[Crashby]

An old buddy of mine told me once that he eats out 3 meals a day... every day. Quite a way to spend your disposable income...

So... 4 questions:

On a monthly basis:
1. How many times to you go to your LGS (local grocery store)
2. How much do you spend on groceries
3. How many times do you go out to eat at restaurants
4. How much do you spend in restaurants

Mine:

1. 1-2
2. $175
3. 4
4. $80

 

[narlus]

On a monthly basis:
1. How many times to you go to your LGS (local grocery store)
2. How much do you spend on groceries
3. How many times do you go out to eat at restaurants
4. How much do you spend in restaurants

1. probably 10-12 times (a lot of mini shopping, with handheld basket)
2. no idea, but maybe $350?
3. 1-2
4. zero if it's on work, otherwise about $75-100 for my wife and i

you forgot to add takeaway food. we get pizza probably once a week, and occasionally chinese food.

 

[Ciaran]

1: 20 -30
2: I have no idea
3: 10 - 20
4: I have no idea.... between 40 and 100 for the wife and I, depending on where we go.

 

[Crashby]

1. probably 10-12 times (a lot of mini shopping, with handheld basket)
2. no idea, but maybe $350?
3. 1-2
4. zero if it's on work, otherwise about $75-100 for my wife and i

you forgot to add takeaway food. we get pizza probably once a week, and occasionally Chinese food.

All take-out food should be under "restaurant expense".

I haven't heard the term "takeaway" since I was in the UK...

 

[Transcend]

1 - a ton. I do the same as narlus. Meat and veggies 3-4 days a week
2 - 400 or so maybe (for 2)
3 - restaurants? once or twice. Fast food 5 or 6?
4 - as little as possible

 

[Ciaran]

I haven't heard the term "takeaway" since I was in the UK...

He spent a lot of time in Ireland.

 

[urbaindk]

1. How many times to you go to your LGS (local grocery store)
2. How much do you spend on groceries
3. How many times do you go out to eat at restaurants
4. How much do you spend in restaurants

For the wife and I:
1. between 4 and 8
2. Estimated $600??? Food ain't cheap.
3. 4 (about once / week)
4. $100?

 

[Heidi]

Grocery store 4 times a month
At least 100 each trip
I eat dinner out at least once a week, but I drink out an average of 3 times a week
How much I spend depends how much I drink The Bend Distillery causes my tab to be higher than normal.

 

[luken8r]

An old buddy of mine told me once that he eats out 3 meals a day... every day. Quite a way to spend your disposable income...

So... 4 questions:

On a monthly basis:
1. How many times to you go to your LGS (local grocery store)
2. How much do you spend on groceries
3. How many times do you go out to eat at restaurants
4. How much do you spend in restaurants

1) 2-3
2) $50-70
3) I used to do lunch out every day, but have gone back to bringing lunch elements and making a sandwich at work. For dinner/date? Usually once a week
4) no more than $45 a sitting between the two of us. Lunches? maybe $5-8 per

 

[antimony]

For two people:

1. Usually only 2 major shoppings a month; a few other times, for small things like juice and beer
2. Probably $300/month...maybe less, though
3. Once or twice a month
4. $30 or under each time


What can I say? I'm cheap. My income goes into savings and there it rests. But also, I'm a vegetarian, so I save some money there too.

 

[LordOpie]

How much I spend depends how much I drink The Bend Distillery causes my tab to be higher than normal.

ditto.

My girl took me to Mezcal here in Denver where I discovered my new favorite drink, we spent $20 on food and $50 on drinks. She has good taste :devil:

We're not going to eat out as much cuz we were routinely spending $80-150/night at fancy places with tasty food and drinks.

She's been cooking at home more... which means I get 'free' leftovers for lunch the next day. That's gonna save us a lot of money

 

[splat]

A
On a monthly basis:
1. How many times to you go to your LGS (local grocery store)
2. How much do you spend on groceries
3. How many times do you go out to eat at restaurants
4. How much do you spend in restaurants

1) 10 -20
2) $350 -$400 ? ( wife and 2 kids bring prices up up up )
3) 1 -2
4) $100

and what about lunches how are they taken into account , cause I tend to eat in the Company cafe aboutt half the time

 

[narlus]

yeah i probably spend about $5 per day when i eat lunch @ the caf....depending on decent leftovers, i'll do this about 3-4 times a week, so add another $70 to my restaurant total.

i should see what my wife spends on food. i don't do all the shopping

 

[douglas]

On a monthly basis:
1. How many times to you go to your LGS (local grocery store)
2. How much do you spend on groceries
3. How many times do you go out to eat at restaurants
4. How much do you spend in restaurants

1) 4
2) $250
3) 10
4) $150

 

[jdcamb]

I had hard time getting an actual figure as work pays for my food when I travel (2-3 times a week). I shop everyday for fresh food that I prepare myself for myself most meals. Plus when I go out I go cheap and eat it home (takeout). Usually any takeout is 2 meals. I budget $210 a month for food. Many months go by without me spending that much and I usually apply it to a eating out (takeout). My biggest indulgence is breakfast at Jims on Winton which adds up to like $6 once a month. Damn now I am hungry and confused.

I am lucky enough to live in Rochester NY and be able to shop the best grocery store in the US as far as I am concerned. Food is cheap and good around here. Wegmans f'n rocks!

 

[Toshi]

for four months starting in february i'll be getting free food

(as part of a nutrition study)

 

[berkshire_rider]

I am lucky enough to live in Rochester NY and be able to shop the best grocery store in the US as far as I am concerned. Food is cheap and good around here. Wegmans f'n rocks!

Wegman's definitely f'in rocks. It's one of the few things I miss from when I used to live in Syracuse along with the Dinosaur BBQ, and Hoffman German Franks.




On a monthly basis:
1. How many times to you go to your LGS (local grocery store)
2. How much do you spend on groceries
3. How many times do you go out to eat at restaurants
4. How much do you spend in restaurants

Mine:

1. 2-3 times per week - 10 times a month. Also, BJ's wholesale 2-3 times a month, for some things.
2. Anywhere from $50-$125 per week depending on what I feel like making / cooking that week and if I need soda, beer, spices, butter, etc.
3. Lunch out once a week. The rest of the week, I bring in leftovers. Dinner out varies, 1-3 times per week.
4. Depends on restaurant. Mexican / southwestern places tend to be a lot cheaper than steakhouses or seafood. All can be really good. Anywhere from $50 - $100+. More if drinking wine.

 

[jdcamb]

Hoffman German Franks.

I like the Snappy Grillers better. The casing gets all crispy and charcoally when grilled to perfection. They make the best chili dogs too. Gianellis is from Syracuse too. Best Italian sausage you can buy anywhere. Plus you can get Speedies there.

 

[Echo]

On a monthly basis:
1. How many times to you go to your LGS (local grocery store)
2. How much do you spend on groceries
3. How many times do you go out to eat at restaurants
4. How much do you spend in restaurants

1. All the friggin time. Probably 8-10 times a month.
2. About $150.
3. Prolly 8-10.
4. $140-150.

 

[laura]

the grocery- 4 times a month unles i forgot something on my main trip.
how much do i spend- 320 bucks. its about 80 each week for two.
restaurants- once a week, although tn gets takeout lunches a couple times a week
how much do we spend-200 a month probably. i don't keep up with that like i should.

 

[hooples3]

1. usually 1-2 times a week
2. $30 - $50 a week/$200 a month
3. 2
4. $100

 

[jacksonpt]

1. probably 8 times, 1 big shop per month, then a couple of runs each week for milk, bread and eggs.
2. probably $350ish - this is for a family of 4
3. my wife has lunch out probably 3 times, me hardly ever, we have dinner out maybe once a month, at most
4. total restaraunt bills for the month... $40 or so

I have a buddy who always eats out, but he generally only eats dinner, usually skips breakfast and lunch. But still, the point is the same... what a way to blow through disposable income.

 

[Echo]

An old buddy of mine told me once that he eats out 3 meals a day... every day.

Have you heard from Rob lately?

 

[Crashby]

Have you heard from Rob lately?

No... he's been a bit busy going to temple and puffin' chiba...

 

[The Toninator]

So... 4 questions:

On a monthly basis:
1. How many times to you go to your LGS (local grocery store)
2. How much do you spend on groceries
3. How many times do you go out to eat at restaurants
4. How much do you spend in restaurants

1. 3 times a week
2. Not sure depends on what i'm into that week
3. Every lunch, 2 dinners, 3 breakfast's(fri, sat, sun)
4. 8/10 lunch, 15/20 dinner, 3 breakfast

 

[Crashby]

Attention shoppers: You're paying too much for food.
December 21, 2005: 9:22 AM EST
By Jean Chatzky, MONEY Magazine editor

Grocery shopping seems simple enough, but Americans are wasting more money, food and time than ever by not planning. We spend more on food each year (an average of $5,340 these days) than on anything else besides our house and car.

We research those two purchases exhaustively before buying because we know that the bigger the line item, the greater the opportunity to save. Can't we spend 10 minutes on a grocery list?

"Americans have forgotten how to food-shop," says Phil Lempert of SupermarketGuru.com, which tracks the industry. "When we don't plan, we buy the wrong things, which causes us to spend more money and more time."

Today households on average toss 14 percent of the food they buy, about double what we threw out 20 years ago. Compare this with our parents' and grandparents' generations, when time was spent each week planning menus so that every last item that was bought was used.

Indeed, today's meal planning goes more like this: It's 4 p.m. and you haven't thought about what's for dinner. You dream up something easy -- baked ziti! -- and run out for ingredients, forgetting that in the back of your Sub-Zero is a block of the same cheese you just bought, right next to last week's leftover ziti.

The next day at 4 p.m., it's the same routine.

To meet our mothers' generation in the middle, we crave foods that are fast but that also have a homemade feel. (According to Nielsen, one of the top daytime shows on the Food Network is Semi-Homemade Cooking.)

Food purveyors have been happy to oblige, preying on your lack of time and your seemingly endless grocery budget by concocting pricey ready-to-eat foods.

"More shelf space is dedicated to prepared food these days," says Michael Sansolo of the Food Marketing Institute. "Soup comes in a grab-and-go cup. It wasn't long ago we didn't even have juice boxes."

Some new products are lifesavers; others are rip-offs. All are part of a changing grocery landscape that includes everything from pre-diced onions to grocery lists you can keep online.

To shop smart, you have to decide which alleged improvements really save time and money.

Be picky
The premium on shortcut foods -- marinated chicken breasts, cut vegetables, washed lettuce -- is enormous, so compare prices of the prepared version and the normal version, then decide whether the premium is worth the time you'll save.

Take lettuce. You can get a head of romaine for $1.99 or a bag of Earthgreens organic romaine hearts for $3.99. Would you pay someone $2 to chop and wash your lettuce?

Not on a lazy Saturday. But on a frenetic weeknight it might be a bargain.

Use what you have
"There are literally 150 pasta dishes that most people could make with stuff they have in their house right now," says Mark Bittman, whose New York Times column "The Minimalist" and book "The Best Recipes in the World" are aimed at today's frenzied shopper.

Lempert suggests a weekly use-what-you-have night. Involve your kids.

They'll eat whatever you cook up simply because they helped (trust me on this), and you won't spend $40 ordering in.

Make lists
Half of us don't make shopping lists. That's why we buy bags of food but have nothing for dinner.

Before you shop, plan your next three dinners, trying to pick ingredients that overlap from meal to meal. That way you won't buy something you'll use half of and then shove to the back of the fridge to compost.

Shop online
Our mothers would have. Jodie and Lawrence Smoler, parents in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., used to spend $250 a week at the grocery store. Once every few weeks they'd fill a hefty bag with everything they hadn't eaten -- vegetables on the wrong side of ripe, cold cuts past their prime -- and throw it out.

Then they discovered Peapod, the online grocer in their area. Jodie's first foray onto the site took about an hour as she searched for her staples.

But now every week she starts with that same list, adds a few necessities and is done in 10 minutes, for around $90 including delivery. "Last week she was away, so she didn't order," Lawrence says. "I went to the store instead. I spent $150 and I can't figure out why."

Make a game of it
Ever hear about those people who cut their $200 weekly grocery bill down to $50? I'm trying to become one of them.

I'm playing the Grocery Game. Started in 2000, the Grocery Game is a Web site that provides you with a weekly list of products on sale at your local supermarket, cross-referenced with the coupons in your Sunday circulars.

It also tells you what to load up on when. Usually supermarkets are divided into 15 sections (from frozen foods to toiletries), and each week two of those sections are put on sale.

"That means if you buy only what you need every week, you overspend on 13 out of 15 categories," says founder Teri Gault. "We teach people to stockpile when things are on sale."

A subscription is $10 for eight weeks, but you can get a four-week trial for just a dollar at thegrocerygame.com.

Your first experience shopping with a computer-generated list can be time consuming -- confusing even. But once it works, addiction sets in.

 

[SkaredShtles]

An old buddy of mine told me once that he eats out 3 meals a day... every day. Quite a way to spend your disposable income...

So... 4 questions:

On a monthly basis:
1. How many times to you go to your LGS (local grocery store)
2. How much do you spend on groceries
3. How many times do you go out to eat at restaurants
4. How much do you spend in restaurants

Mine:

1. 6-10
2. $400
3. ~4
4. $150