I spent all of Q1 (January, February, and March) tracking what my household of two adults spends on groceries and toiletries. Mainly because I’m a data dork (just like my husband). But also because I absolutely love talking about budgets. I’m always curious to know how on par our spending is compared to other couples.
Hubs and I have a pretty solid system for how we split bills and expenses. In addition to our utilities, all groceries and household items fall under my umbrella. Anything from peanut butter to our weekly produce, to paper towels, to cleaning supplies. Anything that needs to be purchased for the home in order for it to run smoothly is my duty. Eggs, coffee, flour, beer, bread, hand soap, trash bags, wine… you get the point.
I wanted to get an average idea of how much I’m spending on grocery runs on a weekly basis, plus my trips to Costco, and Boxed (Boxed is basically Costco, you can buy in bulk online, they deliver, and it’s amazing, here’s a $15 coupon if you’re interested, it’s literally the best thing in the world).
THE BREAKDOWN
After keeping track of THREE months worth of data, I spent $1,366.57 which breaks down to $455.52 per month, or $105.12 per week. (Psst… there are 13 weeks in a quarter, not 12, incase you were double checking my math!)
WHAT THE USDA HAS TO SAY
Did you know that this January the government declared that for a family of two, the average weekly spending is anywhere from $88 — $175? Which is anywhere from $381 — 758 per month.
I was actually pretty surprised to see that we came in on the low end of those figures, not that I’m complaining, I’m just a bit surprised.
However, I truly believe the main difference is buying in bulk, especially things I know we go through quickly, regularly. And for that, I’d like to thank Costco & Boxed! My numbers wouldn’t have been as low without bulk-shopping.
IN OUR NUMBERS
I didn’t add Sebs and Max into the equation when calculating how much I spent in Q1. Since we’ve only had them for a month, I don’t quite know what they’ll run me each week. Their wet food, dry food, and litter isn’t cheap (but I did find an online bulk store for pets, score)! I’m curious to find out, and you can bet dollars to donuts that I’ll track it.
WHAT DO YOUR NUMBERS LOOK LIKE?
OK, so you know what I’m going to say here, don’t you? You can’t effectively create a budget without knowing what you’re spending. Since groceries and toiletries are a variable category (meaning the dollar amount changes each month, rather than a set bill, ie. cable), you need to get an average. I felt 3 months was a pretty fair length of time.
I urge you to give this a go, and figure out what you’re spending!