I Feed My Family of 5 on $200 a Week—Here's How (2024)

FAQs

What is a realistic grocery budget for a family of 5? ›

On average, a family of five spends anywhere from $922 to $1,488 a month on groceries, according to USDA monthly food plans. If you're looking to curb your spending, consider meal planning, buying in bulk, and shopping at more affordable grocery stores.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the average weekly grocery bill for a family our size is $344.70; that means more than $1,400 each month. There are times when my weekly grocery bill approaches that number but for the most part, I'm able to keep it to $200 per week. Here's how.

For a low-cost budget for a family of four, you can plan on spending $243.80 a week or about $1,055.80 a month. Moderate-cost plan. For a moderate budget for a family of four, you would spend $302.80 a week for groceries or $1,311.50 a month.

The 50-30-20 budget rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must have or must do. The remaining half should dedicate 20% to savings, leaving 30% to be spent on things you want but don't necessarily need.

Spending $100 on groceries won't fill up the shopping cart as much as it did five years ago. Inflation-battered shoppers now need to spend $137 for the same basket of staples that they were able to buy for $100 in 2019, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal.

According to the BLS survey, the average monthly expenses for a family of five or more were $8,048 in 2022 – or $392 less than the average family of four. Families of five or more saw their expenses increase by an average of 9% from 2021 to 2022. This quirk isn't as mysterious as it first appears.

For a single person, the average grocery bill can range, depending on age and gender, between $238.46 to $434.33. For a household with two people, the average grocery bill is $5,635 per year, or $469.58 per month. For a household of three people, the average grocery bill is $6,862 a year, or 571.83 per month.

What is the cheapest meal to make for a family? ›

According to the most recent data, U.S. households that consist of four people spent an average of $8,640 per month in 2022. In 2021, the average four-person household spent $7749 per month. This works out to average annual expenditures of $101,514 in 2022, up from $92,989 in 2021.

A family of four needs to earn at least $106,903 a year to cover their necessities in most U.S. states, a recent SmartAsset study reveals. The findings are based on cost estimates for housing, child care, transportation, health care, taxes and other common expenses, as tracked by the MIT Living Wage calculator.

Remember that you can use grocery money for future weeks in one bulk shopping trip if that will cover your food for the weeks you're drawing money from. The average food budget for a single person is between $250 and $300 a month, but that's just a guideline.

Average Monthly Expenses for a Family of Five or More

Just when you think there's a simple pattern that will continue on, we get to this group. According to the BLS survey, the average monthly expenses for a family of five or more were $8,048 in 2022 – or $392 less than the average family of four.

We like the 50/30/20 budget as a place to start. It splits your income three ways: 50% toward needs, such as groceries, housing, basic utilities, transportation, insurance, child care and minimum loan payments. 30% toward wants, such as travel, gifts and meals out.

For reference, a family of six typically spends anywhere from $1126 to $1546 per month on food and approximately $1,200 per month on other necessities, such as cleaning supplies.

According to the USDA guidelines, you might spend $979 a month on a thrifty plan, $1,028 on a low-cost plan, $1,252 on a moderate-cost plan and $1,604 on a liberal plan.