Check out my recent grocery haul in New York City and how I managed to only spend $30, fitting nicely within my budget to save more than 55% of my take-home pay each month. Recently, I was shocked to find out that the average 2 Person Family budgets and spends between $529 – $830 a month on groceries (Source Link)!! That’s a lot of money to spend on grocery items alone and that’s not even considering New York City COL. That got me thinking about our recent grocery trip. Welcome to our first weekly grocery haul. I will update here each time we grocery shop.
On Monday, we went to a local grocery stand and were able to snag some great buys!
Total New York Grocery Haul and Budget:
- 10# bag of onions
- 4 ears of corn
- 4 cucumbers
- 2 heads of iceberg lettuce
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 5# bag of jasmine rice
- 6 zucchinis
- 8 tomatoes
- 6 bananas
All of that for $32.66 – that’s half the price for a dinner out in the city for two! This makes grocery haul fit within my budget versus going out to eat in New York City.
Here’s how I’ve eaten through this grocery haul and stayed within budget while living in New York City:
- Monday –
- PM after grocery shopping: 2 Zucchinis to make Zucchini Noodles (we own a spiralizer) + leftover spaghetti sauce (Prego on sale + leftover veggies)
- Tuesday –
- Lunch (often times the first meal of our day): Leftover spaghetti + Zucchini Noodles
- Dinner/Lunch (sometimes the meals blend together): Buddha Bowls (Recipe Here): Onions + Pantry Chickpeas; Quinoa and Spicy Tahini Sauce
- Snacks: 2 Cucumbers + Tahini Sauce + Spicy Korean Bean Paste Sauce (Samjang)
- Wednesday –
- Mid-Day Prepped 4 Zucchini worth’s of Zucchini Noodles
- Lunch: Zucchini Noodles + leftover Spicy Tahini Sauce
- Snacks throughout the day: 3 Bananas + Tahini x Maple Syrup combo (I’m mildly allergic to peanuts so I avoid the glorious peanut butter)
- Dinner: Ate out with friend and spent $60 between the two of us (Between us we ordered 1 Appetizer, 2 Entrees and she had a beer).
- Thursday (Today) –
- Lunch: Zucchini Noodles + Spicy Tahini Sauce (Yes, I’m now hitting my limit of Zucchini Noodles and need to pace myself)
You might be asking yourself, what’s remaining from the grocery haul?
- 10# bag of onions << Very much intact
- 4 ears of corn << Untouched
4 cucumbers<< 2 Cucumbers- 2 heads of iceberg lettuce << Untouched
- 1 head of cauliflower << Untouched
- 5# bag of jasmine rice << Still there
6 zucchinis<< All Zoodled away- 8 tomatoes << Some used for my partner’s tomato egg dish + rice
- 6 bananas << 3 Bananas remain!
All in all, very effective and successful grocery haul. I will update by the next time I go grocery shopping about the progress of this haul, what we made with it and what we will buy next!
Read about the start of my budget journey here.
How much do you spend a week on groceries?