What is the Average Cost Of Groceries Per Month?

We all know that food is essential to human health, so overspending on groceries can be managed. However, you don’t need to overspend to have a healthy diet. We’ve listed out the best ideas that you can follow in order for you to have good savings.

The average groceries cost is between $250 and $550 per month for a single person. However, expenses can vary depending on location, dietary choices and personal spending habits.

If you don’t budget well enough for groceries and instead just buy what you need and want at intervals throughout the month, you could be overspending.

To help you out, here are the facts about the average cost of groceries each month in the U.S. and tips that will help you save money.

The Average Cost of Groceries Per Month

The cost of food in an average U.S. household budget has decreased immensely over time. Families back in 1900 spent about 40% of their income on food, and by 1950, it was just under 30%.

The average cost of food per month for the typical American household now is about $550. However, the average cost of groceries per month wholly depends on the household size.

And, the average monthly expenses for one person differ for a family of two, three, four, and more. Some households might have an order of parents, grandparents, children, and related people living together.

How Much Should I Be Spending on Groceries Per Month?

At-home food costs for May 2023, and these spending levels are divided into four which, are thrifty, low-cost, moderate cost, and liberal.

These plans can help you estimate a monthly grocery budget based on the size of your household and what type of budget you’re working with. 

1. Thrifty plan. The thrifty budget for a family of four, you would spend $225.60 a week or $977.70 a month. This Thrifty Food Plan, incidentally, is used to decide the benefit amounts for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program or SNAP.

2. Low-cost plan. For a low-cost budget for a family of four, you can plan on spending at a low cost of $241.70 a week or about $1,047.10 a month.

3. Moderate-cost plan. For a moderate budget for a family of four, you can also spend $301.20 a week for groceries or $1,304.70 a month.

4. Liberal budget. The liberal budget for a family of four, you can plan on paying $363.70 a week or $1,910.60 a month.

10 Helpful Tips for Saving on Groceries

According to research, food has been one of the essential household expenses including housing and transportation and food choices have a massive impact on our budget.

Here are the top 10 tips to help you learn how to budget for groceries.

1. Create a Separate Budget for Food Deliveries and Restaurant Dining

Budget for food deliveries should be made a priority which is very important over budget for entertainment, socialization, and convenience.

To minimize your cost you can key into this idea and monitor your savings. 

2. Create a Price Book for Groceries

You can write down the list of prices for items before going to get them, from different stores and you should always keep your price book updated, this will help you to always get the best deals for your groceries.

3. Buy Raw Ingredients in Bulk

You should take the time to compare the price of prepackaged goods versus bulk.

Buying in bulk is likely cheaper and will help you cut costs by purchasing raw ingredients in bulk, which can sustain your household for a certain period of time.

4. Plan your Meals

If you have a laydown plan for grocery shopping, it will help you ensure that nothing goes to waste and it will be much easier to stick to a budget.

Try to have some simple salads or meatless Mondays not every meal has to be expensive.

5. Be careful with Coupons

Getting 50% off ketchup is a wonderful deal unless you don’t need ketchup.

Try to avoid coupons for items you don’t need. If the item isn’t on your list, you’re not saving at all, but rather spending on something you don’t truly need.

6. Love your Leftovers

You should try to eat your leftovers; this will help avoid wasting money, instead of throwing them away. 

Always look for ways to repurpose foods yesterday’s leftover meat can become today’s shepherd’s pie which can be interesting.

7. Keep an Inventory

Keeping an inventory list of what you have on hand can help you avoid food waste and get creative when meal planning.

It’s a great way to get the most use out of grocery items that are sold in larger quantities than you need for a single recipe.

8. Track Current Spending

Before you figure out what you should be spending on food daily, it’s important to figure out what you are spending on food.

Keep grocery store receipts to get a realistic picture of your current spending habits. 

9. Avoid Eating Out

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 13% increase in food spending in the U.S. a jump driven by rising purchases of dining out.

To avoid much-pending eating out where possible can help reduce your overall food spending. 

10. Take Lunch to Work

If you’re trying to stick to a food budget, and one day at work you realize it’s lunchtime but you forgot to pack a lunch.

All the meal planning and smart shopping in the world won’t help if you don’t have food when you need it.

Having a food budget can take good planning and discipline. Also, learning how to budget groceries by being creative and cooking healthily is a skill that can benefit you for years.

If you have to ask how much you should spend on groceries each month, you’re probably overspending. In that case, you need to review your grocery budget and ensure that it only includes necessities. 

Finally, never forget to adhere to the simple tips mentioned above on how you can budget groceries. because this will help you save your grocery spending every month.