Grocery budget calculator
Add everyone you feed and get a realistic grocery budget anchored to the USDA's own cost-of-food numbers — then log your shopping trips and see where the week stands.
Your household
- Female, 20–50$58.60/wk
- Male, 20–50$73.70/wk
Weekly grocery budget
$145.53
$630.63 a month · $7,567.56 a year
2 people · USDA household-size adjustment +10% · Thrifty Food Plan, July 2026
Track this week's grocery spending
$0.00 spent this week (Mon–Sun)
This month so far: $0.00
USDA Thrifty Food Plan costs, July 2026
Weekly and monthly cost per person for a healthy diet cooked at home, U.S. average, before household-size adjustment. Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
| Age / sex group | Weekly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Child, 1 year | $26.40 | $114.40 |
| Child, 2–3 | $39.90 | $172.90 |
| Child, 4–5 | $43.50 | $188.50 |
| Child, 6–8 | $48.40 | $209.73 |
| Child, 9–11 | $55.90 | $242.23 |
| Female, 12–13 | $51.80 | $224.47 |
| Female, 14–19 | $60.10 | $260.43 |
| Female, 20–50 | $58.60 | $253.93 |
| Female, 51–70 | $54.60 | $236.60 |
| Female, 71+ | $60.20 | $260.87 |
| Male, 12–13 | $59.80 | $259.13 |
| Male, 14–19 | $75.40 | $326.73 |
| Male, 20–50 | $73.70 | $319.37 |
| Male, 51–70 | $64.90 | $281.23 |
| Male, 71+ | $62.00 | $268.67 |
| Reference family of four | $236.50 | $1,024.90 |
Monthly figures here are weekly × 52 ÷ 12; USDA's own monthly column is calculated slightly differently, so it can differ by a few dollars.
Five ways to come in under budget
- Cook what you have first. Every dinner from the pantry finder is one you've already paid for.
- Plan dinners that share ingredients. The meal planner favours overlap so fewer half-packs go to waste.
- Know your cost per serving. The recipe cost calculator shows which dinners are really cheap.
- Lean on the cheap staples: rice, dried pasta, dry or canned beans, lentils, eggs, oats, potatoes, cabbage, carrots and frozen vegetables. See our cheap dinner ideas.
- Price-check as you shop. Add prices on the grocery list to see the running total before the checkout does.
A grocery budget only covers the money left after payday deductions. How the government's share gets worked out is a separate puzzle, and ahaboo walks through US tax brackets with an interactive, narrated model you can poke at.
Questions people ask
How much should I spend on groceries a month?
A useful floor is the USDA Thrifty Food Plan: in July 2026 it was $1,024.90 a month for the USDA reference family of four (two adults aged 20–50, children aged 6–8 and 9–11). For one adult aged 20–50 it is about $304.72 (women) to $383.24 (men) a month after the single-person adjustment. Most households spend more.
What is the Thrifty Food Plan?
It is the USDA’s estimate of the cost of a nutritious, practical, cost-effective diet prepared at home. It is updated monthly for inflation and is the basis for SNAP benefit amounts. The USDA also publishes Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost and Liberal plans that assume progressively more spending.
Why does a single person pay more per person?
Smaller households cannot buy in bulk and waste more. USDA adjusts its per-person costs up 20% for one person, 10% for two and 5% for three, and down 5% for five or six people and 10% for seven or more.
Where is my spending data stored?
Only in this browser (localStorage). Nothing is sent to us. Clear it on the privacy page.