How much should you spend on groceries?
There is no single right answer, but there is a well-established reference point. The USDA publishes four monthly food plans by household size, and they are the closest thing the US has to an official grocery benchmark.
What staples actually cost right now
These are U.S. city average prices published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for June 2026, the same figures MealBudget uses to estimate your basket.
| Item | Unit | Average price |
|---|---|---|
| Ground beef, 100% beef | per lb | $6.83 |
| Chicken breast, boneless | per lb | $4.18 |
| Eggs, grade A large | per dozen | $2.19 |
| Milk, whole, fortified | per gallon | $4.32 |
| Bread, white, pan | per lb | $1.81 |
| Bananas | per lb | $0.65 |
| Tomatoes, field grown | per lb | $1.90 |
| Butter, salted | per lb | $3.82 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average Price Data, June 2026. These are national averages. Prices in your area will differ, and a discount grocer will typically run below them.
Why grocery budgets fail
You buy packages, not portions. A recipe calling for a quarter bunch of cilantro costs you a whole bunch. Plan five unrelated meals and you buy five sets of single-use ingredients, most of which get thrown away.
The total is invisible until checkout. Most people do not know what their cart costs until it is too late to change anything. Knowing the number before you leave the house changes what you put in the cart.
Plans ignore what you actually eat. A budget you resent is a budget you abandon by Wednesday.
A practical method
- 01Pick a number you are willing to spend, not a number that sounds virtuous.
- 02Choose two or three dinners you genuinely want this week.
- 03Fill the rest with meals that reuse the ingredients you already bought.
- 04Write one consolidated list, combining duplicates into single lines.
- 05Leave room. Snacks and coffee are part of real life; budget for them instead of pretending.
Let MealBudget do the arithmetic
Enter your budget and household. You get meals, one grocery list, and an honest estimate of the total before you shop.
Build your grocery list →