# Grocery Shopping



## RIP - VTEnviro (Jun 1, 2010)

So I was having a conversation with a coworker earlier, complaining about how much groceries cost each week. When I mentioned what we spent, she looked at me like I had two heads. We spend $160-170 per week in one trip to the supermarket, and that feeds 2 adults breakfast, lunch and dinner for a full week. I guess it seems like a lot of you go out to eat all the time, or pick stuff up every night after work. But it breaks down to less than $25/day for 2 people, which isn't bad, and I can't think of any other ways I could be cutting down on stuff, the fridge is empty by week's end.

So I am curious to see what others are spending. Obviously some people live in more or less expensive areas, but I'm just looking to get an idea.


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## Supe (Jun 1, 2010)

We (read: Supe) spend about $350/mo for two adults and one child. I don't really eat breakfast or lunch at home, and the more we try to cook meals or eat healthy, the more those costs climb.


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## snickerd3 (Jun 1, 2010)

depends on the week and what the pantry looks like. If we need canned goods and/or basic supplies like paper towels, soap, etc... it is usually around $100/wk, othertimes it is less than $50 (usually just perishable food like meat fruits and veggies)


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## Master slacker (Jun 1, 2010)

We typically spend less than $400 per month (typically $70 to $100 per week) for groceries. This includes EVERYTHING from the store, not just food. This feeds the wifey-wife and myself. Mini-MS depends on the w-w for nutrition... so I guess that bill is for two adults and one baby.


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## roadwreck (Jun 1, 2010)

We probably spend $80 a week on groceries. That's 2 adults; breakfast, lunch &amp; dinner for the week.


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## Road Guy (Jun 1, 2010)

too damn much, 2 adults, 3 kids,, i cant seem to get out of publix with less than $100 each time we go (couple times a week cause we plan poorly)


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## goodal (Jun 1, 2010)

no less than $150 a week for 2 adults and 3 kids. we dont eat out much and get quite a bit from our garden. oh and also have a quarter of a cow in the freezer.


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## Chucktown PE (Jun 1, 2010)

We have a family of four. Mini-Chucktown and Little Miss Chucktown together eat about 1 adult serving.

I track our expenses obsessively with Quicken. For everything we buy at the grocery store, which includes diapers for Little Miss Chucktown, laundry detergent, dish washing detergent, etc. we spend about $750 per month. Mrs. Chucktown has gotten in to super couponing and that has trimmed our number by at least $250 a month. Towards the end of 2009 we were spending $1000 a month.

Mrs. Chucktown now plans all of our meals in advance for the week and we eat most everything fresh. No processed foods except for she'll occasionally make the kids Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.


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## roadwreck (Jun 1, 2010)

I think my wife and I may be a bit (very) OCD when it comes to grocery shopping. Each week I will go through the grocery store circular and make a list of what is on sale at two different local supermarkets. I give the list to my wife and she uses it to put together a menu for the week and a grocery list for each store. Then I get one list and go to one store and she takes the other list and goes to the other store. People look at us like we are crazy when we tell them what we do. But it doesn't take a whole lot of time, we keep costs down and since we have everything planned out we only go to the store once a week.

If I go into a grocery store without a list I could easily walk out having spent $100, instead of the $35-$40 I typically spend with a list.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jun 1, 2010)

The Stop and Shop by us is probably not the cheapest place around, but it's right down the street. But we tried a Shaw's 15 minutes away and spent more on groceries, and wasted more time and gas, so we hit the S&amp;S.

We make a list of all the food we need based on picking recipes out of cookbooks for the week, and non-food (garbage bags, laundry soap, etc.) items that we need based on what we are out of. So there's nothing extraneous on it. If there's anything left at the end of the week, we try to give it to the dogs rather than toss it.

Most of the stuff we get is fresh produce, meat, and dairy. We get very few processed items. So the fresh stuff is more expensive and drives up the cost. I also wonder if we pay more in New England for certain fruits and veggies than you folks in warmer climates do. I don't think we get lots of local stuff and it costs money to ship it.


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## snickerd3 (Jun 1, 2010)

I'd love to have a menu plan for the week, but a. 2 of the 3 stores in town don't have ads and b. mr snick doesn't like that idea. I've tried. So we just have lots of choice on hand and decide each night.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jun 1, 2010)

We have it pretty well planned out...

Saturday night we had cornbread crusted chicken with roasted red bell pepper sauce

Sunday we had planked salmon with blackberry glaze on the grill.

and last night we had an Indian style chicken and tomato dish, a mushroom and zucchini dish on the side, and homemade naan. I'd marry my wife for the naan alone.

Saturday and Monday made leftovers for another night, and we have one other thing (I forget) on the menu for Wed and Fri.

Take the guess work out of things, and you know you won't be missing any ingredient halfway through cooking it.


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## Chucktown PE (Jun 1, 2010)

I also forgot to mention that I have quite a bid of seafood that I freeze as well. We have about 40 pounds of shrimp frozen which will last us most of the year eating 1 lb a week. I need to get a chest freezer to hold all of my catch.


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## mizzoueng (Jun 1, 2010)

Wifey is a couponing queen, so we plan our meals out the best we can weekly and she hits up the store the week before. We can typically get by with breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Wifey, me, and mini-mizzou for under $25/week.

Wifey rolls deals and coupons, one of the stores here has a $10 off $50 total on Thursdays and another store will match that to stay competitive. She can typically save 50-75%. She also has a blog teaching how to do this, if anyone wants to know PM me.


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## Shanks (Jun 1, 2010)

We're just two and we regularly eat breakfast and lunch. I work close to home and wifey is about to finish school so for now we try to eat home. Our dinners could be light sometime, well that happens if our evening snack is heavy. I eat out once a week with my colleagues (to celebrate Fridays) and over the weekend we usually go out once...

I am a budget control freak so I track every damn spending on Mint...we've monthly budget of $200 for grocery (only foods), $100 for eating out and $50 for other household stuffs (tissues, cleaning items etc.). The $200 budget for food sometimes go up by $50 something but everything else stays around or under the budget. We have a membership of Sams, so we do bulk shopping in there and we limit the trips to superstores only twice a month. For sure I might have to make one or two trips to local farm store just for milk/breads/eggs but I've experienced it personally that less trips to superstores keeps a rein on the budget.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jun 1, 2010)

Chucktown PE said:


> I also forgot to mention that I have quite a bid of seafood that I freeze as well. We have about 40 pounds of shrimp frozen which will last us most of the year eating 1 lb a week. I need to get a chest freezer to hold all of my catch.


That's awesome. I love shrimp, but not the price. They do have lobster for $5.99/lb here though this week.


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## Supe (Jun 1, 2010)

I haven't seen a lobster tank since I left Texas


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## Chucktown PE (Jun 1, 2010)

VTEnviro said:


> Chucktown PE said:
> 
> 
> > I also forgot to mention that I have quite a bid of seafood that I freeze as well. We have about 40 pounds of shrimp frozen which will last us most of the year eating 1 lb a week. I need to get a chest freezer to hold all of my catch.
> ...



Little bro and I caught 120 lbs of shrimp over two nights back in October. After we headed them that ended up being about 80 lbs. I think we gave away about 20 lbs from that weekend so we each ended up with about 30lbs to keep. I made about 5 more trips and ended up freezing another 20 lbs or so. Mrs. Chucktown is bummed because we only have about 15 lbs left to last us until September when shrimping season opens back up.

But the trout bite is heating up so hopefully we'll be eating trout for a few weekends.


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## Dexman PE (Jun 1, 2010)

I budget about $100/wk for food. Most of it is spent at the grocery store, but I typically go to the sandwich shop in the building for lunch (~$30/wk). Sometimes we spend a little more, sometimes a little less.


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## MechGuy (Jun 1, 2010)

Family of 5 here, and we usually spend anywhere from $150-200/week for everything at the grocery store (including diapers and formula). It seems really high to me, but I can't seem to get my wife to do the menu planning or coupon thing. I think we could trim it down a bit with a little work, but its been hard trying to get the planning down.


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## Paul S (Jun 1, 2010)

My family of five is in the $200 per week range for food.

I am not doubting some of the costs that have been stated by others, but I find them hard to believe with the cost of food, especially the under $25 per week for a family of three? It is awesome that you only spend that much. Food prices have to be different in various parts of the country. For me, just a gallon of milk, loaf of bread, a pound of American cheese and say turkey breast, and a bottle of fruit juice and a box of cereal is easily $20.


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## Chucktown PE (Jun 1, 2010)

Paul S said:


> My family of five is in the $200 per week range for food.
> I am not doubting some of the costs that have been stated by others, but I find them hard to believe with the cost of food, especially the under $25 per week for a family of three? It is awesome that you only spend that much. Food prices have to be different in various parts of the country. For me, just a gallon of milk, loaf of bread, a pound of American cheese and say turkey breast, and a bottle of fruit juice and a box of cereal is easily $20.



I agree. Mrs. Chucktown is crazy with the couponing and we might be able to get down to $150 a week but deli meat alone runs us $20 a week. Fresh produce is another $30. There aren't coupons for those items and they rarely go on sale. We only buy meat that is on sale and when it does (like when whole chickens are on sale for $0.89 per lb) we stock pile and freeze a bunch. Same with roasts, etc. Just those items have us at $60 a week.

We're not willing to give up fresh produce or Boar's Head deli meat.


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## snickerd3 (Jun 1, 2010)

Paul S said:


> My family of five is in the $200 per week range for food.
> I am not doubting some of the costs that have been stated by others, but I find them hard to believe with the cost of food, especially the under $25 per week for a family of three? It is awesome that you only spend that much. Food prices have to be different in various parts of the country. For me, just a gallon of milk, loaf of bread, a pound of American cheese and say turkey breast, and a bottle of fruit juice and a box of cereal is easily $20.


That exact list of items would cost me $18 at our walmart.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jun 1, 2010)

> We're not willing to give up fresh produce or Boar's Head deli meat.


Fresh produce is a killer. I spend most of my time and money in aisle 1. This is where the produce and deli are. The Stop &amp; Shop line of deli food is fine, but their basic chicken or turkey breast is $6.99-$7.99 on sale, roast beef or pastrami is more. Even American cheese store brand is $5.99/lb.

Sure beats Hamburger Helper.


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## Supe (Jun 1, 2010)

I never really noticed how much meat cost nowadays compared to what it was just a few years ago. Inflation's a bitch.


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## Chucktown PE (Jun 1, 2010)

Every week we get 1/2 lb of either Boar's Head roasted chicken breast or roasted turkey breast which are $8.99 per lb. Then we get 1/2 lb of Boar's Head deli style ham or roast beef which are also $8.99 per lb. We also get about a lb of baby swiss cheese which is usually $6.99 per lb.


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## cdcengineer (Jun 1, 2010)

We spend roughly $100 per week for (2) adults and a 1 year old eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. This includes meats for lunch, chicken and bacon (if needed), but for the most part we eat elk and/or deer so we're not buying ground beef or steaks. This does not include paper towels, bath tissue or other toiletries as they are usually purchased separately.


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## mizzoueng (Jun 1, 2010)

Chucktown PE said:


> Paul S said:
> 
> 
> > My family of five is in the $200 per week range for food.
> ...


One of Wifeys tricks for fresh meat is to check the beer isle. Usually Miller or someone is offering a rebate on "picnic" items. So you get like $10 back on some purchase which can include fresh meat, deli meat, etc.

Under $25/week can be done, we buy milk at Sam's Club and meat there as well. Wifeys gets everything else near free with coupons. I have enough shampoo, toothpaste, and pasta sauce to last a year.


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## cdcengineer (Jun 1, 2010)

Who here is spending their hard earned $ on organic milk, produce, etc.? Do these dollar amounts include such an expense?


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## Dexman PE (Jun 1, 2010)

cdcengineer said:


> Who here is spending their hard earned $ on organic milk, produce, etc.? Do these dollar amounts include such an expense?


During the summer we'll get a fair amount of produce at the local farmer's market. And yes, my $100/wk budget includes this.


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## cdcengineer (Jun 1, 2010)

Dex - are you buying _organic _though


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## NCcarguy (Jun 1, 2010)

I've gotten to the point that every time I go it seems to be in the $200 range...and I don't really get anything it seems, so I can sure see how you spend that much. Heck, I was thinking I needed to hire a personal shopper for me, to SAVE money.


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## Ble_PE (Jun 1, 2010)

I just checked on Yodlee, and it looks like we average about $300/month, but there are huge swings in that. Mrs. Ble has become a coupon master since becoming a SAHM and she spends a lot of time figuring out which stores are having the best sales. Also, most of our meat comes from BJs or Costco and we have a large freezer that we keep in the garage that's full. In addition to the $300, we spend around $100-$150 per month eating out, so that's around $450/month for food stuff.


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## Chucktown PE (Jun 1, 2010)

Ble_PE said:


> most of our meat comes from BJs


Some things are better left unsaid.


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## chaosiscash (Jun 1, 2010)

I looked at 2009, and we spent around $85 / week at the supermarket, which includes both food and stuff like detergent and paper towels. That's for 2 adults. I'd say we eat out on average of twice a week for dinner (usually one "cheap" and one "nicer"), and one lunch a week for each of us, but other than that we prepare most of our food. There is only one place to get fresh seafood here (and you pay a premium), so if you add in that cost it probably jumps to $95 a week on average, as we'll go there every couple of weeks and spend $20. My family also has a small farm in SC, so generally when I go down there I come back with some beef or pork for the freezer, so that helps a lot.


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## Capt Worley PE (Jun 1, 2010)

I don't have a clue.


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## Ble_PE (Jun 1, 2010)

Chucktown PE said:


> Ble_PE said:
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> 
> > most of our meat comes from BJs
> ...


What can I say, I like to brag.


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## kevo_55 (Jun 1, 2010)

My wife and I spend maybe $90 per week.

We don't buy proccessed foods, so it is mostly fruits, veggi's, and meat or some kind.


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## Dexman PE (Jun 1, 2010)

Ble_PE said:


> Chucktown PE said:
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> 
> > Ble_PE said:
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Wouldn't really call it a "brag" since your sentence indicates that you also get your meat that way...


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## Chucktown PE (Jun 1, 2010)

^^ what he said.


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## Ble_PE (Jun 1, 2010)

Dexman PE said:


> Ble_PE said:
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> 
> > Chucktown PE said:
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Touche. Once again, reading (or in this case, writing) comprehension bites me in the ass again. :smileyballs:


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## Dexman PE (Jun 1, 2010)

Not that theres anything wrong with that...


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## Chucktown PE (Jun 1, 2010)

It took 34 posts for me to bring this thing into the gutter, far too long IMHO. Work with me here people.


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## Paul S (Jun 1, 2010)

Chucktown PE said:


> It took 34 posts for me to bring this thing into the gutter, far too long IMHO. Work with me here people.


Have you lost your touch?


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## Katiebug (Jun 1, 2010)

We spend about $85/week on average for two adults (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). We don't eat many processed foods and there aren't many coupons for produce, meat, and dairy foods. We only buy organic milk and yogurt and avoid high fructose corn syrup - which I swear is in _everything_. Also, during the pregnancy I'm trying to stick with organic for certain fruits and veggies (the ones with the most pesticide residue). Organic = expensive!


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## wilheldp_PE (Jun 1, 2010)

It's just me, and I'd be surprised if I spent more than about $100 a month on groceries. I don't eat breakfast, and usually eat out for lunch during the week. So I have usually 2 lunches and 5 or 6 dinners (I eat dinner out probably about once a week). I usually have a big ($150+) grocery trip about once every 2 months, and a few $10-$20 trips in between for bread and peanut butter.


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## engineergurl (Jun 1, 2010)

I usually do one big shopping trip to publix a month, with milk/bread runs to the local grocery store. I also purchase ALL of my hygeine, paper products, trash bags and detergents at the dollar general store. We were spending about $450 a month on all that stuff for just two people...

and then I found the feed store back in March, picking up all the animal supplies there has saved me well over $100 a month because I can get a 40 pound bag of good dog food for $28 rather then a 30 pound bag of only okay food at publix for $25. The dogs are eating A LOT less of the new food because it's more suited for their breeds, so we are getting by on about one bag every 2 or 2 and a half weeks. Added to the savings of purchasing all the kitty supplies and the flea meds etc...

I only get paid once a month, so the first two weeks we eat a lot of fresh veggies and fruits and lunchmeat... switching to foods with more preservatives as it gets closer to the 15th. We also do not eat out very much, and when we do it's always someplace like subway where we can both eat for less then $15.

I suppose I could save some money going to the commisary... but since we are both working, I'm paying to avoid the driving.


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## Dexman PE (Jun 1, 2010)

^^ That sucks that you only get paid once a month. I'd almost be tempted to setup some kind of system where the entire paycheck is direct-deposited into a savings account then do a corresponding bi-weekly or bi-monthly automatic transfer.


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## cdcengineer (Jun 1, 2010)

engineergurl said:


> I usually do one big shopping trip to publix a month, with milk/bread runs to the local grocery store. I also purchase ALL of my hygeine, paper products, trash bags and detergents at the dollar general store. We were spending about $450 a month on all that stuff for just two people...
> and then I found the feed store back in March, picking up all the animal supplies there has saved me well over $100 a month because I can get a 40 pound bag of good dog food for $28 rather then a 30 pound bag of only okay food at publix for $25. The dogs are eating A LOT less of the new food because it's more suited for their breeds, so we are getting by on about one bag every 2 or 2 and a half weeks. Added to the savings of purchasing all the kitty supplies and the flea meds etc...
> 
> I only get paid once a month, so the first two weeks we eat a lot of fresh veggies and fruits and lunchmeat... switching to foods with more preservatives as it gets closer to the 15th. We also do not eat out very much, and when we do it's always someplace like subway where we can both eat for less then $15.
> ...


What brand of dog food?


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## engineergurl (Jun 1, 2010)

cdcengineer said:


> engineergurl said:
> 
> 
> > I usually do one big shopping trip to publix a month, with milk/bread runs to the local grocery store. I also purchase ALL of my hygeine, paper products, trash bags and detergents at the dollar general store. We were spending about $450 a month on all that stuff for just two people...
> ...



Diamond Extreme Athlete- It has 32% protein and 25% fat with added glucosamine

I actually like having the once a month pay, it's made me pay much closer attention to what we spend on things.


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## wilheldp_PE (Jun 1, 2010)

Since my BIL made partner at his law firm, he only gets paid once a quarter, and the amount varies every quarter. That's gotta throw a wrench in your budgeting sprockets.


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## engineergurl (Jun 1, 2010)

snickerd3 said:


> I'd love to have a menu plan for the week, but a. 2 of the 3 stores in town don't have ads and b. mr snick doesn't like that idea. I've tried. So we just have lots of choice on hand and decide each night.



What I do each month is see what we have, and see what meals I can make... then I don't say "tuesday we are having this" I say, here are the 31 options for the month... by the end of the month it is usually slimmer picking, but it works and my husband (who doesn't like to feel boxed in to a set menu) seems to do okay with it.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jun 1, 2010)

engineergurl said:


> cdcengineer said:
> 
> 
> > engineergurl said:
> ...


Yowza! You running a husky ranch or something? Those are some serious calories.

I've actually been spending less on dog food. One of my dogs got overweight when we stopped strictly watching his diet, so we not only put him on a weight control recipe, but added a lot of veggies as bulk, so he feels full.

That was about the time we got the pup. She saw he was getting the veggies, and assumed it was something special, and practically begged for them.

We actually just got the big dog off of the weight control diet, but still do the veggies. We got him down from 104 to 92 lbs. Believe it or not, that's what the vet says is his ideal size. He's one of the biggest pure Labs you'll ever run into.


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## Dleg (Jun 1, 2010)

I don't have exact figures because it seems like every day I ahve to run to the store for something we forgot, or something we ran out of, but I'd guess we spend close to $200 a week for food for a family of 5 (including a live-in housekeeper) and daily babysitting for 2-4 additional nieces and nephews. Prices out here are very high for most things.

Here's an example, and I'd love to hear how much you guys pay for it, but your typical Costco bag of frozen chicken breasts is around $25 now. That seems awfully high to me. 3 years ago it was only $18.


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