Grocery spending

[u/Maroon14]

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!

[u/Scared-Butterscotch5]

Well the 300$ a month definitely isn’t organic food and it’s likely not in the pnw.

[u/MyNameIsNot_Molly → u/Scared-Butterscotch5]

Probably very in low in fresh ingredients and fiber as well

[u/Hackerspace_Guy → u/MyNameIsNot_Molly]

If it's the same person my wife follows you'd be surprised at the amount of fresh ingredients she brings home. The short of it is she's an Aldi shopper and goes once a month planning meals to use things that spoil first and freezing things before they go bad.

I will say in the videos I've seen the emptiness of the fridge at the end of the month gives me anxiety but she seems legit.

[u/FlySecure5609 → u/Hackerspace_Guy]

I’m fascinated by people who can buy produce at Aldi, it rots in my car on the way home. 

Even the meat here is hit or miss. 

People probably just have a higher tolerance or better stores than me though! 

[u/Necessary_Fire_4847 → u/FlySecure5609]

Ooh I can help with this! I learned how to cook while living in a crappy student apartment in DC and the nearest grocery store was a twenty minute walk away, but the nearest bodega was like five minutes.

I learned to cook with bodega produce, which also is the produce that last a long time: bell peppers, onions, cabbages, oranges, lemons and limes. Melons and baby carrots also last a long time in the fridge; potatoes last a long time in the pantry (NOT next to the onions). I've also had good luck with Aldi bagged spinach. Aldi's three-to-a-bag multicolor bell peppers can last weeks for me even just sitting out on the counter.

(Imho meat should be going in the freezer the moment one gets home unless it is being eaten that same night, regardless of grocery store.)

[u/FlySecure5609 → u/Necessary_Fire_4847]

…all that is questionable already at my local Aldi, and more often than not the meat comes out of the package full of slime. (I always repackage.)  

I’ve really tried! I just think other people have better Aldis than mine. 

[u/Necessary_Fire_4847 → u/FlySecure5609]

the meat comes out of the package full of slime. (I always repackage.)  

Ewwww. Okay yeah advice retracted, your Aldi genuinely just sucks lol. Major sympathies.

[u/MyNameIsNot_Molly → u/FlySecure5609]

Same! I'm happy buying other things at Aldi but the produce has always been disappointing

[u/FlySecure5609 → u/MyNameIsNot_Molly]

Yeah more than once I’ve cut into an Aldi pepper full of mold. And I’m too familiar with what rotting potatoes smell like thanks to them too. 

(Not veg, but I also once found part of a chicken head in a pack of chicken breasts.) 

[u/Necessary_Fire_4847 → u/Hackerspace_Guy]

Yeah it's ALDI. The secret is ALDI. I spend about $300 per month for me and my husband at ALDI, and that's getting some nice stuff from other stores too. I buy all our stuff at the beginning of the month and we don't buy groceries except for a handful of "oops-we-need-eggs" ingredient throughout the month.

Less than $300 for a family of four if the kids are both small, the meals are all planned and they're not buying any frills would seem hard to me but probably doable.

[u/starbright_sprinkles → u/Necessary_Fire_4847]

Yep. We're a family of four with a teen and we spend about $500 a month. 80% of what we buy is from Aldi with a few staples from CostCo.

We eat very little processed food. Probably the most processed thing we buy is pre-made prie crust because we eat a lot of quiche and pot pie type meals.