How much is your grocery bill a month? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Buzzard · 03-27-2011, 03:32 PM

I'm just curious to compare. My wife hates grocery shopping and I don't mind it, hence I'm the grocery guy. I go to Safeway. I like their stores, and I'm a pretty dedicated air mile collector. It works out to about $500 to $800 a month for us and we have an 11 yr old.

The $800 a month bills are when there's some really good air mile deals going on. I'll load up on things that we'll eventually use, even if we already have the items in house. I'm guilty of being sucked into the odd item that I wouldn't normally get also if there's some wicked air miles attached to it. Not so much that I wouldn't get it anyway, but more the quantity of the item....like buying 5 boxes of cereal at a time in order to get X amount of air miles.

$500 months are when deals are kind of thin, and I stick to the basics, so $650-700 is pretty much the monthly average.

How does this compare? How much is it taking to feed your house?

Bertuzzied · 03-27-2011, 03:35 PM

If you shopped at superstore you would save prob at least $200/month. but no air miles. Which is worth more to you?

Buzzard · 03-27-2011, 03:39 PM

I like air miles.

I hate Superstore.

moncton golden flames · 03-27-2011, 03:40 PM

household of 2 is around 600/mth shopping at community natural foods.

Yasa · 03-27-2011, 03:56 PM

Safeway is waaaay over-priced. I'm a Superstore guy myself, except their beef. Costco is the way to go for beef. Costco is great for a lot of things (especially when you want a lot of...a lot of things.)

I'm out of town for 3/4's of the month though, so my grocery bills are pretty small.

Bertuzzied · 03-27-2011, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yasa

Safeway is waaaay over-priced. I'm a Superstore guy myself, except their beef. Costco is the way to go for beef. Costco is great for a lot of things (especially when you want a lot of...a lot of things.)

I'm out of town for 3/4's of the month though, so my grocery bills are pretty small.

Really? i find the superstore AAA stuff really good and cheap.

The only thing i can't buy from superstore and have to buy at safeway is the safeway cheese and bananas.

Costco has the best roast chicken in the city.

FiftyBelow · 03-27-2011, 04:04 PM

As a starving student... I survive with around $200 - $250 per month. I don't buy a lot of meat though.

Ironhorse · 03-27-2011, 04:05 PM

We budget $500 every two weeks, which seems to work. Most of the time my wife is below that budget; she primarily shops at SuperStore for most things, Sobey's for when things run out. We have a 4 person family with a soon to be 10 year old and a 4 1/2 year old.

Buzzard · 03-27-2011, 04:18 PM

Safeway had a bad rep as overpriced. It was true, but they've become pretty competitive in the last few years since the Wal-Marts and Superstores have become so popular. I have seen their prices drop on a lot of items over time. Also, air miles are VERY easy to accumulate, if you know how to do it. I rarely will buy anything unless it's on sale, or has some pretty good miles attached to it. To add to that, I simply like shopping there compared to anywhere else. I find their service mostly good, stores clean and orderly, good selection, and if you pick the right times, not too crowded. In my experience it's tough too find all of that at Superstore. Plus I think bagging my own groceries is a royal pain in the ass. I'd gladly pay a little more not too have that if it came right down to it.

I digress. Hope to keep this away from what store is better, and more what you're spending

VANFLAMESFAN · 03-27-2011, 04:19 PM

Live on my own, probably spend 300 per month, but I also eat out a lot.

I shop at Safeway. I know its more expensive, but I can't stand finding parking or shopping with the amount of people at Superstore. I can't stand that place. I live VERY close to a Superstore and NEVER go there. I'll gladly spend the extra bucks for a better shop.

edit......Oh, and I hate having to bag my own groceries. So another reason Superstore sucks.

spydermal · 03-27-2011, 04:19 PM

Safeway bread keeps me buying over priced food.

CMPunk · 03-27-2011, 04:22 PM

$400 a month for the two of us at Safeway

sclitheroe · 03-27-2011, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fotze

No fataing idea

Ugh, ain't that the truth. The local Co-Op is so close by, and with three kids we are always perpetually short on milk, that I don't know how much we spend there - we are there a lot.

Let's put it this way though - I'll likely have a complete set of the knifes they have on that sticker promotion by the time the offer is over.

Mean Mr. Mustard · 03-27-2011, 04:33 PM

For the month of February I spent $150 - $200 on Groceries so I would say about $50 dollars per week on average. I only have to cook for myself and I tend to buy in bulk which saves me a bit of money and at the same time if I buy much more stuff tends to go bad on me as I don't eat it on time.

I don't buy pop, chips or anything like that anymore and I am involved in a group purchase thing for fruits and vegitables so that keeps my costs lower.

TylerSVT · 03-27-2011, 04:37 PM

Costco for meat is such an easy way to save some cash. Beef Tenderloin + SealPacks= cheaper way to eat really good steak. Plus if you can get a 15 pack of Chicken breasts and freeze some of them you really only need to buy Chicken once a month... saves a lot of cost. You just need to know how to freeze things so they dont get the freezer burn.

Sobeys and Superstore are good for pretty much everything else, i like safeway bread though the best.

Yasa · 03-27-2011, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

Really? i find the superstore AAA stuff really good and cheap.

The only thing i can't buy from superstore and have to buy at safeway is the safeway cheese and bananas.

Costco has the best roast chicken in the city.

I might have just had a bad couple of cuts or something. I got some steaks and they weren't very good at all so I stopped buying from there. Also, I'd like to note that I read "cheese and bananas" as "cheese bananas" and was intrigued.

return to the red · 03-27-2011, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzzard

Safeway had a bad rep as overpriced. It was true, but they've become pretty competitive in the last few years since the Wal-Marts and Superstores have become so popular. I have seen their prices drop on a lot of items over time. Also, air miles are VERY easy to accumulate, if you know how to do it. I rarely will buy anything unless it's on sale, or has some pretty good miles attached to it. To add to that, I simply like shopping there compared to anywhere else. I find their service mostly good, stores clean and orderly, good selection, and if you pick the right times, not too crowded. In my experience it's tough too find all of that at Superstore. Plus I think bagging my own groceries is a royal pain in the ass. I'd gladly pay a little more not too have that if it came right down to it.

I digress. Hope to keep this away from what store is better, and more what you're spending

Unless you live on the westside of Lethbridge which only has 1 safeway for the entire west side. Their prices are ridiculous!

We spend about 350-400 per month for two of us but lots of fresh veggies and fruits all the time. We try to stay away from the frozen stuff and prepackaged stuff.

THE SCUD · 03-27-2011, 04:54 PM

$150 a week for two people. Combo of Safeway and Sunterra.

flamesfever · 03-27-2011, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fotze

No fataing idea

So you're from the old school where the wife does the shopping, prepares the meals, and changes the diapers?

THE SCUD · 03-27-2011, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flamesfever

So you're from the old school where the wife does the shopping, prepares the meals, and changes the diapers?

I love feminists who call that "old school". it's called "sharing the work load". Man-kind progressed pretty fantastically using that "old school" method you're discrediting. I am no religious dude, but I don't think the break down of traditional roles is going to do society a whack load of good going forward.

I am all for woman doing whatever makes them happy, but I also don't appreciate people who look down on woman who stay home and work 60_ hours a week making sure their kids are raised to be the next generation of productive kids, as opposed to those woman who work and have a Philippino nanny do their parenting for them.

Different strokes and all that, but it RGMG that running a family in the method that proved so effective for hundreds, neigh, thousands of years, is suddenly so "old school".

From my perspective, all that working woman has provided society is the rampant increase in the cost of living, so now for a family to be comfortable and middle class, both parents must be working. it's supply and demand and as far as I am concerned, all suffragettes did is screw me out of being able to sit on the couch and play with my kids if I was a stay at home dad.

Obviously I am intentionality hyperbolising my views, but I think it helps get the point across - If I was a woman, I'd be pissed that if I took a traditional role, I am suddenly marginalized. Plus with how expensive life is, how can I be the lazy couch stay at home dad I aspired to be ?!