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MrsH 
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Joined: 27 September 2008
Location: Porirua
Points: 859
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 Posted: 07 November 2011 at 9:49pm |
Hehehe, $350 of food just sounds to me like a whole lotta cooking.
No thanks. 
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Lulu
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: New Zealand
Points: 849
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Posted: 08 November 2011 at 7:59pm |
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I personally believe that alot of people 'believe' they spend a small amount on groceries, but I am willing to bet that most of them don't track and budget their money and make a bit of an assumption over what they spend. My amount of $280 is absolutely accurate, as I draw it out in cash and don't ever spend over. I do buy six bottles of wine per week out of that budget. YES SIX!!! LOL! DH and I both drink wine and we have visitors too so don't call AA, lol. I go to the fruit and vege store at least twice per week. I buy three to four portions of meat/fish per week. I don't buy any biscuits, only home baking. I do buy one box of muesli bars per week. I usually find that the grocery shop spend is approx $200 (including the wine) and then the $80 remaining is the fruit, vege's and anything I run out of before the next shop.
We are lucky to have $70 pocket money per week each - this goes towards any personal incidentals such as coffee, and we ususally pool any pocket money left to go out once a week together. I also usually use some of mine for anything 'extra' for our DD - like the odd icecream, etc.
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Isabella
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Joined: 06 June 2010
Points: 546
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Posted: 08 November 2011 at 8:40pm |
I agree Lulu - I thought we were spending way less than we actually were - when I started saving receipts and adding it up - oops! 
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kebakat
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: Palmy North
Points: 10980
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Posted: 08 November 2011 at 9:01pm |
I know exactly how much of my money gets spent on what because I have a really good budget..
6 bottles of wine is a good effort. That would make my DH happy if I bought that much wine a week 
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Delli
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Joined: 12 September 2008
Location: BOP
Points: 747
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Posted: 08 November 2011 at 10:09pm |
We do track our spending and do $118/wk on average on groceries. If we include eating out in that - takeaways, restaurant meals, cafe meals etc - it averages out at $139/wk.
Not too bad. Could be better.
I reckon kids make things more expensive - not only because they eat heaps!
Having two so little, we either have to take them with us to the supermarket or go after work at night times. Having them with me means I try to go fast to avoid tantrums - plus I have one on my back bouncing around trying to see what's happening and one in the trolley trying to play with all of the food - it's tiring! So I go fast and don't pay as much attention to specials and prices that I would like. When one of us is shopping at night, we have a limited time to shop in so we end up going fast then as well.
We shop once a month. We live rurally and the thought of going to town every week to go grocery shopping like the budgeting gurus recommend makes me want to tear my hair out! But I feel that once a month (which mostly turns into once every 6 weeks!) shopping works for us. If we run out of things, it is more effort than it's worth making a special trip to the supermarket to buy more - so we have to think of something different to make.
We do have an awesome local fish and chip shop though which doesn't help things!
We also like eating Isabella! If there is an opportunity/occasion to go out, DP and I will usually go to a restaurant over any other form of entertainment.
ETA - I would totally spend $350 (and more!) on food, if I had an unlimited disposable income... Mmmm, the best of everything. Though, if I had an unlimited disposable income, I would have a chef to cook it all for me.
Edited by Delli
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Spacette
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Joined: 26 June 2010
Location: Hamilton
Points: 487
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Posted: 08 November 2011 at 10:42pm |
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We track ours pretty closely as well, just cos there is hardly any wiggle room. But having said that, we do have occasional takeaways and DF likes his chippies etc so could add $20 to that on a more flush week.
I agree I could spend $200+ easy peasy if the money was there - I do like food. One day!
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Daddaddad
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Joined: 25 October 2011
Points: 8
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Posted: 08 November 2011 at 11:33pm |
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Sounds about right Lulu, I track everything we spend - $200 a week on groceries for 2 adults and 1 x 10mth old on formula, we don't drink so that keeps it down a bit ;) we also track and remove from the grocery budget any grocery items that we buy at random during the week keeping it within that $200.
I earn a pretty good salary but 1 income can be very hard, i like to track everything to maintain control - very easy to start haemorrhaging money! :D especially with the 'pop in and grab a few things' situations...my DP is particularly naughty on that one! ;)
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Hopes
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Joined: 06 August 2008
Location: Waikato
Points: 4495
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Posted: 09 November 2011 at 8:19am |
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I track our spending carefully - I don't always *spend* carefully, mind, but I always know what I'm spending. In an effort to be more sensible about groceries, I've forced myself to limit the grocery shop to once every two weeks. I found I was just popping in for something, and finding all these great deals on the way... you know how it goes. At the moment, my fortnightly shop comes in between $200-300 consistantly. Like I said, though, I've been a bit relaxed about it, I could cut a lot of unnecessary stuff out of that.
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cuppycake
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Joined: 21 August 2010
Location: Pukekohe, Auckland
Points: 118
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Posted: 09 November 2011 at 9:18am |
Going to do a shop today and use your tips, hopefully this will be cheap and actually last the fortnight (!!) 
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MissAngel
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Joined: 10 January 2008
Location: Rangiora
Points: 3322
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Posted: 09 November 2011 at 9:44am |
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To be honest, with the $350 budget, that includes $20 of Nappies, $10 of wipes, $20 for milk for the kids, so that's $50 off of it already! We eat a tonne of fruit and vegetables - and meat every night except a saturday which is fish and chips night (meat and veg usually comes to about $110 at the mad butcher) I dont use cheap shampoo - we go thru a shampoo and conditioner a week, I use organic cleaning products and those are 10 times more expensive than other cleaning products and at LEAST $15 a week on washing powder and fabric softener :P (its 2 loads of washing a day in my house!) and 2 packs of soy yoghurt pottles (they're $8 for 4 of the buggers).
I'm extremely lucky that I have that shopping budget - and grateful! Sometimes it doesnt come to $350 so I can spend the rest on the kids for a treat :D
I dont have any spending money for myself, so I get anything else I need within that budget (hair colour, undies, socks etc).
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Alex, Thomas and Lily 
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single income sufficient?
