Is Your Food Spending Normal? What is Average?

How much do you spend on food per month? More or less than everyone else? Is there some magic number for comparison?

   Of course there are lots of variables. And averages are just that, possibly meaningful but it all depends on your situation.

   
Generally speaking though, folks who mostly eat at home averaged $273 a month and those who ate out a lot, $364. That was the University of Washington's Center for Public Health Nutrition recent survey of more than 400 Seattle-area residents. True, grocery prices are a bit higher in Washington state than the national average (see chart below).

What $15 "Average" Actually Buys in Groceries by State

   The federal government via the USDA has its ideas of what you might spend. USDA suggests that a family of four could get by on a moderate food plan of about a thousand a month. The low cost plan for a female 19 to 50 years old runs around $200. A 14 to 18 year old male on the thrifty plan would be allowed about $170. Check out the whole chart on the USDA site.

   Perhaps it is easier for you to look at food costs as a percentage of income. According to The Week magazine, Americans typically spend 6.5 percent of their household budget on eating at home, up to 11 percent if eating out is included.

                      Cost of Dining Out

   The average cost of dinner out for the entire nation was just under $40 in a survey by the Zagat web site. The cost in New York City was just over $48, while Austin came in just under $26.

   Forbes magazine suggested that lunch was on average a $10 per person meal in the U.S. – an interesting finding for a business magazine whose readers are most likely all lunching on expense accounts.

   Are we captives of the “average” figures? Todd Christensen of Debt Reduction Services says you can cut the food budget to $125 per person per month. That would require eliminating most of the grocery store budget busters such as bags of chips, expensive brand name breakfast cereals, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages.

   “My amazingly resourceful wife regularly hits $50 per person per month (including our older teens),” says Christensen. Read more of his tips on his web site. 

                      Most Expensive Meals?

   I haven’t looked at how food stamps or food from church and other charity pantries might figure in all of this. As I said there are variables. Perhaps you raise a lot of your own food, or add to the larder by hunting or fishing. At least the average figures give you an idea of what others are spending.

   I can’t help but think that many people must spend a lot more than “average” on dining out. Just for a hoot I checked out the most expensive restaurant meals. Last year Forbes magazine looked into that and the topper was $1,850 per person at Sublimotion on Ibiza in Spain.

   

Of the twelve most expensive restaurant meals at the time the article appeared, Brooklyn Fare in NYC offered the “bargain” at $306 with a “no tip” policy. So you could easily blow a month’s “average” food costs with a single meal…