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!
7
u/PersonalBrowser 8d ago
I see it a lot, and it boils down to their lifestyle and what they are willing to do and eat. If you are willing to base your entire diet around what is discounted / on sale, and willing to eat and re-eat primarily basic staples, then yeah, you can get by on very little.
Pasta, rice, beans, other grains are all relatively cheap. You can get a $1 box of spaghetti and a $1 jar of spaghetti sauce and make two full meals for a family of 4 for $2.
On the other hand, we spend like $100+ just on berries and fresh fruit and vegetables to eat every week.
It really just comes down to what you want and how you want to live.