How Much Does a Family of 4 Spend on Groceries Each Month

To larn how much money you spend on groceries every month, you can add upwardly receipts, view your credit card transaction history or rails your spending with a budget app .

Just figuring out how much you should spend on groceries isn't quite every bit straightforward.

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

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What is the average price of groceries per month?

The average cost of groceries for U.Due south. households is $4,942, based on 2020 information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This works out to about $412 per calendar month. Grocery spending has likely increased during the pandemic with people going out to consume less often.

While y'all tin utilize this average every bit a benchmark for your ain spending , it isn't the best indicator of how much yous, or others, can actually afford.

What should my monthly grocery budget be?

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

Follow USDA food plans

The U.S. Department of Agriculture creates monthly nutrient plans you can apply equally guidance for grocery spending. The plans estimate the average cost of nutritious, home-prepared meals and snacks by gender and age, and are broken into four different spending levels: thrifty, low cost, moderate price and liberal.

The near contempo estimate for a family of four, defined as a male and female between ages xx and l and two children, ages vi to 8 and 9 to xi, put the cost of the thrifty plan at $855 per calendar month.

These food plans can suggest a monthly grocery upkeep for your household, only they're still estimates, and won't be perfectly tailored to you.

Use the 50/thirty/20 rule to budget for groceries

The l/thirty/20 budget can help you work out how much to spend on groceries based on your specific income and expenses. Following this framework, you spend about l% of your monthly afterwards-tax income on needs, xxx% on wants and xx% on sayings and debt repayment.

Near groceries fall under the "needs" category, but 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 accept-home pay is $3,200, here's how you'd divide that among your expenses:

• $one,600 for needs similar bones groceries, housing and transportation.

• $960 for wants like meals out, amusement and travel.

• $640 for savings and loan payments across the minimum.

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

Before y'all build a budget

NerdWallet breaks downwards your spending and shows you means to save.

Find ways to stretch your grocery upkeep

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

• Look in your refrigerator and pantry before making a shopping list.

• Bring together shop loyalty programs to earn rewards.

• Cheque the Lord's day paper, use an app and explore other ways to get coupons .

Your financial position, expenses and spending behavior will presumably modify throughout your life. Make sure to revisit your grocery budget every month and adjust.

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

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