What do you spend per month on groceries in DC?

Submitted by questionsbecause t3_11dwez7 in washingtondc

I’ve seen these posts but want to check in post-2022 inflation.

As a couple, we’re spending around $850/mo. It was $800/mo last year.

We shop probably 70% Giant / 30% Trader Joe’s, but trying to reverse that ratio.

We do buy meat/fish and fresh produce frequently (edit: I think the high quality meat/fish is driving up the budget - going to try to switch to frozen). No meal prepping, although we plan to start. Cooking most meals at home (eat out 3-4x/mo from a separate budget).

What do you spend per month and where do you shop? Please specify if you’re single, couple or family.

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UmbralRaptor t1_jab7uls wrote

checks notes

In 2022 my expenses included:

  • $110 on Metro/transit
  • $1509.41 on my car/driving (interestingly, insurance costs > maintenance costs > parking costs > gasoline. Though since I'm pretty sure this is amalgamating car insurance with apartment insurance...)
  • $0 on rideshare (not my thing)
  • $4154.45 on groceries (edit: this might have been 100% at Safeway)
  • $0 on alcohol (I don't drink)
  • $526.16 on eating out (albeit $131.04 of that was on a business trip)
  • $17436 on rent (1bd apt)

Note that I live alone

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JHG0 t1_jab81b7 wrote

Couple. ~$350/mo on groceries from Trader Joe’s. $100-200/mo at Target for home supplies and such. $0-$100/mo at Whole Foods/Giant as needed. No meat purchased.

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puttinonthefoil t1_jab8avp wrote

You need to start paying attention to the weekly grocery ad and planning your meals for the week based on what’s on sale. When a favorite protein is on sale, buy extra and put some in the freezer.

I think my average for 2 is less than half yours. Primarily Aldi, with Safeway/TJs for the occasional other item.

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dreamerforlaw t1_jab8m6p wrote

Thank you for asking this! I’m moving to dc soon and have been wondering how much to budget

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ThinHumor t1_jab8qbk wrote

I spend like $400 a month on groceries. It’s just me. But I am very specific with my shopping & go to streets/yes organic.

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ladyorthetiger0 t1_jab96tm wrote

About $200/month. I skip breakfast, eat small lunches, and meal plan dinner. I also try to do the bulk of my shopping at Costco and hit the Safeway or Whole Foods just for produce.

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nim_run16 t1_jab9muq wrote

~$130 a month, I do one tjs run a week about $25 each time and go to Costco once a month for meats and bulk. I would say I eat pretty frugally - no red meat, snacks, or expensive ingredients so that’s how I keep it down.

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DC-DE t1_jab9nlu wrote

I'm gonna guess around $600/month. That might be a little high. Excludes eating out. A mix of 70% Safeway, 30% Trader Joe's. We eat very little animal meat and consume very little alcohol. We do breakfast at home and cook dinner 5 nights per week on average. We eat out for lunch probably 6 days a week on average.

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Sammmyy97 t1_jab9u54 wrote

Replying to UmbralRaptor (#2,090,874)

It’s not even the $0 on alcohol (honestly good on you for that), but how does anyone maintain a decent social life without spending way higher on rideshare and eating out than you do?

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New_Humor3433 t1_jaba0ac wrote

Family of 5. I spend about $600-800 month at Costco to stick up for the month and supplement at Safeway or Lidl in between. So maybe around $$1500 a month. My kids are teens so they eat a lot. Stocking up at Costco helps and Lidl has great prices. This includes meat and some of the alcohol we consume.

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Malnurtured_Snay t1_jabaplm wrote

Replying to Sammmyy97 (#2,091,022)

Well, s/he doesn't drink, and owns a car, so might drive to where they need to be. Might prefer taking Metro (bus or rail) or walking. Might live in a fun part of the city so doesn't need to go far.

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Katwolf88 t1_jabbc5k wrote

Do you have prime? I find a lot of the produce is cheaper at Whole Foods than TJs when you get the prime deals and the quality of giant produce is always so disappointing.

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scotch_please t1_jabblkl wrote

Replying to questionsbecause (#2,091,346)

But are you guys buying a ton of pre-made frozen meals? Because those end up being around 2-5x the price of a serving of food made from scratch, and you get more food for the same money. If you do buy a lot, Trader Joe's freezer section is usually cheaper than the premium meals at other grocery stores.

If neither of you are realistically going to meal prep, look into buying a pressure or slow cooker. There are countless recipes that are just throwing stuff into those things and setting a timer.

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scotch_please t1_jabcnps wrote

Replying to questionsbecause (#2,091,558)

I recommend Budget Bytes for recipe planning, especially for pasta, sheet pan, and one pot meals that yield leftovers. A lot of the recipes are a little simple/bland but are easy to dress up with extra herbs/spices/sauce.

You can also look at what you're buying pre-made frozen or from restaurants and try making that at home.

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lilynnin t1_jabd0ri wrote

About $300 a month (I live alone), except for the months when I make a trip out to Hmart (maybe 3-4 times a year) and can spend $100 on a single trip stocking up on various things.

ETA: mostly shop at Trader Joe's with some Whole Foods and Wegmans for things I can't find at TJ's.

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orange_wrld_traveler t1_jabd21z wrote

We spend about $400-500 and been mixing it up between Aldi, Safeway and giant. We probably go out to 3-4 times a month too.

It’s always good to pay attention to what’s on sale and try to pick up what you need and store meats in the freezer when they go on sale and just thaw it when you want to eat it.

Inflation is out of control these days.

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shibby3388 t1_jabdlsb wrote

A couple in our mid-late ‘30s living in Adams Morgan shopping at the Soviet Safeway, Harris Teeter, 7-11, and the local bodega and we spend around $550 a month. We make a lot of meals that can be frozen and eaten later.

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No1Statistician t1_jabdnq2 wrote

Probably $400 a month at just Aldi. I dine out maybe once a week on average that not a bar or coffee. I also eat like 2500 to 3000 calories a day.

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walkallover1991 t1_jabf14k wrote

Single guy without a car and a small-ish kitchen.

I go to Safeway 2-3x a week and (usually) TJs once a week for specific items. I usually spend on average anywhere from $90 to $110 per week, so around $400/month give or take.

I usually just buy the same fresh things over and over again...think eggs, juice, fruits, veggies, chicken, fish, cheese, and yogurt. I have a pretty well-stocked pantry of dry goods, frozen foods, and a shit ton of condiments that I top off as needed, maybe once every 4 months.

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akacesfan t1_jabffcg wrote

I’m spending around $180/month for one person, most by just going to Aldi.

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Kief- t1_jabfkfc wrote

According to my app (Mint, Feb 2023):

$472 on groceries

$697 on restaurants

for 1 person. So $850/month for groceries for 2 people seems about right.

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orange_wrld_traveler t1_jabfmii wrote

Replying to questionsbecause (#2,091,989)

Thawing the food taste okay still as long as you don’t re-freeze and thaw it again.

What we do is separate the meat into smaller ziplock bags before freezing so it’s easier to take out and cook without thawing all of it. It may take a little bit of practice to figure how much meat you eat in one meal but it helps over the long run.

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shogzilla t1_jabfwlp wrote

Are you scrambling Faberge eggs?

About 350 / month, couple, split between Safeway / Aldi's / HT. We cook, though, so we're buying ingredients.

Worth noting: I tend to stock up when decent sales happen, and I go for generics / store brands whenever they're cheaper. I'm not picky =)

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statueofdeath t1_jabhkkn wrote

That's absolutely absurd. Watch some youtube, ETHAN CHLEBOWSKI is the man and helped me learn to cook on a budget and eat good!

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perfruit_mix t1_jabi3lm wrote

do the Asian thing where the main portion is carbs and the side is meat. look at Japanese dishes. then compare budgets months to month.

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mjsarlington t1_jabjr6a wrote

$1300+/month for 3 people. We have some dietary restrictions that drives the budget up a bit. We shop at MOM’s pretty exclusively.

Although I think it’s possible for singles in their 20s to eat cheap, I’d encourage everyone who believes they spend <$200/month to look at their card statements because it’s always higher than you think

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AdditionalAttorney t1_jabl8di wrote

Harris teeter predominately. ~850-900

This includes alcohol though like beer, wine. We also meal prep.

Eating out is separate from this

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Agirlisarya01 t1_jabng98 wrote

I spend about $400/month. Meat, produce, snacks, some juices and drinks. I meal prep some, but tbh I’m mostly using meal prep kits lately. I do about 90% of my shopping at Costco and BJ’s, supplementing a bit at Safeway. I could probably pare the cost down some by getting it delivered less. But the convenience is usually too good to turn down. And I honestly feel like the savings wouldn’t justify the inconvenience of doing all of the schlepping around myself.

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misschickpea t1_jabrtw6 wrote

As a couple in Northern Virginia our grocery budget cut down a lot when I started having more time to cook and it's around $400 to $500, eating out once a week. Our groceries used to be $600 to $800. We used to shop at trader joes, hmart, and target. Now we go to mainly lidls, hmart, and buy like 1 or 2 brand name snacks at target.

A big contribution is that I've been experimenting with vegan or vegetarian recipes for the health aspect - not bc im practicing. So a lot of the times it's more vegetables and the proteins are things like chickpeas, lentils, potatoes, etc. which is cheaper than meat. We still eat meat but I was just trying out new recipes.

We freeze a lot so we freeze and thaw our meat throughout the week.

I've also been trying new recipes so that we never waste any ingredients in the fridge. We significantly cut our food waste once I started learning new recipes around certain ingredients

Bc I am aiming to reduce food waste, it takes a lot of meal planning. I plan for the whole week right before grocery shopping and look for recipes to use leftover ingredients or extra meals to make using pantry or freezer ingredients in case the portions go by quicker than expected

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sadlyincognito t1_jabrxnh wrote

costco for meats does a number on savings…. i spend about $120/week and about $300 on salmon, chicken, shrimp, scallops, and beef every 2-3 months the $120 is eggs yogurt milk juice vegetables kombucha fruit etc. salmon and chicken at costco is such a deal saver. i’d never buy else where unless i didn’t thaw that week. a piece of salmon cost $9 at giant, $7-8 at walmart or for $30 at costco get 5x as much. i’m originally from moco living in dc and my friends in grad school from all over the country rave about hmart…it’s not all that price wise…. nothing beats costco for meat at least lol

i live in ft totten by the walmart so that’s pretty decent for getting cheap produce. i’m not too far from the aldi in maryland but that’s probably kinda far from you. i’m glad to see you don’t shop at safe way bc that’s a rip off. if you can go to Aldi you will save big time! it’s just the commute that might get you…just like costco

i am a single grad student.

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jundog18 t1_jabymt9 wrote

We were spending about $800 a month with weekly Whole Foods deliveries. Couple, No meat, some vegan products, 1 meal a week out. Been trying like crazy to cut that down- food prepping, trying different stores. Finally managed to significantly cut that cost this month then completely undid all the hard work by inviting friends over one night, bought a bunch of nice cheese, apps, and a couple bottles of ~$20 wine. Sigh.

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WontStopAtSigns t1_jabzhfi wrote

I don't make frugal choices, however, the average $250 trip is now like $450 so that's a little nuts for the 3 of us for like <10 days.

The best way to save some cash when you like to buy premium/fresh stuff is Costco. The stuff I get at Costco (not everything) is at least HALF the price of Giant, if not better. Just the cheese, meats, and snacks for my kid make it well worth the membership and hassle. I get 4% of my purchases back, can count on one free trip per year basically, and cover the membership.

Bonus points if you want to buy a couch or something. Costco also offers instacart, if you're sick or lazy.

Next is Whole Foods/Amazon fresh. Obviously WF is the worst value anywhere, with huge markups for no obvious benefit. I mean they don't even sell regular stuff. BUTTTTT... I get 5% off with the Prime card at all times. I also get 5% or sometimes 10% at the amazon fresh, and all online orders. Combined with coupons, etc. I get fresh stuff I can't get from Costco for very nice prices. Bonus points I can get in and out of there in under 5 minutes on a bad day.

ALL my Amazon orders are also 5% off which really adds. I know they are the bad guys and all that, but Safeway wants $10 for bread and Prime is literally dropping this shit off at my door, without moving my kid around.

This combo is 1) always getting me a discount automatically, 2) quality stuff, 3) usually got a competitive or great unit price, and 4) it is very little work/research to maintain.

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wordsmith217 t1_jac266m wrote

EveryPlate delivers six meals a week for two people to your door for ~$80 a week. They provide all the ingredients so all you need is staple items. This has made our grocery store trips much less expensive.

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Vortex2121 t1_jac26pm wrote

I found bulk buying meat at Costco saves me so much money. It lasts me 3 ish months. Mainly chicken and ground turkey. Just make sure you have enough freezer space lol.

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BlueCollarGuru t1_jac5yy0 wrote

Two people. Avg wk is about 85 bucks at aldi. So about 350/month. Sometimes as high as 500 a month when we have movie intensive weekends. Gotta stock up on snacks LOL

Aldi is awesome. Buy ingredients, not packaged foods. Meal plan for the week and like the top comment said, use that sale flyer to find good deals and work off of that.

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Lfc-96 t1_jac7erj wrote

450$ a month / couple / shop mostly at Aldi

I make mostly curry’s and tofu dishes but one thing I’ve done that really saves money is make whatever I eat at home. Every week I make a large batch of granola, pastas/wonton wrappers, and a couple loads of bread that will last and try to plan my meals around this. I don’t have the most sophisticated pallet but if you plan your meals out and learn some DIY tricks to save money, you can bring down your grocery bill.

*Side note - I probably would not do all the cooking at home if I didn’t have a stand mixer and WFH

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AOBCD-8663 t1_jac7mq2 wrote

About $180-200 per week for two people and we order dinner once or twice a week. Big meal cooked on Sunday to last to Tuesday and a mid week meal cooked on Wednesday.

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zooegirlll t1_jac7v4y wrote

According to my apple card, for me and my partner (we’re vegan + shop at Whole Foods), we spend $455 a month on groceries and ~$250 on takeout/eating out. Definitely more than I would want to spend.

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sg8910 t1_jac7w03 wrote

Giant is so so overpriced, i love safeways online coupon system, just for U tracks exactly what you buy and clip coupons on the app, i save like 4 or 5 bucks each visit. i shop every 3 days for what i need , i dont like buyig too much at once, because i overbuy and tend to stock stuff i dont eat

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4look4rd t1_jac8649 wrote

I get a veggie delivery per week $25-35, and spend about $100 on Costco every two weeks. Adding another $50 for adhoc trips per week.

So about $400/month for two people. I cook everything from scratch, but buy more premium ingredients, I eat meat but not every day.

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129za t1_jacamvm wrote

$1000 a month. Plan weekly meals and nearly always cook. Shop mostly at Harris teeter.

2 adults, two young children.

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thrownjunk t1_jaccebb wrote

Whoa. Family of 3. $100 per week. 80% TJ, 20% mix of wegmans/Safeway/giant/whole foods (we live near all 5). Another $100 for the target trip (home supplies) and $100 Asian store. Not super big meat eaters (sometimes frozen fish, whole chickens, ground meats/deli). But we never budget, the low meat content and high veggie/fruit content keeps costs naturally in control.

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Strawbrawry t1_jaccgy9 wrote

What the fuck are you buying/eating? Like a steak every night? Dawg, I spend like $30-50 a week MAX for me and my partner and we get take out/pick up 1-3 times in that week and still come out with less. I'm not a small dude either at 220. I do Costco maybe quarterly for meat, that keeps costs down well. Besides that, I split my food between our giant and Harris teeter, occasionally go to whole paycheck to get an ingredient or two.

You said you don't do meal prep...how are you making a list for the store then? Do you just go and buy foods assuming it will come together? Do you buy a lot of precooked or packaged meals? What's your waste look like? I go in with at least two dinner recipes and an all week lunch in mind then buy extras after.

This week I made a huge ratatouille, pesto pasta, chicken in brown butter sauce, Mediterranean style loaded potatoes for lunch, breakfasts are normally up to the person but I have two eggs and toast damn near every morning. Spent $37 at giant, had the chicken from Costco. I used to make meal plans for folks on food stamps, $50 a week is very doable on nice meals if you take 10 minutes and plan it out. You don't even have to eat rice and beans lol. Budget bytes. com and other similar sites also are a huge help too.

Costco might be a good route for y'all. They deliver in the city via USPS or instakart and membership pays for itself in no time at all, especially if you're buying meat in bulk. Also DC Costco will be the cheapest booze in the city IME

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Good47Life t1_jaccr5m wrote

My daughter and I were spending about as much as you Giant/TJs/Costco, and occasionally WFs. We decided to cut way back, so we make meals for the week on Sunday using dried beans like lentils, red beans and fresh veggies. We have meatless dinners with baked sweet potato for me and regular baked potato for her, plus fixins. This past Sunday we made a large pot of lentil soup which will last 5-6 days, and we can freeze it. We vary it each night by having rice with it or avocado, greens etc so it doesn’t get boring. Neither one of us eat three meals a day, so we keep fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts, etc for mid day. If I happen to have a big lunch with friends or coworkers, I will just have a very light “dinner”. Lots of apples and peanut butter. My only splurge is wine, lol. I need that in my life.

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doug260 t1_jacd6we wrote

That's about what we spend as a couple too. Mostly Wegman's

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Strong-Roll-1223 t1_jacej9a wrote

$400 at Whole Foods as a couple with a toddler. But we eat out a lot and get pre prepared meals delivered from territory. So it’s basically just for snacks, food for baby, and maybe 1-2 lunches and 1-2 dinners a week.

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rvajellyfish t1_jacer4w wrote

As a couple I would say we average $600/month generally at Whole Foods, cooking 5-6 nights per week and having the prior night's leftovers for lunch the next day. We don't buy many extra things like snacks, and neither of us are big breakfast people.

I will sound snobby when I say this but I don't look at prices if I need something, and with how much we spend, it hasn't really changed all that much in the past few years so I struggle with how much I hear people talk about how much more expensive everything is. And yes, we eat meat, but try to have a couple vegetarian meals each week.

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eggy1778 t1_jacfcw2 wrote

I aim to spend 50-75/week as a single person. I have a Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods and Giant in walking distance, so I tend to go grocery shopping a 2-4 times a week which is nice for getting the right produce and making meals that I’m excited about. I shop sales as much as possible, and don’t make grocery lists, just vibe w what’s fresh and on sale

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Pocky3011 t1_jacfcys wrote

About $230/month for myself. It took me a little while to get in to the groove of shopping and cooking for one and not overbuying. I love to cook and make most of my meals at home. I usually eat out 2x week with friends

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app_priori t1_jacfsiq wrote

About $150 on average for one person.

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EPethy t1_jacg5hp wrote

I'm impressed by some of your spending discipline. $35/month is my budget for coffee beans haha

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OllieOllieOxenfry t1_jach4u6 wrote

I spent $900 for two of us this month. We get 4 dinners from hello fresh a week which bumps up the price, then we get a mix from TJs/Safeway/Harris Teeter.

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Pogomogo_ t1_jachtaw wrote

We budget $610 for two adults and an infant. Last year our monthly avg was $478. But we like to budget conservatively just incase. We don't eat out or order in very much and prefer cooking at home. We absolutely plan weekly meals and do our shopping on Sunday for produce and staples, but typically do a COSTCO run once a month for our backstock items like pasta, flour, paper products/toiletries, and other things that last. We pay attention to meat sales and will buy up to like 6 or 8 lbs at a time for good sales, then portion it out and freeze in 1lb amounts.

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yohablokrio t1_jacia5k wrote

Replying to questionsbecause (#2,099,108)

Definitely depends on what you're buying. Some staples are really expensive at TJ's, and some WF 365 items are surprisingly cheap. I don't think what you spend now is crazy high or anything but if you want to lower it you definitely need to do more comparison shopping.

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schroberg_pk t1_jacjist wrote

This is quite low actually. This number corresponds to ~15$ per day per person. How do you manage eating three meals for $15?

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llcoolgay9 t1_jack6o8 wrote

We’re spending about $200 every 10 days which I guess averages out to about $600/mo for two people. Probably 65% Trader Joe’s, 25% Whole Foods, 10% other (Giant, Safeway, etc)

2.5 meals a day (both working from home, sometimes lunch is just a snack) cooking at home generally 5 days but some weeks the full week.

Having just moved here from the Bay Area I’m decidedly disappointed in the non- high end restaurant scene here.

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FlatCryptographer757 t1_jackgmt wrote

As a couple that mainly shops at Giant about once a week or every other week and adjusts meals based on coupons/sales: $250 per person. I’ve noticed that the points you collect from Giant can be applied for free food including eggs, which has been nice in avoiding feeling that inflation. I’ll do a Trader Joe’s run here and there during the week as I work by one. Usually buying small things for the week’s dinners I’m missing/cheap wine. We usually don’t eat breakfast so we’re really having 2 meals a day. I also never buy lunch out when at the office.

Eating out varies but we eat out about once a week so maybe $150-200 a month per person.

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Total_Technology_726 t1_jacknvj wrote

Me and my wife try to buy things in bulk and look out for sales, Safeway/target/Harris teeter/giant, we go through most of those and a friend with a car will often take us to Sams/Walmart when they go. We spend anywhere from 300-450 per month.

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Pogomogo_ t1_jacl41h wrote

Replying to questionsbecause (#2,102,441)

We have a scale and weigh things like ground beef. Chicken breast I try to buy the packages that are close in qty and lbs, so I can make it easy, one breast per meal is close to a lbs. We have deli containers and use plastic wrap sometimes so it doesn't take up too much space, but just our normal fridge freezer. We recently moves to a house out of our condo, so we have a basement finally where we store our shelf stable items. I bake all our bread, so we buy flour in bulk 25lbs bags that sit in containers, making loaves as we need.

Edit: Wife will make large batches of freezer meals for quick meal night,s like 4 lbs of bolognese and separate into 1lbs portions that can be a quick 1lbs pasta night. Or make soup dishes that can be poured over rice/quinoa to make it go farther.

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drupe14 t1_jaclbdp wrote

OP, Giant is very much over priced. I highly recommend finding a Wegmans instead.

Whole Foods has good produce but also can be pricey - we mostly shop at Wegman's now and have stopped going to Safeway, Harris Teeter, TJs, etc.

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ThatsALovelyShirt t1_jacmf1z wrote

~$500 for 2 people, purely in groceries. Mostly from local co-op with more expensive organic/sustainable foods and the like. Less in the summer when our garden is producing.

We go out to eat sometimes, which obviously is more expensive. Usually $50-70 per outing.

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ThatManAaron7 t1_jacmla7 wrote

Single dude. Probably about 350 but I’m serious into fitness and eat a high protein and high fiber diet

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UFOInTomahawkCounty t1_jacn2fk wrote

We (two people) spend maybe $600/month maybe $700 at most and eat pretty large meals. When we eat meat, it’s usually chicken or fish and we buy it at costco and keep it frozen until we need it. Most of the groceries we buy at the store are fresh produce or dairy/eggs/oat milk. We very rarely buy steaks, frozen foods, and prepared foods from the grocery store (except rotisserie chicken).

We usually plan out 2 meals a week that will last 2-3 nights each and then eat out or order in 1 night. Planning out meals and eating the same things for a few nights probably helps keep costs low.

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kirkl3s t1_jacn9k0 wrote

Couple + 2 young kids. We spend around $800/mo on groceries split evenly between WF and Lidl.

We do meal plan and we eat out as a family once per week on avg plus the odd lunch out here and there for myself of my wife.

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malcontented1971 t1_jacokiv wrote

I'm one person and I probably average like $30-$35 a week and I shop at whole foods. I only need to feed myself for dinner only. I'm fortunate enough to work in the restaurant industry that I get fed during the day.

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ertri t1_jacougd wrote

High quality fresh fish is worth it tho. We probably spend 15-20% of our grocery budget on 1ish good fish meal a week (largely vegetarian at home, some fish).

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Seppafer t1_jacp6ee wrote

Replying to questionsbecause (#2,099,134)

Their fresh produce (meat, veggies ect) is the one area of their groceries that I believe hasn’t suffered too much with the Amazon takeover. Almost everything else they stock their shelves has been lackluster and in slow but steady decline in quality. I’m gonna be sad if they scrap my lemonade purchase

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Big_Al56 t1_jacpcid wrote

~$400/mo for one, but I'm a god damn trash panda. I very rarely eat out, and when I go out I usually eat at home first and then just get drinks. I can't justify restaurant prices anymore.

One trick - I've saved money eating out by pre-calculating prices. Like "oh, I can spare $12 for a chicken sandwich! But let's see... fries aren't included, so that an extra $5, then there's 10% tax, 20% service fee, service fees (unlike regular tips) are taxed, so $22.44... never mind"

I do have an uncompromising addiction to fat-free Reddi Whip whipped cream, which is about $50-60/mo of the grocery bill. I could get it for about $5/lb in 2021, and is now ~$11/lb.

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PurpleParrot21 t1_jacrs10 wrote

Not sure how much we spend monthly, but try Walmart or Adli/Lidl for lower prices. We usually get out of either of those at around $100 for a week (family of 3)

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DC-COVID-TRASH t1_jacsfpu wrote

About $200 a month, but I eat vegan + eggs at home so it's pretty cheap.

Probably 30% Giant, 30% WF, 30% TJs, 10% Safeway

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Strawbrawry t1_jacsqcl wrote

Replying to mjsarlington (#2,104,955)

You might have skipped over that I also eat out decently often. Take out probably totals another $160-200 per month but a cost I can cut easily, a luxury. My Costco costs are maybe another $200 quarterly but still very possible without.

I was making 35k helping out people making under 17k do this up until a few years ago. This is not impossible to do. In fact, I do this without any coupons or deal searching. I use the member cards at Giant and HT, maybe a split decision at the store for the sale cuts or something but I could make this maybe $30 a week if I really got into it.

Just buy in season, in bulk if possible, know what things cost, have meals planned and eat with a purpose. I don't buy chips and soda and premade stuffs. I get treats for my partner all the time but I'm not one to snack. I try to eat healthy, I'm actually trying to lose weight believe it or not. It's just about the set up.

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etrain828 t1_jacsv10 wrote

Replying to questionsbecause (#2,090,607)

OP idk how everyone else is so low but we also spend about 800/mo on food for two people. Shopping primarily at Safeway, WF only for specific items. Between breakfast lunch and dinner 7 days a week we are struggling to keep costs down. Maybe we need to hike to Aldi too!

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thehappyherbivore t1_jacuims wrote

I spend about $200-$220 per week at Whole Foods for two adults and a toddler. I shop exclusively at Whole Foods because I get 5% back with Prime + Prime CC. We also order take out 1-2x a week, but I’m not counting that as part of groceries. Our weekly spend has definitely increased over the last year, but it’s hard to know how much of that is inflation vs. my son’s berry obsession.

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WontStopAtSigns t1_jacwdya wrote

Replying to yohablokrio (#2,102,568)

Agree, also like I said, the Amazon Fresh store is part of the value, I can literally walk in, throw $50 in groceries in my stroller, and walk out in 2 or 3 minutes. Pretty much all the fresh stuff I can't buy at Costco. It's a jam.

This week I'm getting 10% off everything in the store as well. Tj can't beat that, nope.

Even the eggs are well priced.

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lanabear92294 t1_jacwlg6 wrote

For two we spend about $80/wk between Trader Joe’s and giant, and ~$150/mo at Costco for various essentials and stocking up on proteins (we buy in bulk and freeze). We eat a lot of meat/seafood but have started incorporating a few veggie meals a week to cut down on costs. We cook during the week and eat out on weekends, primarily. This doesn’t include pet food/essentials.

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naghallac t1_jacz6nm wrote

2 people, no more than 300 a month. We shop things on sale and eat pretty austerely...but damn 800. Im just so confused LOL

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AssumptionSlow76 t1_jad1ips wrote

320 max for just me - I shop at Harris teeter and farmers markets when they are in season.

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pizzajona t1_jad5h2g wrote

For my DINK household, about $600 a month total. Almost exclusively at Harris Teeter.

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badatheadlines t1_jad7f0a wrote

How do you all think Aldi's compares to Trader Joe's? I've found TJ's significantly cheaper than standard grocery stores like Giant for about 80-90% of my groceries. They don't have the best produce though.

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Midnight_Morning t1_jad8dvj wrote

Hitting up Costco, BK Miller and Restaurant Depot keeps my costs down. Also having a big chest freezer helps too.

40lb box of leg quarters for $20 has my house set for a good while.

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sammymatt14 t1_jad9fpq wrote

We do spend a lot less as a couple, maybe $250-$300 a month.

The secret is to eat incredibly poorly, we've become economic vegetarians because meat & fish is too expensive for our income, we never eat name brands and what's on sale plays a huge part on what ends up in the cart.

The tips and tricks other people have suggested will help you shave money off your spend but if you get it down 20% then you've done great. Groceries are one of the last you get what you pay for items.

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romanceordelusion t1_jadav19 wrote

Replying to etrain828 (#2,105,912)

Safeway (at least by DuPont) is soooooo expensive. Like even worse than Whole Foods I think. I went for a box of Frosted Flakes - it was like 7.50! Compared to like 4 at Walmart or 5 for a cereal at Whole Foods

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romanceordelusion t1_jadb4dw wrote

Replying to yohablokrio (#2,102,568)

It’s a pain in the ass but start recording prices for items for some of your weekly staples at different store. You’ll learn when something is expensive and when something is a great deal, and random things like what’s surprisingly cheap at WF and dumb expensive at giant

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IDKJA t1_jaddi7n wrote

$500ish per month for a single person working full time, mostly Safeway but some items from the farmer's market, Yes Organic, and Imperfect Foods delivery (can be much cheaper if I'm good about meal prepping). It's gotten harder to save money/plan since I started having to go back into the office and since I've been dating more again post-covid, TBH. I got by with like $200/month in 2019 in grad school. I'm also admittedly someone who is a bit of an ingredient snob and tries not to eat any highly preserved foods, so that increases my costs.

Also a side note - DC has some of the worst kitchens/tiniest dysfunctional fridges/freezers I've ever had! It's been hard to meal prep bc there's little storage room or space to freeze meals like in prior apartments, so that's made it much harder. That being said, I live in a tiny basement apartment to save on rent for now, so it's a trade off.

But - down with food shaming. Living in this city is hard and we all have different lifestyles.

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bumpythumbs t1_jadk1u4 wrote

About $400 a month, just me. Almost exclusively shopping at TJs. I do like fresh produce, but very limited meats. Food is hella expensive here

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dcgirlsmallworld t1_jadnahz wrote

Replying to orange_wrld_traveler (#2,092,583)

Second this! I will usually buy a pack of 8 or so bone-in chicken thighs from Giants for about $9-$11 and individually freeze each chicken thigh in sandwich bags. It can be a bit time consuming but it has saved me a ton of money and allows me to reduce food waste.

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abstract-dragon t1_jadra1c wrote

cohabiting couple, one vegetarian and one eats meat a few times a week. we're ~$450-500 with a combo of Safeway, TJs, occasional WF, and Imperfect foods 2x monthly. If you do want meat consistently, Imperfect has a wide range that is apparently great. Takeout/restaurants are very infrequent.

We don't reeeally meal prep, but have a series of bean and veg centric recipes to draw from. Meat is mostly chicken with occasional deli/pepperoni although I'm the veg one so I don't keep close track. I do bake a lot from scratch so buying flour/extracts can add up.

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wickedzeus t1_jadu114 wrote

About 800 to 1000 it varies, but we eat a lot of produce, fruit, fish and every month we splurge on something like a steak or scallops

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thekingoftherodeo t1_jadwyhd wrote

Replying to drupe14 (#2,103,530)

> OP, Giant is very much over priced. I highly recommend finding a Wegmans instead

Jeez man I find Wegmans pricing to be astronomical. It's good quality stuff for sure, but the prepared meals particularly are like $13 for a sandwich.

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Stay_W0K3 t1_jaebhnh wrote

$700-$900/month for a family of four. That includes a packed school lunch for both kids and working mostly from home. Kids are expensive!

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ZombieInDC t1_jaeog71 wrote

Family of four, including two teenagers: $1200 a month, or about $300 a week (+/-) for five days a week (we eat out the other two, which isn't included here), mostly from Harris Teeter (with Trader Joe's and Whole Foods mixed in occasionally). The highest prices for me were in late 2022, but prices have been going down a bit over the past few months. We do all the meal prep at home (or rather, I should say I do all of the meal prep, except for lunches which my daughter cooks for herself on Sundays and Wednesdays).

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clockoutdc t1_jaf4qaq wrote

I spend about $100 a week at Trader Joe’s but it’s pretty much the same unaspiring shopping list every week of yogurt, 4-5 vegetables to roast, a bag of fruit, and two proteins to meal prep. I am in no way a chef.

On occasion though I go to Harris Teeter for more pantry items like the frozen veggies, canned soups, etc.

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