It makes me kind of wonder if I'm doing my shopping in the town you grew up in. My name isn't Kathryn. It's the name of a beloved Aunt. I give out way too much personal information on here to use my real name. I have one of those really distinctive names to so all the more reason not to use it.

Great to have someone else on here from Ontario!

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Groceries are too expensive these days. I'm somewhere in the 10%. This is because I like to shop at natural organic food stores. You get what you pay for.

We spend 12.5% of our take-home pay on groceries (which includes household products). I am a savvy shopper and stick to my budget, but that's as low as I can get it for a family of 6. The government figure sounds about right to me, since the average sized family is 4.

We spend about 12%. I once did much better than this, but then my son turned 13 and decided to grow a bunch. I can't keep the boy fed. I am getting pretty creative, but having three children that run track and are growing at the same time seems to have put a crimp in the budget.

Hmmmmmmmm,if they are spending $950 a month on food and that is only 13%then they aren't making the median income. If $950 is only 13% then they have a household income of $7300 a month or $87,000 a year. $87,000 is a bit more than the average American is making(I think it is twice the median).

You're right! It doesn't match up. I think the median is 40-something, but I can't remember if that's for an individual or a household, which is a big difference.

Here's what the article says:
American consumers still enjoy some of the cheapest food in the world, spending about 13 percent of their income on groceries and dining out. That's risen as food prices have been battered by a storm of influences from across the economy, from the soaring price of oil to the ethanol boom to surging global demand for food as people in fast-growing nations such as China and India consume more calories.

Today, U.S. food inflation hums along at 4.6 percent. A family of four pays $916.30 a month for food at home, according to the USDA, up from $855.80 a year ago and $750.10 five years ago.

It's from this article Kim linked to in another post:
Feeling the bite of food prices

The median income for household is $48,206 according to wikipedia.

Median household income - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


That includes both incomes in a dual income household.

$915 for that range is closer to 23% of the household income.

Good for you to spot that! I guess that means the 13% statistics are across the board (averaging all Americans, single, etc., with all income).

So since I think the majority on Mommysavers have households of at least 3 or more, then we're definitely beating the average. Wow. Shows how much of a different smart shopping can make.