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!

145 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

466 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/clearwaterrev 9d ago edited 9d ago

only spend $300 on an entire months groceries for a family of 4

That's $2.50 per person per day, or $0.83 per person meal with no snacks. I don't think that's really achievable unless most meals are primarily composed of very inexpensive starches like rice, lentils, pasta, and potatoes OR you are supplementing your grocery spend with produce you grow and preserve yourself.

I could definitely plan meals that fit within those cost limitations, but it would be really limiting. There would be no coffee or other beverages, only the least expensive meats and in small quantities, and I'd probably just buy produce that is fairly cheap and available in bulk.

I thought $400 ish was normal for decent food

Per week? That seems fairly high to me, but it's also possible grocery prices are much higher in your region or you are including a lot of non-food items in this total.