[Pugchief]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

Some people criticize AI but this is a weekly budget that AI did in 10 seconds. Most of the items are from Aldi or Walmart so if you shop Publix or if you only eat prime steak it will be a little bit higher. But not 3.5 times higher!

Sample Grocery List for The Villages, FL ($100/week)
**Produce ($26)**
- Bananas (5 lbs): $2.95 ($0.59/lb, ALDI)
- Apples (3 lbs): $4.50 ($1.50/lb, Walmart)
- Carrots (2 lbs): $1.78 ($0.89/lb, ALDI)
- Potatoes (5 lbs): $3.45 ($0.69/lb, Walmart)
- Spinach (1 lb, fresh): $2.20 (ALDI)
- Onions (2 lbs): $2.00 ($1.00/lb, Walmart)
- Tomatoes (2 lbs): $2.80 ($1.40/lb, slightly above national average)
- Bell peppers (2): $2.10 ($1.05 each, ALDI)
- Frozen mixed vegetables (2 lbs): $3.20 ($1.60/lb, Walmart)
- Avocados (2): $2.00 ($1.00 each, ALDI seasonal)

Proteins (~$32)
- Chicken breast (3 lbs, boneless): $9.90 ($3.30/lb, Walmart, reflecting 2024 meat price hikes)
- Ground beef (1 lb, 80/20): $5.00 (up 5.4% from 2024, Walmart)
- Eggs (1 dozen, large): $3.00 (reflecting 57.6% projected increase for 2025)
- Canned tuna (4 cans, 5 oz each): $4.40 ($1.10/can, ALDI store brand)
- Black beans (2 cans, 15 oz each): $1.80 ($0.90/can, ALDI)
- Peanut butter (16 oz jar): $2.70 (ALDI store brand)
- Greek yogurt (32 oz tub, plain): $4.00 (Walmart store brand)

Grains & Pantry (~$23)
- Rice (2 lbs, white): $2.20 ($1.10/lb, ALDI)
- Pasta (2 lbs, spaghetti): $2.00 ($1.00/lb, ALDI)
- Bread (1 loaf, whole wheat): $2.50 (Walmart)
- Tortillas (10-count, flour): $2.00 (ALDI)
- Oats (18 oz, rolled): $2.70 (ALDI)
- Canned tomatoes (2 cans, 15 oz each): $2.20 ($1.10/can, ALDI)
- Olive oil (16 oz bottle): $5.50 (ALDI, reflecting import cost increases)
- Spaghetti sauce (24 oz jar): $2.10 (ALDI store brand)
- Flour (2 lbs, all-purpose): $1.80 (up 36% since 2020, Walmart)

Dairy (~$10)
- Milk (1 gallon, 2%): $3.70 (Walmart, stable pricing)
- Cheddar cheese (8 oz block): $2.60 (ALDI store brand)
- Butter (1 lb): $4.00 (Walmart)

Snacks & Misc (~$9)
- Popcorn kernels (1 lb): $1.50 (ALDI)
- Crackers (16 oz box): $2.80 (Walmart store brand)
- Applesauce (24 oz jar): $2.20 (ALDI)
- Coffee (12 oz ground): $2.50 (ALDI, lower-end price due to import cost concerns)

Total Estimated Cost: $100.23

I would pay money to watch you and one other person consume that entire pile of food in 30 days. That's an awful lot of food.

[Pugchief]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

a glass or two of Bordeaux now and then which probably runs another $400/mo. Life is too short to drink cheap wine.

Would love some recommendations.

[Pugchief]

Originally Posted by SaucyJim

Alcohol at home (discretionary)
Alcohol out (discretionary)

Discretionary to YOU.

[Pugchief]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Yes, your calculator works correctly, but PLEASE read the entire thread before posting!

LOL.
Good luck with that.

[Stu from NYC]

Thinking about what we pay for food and really have no idea.

We have become impulse shoppers and as long as our food waste is minimal does not matter as we are in a position to afford to buy what we like or think we will like.

[margaretmattson]

Originally Posted by Pugchief

I would pay money to watch you and one other person consume that entire pile of food in 30 days. That's an awful lot of food.

I may be wrong but I think the food is for one week? Looks pretty standard. Eggs, milk, bread, oats for breakfast. Tuna and peanut butter for lunch sandwiches with a piece of fruit. Meat and vegetables for dinner, plus a few snacks.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by margaretmattson

I may be wrong but I think the food is for one week? Looks pretty standard. Eggs, milk, bread, oats for breakfast. Tuna and peanut butter for lunch sandwiches with a piece of fruit. Meat and vegetables for dinner, plus a few snacks.

It's not reasonable to assume it's for one week. I don't know of anyone who goes through 2 pounds of flour and a pound of butter in a weekly routine. I get a pound of flour and it lasts a couple of months. A pound of butter can last between a month and three months, depending on my mood to bake desserts.

Five POUNDS of bananas plus three pounds of apples? For one week? I'd be making banana bread with three of those five pounds of bananas; they'd be too mushy to eat by the time we got through the first two pounds.

A pound of peanutbutter for one week? That'll give you some hard-core constipation if a family of two went through that much in a single week.

Most of these pantry items are just that - pantry items. They're not intended to be consumed in one week. And if you're cooking up three POUNDS of boneless chicken breast AND a pound of ground meat (it hasn't been $5/pound even in Walmart since 2022 by the way), you're eating way too much meat.

And the only fresh greens is spinach? Where's the romaine lettuce, or field greens/spring mix? Who's gonna eat a whole POUND of fresh spinach? I mean - that's a LOT of spinach. The average salad bowl will only hold around 1 ounce of fresh spinach leaves. So that's 16 salads - by the time you get to the last 6, the spinach is slimy and you have to throw it away.

[MrLonzo]

Originally Posted by Pugchief

So true.
@MrLonzo most (all?) of those surveys are agenda driven. Think "Best Places to Retire". Why do you think every single time the top 10 are different?

Yes, I can see the best retirement communities -- there are probably political or monetary incentives which go into compiling the lists. I'm having trouble understanding who benefits from inflated food expense numbers, especially when there are dozens of other such surveys online with much different results.

[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by Pugchief

Would love some recommendations.

My personal favorite. I once enjoyed a vertical tasting at the winery, for free! Chateau Palmer | Time Always Tells

Chateau Margaux

Wines from chateaus in regions such as Margaux, Pauillac , Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, Graves and Haut-Medoc I usually enjoy, some more than others. Rhones, no!

[Tom52]

I track all my spending on a spreadsheet. Results are for two people. We shop mostly at WalMart and Aldi and some at Winn Dixie and Publix. Paper products, etc. are included in the groceries totals.

Year 2022
Eating out $2441.14
Groceries $5638.53

Year 2023
Eating out $3543.09
Groceries $6316.93

Year 2024
Eating out $2455.54
Groceries $6236.82

Year to date 2025 (6 months)
Eating out $1605.71
Groceries $3075.43

[Pugchief]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

My personal favorite. I once enjoyed a vertical tasting at the winery, for free! Chateau Palmer | Time Always Tells

Chateau Margaux

Wines from chateaus in regions such as Margaux, Pauillac , Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, Graves and Haut-Medoc I usually enjoy, some more than others. Rhones, no!

Thanks! Will check it out.

Edit: At $250-$1000 per bottle, that's out of 99% of the TOTV price range. I can see spending $50, but not beyond that.

[Laraine]

Originally Posted by MrLonzo

As noted in today's "The Villages Daily Sun", Popmenu recently reported that the average consumer spends $350 per week on food ($115 on restaurants + $235 on groceries). That's the equivalent of $35,000/year, or close to $100/day per couple. My food expenses are about 1/3 of that, and more in line with other results I found online.

I challenged Popmenu on the results of their survey -- waiting to hear back. Meanwhile, how much do spend?

Those numbers sound very high, and they are--$350/week is $18,200/year, not $35,000.

[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by Pugchief

Thanks! Will check it out.

Edit: At $250-$1000 per bottle, that's out of 99% of the TOTV price range. I can see spending $50, but not beyond that.

Yes I know. As I recall I was introduced to and started enjoying Bordeaux wines in the early 1970s and drank them through the mid 1980s. Back in the 1990s I was able to purchase Chateau Palmer at $90 - $130/bottle, depending on its vintage. Anymore I only drink it maybe once or twice a month and share a bottle with friends, or they split theirs with me. Since I am not King Charles or Jeff Bezos that will have to do!

A few years ago a long time wine tasting friend of mine died at age 82. He had an amazing nose and could pretty well nail the mystery wine at the end of the night. On University of California staff member (he held a PhD in physics) salaries he and his wife assembled an amazing wine cellar. He installed a recycled bank vault door on it, no kidding. After he retired he established his own vineyard and winery in Northern New Mexico. It probably helped that they were a dual income childless couple. They took annual trips to France and indulged themselves in meals at the finest restaurants in France. She sold off just part of their cellar for about $2M. I doubt he had more than $100K to $200K in it as he knew how to buy at auctions and from collectors selling some of their wines.

[asianthree]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

Yes I know. Back in the 1990s I was buying Chateau Palmer at $90 - $130/bottle, depending on its vintage. Anymore I only drink it maybe once or twice a month and share a bottle with friends, or they split theirs with me. Since I am not King Charles or Jeff Bezos that will have to do!

A few years ago a long time wine tasting friend of mine died in his 90s. He had an amazing nose and could pretty well nail the mystery wine at the end of the night. On University of California staff member (he held a PhD in physics) salaries he and his wife assembled an amazing wine cellar. He installed a recycled bank vault door on it, no kidding. After he retired he established his own vineyard and winery in Northern New Mexico. It probably helped that they were a dual income childless couple. They took annual trips to France and indulged themselves in meals at the finest restaurants in France. She sold off just part of their cellar for about $2M. I doubt he had more than $100K to $200K in it as he knew how to buy at auctions and from collectors selling some of their wines.

Our 40yo wine club invests in new and old world wineries. One of our investments in 1992 was a new winery Screaming Eagle. Every year since 3 bottles of each variety released is signed and cataloged at the cellar. My wine budget is covered for the next 70 years and beyond. It was a lucky wise investment

[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by asianthree

Our 40yo wine club invests in new and old world wineries. One of our investments in 1992 was a new winery Screaming Eagle. Every year since 3 bottles of each variety released is signed and cataloged at the cellar. My wine budget is covered for the next 70 years and beyond. It was a lucky wise investment

Napa cabs are the best! Screaming Eagle | Napa Valley | Wine Academy | Cult Wines United States.