I’m sure you’ve figured out by now I like to save money. Especially on food. I know several people who routinely pay $800 or more a month on their groceries. And honestly, it baffles me. It’s not because I have a garden, or because I like to can, it just seems a little crazy to me to spend that much on food. But what do I know. Maybe as I’ve gotten older my taste buds have simplified.
The last time I spent $800 a month on groceries was 2008. And let me tell you Bob, I can’t imagine doing that again. Heck, I can’t even imagine dropping $400 a month on groceries. But maybe I am just weird that way.
That being said, there are a few things I am willing to pay big bucks for.
And berries are one of them.
You just cannot beat the taste of fresh, local fruit. Nothing they sell in the stores compares. Those giant puffed up strawberries from California and Mexico? Forget about it. This morning drove to Spooner Farms and happily paid $24.95 a flat for strawberries and $26.95 a flat for raspberries.
Somethings are just worth paying a premium for.
So tell me, what food item are YOU willing to pay a pretty penny for?
~ Mavis
Cheri says
Maybe in some parts of the country it is abnormal to spend $800 or more on food, but here in CO I struggle to get my groceries down to that. I am not a gardener, though I’m trying to learn with tomatoes this year, so I don’t have the benefit of growing my own food, but if I wanted to feed my family of seven for $800 or less (maybe the equivalent of $400 for a smaller family of three or four), we would be eating more rice and beans and pasta than I care to think about. We already eat too much peanut butter and jelly and too little produce. I’ve spent countless hours trying to pare my food budget without resorting to very low-quality food and no treats. I have some ideals I try very hard to stick to, such as humanely-raised animal products, but even if I didn’t worry about that–even if I was vegan, in fact–there is no way I could get my budget down to what you do. Maybe it’s possible, but I have no idea how. I refuse to play the coupon game, because I haven’t the time or patience and seldom buy name-brand products, but other than that, I am at a loss.
pat says
I believe the $100 a month only includes consumables. Paper products, cleaning products, hygiene products all add a huge dollar amount. I have found that buying items on sale compared with canning is much cheaper especially tomatoes and there are many organic tasty brands to choose from. I buy meats from the butcher and freeze. We grow a few veggies but only enough to have a special meal or two so we hit the farmers markets. Have to say I’m happy we only have a grown daughter and 3 year old granddaughter living with us. Teens and college kids can break the bank.
Leslie says
I hear you, Cheri. Before kids were frequently dropping $400+ each month (Portland, OR). There are some foods we choose to avoid, and that makes a big difference.
Angie says
I agree. $800 per month was the average grocery amount for a family of four when I worked in the grocery industry 10 years ago, and prices have gone up considerably since then. Then we need the raw milk (almost $14/gallon) because we both have health issues when we don’t have enough of it… I spend more than $100 per month just on raw milk.
Tamara says
Organic Valley milk, especially the CHOCOLATE milk! Taste it and you will never drink another chocolate milk!
Mel says
Ditto. Organic Valley butter as well. I so wish our grocery story carried more of their products.
Jenny says
I have a friend that milks for Organic Valley.
Cassandra says
Copper River salmon and a good steak.
Angie says
Whole, unpasteurized milk from grass fed cows. I will always find a way to get that liquid (nutritional) gold!
Jeanie says
I’m going to go all rogue and say that I only buy organic berries and broccoli for sure irregardless of cost. I grew up in Central Coast California. We watched the crop dusters and fertilizers liberally spread on the crops. You couldn’t pay me to eat or feed my family anything that I couldn’t at least peel. And before anyone gets all up in it, let me say that I have four autoimmune diseases and have had cancer twice so it is not even a topic I care to discuss. However, when I see Mama’s buying those grocery strawberries that I know have been sprayed to feed to their wee ones….well, it would be better not to eat them at all in my opinion.
That said, I now live in the Midwest and I believe that if most people could see a feed lot and cows on a train to the slaughterhouse, there would be a lot more vegetarians.
Angie says
I have tried the option of not eating produce at all when I can’t afford organic, and it is definitely better to have fruit and vegetables even with the pesticides. After lots of trial and error, I prioritize buying humane and nutritious (organic, grass fed, hormone-free, etc.) dairy products and meats, even if it means eating conventional produce, although I grow a garden so we can have some of it organic. I also have autoimmune diseases, but no cancer.
Jennifer says
Mavis–Question: when you say “one flat of strawberries”, do you mean six baskets or twelve? Around here a half flat is six. So if you’re paying $25 for 12 pints of strawberries, that’s not a premium, that’s a score!!! If it’s $25/6 pints, that’s a slight premium. But I’m sure it’s worth it.
Mavis Butterfield says
12 pints = 1 flat.
Suzanne says
I started buying coffee and chocolate fair trade. I just use less of both.
Brianna says
I have a few splurges I love and pay premium for. Tea Forte tea, local raw honey, Cream of the West cereal (Montana), a trip to a nearby Belgian chocolatier shop (closest I can get in the States like the European chocolatier shops), lamb (I live currently in GA and it is expensive here), aged Parmesan.
Laura Z says
Fresh local peaches in season are worth a little extra, as is local honey. I need decent coffee and iced tea each day. 🙂 I can make a good daily loaf, but an excellent baguette and great cheese is worth the occasional splurge.
Lyra says
I love to buy strawberries at the farmer’s market, and I don’t quibble about the price because Skagit Valley is the best! I think anything you use on a regular basis that improves your quality of life even a bit is worth it – so my non-food items are a $10 bottle of organic witch hazel (great cleanser), a good pair of shoes that will last me for years, and so on. “You get what you pay for” is definitely still with us for a reason.
Quick question: How do you approach people at the market about taking pictures? I can’t go until later in the day and I worry they will be fed up with people at that point, so I’m afraid to ask!
Thank you. 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
Just ask. Most peeps don’t have a problem.
Kari says
Kerrygold butter, organic coffee, and organic coconut oil for my French press bullet-proof coffee. Farm-fresh eggs, organic valley milk, and Real Salt. I shoot to follow the dirty dozen/clean fifteen when possible, but not always feasible. I grow a lot of my own vegetables in the spring and summer which helps!
Mavis Butterfield says
My mother LOVES Kerrygold butter too! 🙂
Angie says
We LOVE Kerrygold butter!
Dara says
I’m a Kerrygold fan too!!
The Cook says
Real meat.
I buy beef, pork, and chickens from a local rancher. They are raised outside, on real grass, and eat real food as they were intended to. I will never forget the first time I trussed a chicken that had been raised on grubs, worms, and bugs instead of having corn shoved down its throat. The muscle and skeletal structure was incredibly dense. The joints much tighter than the commercial birds that I had been cooking my entire life. Same story with beef. There is less marbling in the meat, so proper cooking is sort of necessary, but the flavor and texture is unlike factory-raised animals.
I have no problem ordering a year’s worth of meat in November and packing my freezer full in January. I’m sure I probably save a ton of money doing it too, but even if I didn’t, I’d never buy factory-raised and abused meat again.
tricia says
You get all your meat free stop misleading people.. If I got my meat free my grocery bill would be cheap too…
Carmen says
This is an interesting question. This year our family goal was to eat well and pay whatever it cost to do so. I cannot tell you how fortunate I feel to have this choice and what a blessing it is. We feel a million times better; I actually feel like a different person, let alone 20 years younger. I hope I never need to go back to carb based meals again. So my answer is food. ALL of our food.
We are a family of 4, living in the UK, where your extortionate $800/month doesn’t buy much! We spend a lot more than that. Meat/fish and 5-10 portions of a variety of fruit and veg per person per day is REALLY expensive but also really important. Even in season, avocados, asparagus, fresh fish, nuts, berries (cherries are currently cheap at $10/kg) are expensive. Of course we could fill up on something like pesto pasta or macaroni cheese, but why would we choose to eat that (long term) when we are fortunate to have the choice to spend the money and eat well? What else, apart from charity, would be money better spent? No-one regrets their health.
The only way to spend such a small amount on food is to be subsidised by other people/gift cards, eat a cheap and less varied diet, don’t eat much or grow your own (and maybe swap some.) Or live somewhere where food costs are low.
I’ve read this blog for years. I have recently noticed Mavis that you often only eat twice per day. And usually salads or beans and rice. Whilst that’s probably enough for a petite-average sized woman in her 40’s+, we all know teenagers need several times that amount of food daily (and more variety ideally.) A variety of good food costs a lot of money, at least where we live.
But quodos to anyone who manages to eat well for less. I wish the government would change the tax and subsidy system so good food would become much cheaper and cheap processed food prices would sky rocket!
Mavis Butterfield says
I agree food in the UK is way more expensive than here in the states and when I am visiting there I spend most of my food dollars on pastries, bread and fruits. I guess we’re lucky {?} that everyone in our household is lean {it’s just our body type} and doesn’t eat a lot of junk. I feel like we eat pretty healthy.
Angie says
We did the same thing a while back, Carmen. I am in the USA, but it is not cheap to buy an ideal diet. I have a high metabolism, and I have a teenage boy. For the two of us to eat what I consider an ideal diet (everything organic, all animal products grass fed/free range/wild caught, limited amounts of grains and beans, sweetening with honey and pure maple syrup, lots of variety, etc.), I have to spend about $1,200-$1,500 per month. I wish we could still do that; we both felt AMAZING! But that’s why I read the blog – because I can’t do that and want to find ways to maximize the food dollars I do have now.
Marcia says
Yes, it’s a balance. I find these posts on grocery costs to be both positive and negative. I think the important thing is to look at them in general terms for ideas of how to make improvements. It doesn’t really make sense to look at the exact numbers and get frustrated at why they are different.
Examples:
Free food – Mavis gets some free food. But hey, my 10 year old gets free lunch this summer at his (free) summer camp, and my husband gets free food at work almost weekly. We also drink free coffee and free tea at work. My next door neighbor is a chiropractor who trades services. His butcher gives him a lot of free meat. His fisherman gives him free fish. We used to get free fish all the time (last time he called, sadly, we were out of town). Just last month he cleaned out his freezer and we got crab legs, steak, and chicken. It was more meat than he could eat.
Location – this is a biggie, in overall food costs (vary widely) and also ability to garden. (Weather, amount of yard, rainfall).
Diet – what you eat matters. I’m a mid-40’s woman who has struggled to keep a healthy weight. It’s my genetics. I could eat ALL THE CARBS when I was running a lot, or more active than I am in my desk job. But. I have a desk job. I only have a short amount of time to workout, because of job + kids. I cannot run anymore because of bad joints. Carbs are cheap! My genetics and lifestyle don’t allow for it. I can have 2-3 one-half cup servings per day.
Fruits and veggies – I eat a lot of them. 5-10 servings a day. They can be really expensive.
I have been playing around with finding out “how many carbs” I can eat and still maintain a reasonable weight. I’ve been subbing more fat and less protein. It’s a challenge, to say the least. (Per calorie, fat is cheaper than protein). I still make carbs. My boys love pasta, and they can eat it and burn it right off.
I enjoy this series a lot because it’s a full year. She’s recording what she eats and buys – has high months and low months. She’s recording the freebies. So while I haven’t seen much Zaycon freebies yet this year, they will show up later I’m sure. So it’s reasonably transparent (to whomever was complaining about free meat).
You just have to analyze the methods and figure out what works for you. Kind of like Penniless Parenting blog (cooks from scratch and also forages a lot), and The Prudent Homemaker (cooks from scratch a lot and gardens a lot). There are a lot of good tips in there – not all of them will apply.
Joanna B says
I have two preschoolers and since they were born I only buy organic milk and eggs, and try to buy as much of organic meat and certain produce as I can afford… It’s only second year that I have a little backyard with a small patch where I can plant some veggies but that isn’t saving any money, it’s actually cheaper to buy in Costco or Aldi but I grow as much as I can mostly for the kids to learn about food… So I do most of my shopping in Costco and Aldi and just milk and eggs which is my fixed expense every month is $125 (3.05 for half a gallon of milk and 3.49 dozen of eggs and those are cheapest prices that I could find in the past few years – Aldi, if I would buy conventional I would pay about $38 for the same quantity). The rest is some organic and some conventional, buying in season or frozen to save the most… Didn’t see an inside of a restaurant in 5 years except pizza as a treat for kids few times a year, cooking everything from scratch… All together is coming up to about $800 a month… NYC life 🙁
Marcia says
I live in CA. I pay a premium for organic local strawberries.
$25 a flat is a screaming good deal. Those would be $35 here, at least
Giada says
The berries she bought are not organic. As far as i know Spooner Farms grows everything conventionally.
T.J. says
So what are your plans for all of those strawberries and raspberries? Do you freeze them?
Mavis Butterfield says
I made strawberry shortcake last night and froze the rest to use throughout the year in desserts, smoothies, oatmeal etc. 🙂
Sue says
How do you package to freeze?
Mavis Butterfield says
I just cut off the tops and toss them in freezer bags Sue. Easy peasy.
Chip says
Our splurge is fresh local strawberries from Spooners. The price in Olympia at the U-Pick field for berries already picked is $24 for a flat (12 pints). In the past, we would buy strawberries at the supermarket earlier in the year but each and every time, we were disappointed. My wife and I finally made a pact to never again buy strawberries unless they are locally grown, or ones grown in our garden. I usually plant some day neutral ones which come on after the Spooner’s June bearing varieties but this year was not able to. Definitely eating a LOT of strawberries now.
Kathy Gardner says
I’ll be buying fresh peaches off of the truck this Friday. They may actually cost a little bit more but the man who grew them and picked them is the one setting up on the town square to sell them and he has been doing it for many years. Saturday morning sellers will be setting up on the town square selling their homegrown produce, honey and baked goods. They may cost a little more than going to Aldi’s but I like supporting them and the produce is fresher. I live in an apartment but I have a raised bed at my back door and one along the side of my apartment building and it is amazing how much you can grow in a small amount of area if you plan it. We also have a longer growing season in Alabama so I get multiple crops of several things.
Angie says
Yes, I agree! I have a limited tolerance for carbs, a high metabolism, and a growing teenager, and I don’t get free meat or gift cards to buy food, have no extra budget for eating out or travelling, etc. So my budget and diet will not be the same as what Mavis does. I LOVE this blog, though. I love to see EXACTLY what she is doing with the shopping trips and the daily meal lists, I love the tips she shares, etc. The blog is about how MAVIS keeps the grocery budget around $100 a month, and I love the transparency and details. Plus, Mavis is just fun.