Grocery budgets are essential, especially when you have a 2-person household on a tight budget. But when you’re trying to figure out how much to spend, it can be a real challenge. So, let’s look at groceries on a budget for 2.
Generally speaking, a 2-person household should plan to spend between $300-$400 per month on groceries. But on a really tight budget, that can be reduced to $200 per month.
A budget will help you balance your expenses so you can enjoy quality food and save as much as you want. A grocery budget for two is even more complex to organize compared to one person.
Reasons for its complexity may be due to differences in food taste or food allergies.
Stay tuned to the end of this article to learn how to plan a proper budget for two, keep your budget as low as possible, how to get your spouse to comply with the budget, and many more tips on the perks of making and sticking to your budget for two.
I have a copy of my Budgeting Spreadsheet available at no charge.
It’s a simple, highly customizable, Excel spreadsheet and you can download it quickly and easily FOR FREE!
How do I make a food budget for 2 people?
Making a budget for two could sometimes be strenuous due to differences in tastes or preferences at a particular time.
The first step to make this process easier is to look at your finances, savings, income, and the amount of money you are willing to spend for a particular period. Your budget should be done in periodicity; this could be weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
However, it is advisable to budget for an entire month.
After setting out a figure from your income that you want to spend on your groceries, the next thing to do is to be intentional, meaning shop with a grocery list; don’t just show up, walk the aisles, and buy what looks good.
Also, don’t shop when you are hungry; you’ll be more apt to buy stuff you don’t need.
It also helps to check your store’s app before you go to see what coupons you can clip. Then base your written shopping list around those items. Also do an inventory of what you have so you aren’t relying on memory and risk buying something you already have plenty of.
Start with fresh fruits and vegetables. But avoid buying too much of anything highly perishable. I would rather make 2-3 trips a week than buy a bunch of stuff and have it go bad before I get to use it.
Focus on fruits that can easily be stored and fruits that will last long. To save a lot of money, you might want to visit the farmer’s market on the weekends, where you can get these fruits for a good bargain.
Then write down what you need from the meat, seafood, cheese, and dairy departments. Then you’ll note boxed and canned goods from the center of the store.
Proceed to prioritize toiletries, such as paper towels, laundry detergents, toilet paper, soap, etc. Making a list might be easy but sticking to your list needs a lot of self-discipline, especially if you have a tight budget.
Shopping online might help you save money because you won’t be moved by the sight of unplanned snacks or junk, so this will work for you if you have a history of not sticking to your budget. These few steps I have spoken about should help you create a proper budget for two people.
For several reasons, most people don’t like to use a budget.
In a recent article, I highlighted reasons people do not want to use a budget. Click on the link to read the full article and find out the top 4 reasons.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
This weeks grocery haul. We are still doing our best to use up what we have and only buy the essentials to get us through the week. Since I am making freezer meals this week, we had to buy a couple of extra things but managed to stay within budget. All o… https://t.co/vhzjjReulL pic.twitter.com/BLe2VM6fc8
— Insecure Housewife (@InsecureHW) July 28, 2018
Is $200 a month enough for groceries for two adults?
$200 will be the perfect definition of a tight budget, but it can be enough to get groceries for two adults.
To do this perfectly, you need to take advantage of coupons to get a lot for two with this monthly grocery budget. Coupons will save you a lot of money. Coupon sourcing before the month ends will get you a discount, so you can now buy more with $200.
Another thing you might want to put into consideration is the habit of picking brands you are familiar with other than generic brands.
In most cases, it is advisable to use brands you use frequently, but other brands with cheaper prices will give you the same satisfaction. All you need to do is to conduct research before you create a new grocery budget.
Doing a lot of research will help you save costs.
You might want to compare prices from different grocery stores to see which offers the best budget-friendly prices on food items. Discount stores allow you to get grocery items for less than retail prices. Most times, local grocery stores far from home offer reasonable discounts.
There you have your answer; with $200, it is possible to get enough groceries for two people that will last a month.
These steps may be helpful and comfortable for people who do not mind taking extra time to research before shopping. It might as well be uncomfortable for some individuals to cut costs through these steps but be rest assured that you can get a lot with $200 without spending extra money.
Eat Healthy Budget Tip 1: Budget for Groceries | Before the month begins, decide how much you’ll spend on groceries. Look back at your last couple of bank statements to give you a starting point. #WednesdayWisdom #budgetingtips #budgetmeals pic.twitter.com/A6I1vRX6IO
— Focused Financial Coach (@budgetswork) February 16, 2021
How do I keep my food budget low?
To keep your food budget low, you need to reduce the amount of money you spend on ordering take-outs or eating out.
It’s fun to try meals outside your regular meal prep or plan because you might seldomly get bored of your meals and want to try something different.
If you do this excessively, reducing it or planning the number of takeout meals you want to order in a month can help lower your food budget.
Taking out extra money to buy in bulk pays off because you can get more at a discounted price. All you need to do is make a few adjustments to your expenses and channel some more money into your grocery budget.
To make things easier, look for grocery stores giving discounts on certain food items before you buy so that you can buy in bulk at the lowest price. This helps with proper meal planning.
However, you should have a list of food items you need to stock up on. Buying all items in bulk will lead to food waste.
Reducing food wastage will also help you keep your food budget low.
Food wastage starts from buying things you don’t need or items you are not sure you need. All these make up a very high budget. Using canned foods will prevent food waste because they tend to last longer, so if you know any fresh food you buy that gets worse in no time, replacing them with canned goods will save you money.
If you want to learn how to budget effectively with a low income, you are in luck.
In a recent article of mine, I wrote about how to budget money on a low income. Click on the link to read the full article on this website.
These 3 coupon apps will cut your grocery bill’s budget https://t.co/osqy2jWNml pic.twitter.com/t9CP13Ww9G
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 20, 2018
How can I cut my grocery bill in half?
There are a few steps you can take to cut your grocery bill in half.
You can do this by grocery shopping at stores that currently offer items on sale. You can compare stores to see which ones offer the best deal. Nevertheless, priority should be placed on food items you would occasionally buy.
You might want to change your meal plan to cut costs.
If you are used to having protein like pork chops, chicken thighs, or seafood in every meal, you want to add other cheaper protein sources to your meal, and fish would be a good example. Substituting protein and reducing quantity can still guarantee you a delicious meal.
Reducing your meat will help cut your grocery bill. You can use bacon, peanut butter, nut butter, and eggs. Make eggs your go-to protein; they are cheaper than buying meat.
It can be challenging to plan your meals before making your shopping list, but with time, you will adjust as soon as you notice the effective cut in your grocery bill.
Include healthy food like fruits, fresh vegetables, or any other fresh produce in your shopping list to substitute for buying excess junk, which will cost you more. This method helps you save in two ways, it reduces your junk and cuts your expenses.
Coupons effectively cut grocery bills when you match them with store sales.
Coupons could be used majorly for canned foods, but did you know they can be used for non-food items like shampoo, paper towels, and bathing soap? Matching these steps with coupons will cut your grocery bill in half or even as low as you want it to be.
Does paying for everything in cash save even more money?
In short, yes. To help you understand the importance of budgeting and easy ways to plan and stick to the amount budgeted for a particular expense, I wrote a recent article about the Dave Ramsey Envelope System and exactly how it saves money over plastic.
Click on the link to read and learn about the budgeting system.
Who doesn’t love saving money? Cooking at home is typically much cheaper than eating at a restaurant or buying processed foods. Try planning meals in advance, making grocery lists, and refrigerating or freezing all your leftovers. #1919cookware pic.twitter.com/XgsV2coeKB
— 1919 Cookware (@1919Cookware) August 27, 2018
Is cooking from scratch cheaper than buying prepared meals?
Cooking from scratch, although potentially stressful and time-consuming, is cheaper and healthier than ordering ready-made meals.
Eating fast food is more expensive because you are not only paying for the meal but also the labor incurred in the preparation. Directly or indirectly, this has been imposed on each meal. Other expenses added to the cost of this meal could be indirect tax passed on to the consumer.
You don’t need to worry about any of those costs when preparing meals from scratch.
Cooking from scratch can help you to control the ingredients you use. You can filter unnecessary ingredients and make each meal to your taste.
Food purchased from fast food restaurants or cheap roadside meals contain ingredients you might consider unnecessary, and this increases the cost of producing each meal.
Cooking from scratch will allow you to eat what you need and not what you want.
Some restaurants offer really large portions, and whether or not you want to eat that much, you have to pay the same price in most cases, and then the leftovers are wasted. Cooking from scratch helps you avoid food waste because, with proper meal planning, you can set individual portions and save resources.
Cooking from scratch will give you access to cheap groceries and allow you to reduce your grocery spending when you choose to, unlike buying prepared meals, which would cost you the same amount or more each day.
A great way to save money and enjoy meals would be to cook from scratch.
Cooking at home instead of eating out improves your life in several ways:
– Ensures high-quality, nutritious food
– No exposure to bad quality oils
– You consume fewer calories
– You save time and money pic.twitter.com/pYbspKwnKY— Dhruv (@HealthDosesLife) April 21, 2022
How much do you save by cooking at home?
Cooking 90% of meals at home, including not buying coffee daily from coffee shops can save a 2-person household over $400/month.
Saving from cooking at home starts with little expenses, such as buying coffee or ordering a cup of tea.
As much as you need these beverages to keep you active at work or while trying to be productive at home, do you know that you can save a lot by making them yourself?
Making coffee yourself will cut you about $4-8 a day, compared to hitting Starbucks on your way to work.
A large bag of coffee beans can last a single person for over a month and shouldn’t cost you too much money. $4/day multiplied by four weeks would be $120 a month, and the total in a year would be $1,440.
Considering the cost of delivering takeout and all other expenses imposed on meals, you might come to notice that a summation of each delivery fee, let’s say $2 -$4 per meal, amounts to a larger sum of money at the end of the week if you order two meals a day that’ll be a total of $28 to $56 a week.
If you multiply this figure by 4 to make up four weeks, that’s between $224 – $112 a month, which is enough for food shopping for an entire month with a proper food budget without impulse purchasing.
Let’s say you order food from cheap fast food, which could be Domino’s or your nearby pizza store.
We can say that your average spending will be around $70 a week, in a month with four weeks which amounts to $280. If you create a grocery list and cook for yourself, you will spend close to half of that, which would be $140-$200 a month, depending on the ingredients you decide to buy.
After the deduction, you have saved roughly $100-$140 a month. If you add this amount up and save it somewhere for a year, you have to yourself easy $1200. These are some of the best ways to save money from cooking at home.
I have a copy of my Budgeting Spreadsheet available at no charge.
It’s a simple, highly customizable, Excel spreadsheet and you can download it quickly and easily FOR FREE!
How do I get my spouse to stick to our grocery budget?
Accountability is a great way to get your spouse to stick to your grocery budget.
After you have created a spending budget, note your average cost of groceries per month. Seeing that it is the first time you decide to be accountable, you might not necessarily follow your grocery budget, but the change comes in when you compare your last spending to the previous one.
After tracking where you or your spouse didn’t follow your agreed budget, the next thing to do is to account for the reasons and ask questions like, “Did you buy anything that was not needed?” or “Why do we have an overhead?”
This process helps you put each other in check, and when done periodically, it helps you stick to your grocery budget, which reduces grocery spending.
If both parties are not being serious about accountability, and you decide to waive some expenses above your budget, a good idea would be to account to a family member if you are comfortable with it.
These days you might have other expenses which require a large percentage of your income. These expenses could be car payments, college loans, and many more. It is only written for you to take it upon yourself to exercise discipline.
You can do this by setting ground rules and consequences for breaking each rule.
An example would be if your spouse spends maybe a certain percentage over your budget, you deduct a certain amount from your initial budget, which would lead to a decrease in grocery spending every time you go overboard.
By the time you deduct a few times, your average cost of food will reduce, and you’d be left with no option but to stick with your budget.
Should you budget on paper or use an app?
These are easy ways to get your spouse to stick to your grocery budget and reduce your food costs. In a recent article, I listed 9 budget apps for couples that are tested and trusted. Click on the link to find out more about them.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
Conclusion
Sticking to a budget can be very strenuous when you are not used to keeping a budget.
It becomes more challenging when two parties are involved because of differences in taste and allergies. In this article, I provided solutions to frequently faced challenges when trying to budget.
This article would be helpful to anyone who wants to maintain a budget or reduce food shopping.
Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
