How Much is Your Grocery Bill?

Off Topic
1

This question has been haunting me for a little while now, and the fact that JB has said (printed?) it out loud in his current article has caused me to pose the following question, particularly to the aussies out there (dollars ain’t dollars people):

How much do you spend per week on groceries (also, might help to note family size as well).

I will get the ball rolling:

min AU$200

We are re-evaluating our budget to try and increase this further. I believe it is seriously inadequate. Definitely hampering my progress for more size.

I cannot realistically keep it under this and still eat wellish, with a wife and young child (16months)…

2

The Australian dollar is worth pretty much the same as the Canadian dollar, so I’m guessing either Australian groceries are really cheep or you guys don’t eat very much food.

I very carefully budget our grocery money each month and the very cheapest I can get it down to is $500. That is for two people, no kids. This in spite of the fact that we get a lot of our meat for free. I always buy what’s on sale, and never the best brand name stuff. We eat cheap cuts of steak and try and buy every thing in bulk. We also eat very little out of season produce and I try and make everything I can from scratch.

3

At least $100 a week. That’s just for me. Good, clean food is expensive. I’m able to spend a little less per person when living with other people who eat well like my parents or girlfriend. Living with my frat bros who eat like crap, I have to buy everything myself. I am going to join Costco…

4

at least 200 -250 aus a week, only buy for one person but I like to eat well, supps are included with this.

5

[quote]JPBear wrote:
The Australian dollar is worth pretty much the same as the Canadian dollar, so I’m guessing either Australian groceries are really cheep or you guys don’t eat very much food.

I very carefully budget our grocery money each month and the very cheapest I can get it down to is $500. That is for two people, no kids. [/quote]

Hey JP, I think I was unclear, that was $200/week, or $900ish per month, and really a 16month old doesn’t actually eat that much…yet…

Meat for free!!! Heaven indeed. Maybe I need to take up hunting.

6

[quote]scrooge wrote:
…

Meat for free!!! Heaven indeed. Maybe I need to take up hunting.[/quote]

Or cannibalism.

7

[quote]scrooge wrote:
JPBear wrote:
The Australian dollar is worth pretty much the same as the Canadian dollar, so I’m guessing either Australian groceries are really cheep or you guys don’t eat very much food.

I very carefully budget our grocery money each month and the very cheapest I can get it down to is $500. That is for two people, no kids.

Hey JP, I think I was unclear, that was $200/week, or $900ish per month, and really a 16month old doesn’t actually eat that much…yet…

Meat for free!!! Heaven indeed. Maybe I need to take up hunting.[/quote]

You spend $900/month on groceries and claim this is a reason that holds you back from making gains in your program???

My wife and I with 2 kids(4yrs & 8mos) eat great on $100-$150 a week depending on staples that we may need to get. All the meat/fish/poultry, eggs, cottage cheese, frozen veggies, milk…we eat healthy and fairly clean and have fresh fruit with at least 2 meals every day. This would also include formula and cereal for the youngest.

I don’t know the cost of food in your neck of the woods, but that is alot of cash for food to claim it doesn’t then fill your needs.

8

Humans taste like chicken.

Not counting Biotest stuff, we budget pretty well. We buy everything in bulk, and we spend about 500 bucks a month. add on the Grow!, Surge, etc. and we get pretty close to 750 dollars for a family of four.

Except for when we find a kid in our snare in the alley. You can knock off about 100 bucks on the months we have frozen kids in the freezer.

9

Hunting is a good idea if you have a large freezer.

For those who love animals and don’t want to shoot one, it’s a lot more humane than eating meat from a grocer or butcher.

If I had to choose between standing in line seeing my friends get thrown down shafts and have their heads cut off, only to realize I’m next; or be shot dead by a hunter without knowing what’s comming, I’d choose being shot by a hunter.

It’s a hell of a lot cheaper too!

10

[quote]rainjack wrote:
Humans taste like chicken.

Not counting Biotest stuff, we budget pretty well. We buy everything in bulk, and we spend about 500 bucks a month. add on the Grow!, Surge, etc. and we get pretty close to 750 dollars for a family of four.

Except for when we find a kid in our snare in the alley. You can knock off about 100 bucks on the months we have frozen kids in the freezer.[/quote]

Yea, but be sure to get the fatties, though. Perfect for Anabolic Diet!

Anvil

11

[quote]scrooge wrote:
Hey JP, I think I was unclear, that was $200/week, or $900ish per month, and really a 16month old doesn’t actually eat that much…yet…

Meat for free!!! Heaven indeed. Maybe I need to take up hunting.[/quote]

You weren’t unclear, I just didn’t read close enough. Good, I feel better cause I seem to be coming in on the low end compared to others.

Yes, my wonderful mother in law… when we used to live closer she kept me fully stocked in beef, chicken, wild meat, sausage, free range eggs, canned fruit and veggies, pickles, fresh and dried herbs, tea, potatoes plus every kind of veggie you could imagine. All homemade or farm grown. Those were the days. Now we just stock up when were up visiting.

12

$200 AUD is about $150 US, so he spending about the same as you. Until you live in Australia you really don’t know what damage long distance freight from overseas items can do to your budget! For example the only distributor of Grow! in Aus. sells it for about $67, that’s about $50 US, you guys get it for $23 US! Low-Carb Grow! is even worse, and don’t even talk about Surge, it’s expensive enough that I haven’t been able to afford to order any.

The one thing we do have in our favour is that about 97% of the world’s protein powder is produced in New Zealand which is right next door to us. That means we can get top quality plain protein powder for not too much. OK, it doesn’t taste as good as Grow! but it does the job. And we don’t have to pay for the markup on what protein powder manufacturers pay for their powder, although I still order Grow! when I can afford it to use as a “treat”.

Sorry about the rant, but when I keep seeing the prices you pay for things such as equipment in the US and then convert it to Aussie dollars and compare to the local fitness store prices over here it makes me a bit angry. Distance from everywhere else is about the only thing I don’t like about living here!

Scrooge,

My wife and I probably average about $160/week. I’ve started shopping at a meat wholesaler which sells meat for about 2/3 the price in butchers and supermarkets. This allows me to afford supplements and protein powder.

Cheers,

Ben

[quote]sasquatch wrote:
scrooge wrote:
JPBear wrote:
The Australian dollar is worth pretty much the same as the Canadian dollar, so I’m guessing either Australian groceries are really cheep or you guys don’t eat very much food.

I very carefully budget our grocery money each month and the very cheapest I can get it down to is $500. That is for two people, no kids.

Hey JP, I think I was unclear, that was $200/week, or $900ish per month, and really a 16month old doesn’t actually eat that much…yet…

Meat for free!!! Heaven indeed. Maybe I need to take up hunting.

You spend $900/month on groceries and claim this is a reason that holds you back from making gains in your program???

My wife and I with 2 kids(4yrs & 8mos) eat great on $100-$150 a week depending on staples that we may need to get. All the meat/fish/poultry, eggs, cottage cheese, frozen veggies, milk…we eat healthy and fairly clean and have fresh fruit with at least 2 meals every day. This would also include formula and cereal for the youngest.

I don’t know the cost of food in your neck of the woods, but that is alot of cash for food to claim it doesn’t then fill your needs.[/quote]

13

Thanks for the replies so far.

It isn’t all that much food actually, We eat a fair bit of fruit and vege, and meat prices are not that great at the moment. The drought probably has a bit to do with that. To rough it out, we spend around $70 on fruit and vege, $60 on meat, and around $70 on everything else, such as sauces, eggs, rice, pasta, spices, baby stuff, laundry powder etc.

Sasquatch,
FYI beef prices are anywhere from $6/kg for low grade high fat mince, to $20/kg for top grade steaks. Assuming the only meat product purchased was beef (at $10/kg for example), that would be around 6kg per week, for two people, or around 400g per day, roughly 2 serves.
Certainly nowhere near 2g/kg protein, at least not for me, it is probably close to 1.5g/kg for my wife.

Chicken prices are similar. I have started to buy turkey and kangaroo for variety, and because it is cheaper.

I need to locate a cheaper place to buy meat and eggs from, or become more of a tuna junkie…

BG100,
I would be interested in some info about the meat wholesaler you spoke of.

14

[quote]scrooge wrote:

Chicken prices are similar. I have started to buy turkey and kangaroo for variety, and because it is cheaper.

[/quote]

What does kangaroo taste like? Do you eat wild ones or are they raised like livestock?

I love kangaroos, the thought of them anyway, I’ve never actually seen one.

15

Oh boy, I think I win the prize.

Single.
Not including Biotest (but does include fish oil, multi, etc)

$200/wk U.S.

When bulking it goes up to about 250, cutting to around 150.

I only eat fruit, veggies, eggs, meat, and cheese. I’m allergic to all grain products. Hopefully I can start growing my own produce but it’s kinda hard right now in an apartment. None of this is organic - it’d probably double if I did that.

16

$A250 per week for myself and the missus, guess I’d eat about 3/4 of that. She gets cranky at times. We to get most of our meat from a wholesaler or from local farmers direct when they are slaughtering nearby, can get some real good prices then.

Also get a fair bit of Roo over summer when we go shooting at my mates farm, pain in the arse to carve up though unless you know what you are doing, lots of waste, roo makes good stir fry’s.

17

Roo is okay, very low fat content. Looks like very lean beef, is a little gamey in taste. Make sure you don’t cook it for too long or its tough as leather. Nice now and again, not something I’d like to base my diet on. Where I live there are alot of commercial roo meat products for sale. Kangaroos aren’t farmed where I live just shot when they wander into the wrong place, ie. outside the National Park.

I understand theere are some big commercial kangaroo meat operations in Western NSW but they aren’t farmed so to speak just let loose in the big paddock and culled as required.

18

A fun exercise to total this up. I spent $886.47 (US) last month on food and wine, but no supplements. I keep the wine in the $6-7 bottle range, and try to have a glass or two every day.

That all comes out to $206 per week. It’s just me and the occasional dinner or lunch guest eating the stuff. I entertain lite like this about once a week or so. I eat out hardly ever, on the other hand.

I guess I spend on average about another $85 per month on supplements, including Salmon oil, Surge, whey powder, vitamins, etc.

Total down the pie hole each week: $225

19

I’d estimate around 100-150USD a week. Although when I return to norway, with the same food would become 200+USD atleast ;(