Click HERE if you missed Part 1 of the series.
As you probably guessed, attempting a monthly budget of $175 takes lots of planning. My monthly grocery trip starts wayyy before I step through the doors of the store. It involves flyers, lists, meal plans and more.
The first thing I do is look through my pantry and freezer and make a list of what I already have and DON'T need to buy. This often includes the staples, like meat, cheese, butter, cereal, and crackers because I stock up on these items when I find a good sale.
Next, I go through all the flyers and write down the REALLY good sales on my grocery list. Now that I've been doing this for a while, I have what I consider really good sales and sales that are just okay. Really good sales are items that I'm going to stock up on no matter what because the price is good (Ex. Crispers for $1 at Walmart, I bought 6 bags. When cheese is under $5 I buy at least 3). Sales that are just "Okay" I keep in the back of my mind to check if I have a coupon, cashback or PC Plus pts to make the deal even better.
Third, I pull up PC Plus in my browser so I can load my offers for the week. If you haven't heard of this, it's a points program available at Loblaws, Superstore, Independent and No Frills. Purchasing certain in-store items gives you points plus you can get extra offers, personalized to your shopping habits, by signing your card up online and loading your offers every week. I have had this for about a year and I have almost 50,000 points which will give me $50 in free groceries when I redeem them.
At the same time, I grab my Ipad, to look through my cachback offers, and pull out my ziplock full of coupons. Although there are a few different cashback apps out there, the ones that I consider best are Checkout51 and Zweet. I have had Checkout51 for less than 6 months and have already earned over $50 back and I have had Zweet for a few weeks and already have $5 in my account. Coupons I get from all over. I mainly print or mail order them from websites like Smartsource, Websaver, P&G Everyday and Save.ca but I also often find them on the coupon board on my way into the store or in the aisles.
Once I have everything pulled up, I check for overlaps. I often find that I have cashback or PCPlus pts (or both) for a sale item. Also, the Checkout51 and Zweet offers will often overlap or I'll have a coupon for something that is also offering Cashback. If I have offers or coupons for an item that I don't often buy or isn't on sale, I will go on Walmart.ca to check the price and see if it's still a good deal. I add all good deals to the grocery list that I have going. I always write the price beside the item and note if it has a coupon, cashback, pts, pricematch etc. That way, when I am at the store, I won't grab the wrong item because I will notice the price difference and I won't forget which coupons I need to use.
Finally, once the deals are written down, I look over what I am buying, and what I already have and figure out a meal plan. Then I add missing items to my grocery list. For example, if ground beef and pasta sauce are on my list of good deals then I will make spaghetti part of my meal plan and add noodles to my grocery list. For extra items like these, I will usually buy the no name brand or whatever is cheapest at the store.
Once I have a general meal plan and a grocery list, complete with prices, it's time to review. I add up the prices and hope that my total is under $175.00. If it isn't, I will go back over the list and see if there's anything that we don't really need for the month and then cross it off. I also check if there's anything missing that I may be running out of. Potatoes and carrots, for example, are something I always keep in the house since they are generally cheap anyways.
It may sound like a ton of work but it isn't as bad as it sounds. It totally pays out in the end. Plus, I love feeling completely organized and prepared when I head to the grocery store.
Stay tuned for Part 3 and find out what I do while at the store to keep my bill under $175.
FAQs
Average grocery cost per month for 2 people in a household
The average grocery costs for a two-person household across the Thrifty to Liberal plans range from $476.92 to $868.66: Male and female living together: $514.09 to $819.26. Two adult females: $476.92 to $769.86. Two adult males: $551.26 to $868.66.
How much should two people spend on groceries in 2024? ›
Food Budget Guidelines for a Two-Person Household
The USDA recommends adding 10% to their guidelines when shopping for a family of 2. Here's the USDA guidelines: Thrifty Plan: $546.50 per month. Low-Cost Plan: $600.76 per month.
What is the average monthly grocery bill for one person? ›
For a single person, the average grocery bill can range, depending on age and gender, between $238.46 to $434.33. For a household with two people, the average grocery bill is $5,635 per year, or $469.58 per month. For a household of three people, the average grocery bill is $6,862 a year, or 571.83 per month.
Is $400 a month good for groceries? ›
On average, groceries cost between $290 and $548 per month for one person. However, expenses can vary depending on location, dietary choices and personal spending habits. If you don't budget for groceries and instead just buy what you need — and want — at intervals throughout the month, you could be overspending.
What is the 50 30 20 rule? ›
Those will become part of your budget. The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals.
What is the average monthly expenses for 2 people? ›
Two-person households had monthly expenses of $6,372 in 2022, or $76,468 in annual expenses. That increase, 10.2% over 2021 numbers, was the highest increase among family sizes in the survey.
What is a realistic grocery budget? ›
The average U.S. household spends $7,316 on food annually, which is about $609.67 per month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides monthly food budgets at different price levels to help determine your own grocery spending.
How much is the average weekly grocery bill for two adults? ›
According to the most recent data released from the Household Pulse Survey, American households spend an average of $270 on groceries a week. Broken down by household size: One person - $156.02. Two people - $220.82.
Are grocery prices going down in 2024? ›
Food prices are expected to continue to decelerate in 2024 compared to recent years. In 2024, prices for all food are predicted to increase 2.2 percent, with a prediction interval of 1.5 to 2.9 percent.
Which state has the most expensive groceries? ›
1. California
In California, the average weekly grocery spending is $297.72.
The average monthly expenses for one person can vary, but the average single person spends about $3,405 per month. Housing tends to consume the highest portion of monthly income, with the average annual spending on housing at $1,885 per month per person.
What does a single person need to live on? ›
A single person with no children needs at least £1,400 a month to live on. This is an average yearly salary of £17,000 after tax. A couple with no children needs at least £2,100 a month. This is a joint average yearly salary of £25,000 after tax.
Can you live on 200 a month for groceries? ›
Two meals per person per day, over a 30-day month, is 60 meals per person and 120 meals in total. At $200, that's a total of $1.67 per person per meal. This might seem Spartan, but with a bit of planning and practice, I believe that this is totally doable for most people.
Is $50 a week enough for groceries? ›
Planning out your meals so you use all of the ingredients, both raw and cooked, plus pantry staples and frozen goods means you can make a week's worth of dinners for around $50 in groceries.
What of income should go to groceries? ›
For a family of four (including two children under age 11) in 2023, your spending on groceries should be around $975 a month. You can also look at your recommended grocery spending based on a percentage of your income. Try and aim to spend no more than 15% of your take home pay on food and groceries.
How much should a couple spend on eating out? ›
Here's how much families spend eating out, on average, based on size: A single person household spends $206 per month eating out ($2,467 per year). Married couples without kids spend $335 per month eating out ($4,018 per year).
How to spend less than $200 a month on groceries? ›
Here are the most important habits that we regularly used to spend no more than $200 a month on food.
- Create a weekly perishable food inventory. ...
- Plan a menu each week. ...
- Focus on buying loss leaders. ...
- Find the markdowns. ...
- Buy in Bulk. ...
- Avoid processed foods.
Decide what you'll eat for a week, or even a month, and plan meals based around low-cost staple foods like oats and eggs for breakfast; tuna, peanut butter, cheese and nonfat plain yogurt for lunch; and inexpensive cuts of meat like chicken thighs or flank steak and dried beans and grains like brown rice that you can ...
How much should I spend on groceries a week? ›
For a low-cost budget for a family of four, you can plan on spending $245.60 a week or about $1,198.40 a month. Moderate-cost plan. For a moderate budget for a family of four, you would spend $304.00 a week for groceries or $1,317.30 a month.
