What’s a realistic monthly grocery budget for one person

Hi Janice, For a mid-cost area, a realistic monthly grocery budget for one person who cooks most meals at home is around $300 to $400. If you are pretty frugal and cook from scratch, $275 to $325 is doable, while lots of organic or convenience items can push you toward $400 to $500. This is just groceries, not eating out or alcohol, which can blow the budget fast.

Here is a concrete $310-ish month that feeds one adult well: proteins like 10 lb chicken thighs at sale prices, 3 dozen eggs, 8 cans of beans, 4 packs of tofu, and 2 lb frozen salmon lands around $60. Dairy at roughly $25 to $30 covers 2 gallons of milk, a 2 lb block of cheese, and 8 single yogurts. Produce at $75 gives you a good mix of greens, onions, potatoes, bananas, apples, and in-season items, plus 6 bags of frozen veggies for about $12. Grains and pantry at about $75 gets you a 10 lb bag of rice, 6 lb pasta, 4 loaves of bread, canned tomatoes, olive oil, spices and condiments, coffee, peanut butter, cereal, tortillas, and a few snacks or a couple frozen meals.

A simple rule of thumb is $10 to $12 per day if you cook most meals at home, so about $300 to $360 per month. Shop weekly with a target like $75 to $90, plan 10 to 12 dinners and eat leftovers for lunches, and expect the first month to be higher if you are stocking basics like oil and spices. If you rely on prepared foods or lots of specialty items, budget closer to $400 to $450. If your city is high cost or you prefer mostly organic meat and produce, add 20 to 30 percent.

Honestly I spun myself into knots trying to meal-plan for every craving and still watched the bill creep to 450 a month, which felt ridiculous for one person. Prices are dumb right now and the first month hurts because you buy staples, but once that was done my simple fix was a weekly cap and a tiny rotation. I set 80–90 dollars per week in a mid-cost city and stick to a cart like eggs, chicken thighs or tofu, rice or pasta, beans, frozen veg, a leafy green, fruit, yogurt, and one treat, and I end up around 320–360 a month. If I track on my phone calculator as I shop and skip "just in case" items, I land on budget and waste less. Rule of thumb that kept me sane is two proteins and two carbs, two veggies, one snack, and coffee per week, then eat leftovers for lunch.