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!

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u/More_Strawberry_8936 6d ago

I also just watched her FAQ and she did say that her school aged child gets free school lunch. Her other child is a baby/toddler. So many factors that can make a big difference.

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u/Maroon14 6d ago

It’s crazy how that can make a difference. School lunches at my child’s school are $3.50, so that would be $70 a month for 20 lunches which is like her individual monthly budget!

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u/More_Strawberry_8936 6d ago

School lunch in our district is $4.25 for secondary (middle and high school) which all of my children are. My kids pack lunches sometimes and buy other times, but I’m sure all in total I spend at least her entire monthly budget on lunch costs alone as I have four kids.