{"id":321084,"date":"2021-09-27T09:42:51","date_gmt":"2021-09-27T07:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/zaparents-blog\/?p=321084"},"modified":"2022-06-21T12:40:03","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T10:40:03","slug":"groceries-spending-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/lifestyle\/finance\/groceries-spending-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"We spend WHAT on groceries in 2021?!?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cYikes!\u201d I stared at my 22-7 budgeting app in horror, gobsmacked by what we appear to have spent on groceries during the first half of 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

To clarify, for us, \u201cgroceries\u201d includes fruit and vegetables, meal ingredients, meat, cooking staples, school lunch items and snacks, cleaning products, personal hygiene products, and consumables like batteries and lightbulbs. It excludes alcohol, fancy coffee pods, pet food, eating out, and ordering in.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking at the staggering total, I suspected we might be off the curve, so I did what many modern parents do to find out if they\u2019re \u2018normal\u2019:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I polled my contacts on social media, to gather insights on spending, saving, and what other families do when it comes to their groceries.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not my first rodeo on groceries spend<\/span><\/h2>\n

For this 2017 article<\/a><\/u>, I ran the same process. Back then, families of four were spending R4 000 to R11\u00a0000 per month, with the average around R6 500, which included eating meat three to four times a week.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, many respondents told me they work hard to keep their costs down (shopping for different things at different places), while others explained that they seldom go out but spend more on meal ingredients.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other respondents mentioned that they kept kosher or halaal (kosher\/halaal food, especially meat, is astronomical). Some said their kids were incredibly hard to feed: \u201cI close my eyes as I put the kids\u2019 obscenely expensive school snacks in my trolley, because I struggle to find stuff they will eat.\u201d And some added that they eat out or order in quite often, which affects their spend.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some respondents included their helper\u2019s food in the tally. In our case, we have our helper and her 17-year-old daughter living with us and our monthly spend includes all their food, toiletries, and consumables. My mother also lives on the property, so our family of three is effectively a family of six when it comes to groceries.<\/span><\/p>\n

I can also tell you that our monthly grocery spend has literally doubled<\/em> since 2017 \u2013 but it\u2019s not because of my mom or our helper\u2019s daughter, both of whom eat like birds.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ranges and the average spend on groceries<\/span><\/h2>\n

The families I polled this time round are spending anywhere from R8 000 to R18 000 per month on groceries, with the average around R12\u00a0000. I asked:<\/span><\/p>\n