Milvionne Chery Copeland, Writer
@milvionne_copeland
You should budget 10% to 15% of your income for food, including groceries, dining at restaurants and food delivery. On average, consumers spend about 10% of their income on food, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The actual amount you will spend on food depends on factors such as your family size, the food items you buy, and where you get your groceries. For example, the USDA says a single, 20- to 50-year-old male should budget roughly $304 - $463 per month for food, while a family of four should budget around $984 - $1,599 per month.
How Much to Budget for Food Per Month
| Budget | Single | Family of 2 | Family of 4 |
| Limited | $306 | $550 | $984 |
| Low | $304 | $568 | $1,071 |
| Moderate | $380 | $701 | $1,322 |
| Expensive | $463 | $873 | $1,599 |
Source: USDA
Note: Single costs are based on males ages 19-50. Costs for a family of two are based on males and females ages 19-50. Costs for a family of four are based on males and females ages 19-50 with two kids ages 6-8 and 9-11 years.
How to Save Money on Food
Stick to a shopping list at the grocery store. Sticking to a grocery store list helps you avoid filling your cart with items you don’t really need and prevents sticker shock at the cash register.
Eat at home. Eating out at restaurants costs a lot more than making your own food at home. Cooking food at home also helps you avoid costly delivery fees.
Use coupons. Use coupons from your local grocery store and favorite restaurants to pay less for food.
Try a cheaper grocery store. Not all grocery stores charge the same prices. For example, a pound of apples at one grocery store may be $5.99, while you could pay just $2.99 at a cheaper grocery store.
Do meal prep. If you do not have time to cook at home every night, you can prepare food for the week in advance. This can save you money by preventing you from having to order food.
You can use WalletHub’s budgeting tools to track how much you spend on food, and if you sign up for a premium account, you can sync your bank and credit card accounts to automatically track your spending.
For more information, check out WalletHub’s guides on budgeting and the best ways to save money.
People also ask
What are the benefits of budgeting?
The benefits of budgeting include helping you avoid overspending, minimizing debt, having a plan for emergencies, and making progress toward retirement. Having a budget can also lead to credit score improvement and increase your overall financial knowledge.
We’ll detail some more benefits of budgeting below. You can also check out WalletHub’s budgeting tools to see the benefits first-hand.
7 Benefits of Budgeting
Helps prevent overspending.
Having a budget allows you to plan out...
read full answer by Milvionne Chery Copeland, WriterWhat are the best ways to save money on a tight budget?
Some of the best ways to save money on a tight budget include avoiding impulse buys, using free budgeting tools, comparison shopping, negotiating bills and automating your saving. These steps prevent you from paying more than you have to and help you save money for more important things.
Best Ways to Save Money on a Tight Budget
1. Avoid impulse purchases
Buying items that you don’t need on a whim...
read full answer by Milvionne Chery Copeland, WriterHow do I budget for non-recurring expenses?
To budget for non-recurring expenses, make a list of all your expenses that don’t occur monthly (such as gifts, travel, and home repairs), add up what you spent on them in the past year, and divide the amount by 12. This is roughly the amount you will need to save each month to cover non-recurring expenses for the year.
How to Budget for Non-Recurring Expenses
Make a list of your non-recurring expenses from...
read full answer by Milvionne Chery Copeland, WriterDid we answer your question?
Important Disclosures
Ad Disclosure: Certain offers that appear on this site originate from paying advertisers. For full transparency, here is a list of our current advertisers.
Advertisers compensate WalletHub when you click on a link, or your application is approved, or your account is opened. Advertising impacts how and where offers appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear and their prevalence). At WalletHub we try to present a wide array of offers, but our offers do not represent all financial services companies or products.
Advertising enables WalletHub to provide you proprietary tools, services, and content at no charge. Advertising does not impact WalletHub's editorial content including our best picks, reviews, ratings and opinions. Those are completely independent and not provided, commissioned, or endorsed by any company, as our editors follow a strict editorial policy.