How Much Money For Groceries Per Month

To learn how much money you spend on groceries every calendar month, you lot tin add together up receipts, view your credit card transaction history or track your spending with a upkeep app .

But figuring out how much y'all should spend on groceries isn't quite as straightforward.

Here'south how to piece of work grocery costs into your monthly budget .

What is the boilerplate cost of groceries per month?

The boilerplate price of groceries for U.Due south. households is $4,942, based on 2020 information from the U.S. Agency of Labor Statistics

. This works out to about $412 per calendar month. Grocery spending has probable increased during the pandemic with people going out to eat less oftentimes.

While you tin employ this boilerplate as a criterion for your own spending , it isn't the best indicator of how much you, or others, can actually afford.

What should my monthly grocery budget be?

Your grocery budget depends on many factors, including where you shop, what you buy, how many people you're feeding and whether you shop online or in person. Not sure where to first? Here are a couple of guidelines yous can use to come up with a number.

Follow USDA food plans

The U.Due south. Department of Agriculture creates monthly food plans you can use as guidance for grocery spending. The plans estimate the average cost of nutritious, abode-prepared meals and snacks past gender and age, and are cleaved into four different spending levels: thrifty, depression toll, moderate cost and liberal.

The nigh recent estimate for a family of 4, defined as a male and female betwixt ages 20 and 50 and two children, ages six to eight and 9 to 11, put the price of the thrifty programme at $855 per month.

These nutrient plans tin can suggest a monthly grocery budget for your household, but they're withal estimates, and won't be perfectly tailored to yous.

Use the 50/30/twenty rule to upkeep for groceries

The l/30/20 budget can help you piece of work out how much to spend on groceries based on your specific income and expenses. Following this framework, you spend about fifty% of your monthly after-taxation income on needs, 30% on wants and 20% on sayings and debt repayment.

Well-nigh groceries fall under the "needs" category, just non every item at the grocery store qualifies as a necessity. Purchasing filet mignon for a special dinner would be a "want," for example.

If your monthly take-home pay is $three,200, here'south how yous'd carve up that among your expenses:

$1,600 for needs like bones groceries, housing and transportation.
$960 for wants similar meals out, entertainment and travel.
$640 for savings and loan payments beyond the minimum.

How much of that $1,600 should go toward groceries depends on the monthly cost of your other essentials. Let's say yous pay $850 for rent and utilities, $200 in student loan payments and $415 for your car payment and insurance. That adds upwardly to $i,465 — leaving only $135 per month for vital groceries. If that won't cover everything you lot need, or if you desire to plan for some treats, y'all can take boosted money from your "wants" budget.

Earlier you build a budget

NerdWallet breaks down your spending and shows you lot ways to salvage.

Discover ways to stretch your grocery budget

If you're struggling to fit nutrient costs into your budget, look for ways to save money on groceries . Start with these simple strategies:

Await in your refrigerator and pantry before making a shopping list.
Join store loyalty programs to earn rewards.
Check the Sunday paper, use an app and explore other ways to get coupons .

Your financial position, expenses and spending behavior will presumably modify throughout your life. Brand certain to revisit your grocery upkeep every month and accommodate.

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Source: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/how-much-should-i-spend-on-groceries

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