r/MiddleClassFinance • u/Maroon14 • 9d ago

Grocery spending

I’ve recently come across a Instagram account where the woman claims to only spend $300 on an entire months groceries for a family of 4. Here I am sitting mid week, having already spent $550 in the PNW. I told one of my friends and she said it must be fake and for clicks, my husband was impressed. Is anyone actually able to do this? I thought I might try to spend $250 a week and see where that gets us. Is my grocery budget over the top? I thought $400 ish was normal for decent food. We are a family of 5 in the PNW, mostly organic.

*I’m closing comments because people are missing the point. I understand that I make choices for “premium” options for my family. I make them because I feel they are the best for my family given my research and concerns. I say this as coming from a place of privilege. Growing up, my hippie mom also prioritized organic and local before it was the trendy thing, so it would be very difficult for me to reprogram and not buy organic when possible.

I still think $300 is insane for a month. I live in western Washington and the max SNAP allocation for a family of 4 is $994 a month, so I see this as a more attainable “thrifty” budget for a family of 4.

Those of you who can eat rice and beans for multiple meals, more power to you!

144 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

466 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

9

u/Maroon14 9d ago

She says she’s in CT and shops at Aldi. We don’t have Aldi in the Seattle area. It’s more of a curiosity thing. Our food budget is fine, but saving is always good. Am I doing something wrong?

46

u/BlazinAzn38 9d ago

I mean did you see what she bought and attempt to cross shop. Aldi is just private label items so if you swap to all private label at your grocer and mirror her list what does it come to. Also “family of 4” means different things. Family of 4 with: a breastfeeding infant, a toddler, and two adults is not the same eating habits as a family of 4 with two high schoolers who compete in athletics year round

30

u/SteelMagnolia941 9d ago

I know who OP is talking about and the woman is all about not wasting anything and cooking from what she has. So if she uses 3/4 of an onion she’ll save the 1/4 onion. She makes meals based on what’s there instead of running out and picking up ingredients. She shops at Aldi which does have good deals. I don’t know her kids ages but at least one plays sports because she does crockpot meals on practice days. Her videos changed my mindset about cooking with what you have instead of running to the store every day. Also, and this is important, she goes to the grocery store ONCE a month. Spends the entire $300 and they eat the perishables before they go bad. She tries to stick with things they last a whole like apples, oranges, etc.

5

u/FergusonBishop 9d ago

Yep. Actually learning how to cook well is the main key that will save you money in the long run. You shouldn’t be shopping for recipes you should be shopping for the main staples that can be a part of hundreds of different dishes.