How Much Do We Spend on Groceries? Best Budgeting Tips for the New Year

Budgeting is key for anyone starting out on their journey to financial freedom:

  • Visual of inflow and outflow. Money coming in and money going out.
  • You have to keep track
  • Find what works for you
  • Since 2017 I have not connected our bank account to our budget
  • I manually input income and project each month’s expenses.
  • The goal is to have some money to carry with us into the next month.

In 2020 we spent $585/month on groceries. Of course we’re still early in our family lifestyle. 3 kids, 1 that is 3 and 2 who are now going to be 2 years old. When you break that down it’s $1.30/person/meal. With younger kids I totally acknowledge it is easier to keep this cost low. In 2019 when our twins we’re born we actually averaged about $625 per month in groceries, but that included formula.

So, last year in 2020 we pretty much got out of the formula stage, but they’re eating with us and drinking a lot of milk. But we’ve maintained our budget and tried to stay consistent month to month with our expenses for food especially.

To be clear budgeting is not something that restricts you. Budgeting actually frees you to spend your money the way you want to. The only difference is when you budget you’re spending your money in a responsible way.

Matt

Hi! I'm Matt, an engineer on the path to financial independence and early retirement. One of my greatest passions is to teach and give people the tools and knowledge to reach their full potential in life. Subscribe to the Habesha Finance newsletter and get your FREE financial checklist today!