Parents know all too well that getting food on the table doesn’t come cheap. If you’re not careful about your expenses, you might just blow a good portion of your paycheck on a routine stop at the supermarket. To help you figure out if you’re overspending on food for your family, budgeting website Growing Slower created a monthly grocery spending guidelines chart.
The guideline, which was shared by The Real Deal of Parenting Facebook page, uses data from the USDA’s Cost of Food report to make recommendations for a thrifty monthly grocery budget based on family size. The chart starts with a family of one and goes up to a family of 11. For just a mom, dad and child, for example, Growing Slower suggests dedicating between $475 and $558 a month on groceries. For a family of six, the range is $768 to $999 per month.
The chart can be seen here or below:
| Family Size (Total) | Thrifty Monthly Grocery Budget |
| 1 | $200 – 227 |
| 2 | $392 |
| 3 | $475 – 558 |
| 4 | $557 – 707 |
| 5 | $633 – 882 |
| 6 | $768 – 999 |
| 7 | $870-1089 |
| 8 | $1013-1216 |
| 9 | $1166-1343 |
| 10 | $1355-1442 |
| 11 | $1543-1536 |
When the chart was shared on The Real Deal of Parenting’s Facebook page, a lot of parents were surprised at how they actually spent less than the range given for their size family. Though, it’s worth noting that a family of four that includes a toddler and a breastfeeding baby is very different than one that includes two voracious middle-schoolers.
So take it with a grain of bargain salt, and see if your family’s spending is on track.
Source: PopSugar.com
