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Budgeting Food/Takeout

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Ghost of Bisbee
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9:38a, 9/21/23
AG
Most interested in DINK data

Live in HCOL area, and food is our biggest struggle in terms of keeping costs low.

It's not unusual for us to spend $1,700/month between coffee, groceries, and restaurants.

We're now going for $1,200 next month. $800 on groceries, $400 on restaurants

Would like to collect some data here, and any tips you have on food budgeting is also appreciated
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Tex117
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10:06a, 9/21/23
AG
You are double income no kids, and spending 1700 a month on food?

You know the answer to this.

Don't eat out as often. Make coffee at home and bring with you in a tumblr. Buy less processed foods (and whatever is on sale at HEB for the week in terms of protein) and cook that.

So yeah. Cook more. Eat sale protein, and fill in with carbs (like brown rice, potatoes, etc.), grab some cheap broccoli and you are saving money and being healthy.
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Texker
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10:10a, 9/21/23
AG
Yeah, if you want to blow a large amount of money in a short amount of time buy overpriced coffee daily and go out to eat frequently. It's that simple.

The wife is a coffee drinker so she's figured out how to make her favs at home. The backup on-the-go coffee is McDonalds. Get the app. Almost always a $1 coffee deal.

We don't go out to eat much. Prices are stupid and the service and food quality in general has dropped off considerably.
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TXTransplant
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10:12a, 9/21/23
I'm a single and I spend $700-ish a month on groceries (including personal care and pet products). My one kid is out of the house, so my grocery bill has come down.

I eat a high-protein diet, and there are just some things I won't cut/compromise on that are expensive. However, I really don't eat out, so I can control that expense.

As far as coffee is concerned, this is something that would get out of hand fast. But, I have figured out what I like and can make pretty good "specialty" beverages at home.

My fave is cold brew with cold foam. I have a great frother and can make really good flavored froths (pumpkin, pistachio, vanilla) that I think are better than any coffee house. I drink one a day, and they are $6-$7 at a cafe, so that's about $200 in savings (not including the ingredients I purchase).

I do my own matcha and chai drinks, too, and I make a golden milk that my BF likes.
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htxag09
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10:41a, 9/21/23
AG
Dual income here but 1 kid (2.5).

Our grocery budget is $800, we are usually between $775-900. We do typically buy our protein in bulk, portion out, and vacuum seal and freeze. For example when pork loins go on sale for $0.99/lb we'll buy the max allowable and make pork loin chops and a few bags of small pork pieces for stir fries from the ends.

Our restaurant budget is $600. Actuals for this year have ranged from $300-$750. The higher months are cases like meeting my sister and her family for dinner on her birthday and picking up the bill. I'm not a big brown bagger, so eat out for lunch everyday. Really helps that our company has a cafeteria and it's supplemented so each lunch is $6-12.
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62strat
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10:43a, 9/21/23
AG
wow, we spend maybe $800 a month.. We're dicks (dual income child-aged kids). 7/8 yr old boys

We eat out once a twice a month, mostly because we both have amex cards that have a $25 restaurant credit each month (this offsets the several hundred dollar fee)
So we both use it once. That is about the extent of our eating out.

Wife makes bagged/ground coffee every work day (and buys store brand), I don't drink it. Daily starbucks is, what, $150 a person. Biggest waste of money ever, and easiest to get rid of in my non coffee drinker opinion lol.


This is an easy problem to fix, shouldn't have to come online to ask.
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one safe place
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10:51a, 9/21/23
Restaurants and fast-food places drive costs way higher than need be. If, in fact, there is to be an attempt to cut the food budget, those two should be at the top of the list.

I had a gal who worked for me for just over 30 years. For at least the last 15 of those years, she went to the Whataburger drive through EVERY morning. Did I mention every morning? lol. I cannot eat breakfast and the smell of the food she brought in would make me want to hurl. Then for lunch she would either go through the drive through at Whataburger again or somewhere similar or go to a sit-down restaurant. One day the topic of saving money came up (it did several times) and I got her to figure up what she was spending per year on those two items and it was a pile of money. Of course, had she prepared something to eat instead, there would have been a cost, but still it wasted a lot of money.
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LMCane
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10:54a, 9/21/23
how about giving up drinking coffee?

I did after law school and it has saved me not only damage to the gut, calories and pounds, but probably several thousand dollars over the last 28 years.

then think about those thousands of dollars invested into a Fidelity brokerage account- instead of being consumed by your stomach.
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South Platte
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10:56a, 9/21/23
In a HCOL area, I wouldn't say $1700 is horrible, especially if you are a young, active couple that eats a large amount of healthy food. That equates to about $9.50 per meal per person. Yes, you could probably cut that down a little.
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62strat
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In reply to one safe place • 11:02a, 9/21/23
AG
one safe place said:
Restaurants and fast-food places drive costs way higher than need be.
Restaurants for sure, but just a little effort goes a long way on fast food.

When I don't bring my lunch to work, I'll hit up BK or MCD, I'm talking maybe 4-5 times a month here.
I use the app, and EVERY single time, I get a free burger, or free fries, and I don't get a drink.

I typically spend $2-$4. Compare that to a grocery store bought tv dinner, or can of soup, etc, it's pretty much the same. Obviously making a sandwich or left overs is likely cheaper.

But cutting that out is inconsequential to nearly any budget, even if it's 2-3 x a week.

Opening up the mcd app right now, today for exapmle, $1 breakfast sandwich, free any size fry w/ $2 purchase, a few others, or BK has free any size fry with any purchase, or BOGO whopper.

Any of those things, used every time, will cut half of the fast food budget if not more.
Skip the meal deals, skip the drink (you probably need to drink more water anyway), and it's not hard.
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Sims
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11:05a, 9/21/23
AG
dual income, three kids (9, 7, 5) ... we spend about $1200/month all in on food
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aunuwyn08
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11:31a, 9/21/23
AG
We're DINKS with about 800 grocery (including home and self-care items) and 4-500 restaurants as well.

I tracked religiously prior to COVID and we used to eat out a lot more and I would still spend only about 6-800 a month. Inflation has really increased food costs dramatically.
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carl spacklers hat
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In reply to Ghost of Bisbee • 11:37a, 9/21/23
Ghost of Bisbee said:
Most interested in DINK data

Live in HCOL area, and food is our biggest struggle in terms of keeping costs low.

It's not unusual for us to spend $1,700/month between coffee, groceries, and restaurants.

We're now going for $1,200 next month. $800 on groceries, $400 on restaurants

Would like to collect some data here, and any tips you have on food budgeting is also appreciated
As others have stated, cut back on the two bolded items if you want to save cash. If you HAVE to have specialty coffee to get your day started, get a good coffee maker (think Keurig K-Cafe type maker), learn how to use it and buy much less expensive bulk beans (I use Sam's Colombian for $14.99/2.5 pound bag). Cutting back on restaurant spending is super easy - just don't go.
People think I'm an idiot or something, because all I do is cut lawns for a living.
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StockHorseAg
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12:18p, 9/21/23
AG
Coffee is provided where I work, granted it is just Folgers in a pot but I drink my coffee black anyways, so that saves me some money when it comes to coffee. Especially when you drink a pot a day like I do. On the weekends, I just use the Nespresso at home. I only get coffee from a shop maybe twice a month.

For lunch, If I don't bring a sandwich, I go to the caf at Sam's Club that is close by. I can get a hot dog, drink, and pretzel for $2.45. If I get tired of that, I use the McDonalds App.
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Ghost of Bisbee
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In reply to htxag09 • 2:28p, 9/21/23
AG
htxag09 said:
Dual income here but 1 kid (2.5).

Our grocery budget is $800, we are usually between $775-900. We do typically buy our protein in bulk, portion out, and vacuum seal and freeze. For example when pork loins go on sale for $0.99/lb we'll buy the max allowable and make pork loin chops and a few bags of small pork pieces for stir fries from the ends.

Our restaurant budget is $600. Actuals for this year have ranged from $300-$750. The higher months are cases like meeting my sister and her family for dinner on her birthday and picking up the bill. I'm not a big brown bagger, so eat out for lunch everyday. Really helps that our company has a cafeteria and it's supplemented so each lunch is $6-12.


We used to go out to restaurants a lot. I mean, a lot. That would v around $1,750 for us in a month

In the last month we cut down restaurants increased grocery shopping. We were surprised to see at the end of the month that we were at $1,700

Problem is we were doing grocery trips to Costco, Trader Joe's, and Target. The target trips add up, fast.

So now we're focused on majority Costco, some TJ's, rare visits to Target, and restaurants for the remaining.

Thanks for all the opinions here

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Ghost of Bisbee
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In reply to 62strat • 2:31p, 9/21/23
AG
62strat said:
wow, we spend maybe $800 a month.. We're dicks (dual income child-aged kids). 7/8 yr old boys

We eat out once a twice a month, mostly because we both have amex cards that have a $25 restaurant credit each month (this offsets the several hundred dollar fee)
So we both use it once. That is about the extent of our eating out.

Wife makes bagged/ground coffee every work day (and buys store brand), I don't drink it. Daily starbucks is, what, $150 a person. Biggest waste of money ever, and easiest to get rid of in my non coffee drinker opinion lol.


This is an easy problem to fix, shouldn't have to come online to ask.


I'm asking to get a sense of the data, too. Some of these responses are eye-opening and helpful to see how others are managing, especially those in HCOL areas

We are frugal in all aspects of our spending, except for food and we need to fix that
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CapCity12thMan
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2:52p, 9/21/23
AG
DI with 2 teenage boys...

~$1300 monthly HEB tab, $800 monthly restaurants tab

4 of us at Taco Deli - 9 tacos total, chips and salsa, WATER for drinks is over $60. It's ridiculous. Even getting a pizza at like a Tony C's (kids split a large), wife eats salad, I get an entree - we are in for almost $75. Ridiculous.

I recall when kids were little my goal was to eat Mexican food for less than $30 for the four of us, and it was possible - split fajitas for one (since restaurants just over do portion sizes), kids get skids meals, drink water. Now - no way...its $75-80 at least (no kids meals and higher prices).
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62strat
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In reply to CapCity12thMan • 3:08p, 9/21/23
AG
Quote:

I recall when kids were little my goal was to eat Mexican food for less than $30 for the four of us, and it was possible - split fajitas for one (since restaurants just over do portion sizes), kids get skids meals, drink water. Now - no way...its $75-80 at least (no kids meals and higher prices).
It's crazy, but if we go to this little brewery by our house, we'll get the kids a pizza to split and we just drink beers, then we'll go home and eat something or pick up two $8 qdoba bowls on the way home lol.

We just like to get out for a beer now and again, but don't like dropping $100. Instead it's like $40-$50.
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CapCity12thMan
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In reply to 62strat • 3:24p, 9/21/23
AG
i'll trade an entree and water for a good portioned app and a beer and i'm good
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one safe place
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In reply to 62strat • 4:43p, 9/21/23
62strat said:
one safe place said:
Restaurants and fast-food places drive costs way higher than need be.
Restaurants for sure, but just a little effort goes a long way on fast food.

When I don't bring my lunch to work, I'll hit up BK or MCD, I'm talking maybe 4-5 times a month here.
I use the app, and EVERY single time, I get a free burger, or free fries, and I don't get a drink.

I typically spend $2-$4. Compare that to a grocery store bought tv dinner, or can of soup, etc, it's pretty much the same. Obviously making a sandwich or left overs is likely cheaper.

But cutting that out is inconsequential to nearly any budget, even if it's 2-3 x a week.

Opening up the mcd app right now, today for exapmle, $1 breakfast sandwich, free any size fry w/ $2 purchase, a few others, or BK has free any size fry with any purchase, or BOGO whopper.

Any of those things, used every time, will cut half of the fast food budget if not more.
Skip the meal deals, skip the drink (you probably need to drink more water anyway), and it's not hard.
I don't find it hard to skip McDonalds, Whataburger, or any of them. Don't even have the apps!!!
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Ranger1743
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5:33p, 9/21/23
AG
Single income, married with a toddler. We spend probably $700/month on groceries and $450/month on restaurants. Our rule is we can eat out as a family once per day on my days off, so like 10 days per month (I work a 9/80). My wife and I each pick up a lunch for ourselves once per week as a treat, usually something simple like Subway or Jimmy John's. We try to stick to cheaper fast casual (Chipotle etc) since most sit-down restaurants are at least $15-20 per person, plus a kids meal, tip, tax and drinks, you can easily drop $70/meal for a family, versus <$10 staying home. Start making those decisions consistently and you'll save very very fast.
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MRB10
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In reply to 62strat • 5:34p, 9/21/23
AG
My BP increased while reading this. How fat are you?
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62strat
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In reply to MRB10 • 5:52p, 9/21/23
AG
Pepper Brooks said:
My BP increased while reading this. How fat are you?


You really think fast food 4-5 times a month will make you blow you up? You must be a lazy mofo.

I'm 5'-11" 165lb.
Never been above about 175 in my 43 years.

You?




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MRB10
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In reply to 62strat • 9:02p, 9/21/23
AG
6'; 175lbs, so fit enough.

Fast food once a week is definitely not unreasonable. The restaurants you happened to list just screamed fatty.
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fourth deck
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In reply to CapCity12thMan • 9:31p, 9/21/23
AG
CapCity12thMan said:
DI with 2 teenage boys...

~$1300 monthly HEB tab, $800 monthly restaurants tab

4 of us at Taco Deli - 9 tacos total, chips and salsa, WATER for drinks is over $60. It's ridiculous. Even getting a pizza at like a Tony C's (kids split a large), wife eats salad, I get an entree - we are in for almost $75. Ridiculous.

I recall when kids were little my goal was to eat Mexican food for less than $30 for the four of us, and it was possible - split fajitas for one (since restaurants just over do portion sizes), kids get skids meals, drink water. Now - no way...its $75-80 at least (no kids meals and higher prices).


Tony C's BOGO Tuesdays is one of the best deals out there for a pizzeria, any other night or another place like Pinthouse and you know you're in for a beating
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JSKolache
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10:48p, 9/21/23
AG
America has an obesity epidemic because of prepared food. Its killing us and we dont care. We are addicted, collectively. Food is #2 spend after housing, before #3 auto/fuel bill.
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Chipotlemonger
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11:22p, 9/21/23
AG
Lot of good input here OP. Stop eating out as much, drink more coffee that you make yourself, shop protein by what's on sale or special. I live in a high cost of living place too. I'll also offer another thing that can help, target budget friendly recipes or try out some vegetarian meals here and there. Cutting meat protein from just one dinner/week can save some money.

Budget Bytes is a food blog/site I've gotten some good recipes from for us.
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Kenneth_2003
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6:06a, 9/22/23
AG
It was alluded to earlier...
Do either of you work in office/ go to work? Take your lunch with you. Pre- covid when I went out for lunch I could eat for $10-12. Now it seems the days I don't bring a lunch I'm easily pushing $20.

That simply gets out of control quickly!
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MRB10
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In reply to JSKolache • 6:17a, 9/22/23
AG
Food is our #1 spend by a significant margin. Dual income w/2 young kids in DFW. Easily $2,500-3,000 per month and we largely WFH. Companies are starting to require 1-2 days in the office so let's say eating out 2-3 meals a week.

This is buying organic produce, grass fed/finished meat, etc. from Sprouts and everything else from kroger/target. Trying to eat healthy is not cheap.
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CS78
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8:00a, 9/22/23
Take up hunting or fishing as a hobby. You'll still spend money but your hobby will help cover some of your living expenses. 75% of the meat we consume is either caught or killed. And I don't spend any more than I would on other hobbies.

And you get to know where your food came from, it's organic, and you know how it was handled.
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62strat
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In reply to fourth deck • 8:39a, 9/22/23
AG
fourth deck said:
CapCity12thMan said:
DI with 2 teenage boys...

~$1300 monthly HEB tab, $800 monthly restaurants tab

4 of us at Taco Deli - 9 tacos total, chips and salsa, WATER for drinks is over $60. It's ridiculous. Even getting a pizza at like a Tony C's (kids split a large), wife eats salad, I get an entree - we are in for almost $75. Ridiculous.

I recall when kids were little my goal was to eat Mexican food for less than $30 for the four of us, and it was possible - split fajitas for one (since restaurants just over do portion sizes), kids get skids meals, drink water. Now - no way...its $75-80 at least (no kids meals and higher prices).


Tony C's BOGO Tuesdays is one of the best deals out there for a pizzeria, any other night or another place like Pinthouse and you know you're in for a beating
BJs has half off their pizzas every tuesday as well. Under $20 for a large, can feed our family of 4.

You can actually get the pizzas half off about anytime with code 'halfoff' for delivery or takeout.
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BenTheGoodAg
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8:52a, 9/22/23
AG
Single income, 5 kids.

$1200 a month on food. We don't eat out. At all.
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CapCity12thMan
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In reply to 62strat • 9:17a, 9/22/23
AG
we were gifted a big horn pizza oven, buy balls of dough for $2 from double daves and we crank out 4 12" pizzas with one jar of sauce, 1 block of cheeze, and other toppings makes for an inexpensive pizza night. Take some time and effort, but hanging on the deck watching football and cranking up the pizza oven is a decent night "out"side. pizza turns out great



2 teenage boys just eat. a lot. all the time.
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E
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9:31a, 9/22/23
AG
My wife and I are in the same boat. Recently did an analysis of our spending and we were in the $1,500-1,600/month range in food/groceries/restaurants. Shocked at how much it is!

We also have never really budgeted but have alwayw lived within our means when it comes to home, auto, living costs... outisde food of course. We are fortunate to be able to put away alot in savings every month so the high food costs doesnt sting too much.

Also if you are dual income, no kids, and only a small dog you are called DILDO's... Dual Income Little Dogs Only

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TXTransplant
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9:35a, 9/22/23
Another thought I had...since you're in Houston, maybe it's worth it to look into some cooking classes. People often don't want to cook at home because they don't really know how to do much more than boil water, brown some ground beef, and pour jarred spaghetti sauce over it. If you are used to eating out a lot you might feel like you can't replicate that kind of food at home (trust me, you can, and it will probably taste even better and be healthier than the restaurant version).

Central Market has some great cooking classes. There is also a lady in Houston who does lessons at her home. Her name is Marcia Smart/Smart in the Kitchen. She specializes in quick and easy weeknight meals. Her website has tons of good recipes, and she also recently published a cookbook that is fantastic. I've taken several of her classes (because I just enjoy that kind of stuff) and highly recommend.

I also really like the Skinnytaste website and series of cookbooks. Same idea - simple, quick, easy recipes using good ingredients.

As others have implied, depending on what types of foods you like best, it also might be worth it to invest in a nice cooking tool/appliance (grill, pizza oven, InstantPot, or even just a really nice set of cookware).

With that said, both grocery and restaurant prices have gone through the roof (stating the obvious, I know). I've never been a grocery shopper who looks for sales each week. I buy what I like, and tend to buy the same things over and over. What used to cost me about $100 a few years ago is now more like $180. When my son was at home, our grocery bill was as high as $1500 some months.

Also, if you are doing most of your shopping at a place like Whole Foods, you are paying a premium. I went to Central Market for the first time in a while last weekend and was shocked at some of the prices there, too.

If you have the time/inclination, you can split up your shopping to save money. Sometimes, I will do a Wal-Mart curbside for the "basics" that I can get anywhere - paper towels, toilet paper, yogurt, etc. Their prices usually are cheaper than HEB (and HEB adds an additional 3% to prices if you do curbside). I save the HEB run for the things that I can only get at HEB.

If you have access to a Trader Joes, they actually have very reasonable prices on some things, like cheese, eggs, coffee, spices, some produce (depending on what it is), and other staples.

If you have recurring food/pantry orders on Amazon, watch these closely as Amazon has been implementing dynamic pricing. There were certain items I started buying from Amazon because they were cheaper. After purchasing a few times, I started noticing significant price increases, sometimes as much as 50-100%. If I don't buy for a while, the price goes back down. It's a shady practice that ticks me off, but it hasn't kept me from going back to Amazon when they do have the best price.
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