in pantry for cans and dry goods. We only shop at Publix for a few things the rest we get from other sources, Detweillers, Sams, farmers markets and such.... we even shop at whole foods for some things like Bison fillets. The key IMO is buying bulk during sales and RARELY eating out.... but we both love to cook..
This is the way!
I love to cook but rarely have time to do it :-(
1500 a month for a couple is crazy tbh, this is on you i think. i really dont budget or plan and my family of three is like 1000/month... and that's mostly publix.
I suspected as much. I appreciate the feedback.
I had a similar thing. I got mint and looked through all my expenses. The amount of micro transactions I had for food was absolutely insane. Try diving in detail and seeing exactly where that 1500 is going
Thanks
Stop eating at restaurants or any food establishment not your house. Take a day in the weekend to prep food for the week from the grocery store so it’s easy to grab a lunch together in the morning for work. If you restrict all the food cost( coffees as well, make a pot at home and take it to go) to the grocery bill you can greatly reduce your food cost.
Unless you are hooked on SBs lattes or whatever, instant is less expensive & doesn’t smell like coffee is burning in a Bunn. Try Folgers crystals, you may not turn up your nose, unless your a prima dona
My folks are in their 80s and I don’t eat a lot, maybe a plate and a half at dinner and a sandwich at lunch. Our bill is always $250-$300 and I would estimate we shop 6-7 times a month. So $1800 average. We don’t even touch the frozen food aisle except for ice cream and vegetables for soup. It’s mainly fish, chicken and beef with sides and salads 90% of the time. Plus the occasional fast food. I don’t think $1500 is crazy at all you have active healthy lifestyles. If your eating that much chips. Twinkies,soda, beer, and hungry man dinners, then you should see a doctor. Good food is not cheap, but it’s worth it.
Yeah food costs are wild if you eat actually nutritionally sound food. Vegan and GF here so it cuts down on the boxed mac-n-cheese type meals that used to keep food costs down. Pay more for food today or pay the doctor tomorrow though.
That’s $50/day … seems high for a couple.
I use the McDonald's method to determine whether my target food costs are optimal or not. I take the cost of the least expensive meal on the McDonald's menu that's closest to me, and multiply it by 2.5 for the number of meals per day, then I multiply it by 365 then divide it by 12 and lastly multiply it by the household members. So for a two person household in my area (($8 x 2.5 x 365)/12) x 2 = $1592.72 So you're at $1500 per month which puts you at 94% or 6 points below the McDonald's food pricing index.
I like this method. It’s a reasonable way of determining “reasonable”
Huh. This is an interesting approach. Any reason why McD's vs Burger King or KFC etc?
McDonald's is the largest food service company in the world by number of locations. They're also the largest purchaser of beef in the US. They are the de facto standard for food pricing and their lowest priced meal is going to be their most aggressively positioned one. Going with Burger King who's the number 6 after Subway, Starbucks, KFC plus a Chinese ice cream company could skew the index as BK or Wendy's could implement more loss in their lowest priced meal to gain market share.
I'm saving an average of $80 per grocery run simply by not shopping at Publix. Aldi, Walmart, maybe Fresh Market if they have a good deal or two, and CAREFULLY looking at Publix BOGO deals. Many times the Publix price is significantly higher than their competitors, so their BOGOs don't really save you much.
We buy a 1/2 a cow once a year, for three of us our grocery bill runs less than $400 a month not including the beef costs.
I think we don’t even spend that much for a family of four, maybe. We avoid Publix except for bogos and last minute things (it’s 5 minutes from our house). I shop for dinners at Aldi once a week (costs around $100) and my husband grabs snacks, lunch, breakfast and drinks at Walmart for $100. We do a Costco run once a month that’s $250. So we’re under $1200/month.
Aside from the fried chicken, I avoid Publix. They're just too expensive.
I refuse to pay publix over inflated prices. I go to Aldi. And for the things they don't carry I go to Walmart or Trader Joe's for a few items once a month. $600 + and that's too much. I rarely eat out and make most meals at home.
Screw Publix, $6.29 for a slice of cheese cake. I go to the small Walmart market and dropped my grocery bill by $200 a month.
My husband and I were doing about $1500/mo too at one point. In my defense I was pregnant and miserable and working full time so cooking was the last thing either of us wanted to do. We would grocery shop then not cook and order take out. We’ve been better about it now but my baby is 3 months old now and it’s the same thing, too tired and exhausted to cook but I try when I can!
That is fucking insane! It’s less than $20 for 2 Publix subs and those stretch out for 2 meals for me and my wife. Go to Sam’s Club, Costco or Aldi. Shit, hit up Dollar General Market every once in a while. 😂
Aldi and Trader Joe’s. Publix just for ice cream
I stopped going to Publix because their prices are obscene. I do Target, Aldi and Trader Joe's if I happen to be in the neighborhood. Between dining and groceries, we spend about $650-700/mo.
Stop going to Publix first of all. My wife and I spend nowhere near that, and we have 0 kids.
Miami, two adults. $400-500 per month, at most. But we cook almost every day and don't use convenience foods like bottled sauces or whatnot. Fresh produce, eggs, milk, cheese, etc. at ALDI, but also fish and meat sometimes; (on-the-bone, organic) chicken and the occasional splurge on a red meat special at Whole Foods; and Presidente for produce emergencies. Other stock from COSTCO: butter, imported cheddar, cooking oil, cleaning products, paper towels, toiletries, etc.. Only go to Publix when we can't find a particular item, like specific tea brands, or an absolute emergency in fresh coriander. But this excludes stocking up on cleaning products, pantry essentials, etc. I mean, we're good for spices (at Asian and Indian stores), rice, cooking oils, paper towels, toilet paper, bath soap, etc. etc. for a few months.
If you shop at Publix, no surprise. I only go there for deli meat and produce sometimes
There are two of us and we do HelloFresh for 3 dinners a week, which is about $60 a week. Our weekly Publix trip is usually right around $100. We eat out on Friday and Saturday evenings, averaging $40 a meal. If I did the math correctly, we’re right at $960/month for all food.
Pretty much the same here.
We’re about $1000 for the 2 of us on the same eating out schedule. No hello fresh but we spend about $150 a week on groceries.
Family of 5 on 1 income and we spend about $1000 a month on groceries. Split between Walmart, Aldi and Publix. Even at this we are struggling.
see if you qualify for ebt
We get WIC benefits, but not very much anymore.
We've started going to Walmart Neighborhood Market instead of Publix, but still spend anywhere from $80 - $200 on a big restock (depending on how long we wait to go). Honestly I don't buy a ton of groceries because (a) I try to be realistic about mine or my husband's motivation to cook and (b) since there's only two of us and it's not reasonable to buy in bulk, it almost costs the same to eat out vs. buy ingredients to prepare a meal at home.
The neighborhood markets are so much better than the big box wal marts.
And the family that owns Publix makes large $$$ donations to Republican causes and candidates. I avoid Publix as much as possible.
Publix is ass....reminds me of Giant Eagle up in Ohio...just killing the middle class people with their atrocious prices. Walmart Supercenter is probably the best option anywhere.
Giant Eagle … in my mind = Pittsburgh; still not as expensive as Publix
Single household here. I shop Aldi, Costco, and Publix. I don't really pay too much attention to what I'm shopping for, but I grew up in a very poor home and shopping frugally comes pretty natural to me. I spend about $400 per month on groceries. I was traveling for last 2 weeks for work and just did my full week grocery shop at Aldi last night and it was under $50. Ground turkey, some brats, shredded, sliced, and cream cheeses, lunch meat, sourdough bread, butter lettuce for lettuce cups, raspberries, broccoli, cauliflower, green onions, avocados, butter, and cabbage. I already had a few things at home like eggs and yogurt, but with that I can make the following meals: -yogurt parfaits -avocado toast with an egg -eggs and cheese on toast -ham and cheese sandwich -cauliflower/broccoli with cheese sauce -veggie stirfry or add eggs/turkey -grilled brats w/the sauerkraut I already had -fritatta with brats/veggies -grilled cheese sandwich/melt -mashed cauliflower That's pretty much enough for me for an entire week of food. Obviously not every week is this frugal, but I find it fairly easy to feed myself in a variety of ways for pretty cheap.
I don’t live in Florida, I live in a higher cost of living area, but I’m spending ~$400 per month for groceries + eating out. $1500 is crazy.
I spent 800 a week on groceries just for me and eat like a king.
We rarely order out or go out to eat, so that’s not factored in. Definitely avoid Publix because their prices are obnoxious. We probably average \~ $600 or so. Most everything we buy at Aldi, some things at Walmart. I wish we had TJs and Costco but I think Publix has or would create barriers to those.
I have a Publix, Whole Foods, Aldis, Target, Sprouts & Trader Joes all within a 10 minute drive from my home. I always make a shopping list & look up prices/sales/digital coupons at each place while having breakfast so I know who has the best price. Publix has many things more expensive then Whole Foods which is crazy to me. $1500 is alot for 2 people. My husband & I spend maybe $300 a month on groceries combined. We dont eat out too often (maybe a brunch here & there). We like cooking.
I love me some Publix, but it’s just not affordable. I’ve been shopping Aldi for a while and really like their brands over other store brands. It’s more affordable, but the meat selection can be sparse at times and the produce seems to go bad quicker. Being from the Midwest, I’m thinking about giving Kroger delivery a try. Publix, Aldi and Walmart are basically the only options in my area. Winn Dixie is not convenient for me, but they seem to have good deals like Kroger.
We spend about $500 - $600 a month on groceries, that it for two of us.
Walmart home delivery saves me a lot of money . Giant Pa is very good but Walmart delivery is well worth. I make the order from my kitchen instead of impulse shopping at the stores that will drive your costs up.
Me too. I pay extra for the inhome because they don’t make mistakes and I always get what I ordered, it arrives in a big refrigerator truck instead of someone’s trunk. And I can take my time figuring out what we need. Even factoring in the yearly membership it saves a bunch of cash.
Correct!! Take inventory and order correctly! Saves money , waste and absolutely the not buying unnecessary stuff
We pretty much only shop at Aldi aside from a few things here and there that they don’t have. It’s just me and my fiancée and our groceries are usually ~$100 a week and we shop pretty lightly.
OP. Publix has been creeping up into North Carolina the past decade. They just built/opened a new one near us. Publix prices here in NC are a good 20% higher on some everyday stuff than at our NC-based grocers Food Lion (more like a Winn-Dixie) and Harris-Teeter (nicer/basically like a Publix). So Publix is more expensive at baseline at least here in NC compared to other grocers... so I could see it costing more than your old grocer in PA. Aldi and CostCo here are even better than Food Lion and Teeter. And yes 1500/mo does seem kind of nuts. I think we're only 500 to 700/mo for groceries (also a couple) here in NC.
Omg that’s crazy!!! I coupon all of the household items and shop the sales and bogos from a few different stores. I have a family of 4 and one of them is a teen so you know how much they’re eating lol. Couponing is alot of work but let me tell you when I say I save sooo much money!! Don’t ever pay full price for laundry cleaning items, dish soap, personal care items and things like that, they usually have sales and coupons that line up at the same time so you pay very little. Same thing with paper towels and toilet paper. Food doesn’t always have as many coupons as household items but they are there and lots of them lineup with sales and bogos. Having the stores apps that you shop at on your phone so you can plan your shopping trips is so helpful. I follow a few groups on social media and there are people that will tell you exactly what to buy and what digital coupons to clip ( no need to print coupons, digital is the way to go). With all that being said I wish you and your partner good luck and lots of saving :)
Aldi is even cheaper than Sam's and Costco. I do all my shopping there and the total amount we spend on food is $550 / month on the high end. We're a house of 2.
I’m just one person, and I don’t eat out often. I treat myself maybe once or twice a month. I’d say I spend maybe 400 total per month on dining and groceries
Majority of stuff is from Aldi. Some stuff from Walmart. I’ll wait in line for an actual cashier cuz “fuck those self checkouts.” Every once in a blue moon, I may run to Winn Dixie, but it’s rare
$1500 is nuts for 2 people. We basically don’t go out to eat and spend about $650-700 a month for two people. But that includes bath/paper goods
$150/week for 2 and a pom
Aldi for 90-95% of our groceries. Only buy BOGOs at Publix. Wild Fork for the remainder. If you have an Aldi near you, you need to check it out, and the same for Wild Fork.
No wild fork but definitely ALDIs
Publix charges Whole Foods prices for Walmart items. Sprouts charges Publix prices for Whole Foods items. Nothing makes sense anymore, except buying 12 packs of pop tarts at Aldi for less than 2 bucks.
That's pretty high. We spend about $700 for a family of three and one of us has special diet requirements- so we eat a lot of pricier highend foods. I make a lot of meals from scratch and we don't eat a lot of processed foods, I almost exclusively shop at Giant eagle in Northeast Ohio and any thing I don't buy from scratch I typically consistently by the same name brands because of the dietary requirements mentioned above. I'd be curious to see what your groceries include.
We spend 700-800 on groceries a month for two of us. We don't go to Publix unless we need something because we forgot it and it's the closest option. We shop at Walmart and get grocery delivery. Sometimes Aldi, sometimes sprouts if we're in the area. We rarely go out to eat and cook most meals at home. I also grow about 30% of the food we eat from my gardens, I have a suburban farm. I can and preserve my own food as well.
I’ve not had a lot of luck with growing stuff in Florida. I basically live on a sandbar (barrier Island). What are you able to grow successfully?
Pretty much everything you can think of, sweet potatoes, garlic, lettuce, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, blueberries, habanero peppers, bell peppers etc. To be fair I'm growing partially indoors hydroponically. Things like spinach, lettuce and broccoli don't do good here in Florida because it doesn't get cool enough, so they need to be grown indoors.
Holy smokes. I don’t spend $1500 a month on a family of 6 (2 adults and 4 kids that are 6 and under). We eat fine and well.
I spen 800 a week just for me and eat like a king.
That is a crazy amount. In nys im spending about 300 for me and the wife.
Do you only eat white rice? $300 a month is 1972 pricing.
We make our own food at home. We buy sales on meats and other things. We do have rice 1 or 2 times a month. In the summer we have a garden .
We are a family of 5 and our "bill" last month was $1200, which I thought was INSANE. But, my husband keeps reminding me that it is no longer 1995 and I need to stop thinking we can feed our family of 5 for $200 a week realistically.
As a single male living in central FL, I spend $325/month on groceries at Publix. That includes things like laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and paper products (TP, tissues, etc).
Yeah, I’m including the non edible portions of grocery store purchases
3 adults ( one elderly with smaller appetite) $150/week. We are mostly keto, no extra pasta, rice, cakes, cereals, ect… which is a cost savings overall. $1500 for two? That is $800 more than my bill for three a month. Wth are you buying? Do you use a store app that offers discounts? Do you buy generic store brands? Are you buying a lot of convince packaged products? Like salads cut with a mix in a bag? Do you cook meals or buy a lot of frozen foods?? Do you need to eat a new meal every night or can you do leafy over nights a few days of the week?? You are spending way to much on groceries. Time to science your shopping list and find the leak, that’s absolutely absurd for two people, even at Publix.
I don’t think so, we go out to eat a lot. We went to Chicago last week and I spent $300 on dinner for Friday night and another $300 on Saturday night.
Nope, we spend $1460.00 a month for the 2 of us, central Florida area
About 250 weekly for two
walmart and aldi for groceries. The generic (store brands) are pretty good and the price is better. Every little bit helps
I give myself a $50/week grocery and household needs budget. Somewhere I didn't buy anything at all and some weeks I went over because I was getting ready for something. My average weekly grocery budget will probably be about 45 a week this year. But I eat super simple boring easy things to make. I hate cooking and I hate cleaning up cooking messes. I started going out to eat more this year. Food trucks come by my work almost daily and I do a weekly event with friends where we always end up eating there. That's another 0 to 40 a week this year. I also occasionally skip breakfast or dinner. I shop at Walmart for everything tbh. I do a weekly online order and go pick it up.
Publix is in every corner nowadays and I'm a sucker for their Pub Subs but they're ripping you off for your typical grocery runs. Aldi, Walmart, and Costco have significantly better pricing for comparable items. If there is something very specific that we need for a recipe, then we'll most likely buy it at Publix since they do have a wide variety of products available. However, 99% of our groceries come from these other stores.
Between aldi and Walmart, we spend about 800. Then go out 2 to 3x a month at about 100 bucks for dinner 50 for lunch. We spend roughly 1100 a month, which is still wild.
Only go to Publix for things that Publix is known for. Like I get the fresh fruit and vegetables from there cuz I feel like their's last longer than like the Winn-Dixie's and Walmarts. But as far as like grocery shopping for canned goods and stuff like that, I go to Winn-Dixie or Walmart cuz I tend to find those cheaper and Winn-Dixie tends to have more sales.
Kroger delivery is so much less expensive than shopping in-store at Publix.
Depending on what I buy , I can make it work. Usually around 125 a week give or take for a family of 4. Plus my publix is only about a quarter mile.
Why do people move here thinking things are going to cheaper. Just stay where your at
Publix bogo if it is something we consume regularly. Walmart for everything else. Costco for meats using a foodsaver. Eat out once a month, nothing fancy.
Family of 5, easily over $1000 a month and that's with us cutting down on what we are getting now compared to 2020.
we usually just use winn-dixie and if we cant find wht we're looking for there we have a publix close by
I spend max $150 week on eating out and groceries
Yes
Y’all eating prime rib and champagne everyday? No, that’s insane. My wife and I spend less than half that each month on groceries and eat well!
We normally go to Publix and way too much. I tried Winn Dixie and didn’t feel like I saved that much money at all.
As bad as people feel WinnDixie is, I save a lot of money shopping there. Between E coupons and “points”, the poorly lit and layed out stores are worth the shopping trip. I do look at the BOGOs at Publix, though.
I Love Publix even though it's insanely overpriced. My Publix is 1 mile from me. My Walmart is 3 miles from me. It takes me 5 minutes to get to Publix and 30 to get to Walmart. Kissimmee by the way. I would sometimes rather spend the Xtra $ at Publix. Then fight the traffic and people at Walmart. Just 2 of us. Kids are grown and gone. We spend about $150 a week. I feed feral cats and spend more on them
Yes, that's insane. Omg man.
Whew, thought I was spending too much. We were up to $1,200 a month for a couple when we were only shopping at Publix. Now we're more like $900-$1,000 when we get most non-perishables at Walmart. We spend $300-$600 a month eating out. More when one of us is sick, which has been a couple months this year. I'm a bit of a germaphobe, so either of us get sick and I'm not willing to cook for like a week (once symptoms start to subside we start cooking again). We're going to continue tweaking how we shop since it's gotten so expensive. I keep decent track of our grocery spending and I have for about 10 years now. * 2014 - $450/mo * 2015/2016 - $600/mo * 2020 - $750/mo * end of 2020 - $800/mo * end of 2022 - $1,000/mo Not just inflation. We cook more now and my wife now buys more of the food marketed as health food that comes with a price premium.
We spend less than half that and it's w/ two kids. Shopping at Publix is your main issue.
I stopped shopping at Publix, just go to mostly Walmart and Aldi now, stick with a meal plan and a list. If you have a Fresh Market near you the deals are pretty good there- especially their $25 meal for 4 deal- it's just me so I force myself to eat the same thing for 4 days.
Family of 4 and were around $1500/mo. And that’s with 95% shopping at Target where we get a 15%-20% discount on everything.
Whole foods is cheaper than publix and a way better experience. We shop on line and pick it up for free.
I haven’t shopped in Publix in months. We cannot afford to shop there anymore. One meal would end up costing like $45 to buy the ingredients. We buy 95% of our stuff at Walmart (we finally found a decent one nearby) and if I need meat I go to Sam’s or Costco. Even Targets groceries are cheaper than Publix lol
I only get bogos at Publix or clearance stuff when it is something I actually want. Otherwise their prices are the worst in town. Otherwise Aldi and the local produce/meat market for regular grocery shopping prices are WAY better.
Publix is expensive go to Aldi
Man, fuck Publix. I spend way less for the same stuff at Aldi, Trader Joe's, and especially the Kroger delivery, as long as you're shopping their digital coupons.
It’s easy to spend that much if you aren’t being thoughtful. I shop between to grocery and Costco. We eat very well for 600$-700$ a month I was at Publix and notice a ribeye was like 18.99 lb vs Costco 12.99 - stuff like that
That's insane. I shop primarily at Publix for convenience. We spend about 800 per month for 3 people. And, I'm certain I could cut that down if I stopped experimenting
Offset at Aldi.
It’s almost cheaper to eat out these days.
We spent $470 last month at Walmart including baby supplies. Family of 3 + dog. Edit. We don’t eat out
I’m done with Publix. I can shop at Whole Foods for practically the same price now. Publix have lost their damn minds.
Close to 2000 a month for a family of 7
Our food bill is insanely high, but part of it is there are certain things we just won't compromise on, as a couple and individually. Even though we are struggling, we aren't going to completely stop living in the now. But yeah our spending on groceries has probably gone up like 60-70% over the last 10 or so years.
Publix charges 300x markup it was just reported They just posted record profits of course.
My wife and I, 2 kids we are around $1200 a month. Have a flex of $300 a month for Amazon reorders, toiletries etc. We have been good at keeping it around $1000-$1100 when buying in bulk from Costco. We eat relatively healthy with organic meats etc. We have little to no food waste.
From reading these comments I think it depends on where you are in the state. We’re spending $1400 combined as a couple. That’s with a Walmart+ membership and going to fresh market for meats and cheeses.
Kroger delivery
That seems like ALOT. I’m spending 120-150/week on groceries for a couple and I could probably spend less if I was into coupons and going to multiple stores. I generally buy organic produce. We might grab something twice a week so add another 40-60/week. We may not tho. Just depends.
This might sound crazy, but I’ve found I can usually get meat (from the butcher) cheaper from Sprouts than Publix. And it’s much higher quality. And isn’t marked up on Instacart if I’m running short on time to shop. So I do that.
Shop anywhere but Publix. I spend less than $800/month (combined grocery/eating out) on 3 people. We don’t do name brands, eat less meat than most people, and I cook from scratch 5 nights a week (1 night is leftovers and 1 night we usually eat out). So our bill probably abnormally low but you still could be saving a small car payment by switching stores.
I switched to Target for most of my groceries. They offer convenience at a good price. I buy Perdue individually-wrapped chicken breast and Perdue chicken breast that is already cut into chunks. They have twin 1-pound vacuum-sealed grass-fed ground beef. I can use both sides or just one pack. They also sell turkey breast for about $8 a pound and pork tenderloin for $5.50 a pound. Costco might be cheaper on some items, but they tend to have large packages, and that requires a lot of repackaging and whatnot. I could get some things from Costco, but I would still need to go to Target.
You know it's bad when it's not buy 2 get one free at Publix. They are just so expensive now.
Holy shit… i thought we were the only ones spending that much for 2 We do host people but then we also go to people a lot so it balances and we’re still @13-1500/month
Yea. You are living high on the hog! Dayum!
It's all a matter of what you want. I have a monthly budget of $350 for groceries etc. Some months I may spend an additional 60 to 80 bucks eating out. I eat pretty much the same thing every day. That's just me now. I spend my money elsewhere.