We’re a Family of 4 in Spokane — Here’s How Much We Spent on a Week’s Worth of Groceries During This Terrible Heat Wave

Name: Lauren
Location: Spokane, WA
Number of people in household: 4
Ages: Two grown-ups who are 33 and 34, and two 7-year-old kids
Occupation: I am the business manager for a private school; David is the academic dean
Where did you grocery shop? And for how long? I shopped for one week at Safeway. I also stopped at the Asian market for a few items. 
Amount spent on groceries this week: $92.12
Dietary restrictions: None

I budget $600 for groceries and eating out a month. I usually make one Costco run a month, where I stock up on snacks for school and bulk basics like flour, sugar, chocolate chips, etc. I shop at Safeway every week and base my shopping on the flyer and rewards program through the Safeway app. I do implement a “buy one for now, two for later” strategy for items that we use often that are on sale, like the peanut butter for this week. 

I like to have at least one meatless meal or even a protein that can spread between two meals. During the summer, I like to make something cold that can be eaten throughout the week like a pasta salad or coleslaw. And that’s especially true right now. I also know that my work doesn’t end when I get home from the grocery store. When I’m unpacking, I do some prep. For example, I’ll put the cilantro in water. And I cut up the watermelon. If I don’t cut it right away, we simply will not eat it.

This upcoming week is actually pretty unpredictable. We close on our first home on Tuesday and have a house guest arriving. Our current home does not have central air conditioning and I like to account for temperature while meal planning. The average for this week is 95°F (which is an improvement from last week’s 110°F). 

• Pork with udon noodles and black bean sauce
• Corn, poblano, cheesy enchiladas
• Sausages with peppers and onions served with a chopped salad
• Naan flatbread pizzas
• Shrimp pasta salad  

• Cheez-Its: $3.98 for two boxes
• Skippy peanut butter: $4.98 for two jars
• Pop-Tarts: $7.96 for four boxes
• Triscuits: $0.34 (deal with hummus)
• Salsa verde: $2.00
• Naan: $3.49
• English muffins: $3.58 for two packs
• Sausage buns: $2.00 
• Donuts: $3.04 for four
• Fresh udon noodles: $6.99
• Salted black beans: $2.99
• Gochujang: $2.69

• Eggs: $1.59 for one dozen
• Mozzarella cheese: $2.79
• Milk: $1.79
• Popsicles: $4.49
• Hummus: $3.00

• Pork shoulder steak: $3.91

• Baby carrots: $1.79
• Chopped salad mix: $3.34
• Zucchini: $1.97 for three
• Green cabbage: $2.29
• Corn: $1.00 for four ears
• Red onion: $0.70
• Yellow onions: $1.20 for three
• Poblano peppers: $1.70 for two 
• Cilantro: $0.99
• Lemon: $0.99
• Whole watermelon: $5.23
• Red cherries: $5.56
• Rainier cherries: $2.81
• Green pepper: $0.94

Note: My favorite part of grocery shopping is when the total drops by at least $30 once the sales get activated at the register. 

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