How much do you spend on food each month?

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dartmed

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How much do you guys spend on food?

Ok, I have been keeping track of the amount of money I spend on food. I spent anywhere from 350 to 400 each month. Is this normal? I never cared as my parents were paying (just for living expenses in college), but now we are in a pretty tight financial situation and it's hard to live without spending that much on food. My stupid rent in Boston is like 700 a month, which is like the cheapest here. :(
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Dear god, how much are you eating? I spend around 150 a month on food (200 tops if I eat out or cook for friends or something). I essentially shop every two weeks and spend 75-100 dollars per trip.

However, I spend a little more to buy healthier food. I don't purchase organic food, but if I buy ground turkey, I get 99% fat free instead of 90% fat free. I never buy frozen food either (except vegetables). I also buy a lot of fresh fruit, which is expensive for how much food you actually get. I'd say if ate less healthy, I could get by on 100 dollars a month.

Make sure you take advantage of buy one get one free sales too. Really helps save.

Edit: I live in Tampa. Cost of living may be a little higher in Boston, but there is no reason you should be spending double what I do.
 
dartmed said:
How much do you guys spend on food?

Ok, I have been keeping track of the amount of money I spend on food. I spent anywhere from 350 to 400 each month. Is this normal? I never cared as my parents were paying (just for living expenses in college), but now we are in a pretty tight financial situation and it's hard to live without spending that much on food. My stupid rent in Boston is like 700 a month, which is like the cheapest here. :(
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$700 does sound very cheap for Boston (based on my very minimal amount of research earlier this month). How often to you go out to eat?
 
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I spent about $100 last month on groceries and about $50 on eating out. Though I also brought a lot of pasta and stuff from home.

Lots of free pizza lunches also helps to cut down food costs
 
My wife and I spend somewhere in the neighborhood of twice that for the two of us, but we're both big foodies. We like to cook gourmet type food and eat out a lot.

Also, do you live in a 100sqft box in the ghetto? I got an interview for residency in Boston so I looked at a few places online. Looks like a tiny study is well over a grand.....
 
bunch of premeds spending $150-200 on food / per month? what do u guys eat, hot dogs and pasta everyday? either you have the most boring diets in the world, or you woefully underestimate how much you spend.
 
kdavidlee25 said:
bunch of premeds spending $150-200 on food / per month? what do u guys eat, hot dogs and pasta everyday? either you have the most boring diets in the world, or you woefully underestimate how much you spend.
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I have an awesomely fun diet and I can easily keep my monthly food bill under $200. Cooking is fun and saves a ton of money.
 
kdavidlee25 said:
bunch of premeds spending $150-200 on food / per month? what do u guys eat, hot dogs and pasta everyday? either you have the most boring diets in the world, or you woefully underestimate how much you spend.
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:thumbup: If you're trying to cover everything in the food pyramid, you end up spending a lot more than $200/month.

Or you have really small portion sizes.
 
dartmed said:
How much do you guys spend on food?

Ok, I have been keeping track of the amount of money I spend on food. I spent anywhere from 350 to 400 each month. Is this normal? I never cared as my parents were paying (just for living expenses in college), but now we are in a pretty tight financial situation and it's hard to live without spending that much on food. My stupid rent in Boston is like 700 a month, which is like the cheapest here. :(
Click to expand...

I probably spend about $400 a month on food. $500, even. I guess I'm a fatass.

Oh, and I don't cook. Ever. :laugh:
 
dartmed said:
How much do you guys spend on food?

Ok, I have been keeping track of the amount of money I spend on food. I spent anywhere from 350 to 400 each month. Is this normal? I never cared as my parents were paying (just for living expenses in college), but now we are in a pretty tight financial situation and it's hard to live without spending that much on food. My stupid rent in Boston is like 700 a month, which is like the cheapest here. :(
Click to expand...

I spend probably a little more than 400 a month on food, but I frequently eat out for lunch, and I also powerlift, so that obviously requires a pretty large diet. I also live in Boston, and it is definitely an expensive city to live in/eat in (I pay 750/mth this year, but have paid <700 in all previous years).

A pointer: I started saving a ton of money on groceries by going to the Market Basket in Chelsea on Everett ave. If you have a car, you might save hundreds of dollars a month shopping here instead of the grocery stores in the city, and that isn't even an exaggeration.
 
200-300.

2 gallons of milk
7 bags of brocolli,
24 eggs
5ish lbs of chicken
8 bags of uncle bens rice
whey protein (I count it as food)
 
do you pack your lunch everyday? i easily spend $15 for lunch, coffee...
 
About $150-200 a month
I cook all my meals, rarely eat out
I also don't really spend money on snacks

There is no reason to eat campus food. It's expensive for tiny portions, unhealthy, not fresh, not all that great tasting...
Only reason I can think of to not cook your own meals is that it takes time, but it only takes about 20 or 30 minutes a day to cook all 3 meals at once. That and having to do dishes
 
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Lafakads said:
200-300.

2 gallons of milk
7 bags of brocolli,
24 eggs
5ish lbs of chicken
8 bags of uncle bens rice
whey protein (I count it as food)
Click to expand...

Same here, minus the whey protein, and add raw green beans and a few bags of fresh spinach. I went on a diet, and I thought this stuff wouldn't fill me up, but it totally does.
 
jesse120 said:
I spent about $100 last month on groceries and about $50 on eating out. Though I also brought a lot of pasta and stuff from home.

Lots of free pizza lunches also helps to cut down food costs
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I'm pretty sure my wife and I spend more money on cheese and beer/wine than you do on food......
 
kdavidlee25 said:
do you pack your lunch everyday? i easily spend $15 for lunch, coffee...
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Most days. Learn to make your own coffee and try packing lunch once a week in the beginning. You'll see how fast (and how much) your food costs go down. I mean, if that's something you're interested in.
 
Oh yea. Costco + Freezer = your best friend when it comes to saving money.
 
Hahaha...glad I brought this topic up.

There is too many replies, so I am gonna do a generic one.

I do live in the ghetto in Boston. :) It's ok as I am here for only 4 months on a fellowship. Thanks for the tip. I will look it...unfortunately I don't have a car.

I do eat out a lot, but do you guys seriously have time for cooking a good meal? I work 30 hours a week and I am in school full-time. The traveling to work, research, school, takes a lot of my time.

I don't know how you guys manage with 200. It's so difficult. i can't stand eating pasta and eggs each day. Just can't.
 
lafakads said:
200-300.

2 gallons of milk
7 bags of brocolli,
24 eggs
5ish lbs of chicken
8 bags of uncle bens rice
whey protein (i count it as food)
Click to expand...

how do you live on this for a month?????!!!
 
dartmed said:
I don't know how you guys manage with 200. It's so difficult. i can't stand eating pasta and eggs each day. Just can't.
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Have you ever tried getting food at a Farmer's market?

The food is cheap, delicious, and of course, good for you.
 
FSU2013 said:
My wife and I spend somewhere in the neighborhood of twice that for the two of us, but we're both big foodies. We like to cook gourmet type food and eat out a lot.

Also, do you live in a 100sqft box in the ghetto? I got an interview for residency in Boston so I looked at a few places online. Looks like a tiny study is well over a grand.....
Click to expand...

Makes me feel better...and yes...but it's actually not too bad. Living with some BU med students.
 
I buy enough food for two, since I cook for myself and my girlfriend every day. I spend about $300-400 a month on food and maybe another $75-$100 for eating out.

Sucks.
 
i live in chicago where my rent for a small studio is 1k. I spend about 300-400 a month and I normally eat out on the weekends. I try to budget it so i spend about $10/day on food, but even so its still pretty hard!
 
kplreveal said:
i live in chicago where my rent for a small studio is 1k. I spend about 300-400 a month and I normally eat out on the weekends. I try to budget it so i spend about $10/day on food, but even so its still pretty hard!
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It's hard to eat healthy in the city without going broke.
 
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dartmed said:
How much do you guys spend on food?

Ok, I have been keeping track of the amount of money I spend on food. I spent anywhere from 350 to 400 each month. Is this normal? I never cared as my parents were paying (just for living expenses in college), but now we are in a pretty tight financial situation and it's hard to live without spending that much on food. My stupid rent in Boston is like 700 a month, which is like the cheapest here. :(
Click to expand...

...:eek:
 
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Spaghetti or some type of pasta is quick and easy and doesn't take much concentration aka you can relax for a little while it is cooking. Best bet for a cheaper meal.
 
Depends how you eat. Eating garbage is relatively cheap when you compare it to eating healthy food. Your total sounds about right.
 
dcol27 said:
1K a month? You must be a lot closer to downtown than me - I pay $500 (although I do have a roommate). I would agree with the 300-400 for food, though. It's so hard to eat healthy in the city without going broke.
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Comfort-food (i.e. ice-cream) for those times spent crying while watching the Cubs lose on TV can be quite pricy. :smuggrin: (Sox fan here)
 
I spend ~$200/month on food but that's because I live with my parents. So that's all eating out (on campus or w/ friends).
 
when i was in undergrad, i had a strict 50 dollar a week limit on my meal plan. probably spent another 50 a week in grocery stores. i was a runner though so i had a massive appetite
 
How the hell is everyone approaching 400 dollars a month? I can understand if you eat out every lunch and on the weekends, but if you're cooking most of your meals and packing most of your lunches, it is easy to eat healthy and (fairly) a lot for 200 bucks or less a month (not including alcohol too). And I eat a lot more than just pasta. It's also super easy to make <30 minute dinners from scratch.

We should all keep food logs for a month and pool our data so we can see what's going on here. Or at least share recipes.
 
I am 6 feet and 190 pounds. I ate out almost everyday..healthy but I had a crazy schedule all three years. Really looking to get healthy my senior year...granted I am working 30 hours a week with a full course load. Recipes would be great!!
 
I pretty much never eat out, and I don't eat that much, so my food costs are waaaay lower than what you're paying. Even if you don't cook much, you could save a ton just by buying frozen, pre-made meals that you can either heat in the oven or the microwave. And sorry, no recipes here. My boyfriend is the chef in this household. :thumbup: There are many good food blogs with easy, healthy recipes around though.
 
I spend about $120-150/month. It really isn't that hard. I buy a lot of my food in bulk, so the only items I buy every week are fresh foods (i.e. fruits, milk, bread, etc.) and any items in my "bank" that I'm running low on.

I'm actually surprised some of y'all are spending $400/month on food. If you manage to cut that in half, your annual savings could contribute to half of the annual limit for a Roth IRA. Think about these things when you want to eat out all the time.
 
Yeah I spend 400-500 /month- but I usually eat out with every meal :/ I'm trying to cut back and make every meal, been making omlettes for breakfast, sanwiches+ fruits packed for lunch, and hotdog for dinner (unhealthy :/)

Lets get some easy recipe recommendations!
 
About $175 per month. I buy fruits, and that's about it in terms of every 1-2 weeks. Rest of the stuff is in bulk, and often I bring things over from home (which is also stuff in bulk, because home is 1600 miles away).
 
I'm feeding 10 and I spend about $1600 a month on groceries. Figure most of the kids eat school lunch and I come out to ~$2000/month or $200 a person.
 
Last summer I had an apartment and did my own shopping on a budget. Usually tried to spend around $25 a week on food, but felt as though I wasn't eating very healthy as a result. Closer to $150 a month let me buy veggies and fruit more often.
 
I eat 4000-5000 calories a day 3-4 days a week, and I buy organic vegetables, ocean caught fish, sprouted grain breads, and subway. $600 a month easy.
 
I spend about 40-80 dollars per week on groceries (but this includes non-food items such as detergent) plus another 20 dollars a week on coffee and the occasional meal at work. So I guess all told I spend about 250-400 as well in NYC.
 
kdavidlee25 said:
bunch of premeds spending $150-200 on food / per month? what do u guys eat, hot dogs and pasta everyday? either you have the most boring diets in the world, or you woefully underestimate how much you spend.
Click to expand...

It's not that hard! Just go out to eat only once a month, cook the rest of the time, and ideally have someone else in your situation so you can cook for each other and have a greater variety of things to eat. No reason to spend more than $150 a month.
 
MedPR said:
Oh yea. Costco + Freezer = your best friend when it comes to saving money.
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Seconded. Also, stop buying prepared food, seriously. You'll eat cheaper, healthier (oh look, everything doesn't have a freaking gram of sodium!), and in more variety. I'm probably spending ~$150/month for food, cooking once a week, and haven't cooked the same dish for dinner in six months. Protip: oatmeal for breakfast. It's super cheap and lasts a heck of a lot longer in your stomach than cereal.
 
Very little and you can eat healthy on very little.
1) rarely eat meat. But giant carton of eggs and with some milk provide plenty of protein, vutamin D, and calcium, protein at a fraction of the cost.
2) don't eat out
3) buy what is on sale and learn to but a lot of it and freeze it.

Just 1 and 2 should cut you bill in half.
 
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