Our monthly grocery budget increases without planning and sometimes even with plans. You may add up a lot in the weekly and monthly bill. The good thing is, you’ve got USDA working there for your food plans.
Update: USDA has not released September 2020 report until now, however, July 2020’s report is still valid.
According to 2020’s USDA food plan report for July 2020, the updated cost of food per month for an individual is around $151 to $315 depending upon age, location, and the food quality you purchase.
Making a monthly grocery budget plan is neither difficult nor a cup of cake. With experience, you start estimating right average cost to spend on grocery per month. Properly planning your grocery spend can help you save money which you can use to fulfill other life goals and bills.
Based on family size, national averages vary. Following is the average cost of food and grocery for children, youngster males and females, families of 2, and families of 4.
| Age-gender groups | Weekly cost | Monthly cost | ||||||
| Individuals: | Thrifty plan | Low-cost plan | Moderate- cost plan | Liberal plan | Thrifty plan | Low-cost plan | Moderate- cost plan | Liberal plan |
| 1-year child | $22.90 | $30.70 | $34.90 | $42.10 | $99.10 | $133.20 | $151.00 | $182.50 |
| 2-3 years child | $25.00 | $32.10 | $38.40 | $46.90 | $108.20 | $139.30 | $166.50 | $203.10 |
| 4-5 years child | $26.30 | $32.90 | $41.20 | $49.60 | $113.80 | $142.60 | $178.50 | $215.00 |
| 6-8 years child | $33.60 | $47.30 | $56.20 | $66.00 | $145.60 | $205.00 | $243.70 | $286.00 |
| 9-11 years child | $37.90 | $49.70 | $65.10 | $75.80 | $164.10 | $215.20 | $282.10 | $328.50 |
| Male: | ||||||||
| 12-13 years | $40.70 | $58.00 | $72.40 | $85.00 | $176.20 | $251.20 | $313.60 | $368.40 |
| 14-18 years | $41.90 | $58.80 | $74.50 | $86.20 | $181.30 | $254.80 | $322.80 | $373.40 |
| 19-50 years | $44.90 | $58.20 | $72.90 | $89.40 | $194.40 | $252.30 | $315.90 | $387.30 |
| 51-70 years | $41.00 | $55.00 | $68.80 | $82.80 | $177.50 | $238.20 | $298.20 | $359.00 |
| 71+ years | $41.10 | $53.90 | $67.20 | $83.10 | $178.00 | $233.70 | $291.30 | $360.20 |
| Female: | ||||||||
| 12-13 years | $40.20 | $49.60 | $60.10 | $73.60 | $174.30 | $214.80 | $260.30 | $319.10 |
| 14-18 years | $39.80 | $49.60 | $59.40 | $73.60 | $172.30 | $215.10 | $257.60 | $318.70 |
| 19-50 years | $39.70 | $50.40 | $62.00 | $79.00 | $172.20 | $218.60 | $268.50 | $342.30 |
| 51-70 years | $39.50 | $49.20 | $61.20 | $73.80 | $171.30 | $213.00 | $265.10 | $319.90 |
| 71+ years | $38.60 | $48.50 | $60.50 | $72.80 | $167.10 | $210.10 | $262.00 | $315.40 |
| Families | ||||||||
| Monthly Grocery Budget for Family of 2 | ||||||||
| 19-50 years | $93.00 | $119.50 | $148.40 | $185.20 | $403.20 | $518.00 | $642.90 | $802.50 |
| 51-70 years | $88.50 | $114.50 | $143.00 | $172.30 | $383.70 | $496.30 | $619.60 | $746.80 |
| Monthly Grocery Budge for Family of 4 | ||||||||
| Couple (Male & Female), 19-50 years with children 2-3 and 4-5 years | $135.80 | $173.70 | $214.50 | $264.90 | $588.50 | $752.70 | $929.50 | $1147.70 |
| Couple (Male & Female), 19-50 years with children 6-8 and 9-11 years | $156.10 | $205.60 | $256.20 | $310.20 | $676.20 | $891.10 | $1110.20 | $1344.10 |
On average, you spend 5% to 10% of your total income on groceries. Depending upon your family size, income, your financial condition, and way of living, you may spend far more or less than the average grocery budget as figured out by USDA.
What are the four levels of monthly grocery budget?
USDA has divided monthly grocery budget into 4 levels:-
- Thrifty Plan
- Low-Cost Plan
- Moderate Cost Plan
- Liberal Cost Plan
All of the plans include daily cost of snacks, homemade meals, and necessary items. If you’ve pet for example dogs, your plan may need adjustments.
Monthly Grocery Budget for Family of 2
According to USDA, the recommended grocery budget for a family of 2 is $185.20 to $802.50. For 19-50 years of couples or family of 2, the moderate cost plan for grocery is $642.90 on average while for 51-70 years is $619.60. The recommended low-cost monthly grocery plan for a family of 2 is $496.30 to $518.00.
Average Monthly Grocery Budget for Family of 4
As per USDA recommendation, the average low-cost monthly grocery budget for a family of 4 including 1 male, 1 female, and 2 children of 2-3 and 4-5 years should be $752.70. It slightly goes up for children of 6-8 and 9-11 years to become $891.10 monthly for groceries. For foodie families, USDA updates the July 2020 to be at least $1147.70 having children 2-3 and 4-5 years while for families with children 6-8 and 9-11 years, it should be $1344.10.
Minimize Monthly Grocery Budget to Save Money
By planning your meals, practicing budget planning, and revising the budget to cut-off extras and unnecessary spending, you can easily save money. For example, sometimes, we tend to buy extra toilet papers, kitchen items, and spend too much on frozen food tins. We can prepare more healthy meals at home.
What you should exactly do to cut-off the grocery budget?
- Keep track of your budget per month.
- Keep a track of what was left last month or the surplus items
- Make note of unnecessary purchases you made in previous months
- Keep a checklist of items to buy next month so that you may subtract repeated or replaceable items
- Compare the products, brands, and their results. If something that is cheap is working then there is no reason to buy expensive products, food, or grocery item.
- Avoid frequent outdoor meals or food parties
- Restrain yourself from window shopping that ends up in tons of unnecessary purchases
Wisely plan grocery budget to support your financial responsibilities
Normally we just keep shopping from grocery shops forgetting that we must save some extra bucks for months with events and occasions. There could be family events like birthdays, weddings, or friend parties. Cutting-off unnecessary expenses on monthly groceries can help you use it in those days.
Besides events, you must save money for special times like:-
- Any loan, mortgage, or debts
- Planned or unplanned family trips and picnics
- Kids’ school and college
- What if income source cuts-off for a while?
- Baby planning
- Charity and support for relatives
TAKEAWAY, Be Wise!
You must consider your family income source, upcoming events or planned goals, 5-year life goal investments, and charity while spending too much on just grocery. Much of the stored-meals result in health loss and hence we’re left with nothing but spending more to get recovered. Plan healthy life to live for your healthy goals.
