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+--- Thread: Food Budget - Reality Check (/showthread.php?tid=9469)
Food Budget - Reality Check - maud gonne - 11-06-2011
I'd like to get others' input on what they spend per week here on Big Island for groceries (not just food but weekly grocery bill). We are a couple on social security who eat very simply, never eat out or do takeout, and are spending about $150 week on groceries. We shop at cost-u-less a couple times a month when we have to go to Hilo anyway, get fruits&vegetables at the local farmers' market, and otherwise use Malama or Foodland. I make my own bread but use already prepared foods like beans & spaghetti sauce. I feel I could do better (lower my bill). What do other Punawebbers spend?
RE: Food Budget - Reality Check - jackson - 11-06-2011
Maud, you can do much better but it depends on how you want to eat. I practice compassionate eating. I don't consume any animal products. Definitely not for everybody and I judge no one. But I have been eating this way for a very long time and never get sick and haven't seen a doctor in 15 years. I am not young but have great stregnth and vitality. I have farms near me that sell produce for very reasonable prices. I shop once in a while at the health food store for "treats" like soy margarine and red curry sauce. My fruit is largely free. I buy rice and beans in bulk and don't consume alcohol. My weekly food budget for one is somewhere around $35.00. For two it would not be much more as I usually have quatities of leftovers.
RE: Food Budget - Reality Check - liskir - 11-06-2011
Growing your own vegies and keeping a few chickens for eggs is a great way to cut down on food bills. Even container gardening if you don't have space.
RE: Food Budget - Reality Check - macuu222 - 11-06-2011
We shop once a month. We go round and buy the items we need that are on sale at all the stores. We don't buy the regular priced items we need....and if they are not on sale...we go without. We are a young retired couple in our 50's. We don't eat as much as we use to. We average about $400.00 a month. (People who live over here for any length of time know what the price should be on any particular item they get on a regular basis. Price per item can vary by as much as $5.00 or more from sale price to regular price)
BUT....If you have pets....than it's a whole different ballgame. Pet food prices here are insane. And you could very easily wind up spending about the same amount that we spend on us.... on them.
RE: Food Budget - Reality Check - TheodoreJay - 11-06-2011
Well for a couple $150 a week is pretty good. As a solo traveler, I just did a 22 day stay on the Big Island and my Groceries and Meals were $473.91 total ($21.54/day) or about $150.78/week. Since I didn't have a kitchen the whole time and I splurged a bit I'm sure I could have reduced that quite a bit. If you are like me I'm always looking for coupons and when I see sales I bulk up on items that will keep w/o spoiling. If you are shopping at Foodland or Safeway I'm assuming you have their club card for better discounts? Definitely check local farmers markets to compare fresh produce prices. For simple foods like tomato sauce I always go for generic brands. If you shop at Target at all, get their 5% discount credit card. Many of their genereic items are way cheaper especailly retail medications.
RE: Food Budget - Reality Check - Guest - 11-06-2011
Everybody everywhere is spending unheard of amounts on groceries. You can thank the federal reserve for 9% inflation.... How much did twenty dollars buy you at the grocery ten years ago? Still think inflation is less then 3%?
RE: Food Budget - Reality Check - JerryCarr - 11-06-2011
I have an odd-ball (imagine that) trick that works for me, but probably won't work for everybody. I visit my mother in Texas twice a year and sometimes more, so I have an airline credit card that allows me a free checked bag, extra miles, and other perks. I use the free bag allowance to load up on items that are not extremely bulky or heavy and are much, much cheaper over there. For example, last time over I found Ronzoni whole wheat lasagne in a Texas WalMart for $1.07 a package. Same thing here is about $4.00. Rosarita's green enchilada sauce was $1.88 there and $3.89 here. Vitamins and over the counter meds can really add to the savings. I have a big bag that is the maximum legal size, and I load it on a scale to keep the weight below the limit. We save hundreds of dollars a year this way, and I also have friends and family who volunteer to bring things over.
On the purely local scene, we do like most people. Only buy on sale, stock up on non-perishables, shop outdoor markets, make a very focused trip to CostCo every other month, visit four groceries a week to shop the specials, and grow a lot of our own fruits and veggies.
Result of all of the above is that we spend a teeny bit under $100 per week for two people. YMMV.
RE: Food Budget - Reality Check - Carey - 11-06-2011
We have found that you can get very reasonable prices here...but you must look for the sales....and that shopping at the first of the month is not a very good plan, most of the shops here have the better sales on grocery items, esp. non-perishable stables toward the late middle of the month. Right now flour is on "sale" at $2.99 for a 5# sack.... we stock up when it goes on sale for $1.50 or less a sack...but you need to have good sealing storage and have an idea over time of what yu will use... (spaghetti pasta sauce can be as low as $.80 for a can of Hunts or Del monte varieties & pasta for under a dollar a pound...but these are not the normal sale prices, usually a coupon sale, and only offered every couple of months or so....
Also the Loves bread store can be a jewel of a resource, if you get a punch card & do not use bags...and never go near there at the beginning of the month, best sales are near the end of the month.
I am lucky to be able to call on Cosco sale items from hubby, but we do not use that resource for much, other than for the pets & really good coupon offers.
also trade anything you are growing with others....or if you are not growing, offer to assist others (note: do not help yourself to the crops of others without asking, really shows lack of respect)
RE: Food Budget - Reality Check - hawaiideborah - 11-06-2011
quote:We get the pet food at Costco on once a month shopping spree.
Originally posted by macuu222
BUT....If you have pets....than it's a whole different ballgame. Pet food prices here are insane. And you could very easily wind up spending about the same amount that we spend on us.... on them.
Saves a lot. About a third less than in Hilo at Walmart or costUless.
RE: Food Budget - Reality Check - maud gonne - 11-06-2011
Thanks for the feedback. I've thought about keeping chickens but would only do so if they didn't need storebought feed from me. I do have pets and their feed is part of our budget. Also, we eat mainly organic (& buy certain things from the Natch that we can't get anywhere else, like vegennaise)which admittedly is more expensive (although neither of us ever gets sick or has any health issues). We grow a lot of our own fruit and avocados. I realize also that I feed many people who happen to be around at meal time. It sounds like more bulk & on-sale buying would be a way to save some $. Of course, like many others, we are planting with more sustainability in mind.