How Much We’ve Spent on Groceries Over the Past 11 Years
- In 2008 I spent $9,768 on groceries. An average of $814 a month.
- In 2009 I spent $7,584 on groceries. An average of $632 a month.
- In 2010 I spent $5,004 on groceries. An average of $417 a month.
- In 2011 I spent $1,198.64 on groceries. An average of $100 a month.
- In 2012 I spent $1,195.67 on groceries. An average of $100 a month.
- In 2013 I spent $2192.32 on groceries. An average of $182.69 a month.
- In 2014 I spent $1907.34 on groceries. An average of $158.95 a month.
- In 2015 I spent $1798.07 on groceries. An average of $149.83 a month.
- In 2016 I spent $2059.07 on groceries. An average of $171.59 a month.
- In 2017 I spent $2275.76 on groceries. An average of 189.65 a month.
- In 2018 I spent $2909.98 on groceries. An average of $242.50 a month.
11 years ago in an effort to get a better handle on our budget and to see exactly where our money was going each month, I decided to start tracking our grocery bills. Back in 2008 when I started we were spending an average of $814 a month. Which, at the time, didn’t seem like an extraordinary amount of money to be spending on food.
I mean after all we had to eat, right? We were Costco members and buying most of our food in bulk, plus I always made sure to check the weekly grocery circulars for deals and we rarely ate out. So although the $800+ a month we were spending on food was a BIG CHUNK of my husband’s take home pay, {and in line with the national average} nothing really seemed out of place when I started tracking our food bill.
The first year was just for tracking purposes. And then at the beginning of 2009 I decided I would try and shave as little off our grocery bill. I may have even challenged myself to reduce our overall spending by about 10%, I don’t remember exactly, but that sounds about right.
Then sometime around late 2010 I started getting into coupons, and a light bulb went off in my head. Huh, I wonder how much food can I get for the least amount of money?
And before you know it, as soon as I dropped the kids off at school each morning I was climbing through dumpsters and recycle bins all over town looking for coupon inserts and sheets of double coupons so I could stock up on the deals.
I became OBSESSED with acquiring as much food as I possibly could for the lowest price. It didn’t even matter if we were going to EAT THE FOOD, because at that point, we had so much food in our pantry I just began to donate it to the local food bank {and my kids food drives at school}. It was crazy. I was crazy.
And then by around the middle of 2012 I was totally burned out from all those early morning trips to the grocery store and thought… Geez, I could probably be spending my time more constructively instead of spending hours upon hours each week clipping coupons and driving all over town to score deals on things we aren’t going to eat. So I dove into gardening again and instead of spending my mornings on the hunt for a good deal, I spent them pulling weeds.
It was lovely.
And I think that was the moment I decided my TIME was worth something.
And you know what? Even though our grocery bill has crept up from those days of only paying $100 a month on groceries, not having to rush all over town to find the best deal, has been sort of liberating.
Maybe I’m getting old, or maybe I’m just loosing my edge, {or just thrilled my husband has taken over cooking and most of the grocery shopping!} but these days, I LOVE the fact that I am spending less time in the car on the hunt.
I like paying the local farmer his asking price for squash, or strolling up to a farm stand and walking around with a quart of cherries that were grown just a few yards away rather than feeling the need to pick through a plastic one pound bag of cherries that were flown in from Chile and sitting under the bright lights of the grocery store in a refrigerated case for 5 days.
I am beginning to see the value in my time.
Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t gone all hippy dippy on you. I still love the thrill of a good deal. I just think there are about a million and seventy two different ways you can cut down on your food bill these days without running all over town.
So one of my goals for 2019… Is to really just sort of get back to basics. Work towards getting my food bill back on track {my hope is to get it somewhere in the $150 – $175 a month range} and you know, just have a little fun.
After all, that’s what it’s all about, right? Enjoying life.
♥♥♥
That being said…. Yesterday we cleaned out the freezers, the pantry and the fridge.
Raise your hand if you have a boatload of mystery containers of leftovers sitting in your freezer? {We have 10. PLUS countless zip baggies of bits of random food as well}.
Frozen bananas anyone? How about a glass jar with a little candle wax at the bottom. 😉
CHEESE… GLORIOUS CHEESE.
I used to be on team Miracle Whip, but a few years ago we made the switch to Mayonnaise and well, I don’t think I’ll be going back. How we ended up with 3 bottles of mustard in the fridge is beyond me. The Miracle Whip though, my Mother bought that when she was here in September.
Ahhhhh. A clean fridge.
It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to find things again.
And our teeny tiny pantry. It’s all organized too.
We keep the cracker and cereal box overflow in the sideboard we have in the dining room. And just for the record, HH if you are reading this, I think we’re good on chili beans for a while. 😉
In fact, I think we are good on FOOD for a while and should concentrate on eating out of our pantry in January instead of adding anything else to it {well, except milk. A girl has to have it in her tea!}. Anyone with me on this? Anyone want to join me in avoiding the grocery store in January?
What a great way to start off the food budget for 2019.
The New Year!!! It’s TOMORROW. Are you ready for it? I think I am. 🙂
Happy Monday Everyone!
And if you are going out tonight…. Just remember, nothing good happens after midnight. 😉 So stay out of trouble.
~Mavis
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
sharon k campbell says
Totally with you on avoiding the grocery store in January. I’ve already decide to put aside $20 a week in January for milk (from the local dairy farm store) and fresh produce. After that, I’ve got a stocked pantry and freezer that we’ll eat out of just fine.
Mrs. C. says
Ditto!
Lynne says
Wonderful message today, I agree completely and can’t wait to see what you plan to accomplish in 2019. I absolutely LOVE your new header for the blog – what a fantastic picture!
Happy New Year to you all!
Mona says
Your new website design is great! The winter photo is beautiful.
Heather says
It would be interesting to do a weight comparison or health comparison in line with what you were spending on groceries. Even though your spending more than the $100 a month, are you eating healthier and have an overall better body health? I love the challenges, goals, and tracking you do!
Diana says
Don’t toss those frozen bananas. That is a basic keep-on-hand supply for smoothies and homemade dog treats.
Amy S says
King Arthur Flour has a yeasted sandwich bread recipe that calls for a banana. When I asked my 7 year old, if I should make the banana yeast bread or a banana quick bread with my frozen bananas, he chose the yeast bread. It’s that good!
Diana says
Oooh, thanks for that tip!
Pauline in Upstate NY says
And here’s another possibility for you — my chickens LOVE over-ripe bananas, skin & all! Just break the bananas open a bit and toss them in the run 🙂
Sandy Sorensen says
my pigs love bananas, peel and all
Sue says
Don’t homemade banana bread. When they get too brown toss them in a blender, puree and pour into ice cube trays. When frozen, place into freezer bags (so they won’t stick together). Defrost and use in your favorite recipes.
Sue says
Oops, should have read ‘don’t forget’…note to self: typing in the dark is a Bozo no-no!
Brian Johnson says
I would love to get my hands on that horseradish cheese. Dear, sweet Lord! I started smoking BBQ on my Weber Kettle this year. and I have basically reached a point where buying bbq is not something I would consider because A) I can make so much more of it due to grocery deals, and B) I’m biased, but I think mine tastes better. Plus, by the time the BBQ is done, I will have made BBQ beans, and a cake or a pie for dessert. Thanks for the 2018 inspiration Mavis.
Amy S says
Another blogger is doing a pantry challenge in January, so I decided to do it too. I am still deciding what rules I want to adhere to. I am thinking I will allow one weekly grocery trip for milk, eggs, and fresh/frozen vegetables. My birthday is the 17th and I know I want to do the challenge until then, but I don’t know about longer. I just bought a hog before Christmas, so we are good on meat. My main goal is to eat down the harvest I froze from my garden and a friend’s garden: concord grapes, rhubarb, apples, corn, zucchini and who knows what else. I have some work to do inventorying my freezers.
Mama Cook says
Love the new look!!! I love how you matched your teal door in the color scheme! It feels like a spark of energy!
Can I ask about the candle wax? Do you save your bits until you have enough to make your own? (I can already hear the collective, “duh” from long time readers! )
Mavis Butterfield says
🙂 https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/how-to-turn-your-old-candles-into-new-ones/
Sharon says
Totally down with you on this one; we have to use 2 hands when opening the freezer door on our fridge; one hand to open the door, the second one to keep the stuff in there! It’s embarrassing to have to explain to people the reason you are limping is because a frozen roast fell out of the freezer and SMASHED your big toe ….
Amy S says
I dropped spare ribs on my big toe earlier this week, so I completely understand. My chest freezer was packed to the brim and I was trying to find something that was on the very bottom. I was stacking things up on one side and digging into the other when the mountain came crashing down. Ouch.
Susan says
Ouch. I invented a word for that: Freezerlanche. All those slippery, oddly-shaped frozen blobs that cascade out when you open the door or rummage through things. Ha!
Alli Aplet says
That’s funny Susan!
Maxine says
Yes! I was thinking of taking everything that has been in the pantry/cupboards for a long time, putting on the kitchen table we rarely use, and challenging myself to use it all up. The mess on the table would annoy me enough to do so quickly. Same for freezer, just won’t put on table -LOL. Then challenge myself to spend as little as possible at grocery store. Hopefully I have anything additional I would need to eat up the table of food.
P.S. love the Lucy puppy pic in the greenhouse
Carrie says
I love the new website layout! I look forward to seeing your goals tomorrow.
I had a similar experience with coupons and then began gardening and realized that the food I was getting “free” with coupons was crap and I was spending so much time hunting deals. I shifted our diets to whole foods with very little processed food. My hubby still eats granola/protein bars and chips and crackers but for the most part I am preparing our meals with fresh meat and produce. Our food budget is $325/month for two adults. I don’t have a lot of time to garden and preserve what we grow but I love a homegrown tomato! One day I hope to work less out of the home and be able to spend my time growing, harvesting and preserving our own food.
I just stocked up on half price meat at Aldi so I may join you for a pantry clean out in January! I’ll still need to buy fresh produce and milk but I think we have plenty of staples to get by.
Cindi says
I’m still in awe of how little you spend on groceries. And I’m with you on eating from my pantry and freezer in January. I’ll have to buy yogurt (my husband won’t eat homemade) and maybe milk. And I love the new website design and your header photo!
Tiffany says
Funny – I already decided over a month ago that January will be a “no spend” food month – like you I can get milk, cream and eggs. Will allow very little but if necessary fresh fruit and veggies. Otherwise it is clean out the freezer, fridge and pantry. Then clean all spaces and start restocking smart with freezer meals and starters. I look forward to seeing how you do – including ideas on how to use it up!
I just hope I don’t run out of cheese before it’s over! That would be so sad.
Happy New Year! I will be on tomorrow morning bright and early to see your New Year’s Resolutions – I’ve started writing mine. I usually don’t but want to try to be more like you in regards to following through with my ideas!
Thanks for everything you do and share with us. Especially the gardening & Lucy with her chickens – love that little girl!
Amy S says
I will make an exception for cheese during my challenge. I have enough for two weeks, but beyond that if I run out or my store has a rock bottom sale, then you can rest assured I will be buying cheese. Cheese is life. Homemade bread is life. Coffee is life. Everything else I will make do without.
Bec B. says
Love the new look, Mavis! Did you work with someone on the design or did you do it all yourself or with a template?
We still need to get our grocery budget under control. I’m not sure we could ever get it to your level because of my hubby’s nice beer and coffee obsession, but I’d like to put those extra dollars towards savings or more vacays!
Mary Elizabeth Tait says
The best money saving thing that we did in 2018 was to put a roll of blue painters tape and a sharpie in the drawer by the fridge! We label all the leftovers with a date so we aren’t guessing their vintage! At least once a week we pull everything out and there is always another meal or more!
Nancy K Sadewater says
We bought some colored stickers and have a sharpie in the door to label what goes in the refrigerator after meals as straight leftovers. It has helped tremendously.
Laura says
I tried using stickers on our frozen foods marking with a sharpie so we’d know what was in what and when it was put there, however, after taking out the containers it seems like we have to wrestle the stickers off even after soaking and they always leave sticky residue…..how do all of you that use markers, stickers, etc. handle that?
Em says
Yay, pantry pics! 🙂
I cleaned out my freezer a few weeks ago, and am trying to eat from what is left in there. A lot of it is nuts (actual nuts, such as pecans).
I have gotten better about labeling things that I put in there, but there is room for improvement.
I would love to hear how people track what they have. I have begun using the “Fridgely” app to track things in the pantry, but I don’t enter the expiration dates on most of those things.
Mel says
I use a free app called Freezer that lets you track multiple freezers but also multiple shelves and containers within freezers if you want, and I can share the app with my husband so he can see what’s available as well. So, if you use bins or doors of your freezer for particular things, it’s handy. You can record pictures, notes, expiration dates and quantities. So, I can take a picture of whatever container I store items in (to know what I’m looking for), note the cook time or whatever other ingredients I need to make a meal, etc. I still label the actual items (painter’s tape sticks to most container’s and peels off well, and sharpie writes on it), but the app is handy to know what I’m looking for before I go diving in there.
I have one bin for individual portions of things (quick lunches to pack for work), one bin for breakfasts (frozen scone dough, sausage gravy, etc.), and then shelves or bins for each type of freezer meal (one for casseroles, one for soups, etc.). I need to get in there and clean up the categories a bit since it got shuffled around over the holidays, but it generally works quite well.
Em says
Thanks for the recommendation and tips!
Vicki says
I keep a roll of masking tape handy / and a sharpie to mark those containers of food!
Use sharpie on plastic bags too…
LaToya says
Ahhhh, the good old days when we were over on that other website with the $100 a month and Albertsons double coupon madness. I’m with you – I don’t miss the crazy at all. Ordering cases and cases of Dial hand soap because it was free (we still have several cases left and it’s been 6+ years, I think), and getting enough free toothpaste to last until the kids are through college (we still have probably 100 tubes). But I have recently been watching our food budget trying to get a handle on where it’s at and where we can cut. My kids are both in high school now and they both eat A LOT. I’ll just buy something and the next day it’s gone. Boxes of cereal, meat and cheese, whatever, they eat it all! I think we’re at about $300 per month for a family of 4. Which is pretty good, I think. But I want to manage that more. It ends up being the middle of the week runs that get us. Something we NEED to go with dinner – like French bread – ends up being a $40 spend at Albertsons. So dumb.
Connie says
2 retired people here..but I plan to use up some meat in freezer in January.
Julie says
I just wanted to say thanks for your blog, I am a long time follower and appreciate all the work you do.
We already started the January eat from the freezer and pantry challenge the day after Christmas as we made sure to use up all the holiday leftovers. DH is totally on board and our 2019 goal is to address food waste. So your ritz cracker chicken is on the menu to use up some old crackers.
I also love the new winter scene.
Hawaii Planner says
We have been tracking our food spending since 2013, and have been able to maintain or reduce the cost, which I consider a win since our boys are now 11 & 12.
Judy says
I am also doing a pantry and freezer challenge for January….Freezer is full…..needed to wait until I took out the Turkey for Christmas dinner before I had rom to put a sale priced one in. I explained the challenge idea to hubby and son at dinner a few nights ago. Hubby said “Okay, but if we need something, then we will just go buy it”. My son said…”No, then it’s not a challenge”….happy to see that he gets it. Will be interested to see if I can convince hubby not to shop.
Martine says
I love your new header photograph, although I can’t wait till you change it when spring comes around!! I too have a freezer and pantry full of food and my new year goal is to organise it all into meal plans as at the moment when I look at it all it just looks like ingredients! Wishing you and your family a very happy 2019. I look forward to seeing your progress for a full year on the ‘farm’! xx
Nancy K Sadewater says
We bought some colored stickers and have a sharpie in the door to label what goes in the refrigerator after meals as straight leftovers. It has helped tremendously.
Brianna says
I haven’t been to the grocery store since 17Dec. I avoid the store during holidays. I buy the cartons of organic milk as they have a longer expiration date and it gets us through. It is just me and 3 little kids, some days food disappears and other days I have a terrible amount of leftovers. I have a freezer full of proteins and rhubarb that I need to use up and I’m up to the challenge for January. My exception would be buying fresh fruits and milk. I have a kid who eats at least 3 apples a day! I have frozen ripe bananas too, but I peel them and slice into 1” pieces. I add them to hot oatmeal or pudding to quickly cool them or I make fruit sauces to go over pancakes or waffles.
Laurel says
I just said this to my hibby yesterday. Other than milk and salad fixings or fresh fruit, we need to eat up what we have. I just stocked up in PA at my favorite discount grocery stores so we should be able to go quite a while without hitting the store. We have beef and pork in the freezer plus a ham and turkey that were on sale. Chicken may be the only meat I purchase for a long time!
Debby says
Love the trip down memory lane. I must of started following around 2012. It was as you started your gardens at the house before the condo, but I also remember the posting of grocery cost being very low, maybe 2011. When did you start your blog..?
Mavis Butterfield says
Tomorrow will be 10 years.
Dani says
Wish I could get my husband on board with eating more beans and such. I grew up very poor. Beans and rice we’re our normal with four kids afterbour father died. We lived off of social security death benefit. My mom had no work skills or childcare.
I love bean soup and such. Need my four kids to learn to like it too. Hahaa
Audra says
I am with you on the no spend challenge on food for January! I probably spent double my normal budget in December with all the parties and events so need to recover in January…
Thanks for all your inspiration and goals and planning and challenges. You always give me lots of ideas!
Mimi says
I try very hard not to use my freezer as a food museum. My mom had a huge chest freezer and we’d discover “artifacts” years past their prime.
Just curious…any idea how much you spend in bakeries and restaurants?
Mavis Butterfield says
I didn’t keep track this year… but I plan to next year.
Sharon says
I am with you on the whole pantry challenge! Even fruits and vegetables will be coming from the freezer or what’s been canned over the summer.
Marilyn says
Oh I am in! I have a freezer full and lots of leftovers from way too much bought when the kids and spouses were here for Christmas! I am going to take my budget for groceries and work in paying down my mortgage!
Are you still doing that Mavis!
I need inspiration!
Marcia says
This post inspired me to look up my grocery spending spreadsheets. For some reason, I didn’t write it down from 2011 to 2013 (ah ha, that some reason was kid #2). My peak year was about $10k, and that was when kid 2 was 2 years old and I was working full time, trying to lose 30 lbs of baby weight. I was successful in the weight loss, but it wasn’t cheap!
Now my boys are getting bigger, and despite the fact that they get free lunch at school (all students do), I spent almost $7800 in 2018. $7800 was my goal. A few weeks before the end of the year, I was really close – averaging $152 a week, a little over budget. I knuckled down. Today I realized that I had $50 left, so I went and spent $40 of it (because I’m not rolling it over to next year!)
The reasons why the budget has been drifting upwards the last few years (from a low of about $5500) are
– growing children
– full time job
– time! I don’t garden but I started with a CSA. When that closed, I moved on to a produce delivery service. Which is a bit more than a CSA. But it’s lovely because it’s all local (yay for local farmers and local businesses). Did I mention THEY DELIVER. This year our elementary school started a similar program, with the added benefit that the school gets a cut. SO, now I get two boxes a week. We now eat a LOT of produce.
My freezer and pantry are almost empty because I was trying to keep under budget this last month.
SandyF says
My son said to me yesterday”You can’t open one cabinet around here without things falling out”…OUCH.
Guess what I did today? Cleaned every flipping cabinet, frig. and freezer. He shamed me…
Feel much better…and he didn’t even notice I had done it…kids.
Sherrie Mullane says
Love it, Mavis! We, as a family of nine, will be joining you and others in avoiding the store in January. We have allowed $500 for our consumables. (Could have lessened that if I had thought ahead and did a slow stock, but still that will be great for us.) New Year blessings to everyone!
Gina says
Happy new year!
Mavis Butterfield says
Happy New Year Gina!
Alice says
That looks like a lot of food for a refrigerator freezer. Did you get a deep freezer?
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes, this summer. 🙂
Amanda N Tirado says
So let’s say you have 4 kids, a husband and a dog Lucy’s size. What would you try to get your grocery budget set at in the Tacoma area? I’m thinking $150 a month. Too low?
Mavis Butterfield says
Nope.$150 is not too low. You can do it! Especially if your family doesn’t eat a lot of meat. If I lived in Tacoma I’d shop at Winco. The prices are great.
Linda says
I have been eating surprise meals for about 2 weeks snd buy only milk and eggs
at the grocery store. Buy bread at the farmers market. I have been planning on doing whole 30 for January and w8ll eat only from my pantry or freezer.
Debbie - MountainMama says
I’m hitting the market today after work to pick up necessities, and then will embark on a no spend month for the next 30 days. It always feels good to do that in January, after the Christmas spending in Nov/Dec.
You have inspired me to reduce my grocery bill from $200/week average to $200/month – what a savings, and I love it!! Thank you! I’ve been very successful keeping it around $200/month for the past 6 months or so, with the exception of the additional groceries I had to buy Christmas week….a houseful of guests and Christmas dinner, you know how that is.
Happy New Year!
Gee says
I can safely say, Mavis, that we have ZERO un-identified containers anywhere, especially frozen or refrigerated. This happened because at some point a few years ago we decided to label everything. This wasn’t just us being OCD or holier-than-thou. We discovered masking tape. A roll of it and a marker live by the fridge to make it easy to do. We also date boxes and cans of stuff in the pantry. It let’s us know when it’s time to toss some stuff that’s been around for too long.
Masking tape has – so far – stuck to whatever it goes on. With food name and date, it sticks to rigid plastic containers, glass, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or plastic bags.
It’s been years since I’ve pulled something out of the fridge that had turned green and fuzzy and was trying to grow through the cover. I no longer have to throw away mutant Tupperware.
Laura says
How do you get the tape off when re-filling the container with another food to be marked? I’ve found it to be hard to get the tape off of my containers but we’ve used regular labels and haven’t tried masking tape yet so I’d appreciate your thoughts. Thanks so much.
Gee says
Just pull it off, Laura! It doesn’t even leave a residue. Masking tape is a wonderful thing. 🙂
Laura says
Thank you so much, Gee, that will work much, much better than the stickers (the operative word there, being ‘stick’ forever).
Debi says
I’m on board! We’ll be eating out of our freezer and pantry for the month of January. Love the idea of using painter’s tape to label containers. We have a food vacuum so most of our freezer food is labeled right on the bag but there are those occasional containers that remain a mystery!