How Much Should a Couple Spend on Groceries Each Month?

photo credit: Farmers' market haul, 2008-11-29 via photopin (license)



One of the first comments a friend made after beginning the diet her doctor recommended (eat predominantly lean proteins, fruits and vegetables to lose weight) was that she was spending too much money on groceries.  She complained of wasting food. Her husband and son were refusing to eat vegetables with every meal, she was growing tired of salads and many of the expensive fruits she was purchasing were spoiling before she had a chance to eat them.  

I couldn’t help but think of her as I began my live healthy on a budget challenge, was my healthier diet going to cost more? I hadn’t tracked my monthly grocery spending in the past, but estimate I spent an average of $600 a month on groceries for my husband and me.  Note: we rarely eat out and always pack a lunch for work. Could I spend less than that and still eat healthy?

To determine the average monthly food expenditures for a couple I consulted the Official USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home at Four Levels, U.S. Average for December 2014.  The monthly low-cost plan for a family of 2 aged 51 – 70 was $478.50.  I used this information to set a monthly grocery spending budget of $500 or under.

Unfortunately in January we spent $605.  I didn’t keep track of what we bought, but know the $605 included coffee which my husband insists belongs in the grocery budget. Also, in January he determined the back and chest soreness he was experiencing was due to acid reflux. After researching an acid reflux friendly diet he purchased pre-packaged cut-up vegetables at full price and other items that wouldn’t aggravate his already enflamed esophagus.  In addition, some of the items purchased earlier in the month (coffee, tomato-based products and citrus) he was now unable to eat.

Our February grocery spending has been more in line with our budget - to date we have spent $194. I now attempt to buy only fresh fruits and vegetables that are inexpensive or on sale. Asparagus was the only fresh food on sale this week that interested us. In addition, I purchased dried peas, apples, yellow squash and carrots – none of which were on sale.

Our menu for the week is as follows:

Today: Asparagus Frittata from Maria A. Bella’s book The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Acid Reflux Diet

Monday: Split Pea and Wild Rice Soup from Leslie L. Cooper’s Low-Fat Living Cookbook: 250 Easy, Great-Tasting Recipes

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Apple-Sautéed Turkey Tenderloin also from Maria A. Bella’s book The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Acid Reflux Diet and a vegetable stir-fry.

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Coconut Panko Shrimp from Patricia Raymond’s Acid Reflux Diet and Cookbook For Dummies with stir-fried vegetables.

For the rest of the month I am going to explore using mushrooms as a replacement for meat in a recipe or two and eating more ancient grains such as barley, quinoa and falafel. My niece who is a vegetarian and a poor college student tells me barley is a good source of protein and is easy to digest. Also, I hope including grains in my salads will help make them more interesting.

How much do you spend on groceries each month?  Do you have any tips to eat healthy and not break the budget?

Should My Dog’s Teeth Be Professionally Cleaned?

Ten years ago while we were about to become a dog owner for the first time a friend was contemplating whether she should have her 11-year old dog’s teeth professionally cleaned. The procedure would cost $250. Professionally cleaning a dog’s teeth! I had never heard of such a thing. My friend not wanting to subject her older dog to the anesthesia decided to forego the procedure.

I faced a similar decision a couple of weeks ago when my husband returned from taking Teddy our eight-year old yellow Labrador retriever to the vet.

Our vet who had been keeping an eye on Teddy’s teeth for some time now recommended we have his teeth professionally cleaned. Teddy had developed a mild form of gingivitis. His teeth which had begun showing signs of plaque when he was only two year old were now brown and his gums were red and swollen. We received a quote of $412 without x-rays, $599 with for this procedure. The x-rays were needed to determine if any teeth needed to be extracted. The cost of teeth extraction was extra. $600!!! The cost of teeth cleaning had gone up quite a bit in ten years.  

We looked at Teddy’s teeth ourselves:

and decided to go ahead with the procedure. Our vet thought Teddy may be in pain – we had noticed there were times when Teddy ate slower and more tentatively than usual. In addition, not having them cleaned now could lead to other health problems later on. The bacteria from gingivitis could travel through Teddy’s bloodstream contributing to heart, kidney or liver disease. His teeth would also continue to deteriorate which could lead to infection, teeth loss and difficulty eating.

His x-ray’s detected one bad tooth that had to be extracted. The upper right 12 incisor was fractured and its pulp was exposed. Not removing it could lead to an abysses tooth and damage to the teeth surrounding it.

The cost of the procedure included pre-anesthetic blood work. These tests checked Teddy’s blood sugar, kidney values, and red blood cell count. They were to detect abnormalities that could affect anesthesia. He also received intravenous fluids during anesthesia. These were given to combat a decrease in blood pressure which sometimes results from the anesthesia drugs. In addition, an intravenous catheter allows immediate administration of emergency drugs if there is an adverse reaction from the anesthesia.    

Here is the break down of costs for Teddy’s professional teeth cleaning including tooth extraction:
........ ........ ........

Description	Cost
Anesthesia and IV Catheter	43.70
Pain Injection (2)	48.40
Surgical Monitor	30.20
Scale and Polish Teeth	81.70
Fluoride Treatment	23.00
Day-Care Kennel Use	20.60
Cefazolin (Antibiotic)	21.00
IV Fluids During Surgery	21.60
Radio graph Dental Full Mouth	130.00
CHEM/CBC/UA In-House	0.00
Chem Panel w/Electrolytes	72.82
CBC (Complete Blood Count)	49.30
Nerve Block(s)	18.50
Rimadyl 100mg Chewable (4)	18.20
Non-Surgical Tooth Extraction	35.00
Total	$614.20

Teddy did very well at the clinic and other than a couple of hours of whimpering at home (which resulted in lots of pets and belly rubs) he had a speedy recovery. Here is a photo of his clean pearly whites.

We are to begin Brushing Teddy’s teeth in 2 weeks. For best results, we should brush them 3-4 times a week.

Buck our ten-year old golden retriever has never had his teeth professionally cleaned. He hasn’t needed it. We’ve always brushed both our dog’s teeth once a week. Buck does chew on sticks more often and has a morning routine that includes chewing on his Galileo bone which may have helped prevent tartar buildup.

In hindsight, I should have paid more attention when my friend was contemplating whether or not to have her dog’s teeth cleaned. Dogs are expensive, much more expensive than I ever could have imagined before owning one. Though I do think our vet is on the high side and some of the above services may not have been necessary, i.e. a charge for day-care kennel use I do want my dogs to be healthy and receive good veterinary care.

Have you ever had your dog’s teeth professionally cleaned? Are there any home remedies you practice to keep your dog’s teeth clean? What about the cost of Teddy’s professional cleaning? Was $600 for this procedure low, about average or kind of high?

Save your money. Pay down your debts. Secure your job.

Save your money, pay down your debts and secure your job is the advice financial gurus are giving lately to help us weather the storm in these turbulent economic times. I can't help but think this advice is timeless. I thought of it often while reading Karyn Bosnak's quirky book Save Karyn.

Karyn moves to NYC in May 2000. Over the next couple of years, she racks up $20,000 of debt and loses her job. Ultimately, she becomes a cult figure after soliciting donations from her website Save Karyn, where she asks people to help pay off her debt. Her plea: if 20,000 people each give her $1 she'd have enough money to pay off her entire debt. She also sells most of the stuff she bought incurring the debt on eBay.

How did "Not saving her money, paying down her debts and securing her job,” impact her situation?

Save your money:
Kayrn moved to NYC with virtually no savings. She didn’t even have enough money to make it to her first paycheck, forcing her to take an advance on her American Express card to pay for apartment necessities. Once she started receiving a paycheck, she began a downward spiral of excessive spending and charging; buying furniture for her apartment, designer clothes, expensive makeup, beauty treatments, a health club membership and a weekend summer vacation package she used only once. She didn’t save $1.

Pay down your debts:
She moved to NYC with unpaid balances on her credit cards. When she received her first paycheck she was surprised to see how much money was withheld for taxes. She hadn't budgeted accordingly. Instead of realigning her budget to her actual paycheck, she kept spending and charging. It wasn’t long before she couldn’t keep up with her monthly credit card payments and still pay her rent. She began missing minimum payments, incurring late fees, interest and over limit charges. Eventually, she finds a new job and begins earning over $100,000 a year. Even then, instead of paying down debt she continues her spendthrift ways thinking why shouldn't she, she makes over 100,000 a year.

Secure your job:
She remained in denial that her job was in jeopardy. After September 11th, the job market for TV production in NYC virtually dried up. Ratings for her show were low. New management was brought in; they asked everyone in her department to sign a new, less favorable employee agreement. Refusing, along with her fellow contending co-workers, she was let go. She hadn’t thought this through completely, she now firmly believes if she would have asked for her job back her boss would have given it to her. At the time, however, she didn't like her job and thought she’d be able to find another one within a month. She ended up being out of work for four months, when she finally did find a job it was at a substantially lower salary than what she had been making before.

The results:
She was no longer able to pay her rent and her credit card payments without overdrawing her checking account. She took steps to get control of her finances; consolidating her debt, finding a roommate, canceling her health club membership and even making her own coffee. Not making much progress and feeling overwhelmed she dreamed up the Save Kayrn website and the rest is history.

Overall, based on the subject matter (financial irresponsibility) I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. It was filled with financial lessons. My professional organization is planning a workshop to teach financial literacy targeting college sororities. After reading this book, I can’t help but think perhaps they are right; young adult women do need financial literacy training. I know where they should start: Save your money, pay down your debts and secure your job.