How much do you budget for food each month?

A simple question but the response ‘it depends’ is based on the following:

• Are you a household of 1 or more?
• Adults, teens and/or kids?
• Do you eat at home on a regular basis?
• Do you take your lunch?
• Do you eat prepared/packaged foods or make your own?
• What quality food do you buy?
• Do you plan your food shopping?
• Do you buy on sale?
• How much do you throw out?

When I ask others what they spend on food (eat at home/prepare at home only) for a family of 4 with young children the range is great from $750 to $1,600 per month.

Do you include eating out or separate it out? Important to know when reviewing what’s been spent compared to the budget. A single person can eat for $150 per month (men eat more!). Entertaining and higher quality food require a bigger budget.

The trick about a food budget is to be knowledgeable about what is nutritious food and to be adaptable if it’s time to trim the budget. Eating simply doesn’t cost much.