Guest guest Posted October 10, 2003 Report Share Posted October 10, 2003 Like many people, our financial situation has changed significantly in the past few years. We are having to get by on about 1/2 of what we were making 2 years ago, and we've seriously cut back on our spending, but continue to look for ways to save money. I have been using QuickBooks to do my household accounting for the past 2 years and next to rent, our biggest expense by far is food/groceries. I am a strict vegan, my partner is vegetarian (who eats the occasional cheese here & there, but is otherwise vegan) - he is a runner and has a big appetite. We installed an under the sink water filter to save money on bottled water, and buy (as we always have) all of our food and household supplies (cleaning supplies, vitamins, etc.) at Rainbow. We do buy 100% organic foods, so long as it is available (even if it costs significantly higher). Our grocery bill averages at about $500-550/month for the two of us - this seems really, really high to me. Some months it goes as high as $700! This figure doesn't include money spent on dining out (which we do only about 1-2 times a month now) - and my partner makes his lunch/snacks to bring to work, drinks his coffee at the house instead of buying it at a cafe, etc. I don't drink coffee and work at home. He likes beer (drinks about 2-4/week, we buy at the store, rather than going out) - I don't drink alcohol. I wondered how this figure compares to other vegan households, and if anyone has any ideas on how we could reduce our grocery bill (we aren't willing to not buy organic though). As far as vitamins, my partner is the one who takes daily vitamins. He takes a few different vitamins every day (Male Multiple, Vit C, Vit B, some amino acids, Ester-C packs), but he's not a supplement junkie by any means. These are about the most expensive items we buy, besides laundry detergent. Just wondering during these lean times what others are doing to save money on their food bills, if at all, and I'm trying to figure out if we somehow send much more than others, or if this is pretty average. If it's close to average - gosh, meat eaters must spend a fortune! Thanks, Kasie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 10, 2003 Report Share Posted October 10, 2003 Kasie, I know what you're saying. Some suggestions: Brown rice is relatively cheap and filling. Ditto for pasta. Beans are also, especially if you cook them yourself. Making your own hummus. Oatmeal. Jack - " Kasie Maxwell " <kasie " SFBAVeg " <SFBAVeg > Friday, October 10, 2003 10:23 AM [sfBAVeg] Vegan Grocery Budget > Like many people, our financial situation has changed significantly in the > past few years. We are having to get by on about 1/2 of what we were making > 2 years ago, and we've seriously cut back on our spending, but continue to > look for ways to save money. > > I have been using QuickBooks to do my household accounting for the past 2 > years and next to rent, our biggest expense by far is food/groceries. > > I am a strict vegan, my partner is vegetarian (who eats the occasional > cheese here & there, but is otherwise vegan) - he is a runner and has a big > appetite. We installed an under the sink water filter to save money on > bottled water, and buy (as we always have) all of our food and household > supplies (cleaning supplies, vitamins, etc.) at Rainbow. We do buy 100% > organic foods, so long as it is available (even if it costs significantly > higher). > > Our grocery bill averages at about $500-550/month for the two of us - this > seems really, really high to me. Some months it goes as high as $700! This > figure doesn't include money spent on dining out (which we do only about 1-2 > times a month now) - and my partner makes his lunch/snacks to bring to work, > drinks his coffee at the house instead of buying it at a cafe, etc. I don't > drink coffee and work at home. He likes beer (drinks about 2-4/week, we buy > at the store, rather than going out) - I don't drink alcohol. > > I wondered how this figure compares to other vegan households, and if anyone > has any ideas on how we could reduce our grocery bill (we aren't willing to > not buy organic though). > > As far as vitamins, my partner is the one who takes daily vitamins. He > takes a few different vitamins every day (Male Multiple, Vit C, Vit B, some > amino acids, Ester-C packs), but he's not a supplement junkie by any means. > These are about the most expensive items we buy, besides laundry detergent. > > Just wondering during these lean times what others are doing to save money > on their food bills, if at all, and I'm trying to figure out if we somehow > send much more than others, or if this is pretty average. > > If it's close to average - gosh, meat eaters must spend a fortune! > > Thanks, > > Kasie BAY AREA VEGETARIANS (BAV) is a community group for veggies to network & find > support. Free membership and lots of free events :-) See below links for more > veggie info.... > > Event Calendar, Charter, FAQ (/) and More! > > http://www.bayareaveg.org/ > > BAV Message board (discussions and carpool posts) > http://www.generationv.org/forum > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2003 Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 Kasie, you have precisely the same kind of situation my husband and I have found ourselves in! Buying organic is pricey! There's no doubt in my mind that if I bought non-organic at, say, Safeway, our bills would be lower. But I don't want to. To add to Jack's suggestions: - We bought a soy milk maker - saving us $100 a month in soy milk (yes, we drink too much of it). - We buy everything in bulk at Rainbow (sounds like you might already do that) - except canned organic coconut milk. - We avoid buying packaged stuff - We often have produce delivered. It might seem more expensive, but it takes us away from the grocery store, saving us from possible unnecessary purchases (and time, gas, etc.) - We plan each week's meals on Sundays. Then we shop for those meals. We make our shopping list correspond to the areas of the store, so we're not diverted from our mission (again, saving us from possible " hey, should we buy this $20 vegan cake? " and other unneccesary purchases). One book I recently enjoyed was Frugal Living for Dummies. This is off topic, but the book really helped with things like using white vinegar and baking soda instead of expensive packaged cleaning products. It's great that your husband brings food to work - that saves a lot! And eating at home instead of going out is a good one, too. Happy Quickening! (We use that one, too - great way to stay organized!) ~Caity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2003 Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 the suggestions on this list have been really good, so i won't rehash them. i think the bottom line is to make more yourself, rather than rely on processed / packaged / pre-cooked / restaurant food. also, another thing to keep in mind - even if you end up spending more on grocery bills to eat healthy, you'll spend less on health care in the long term. so stay the course. if you treat your body like an investment rather than an expense, it will serve you well for years to come. On 10/10/03, Kasie Maxwell <kasie wrote: > Like many people, our financial situation has changed significantly in the > past few years. We are having to get by on about 1/2 of what we were making > 2 years ago, and we've seriously cut back on our spending, but continue to > look for ways to save money. > > I have been using QuickBooks to do my household accounting for the past 2 > years and next to rent, our biggest expense by far is food/groceries. > > I am a strict vegan, my partner is vegetarian (who eats the occasional > cheese here & there, but is otherwise vegan) - he is a runner and has a big > appetite. We installed an under the sink water filter to save money on > bottled water, and buy (as we always have) all of our food and household > supplies (cleaning supplies, vitamins, etc.) at Rainbow. We do buy 100% > organic foods, so long as it is available (even if it costs significantly > higher). > > Our grocery bill averages at about $500-550/month for the two of us - this > seems really, really high to me. Some months it goes as high as $700! This > figure doesn't include money spent on dining out (which we do only about 1-2 > times a month now) - and my partner makes his lunch/snacks to bring to work, > drinks his coffee at the house instead of buying it at a cafe, etc. I don't > drink coffee and work at home. He likes beer (drinks about 2-4/week, we buy > at the store, rather than going out) - I don't drink alcohol. > > I wondered how this figure compares to other vegan households, and if anyone > has any ideas on how we could reduce our grocery bill (we aren't willing to > not buy organic though). > > As far as vitamins, my partner is the one who takes daily vitamins. He > takes a few different vitamins every day (Male Multiple, Vit C, Vit B, some > amino acids, Ester-C packs), but he's not a supplement junkie by any means. > These are about the most expensive items we buy, besides laundry detergent. > > Just wondering during these lean times what others are doing to save money > on their food bills, if at all, and I'm trying to figure out if we somehow > send much more than others, or if this is pretty average. > > If it's close to average - gosh, meat eaters must spend a fortune! > > Thanks, > > Kasie BAY AREA VEGETARIANS (BAV) is a community group for veggies to network & find > support. Free membership and lots of free events :-) See below links for more > veggie info.... > > Event Calendar, Charter, FAQ (/) and More! > > http://www.bayareaveg.org/ > > BAV Message board (discussions and carpool posts) > http://www.generationv.org/forum > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2003 Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 I just did the math and figured out $550 a month is about $9 per person per day. This is less than it would cost to eat out, unless you took the $1 Chinese Food route, which we all know is unhealthy as heck. When you eat out, unless you're eating at Millenium or it's equivalent, you know the quality of the food is no where near as good as what you purchase and prepare for yourself. There's a trade off, isn't there? If you eat out, you're paying for the labor; if you purchase and prepare your own, you are paying for the quality of the food, and the knowledge of how it is prepared. This worth considering, I think. That being said, I don't think your budget is off, since there would be a range of grocery totals among vegan/organics. Your range is $500 - 700. Others might spend less or more, but I'd say you're toward the middle of the bell curve. Everything costs more these days, right? The suggestions already made sound right on, and I have one more, that you probably do, since you mention purchasing a CSA box..........Purchasing most produce only when it's in season helps keep costs down. I purchase all my produce at the Farmers' Markets. The prices aren't always lower, tho' sometimes they are; but the freshness, and knowing your farmer, is worth it. (And, as Steve said, so are you.) Marcy > the suggestions on this list have been really good, so i won't rehash > them. i think the bottom line is to make more yourself, rather than > rely on processed / packaged / pre-cooked / restaurant food. > > also, another thing to keep in mind - even if you end up spending more > on grocery bills to eat healthy, you'll spend less on health care in the > long term. so stay the course. if you treat your body like an investment > rather than an expense, it will serve you well for years to come. > > On 10/10/03, Kasie Maxwell <kasie wrote: > > > Like many people, our financial situation has changed significantly in the > > past few years. We are having to get by on about 1/2 of what we were making > > 2 years ago, and we've seriously cut back on our spending, but continue to > > look for ways to save money. > > > > I have been using QuickBooks to do my household accounting for the past 2 > > years and next to rent, our biggest expense by far is food/groceries. > > > > I am a strict vegan, my partner is vegetarian (who eats the occasional > > cheese here & there, but is otherwise vegan) - he is a runner and has a big > > appetite. We installed an under the sink water filter to save money on > > bottled water, and buy (as we always have) all of our food and household > > supplies (cleaning supplies, vitamins, etc.) at Rainbow. We do buy 100% > > organic foods, so long as it is available (even if it costs significantly > > higher). > > > > Our grocery bill averages at about $500-550/month for the two of us - this > > seems really, really high to me. Some months it goes as high as $700! This > > figure doesn't include money spent on dining out (which we do only about 1-2 > > times a month now) - and my partner makes his lunch/snacks to bring to work, > > drinks his coffee at the house instead of buying it at a cafe, etc. I don't > > drink coffee and work at home. He likes beer (drinks about 2-4/week, we buy > > at the store, rather than going out) - I don't drink alcohol. > > > > I wondered how this figure compares to other vegan households, and if anyone > > has any ideas on how we could reduce our grocery bill (we aren't willing to > > not buy organic though). > > > > As far as vitamins, my partner is the one who takes daily vitamins. He > > takes a few different vitamins every day (Male Multiple, Vit C, Vit B, some > > amino acids, Ester-C packs), but he's not a supplement junkie by any means. > > These are about the most expensive items we buy, besides laundry detergent. > > > > Just wondering during these lean times what others are doing to save money > > on their food bills, if at all, and I'm trying to figure out if we somehow > > send much more than others, or if this is pretty average. > > > > If it's close to average - gosh, meat eaters must spend a fortune! > > > > Thanks, > > > > Kasie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2003 Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 > Our grocery bill averages at about $500-550/month for the two of us - this > seems really, really high to me. Some months it goes as high as > $700! It's difficult for me to track our personal food expenses at home, but I know for our vegan camping trips, where we have tallied costs for 2 dinners, 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, with snacks/desserts, our cost has been averaging $10-13/day. If that could be extrapolated to a month, that'd be $300-$390/person or $600-$780/couple. And the food has probably been 75-85% organic. Although, I have to say that the amount of food that we've eaten on these trips is probably more than the average person would eat on a regular day. And the food has been pretty decadent overall (we really should call them gourmet vegan camping trips) -- check out the menu from the last trip to Butano: http://www.bayareaveg.org/gallery/butano03 I know our costs have been higher when we've had more 'processed' foods on the camping trip menu. I can see the value in Caity's shopping tips (planned menus), as those impulse buys (esp. for processed foods like vegan Black China cake!) easily add up. But one option that Rainbow does offer is a discount on case purchases if you phone it in advance... I think eating home-cooked foods are the way to go, which is one reason the Vegan Food Parties are so enjoyable as ya get to try different recipes and get a 15-course meal without a huge bill. Recently I've been thinking about food choices and how I make them. Typically I don't consider cost or even nutrition. Just what I " feel " like eating based on available choices. I think it's McDougall's view that eating a variety of foods is one factor in overeating at meals.... So perhaps the most rational choice is to look at what foods have the best value in terms of nutrition AND cost, and to keep them simple. And by eating organically, that should help to eat locally grown/seasonal foods .. Cheers, Tammy Bay Area Vegetarians.... Be-a-Veg with us! http://www.BayAreaVeg.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * FREE vegan info kit: http://www.veganoutreach.org/starterpack/free-vsp.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2003 Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 Steve, > if you treat your body like an investment > rather than an expense, it will serve you well for years to come. Yes! We totally agree on this point, well made! This is why we refuse to not buy organic or similar (sustainable, transitional) produce - its just too important to the health of our bodies, the health of the environment, wildlife and farm workers not to. Tammy, Thank you for the tips and reassurance. Great menus and suggestions - the vegan cake is making me crave chocolate just looking at it! Yes, I say call them Decadent Gourmet Vegan Camping Trips! We don't get so elaborate as we usually backpack - but it sounds really wonderful. > And the food has been pretty decadent overall (we really > should call them gourmet vegan camping trips) -- check out the > menu from the > last trip to Butano: http://www.bayareaveg.org/gallery/butano03 Marcy, > There's a trade off, isn't there? If you eat out, > you're paying for the labor; if you purchase and prepare your own, you are > paying for the quality of the food, and the knowledge of how it > is prepared. > This worth considering, I think. Yes, very interesting thoughts. We always go to restaurants that are vegan friendly, of course, or totally vegan - and its just so nice to eat delicious ethnic food you simply can't find anywhere else, or recreate as well at home. Some of the vegan Ethiopian, Thai, Indian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Burmese, Middle Eastern, and Greek dishes we go absolutely gaga over are well worth the trade-off, even though they may not be low-sodium, low-fat or organic. But these are traditional truly special dishes that are prepared by chefs who use unique seasonings better than we could at home - even with a good recipe book! Plus, we're doing our part to patronize restaurants that are veg-friendly. (At least that's out excuse to spend the extra money and enjoy such amazing food - haha!) Thanks again everyone for the wonderful advice! Best, Kasie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2003 Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 I spend $60-$75 per week at Wholefoods on vegan groceries for myself. I always think it's expensive; however I think the bottom line is that you get what you pay for. For my money I get a wonderful variety of high quality food. In comparison, my husband (who isn't vegetarian) will go to Safeway and buy $50 worth of junk(sugar cereal,cookies,Coke,frozen pizza etc.) and i wonder how he can survive on a diet like that:) As a poor student I'm often short on money; to stretch my pennies I will buy ingredients to make recipes that can be made several times throughout the week or provide leftovers(which is most recipes since I'm the only vegan in my household!). Examples-pasta,curries,sandwiches,whole grain cereals,burritos,etc. Also, I always pack a brown bag lunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2003 Report Share Posted October 12, 2003 Try foraging/gleaning (I highly recommend the movie " the Gleaners " ), I know for a fact that there are some serious blackberries ripening off Seacliff Av. (right in back of the bldg on the beach, I think it's China Beach). Anyways, yeah, call some farms too, find out which will let you pick after their harvest for the many pounds of produce for cheap or free (getting rid of the fruit helps them cut down on mold/fungal spores). Find a state park, national recreational area like the Presidio, and pick some greens to juice or make a salad. Odds are they will be healthier than what you could buy from a store, e.g. lambsquarters are amazing in taste and nutritionally, but good luck finding them at Real or Rainbow (please use a plant key if you pick a bunch of stuff you are unsure of, but plenty of plant keys online- find out what is in 5-10 questions, easy peasy). Also, how about CSA (community sponsored agriculture), where you pay like $25 a week for a big box of veggies and fruits in season. That's what you should be eating anyways, locally grown organic fruits and veggies, in season (preferably raw- why cook away the nutrients??). JP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2003 Report Share Posted October 12, 2003 Hey Kaisie, In case you didn't know, Rainbow's supplement department also offers a 10% discount on all their items if you purchase over $100 worth of supplements at any one time. The supplement department also offers even bigger discounts of larger purchases but I can't remember exactly how much they are. You would have to ask someone from that department for details. I believe the same is true for their bath & body department as well. Good luck. Warren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2003 Report Share Posted October 12, 2003 I've found this discussion very interesting. One thing I've always had a problem with in being vegetarian is that I am a single person and live alone, and find it difficult to buy foods (mainly produce) that I can prepare myself that won't go bad after two days. I generally spend about $40-50 a week at Trader Joe's, but I do buy a lot of pre-packaged food because I don't know what else to buy for lunches at work. For dinners, I cook myself (I never go out) and eat a lot of pasta, salads, stir-fry, etc. I'm wondering what other single/living alone veg*s eat for lunches at work and how they go about preparing it. I've been veg for almost 10 years, but living on my own the past couple of years has been a real challenge, and I find myself leaning towards convenience rather than health a lot of times. I'd like to try to incorporate more produce and healthful, non-prepackaged foods into my diet, but I'm not quite sure how to do it on a budget and " for one. " Thanks! Peace, Love, Joy, Kristy " Life is made up of moments, small pieces of glittering mica in a long stretch of gray cement. " -Anna Quindlen The New with improved product search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 13, 2003 Report Share Posted October 13, 2003 One more note about vegan budgeting... Just found this on Vegetarian Baby and Child - " The Cheap Vegan " " If you are living on a tight budget or simply like to save your pennies, you're in luck! If you've never heard of The Cheap Vegan you are missing out! " http://www.vegetarianbaby.com/cheapvegan.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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