Yes, I was referring to what I thought might be a typo in your post since “Lidi” is so close to “Aldi”! I had never heard of Lidi before. 
H does 90% of our grocery shopping. I seldom go, though I generally make the lists. He is delighted to hit 3-4 stores (typically Wegmans, Safeway or Giant, TJs) on one trip in order to save $$. It’s a personal mission for him. We don’t get veggies/fruit at Costco (quantities too large, stuff goes bad before we can eat it) or at Aldi/Lidl (quality varies by store/area – around here they aren’t a great deal and meh quality). We get that stuff at Wegmans or TJs.
I can a TON of spaghetti sauce and jams in season, and currently have about 35 lbs of crimson crisp apples in the spare fridge. Not cheap, but darned tasty. The apples store well and will last us through most of the winter.
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I always have to wonder what % of fresh produce gets dumped after exceeding freshness.
I love Costco’s produce and my strategy is just to buy 1-2 fruits and 1-2 vegetables to be my main go-to’s for the 1-2 weeks between trips. As opposed to buying 3 types of berries, apples, pears and bananas I chose 1-2 to get at Costco. It’s rare then that they get tossed.
(my other theory is that because produce often is stored in the fruit/veggie bins in a refrigerator, they are not as visible to the eye for choosing when a hungry person opens the refrigerator!)
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Well, it’s actually LidL - 
I believe it’s pronounced Leedle. They have good baked goods, lots of international imported items, and right now an absurd amount of interesting German chocolates. Their veggies are just super cheap - a pack of Brussel sprouts there is 1.99 vs 4.99 at my local Foodtown. I’m surprised no one is familiar with this chain!
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I follow a lot of the guidelines listed here: How to Keep Your Produce Fresh for Weeks | Wirecutter and it really has made a difference.
Another tip, not listed in the article, but helpful is for bananas. When you bring them home, wash them (to remove a ripening agent applied to the skin), then dry them thoroughly. Dampen a paper towel and wrap it around the the stem. They will keep for close to two weeks this way.
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How much money do you spend weekly or monthly on groceries? Monthly = $470. Sometimes this includes the necessities (toiletries, cleaning products, OTC vitamins, etc.), and sometimes those are grabbed when at a Target, Costco or other big-box store, and are not in this total. Does not include pet supplies.
How often to you dine out? Varies. Monthly average = $350. We prefer informal, local restaurants. Does not include coffee out. (We explore local private coffee establishments as a weekly treat).
How many people are in your household? 2
Do you pay attention to prices when you shop and make purchasing decisions accordingly, or do you buy what you want and need, regardless of the cost? We always get the ‘basics’ such as milk, eggs, bread, no matter the cost. Fruit/veges are usually purchased by season. We rarely plan meals in advance. I still like to grocery shop, and will buy when on sale, and freeze as needed.
The above is based on 2022. I track expenses at the end of the year (actually beginning of the following year at tax time).
(Thanks @ChoatieMom for the formatting 
)
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(We explore local private coffee establishments as a weekly treat).- That sound lovely. Ha, and cheaper than our weekly group exploration of local brewpubs… followed by dinner.
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I spend about 500/month on grocery for one person. It does not include household goods because I order them from Amazon.
When I go out to eat it is usually around 100-150 per event and my take out is around 70.
How often I go out or order in fluctuates. I go out for social events because I prefer to eat in when I am by myself.
I also get taken out for various business events. I usually save some high end restaurants for those occasions.
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I think it’s Lidl (L and the end…not i)
We are a household of 2 and spend $150-$200 at Hy-Vee every 2 weeks on food.
We spend about $100 monthly at Amazon for TP, cat food, toothpaste, paper towels, etc.
So maybe $450-$500 a month on food and household items combined.
We rarely eat out unless we are on a road trip. I do eat lunch out once a week or so on a work day. That averages $10-$15 a lunch, so maybe $60 a month for those work lunches, possibly rounded up to $100 a month by throwing in an odd time of take out.
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Are people including alcohol in these estimates?
We don’t really track, but I would guesstimate $200 per week for groceries, cleaning supplies, paper goods, toothpaste, etc. For two people. But that doesn’t include beer/wine/alcohol.
We eat out at least once a week when we go to play trivia at our local pub. That’s about $80 per week. Husband spends $30 eating out after run group one night a week. Those amounts do include alcohol and tips as well. We are generous tippers.
We probably dine out, “nicer,” two other times per month. Probably $100 for each of those.
So, I’ll round up to $1,500 per month. We never do take out - ever.
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Not counting alcohol in our numbers, but we don’t drink when we’re out, except when I occasionally get a glass of wine. We might spend $50/yr on alcohol in the normal course of events. H likes to make sangria and brings home Bailey’s from his international trips (which are now few & far between.) If we are traveling overseas, though, I’ll get a glass of wine or beer with dinner most evenings. It’s part of the experience there.
Not including alcohol. That’s a separate line item in our budget.
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Our grocery number doesn’t t include alcohol (which we did include when doing our retirement budget), paper products, cat food (we have a diabetic), hair products, or coffee for me.
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We belong to two wine clubs and get our shipments 4 times a year (2 California Zina and 2 local white ones). About $300 per shipment plus a random bottle of wine occasionally at a few of our favorite places. Pretty much no beer and absolutely zero hard liquor. Not cocktail drinkers here. So let’s say it averages out to about $100-200 a month on mostly very good wine (plus a bottle of cheapo stuff here and there).
Cat food is a different story. One cat requires a special diet, so the entire cat herd eats it because there is no way I would police dry cat food (that’s $80 a bag a month!)! Plus they get wet food… only Fancy Feast will do… 3 cats, so 6 cans a day. So $200 a month! Litter is additional $50 a month. Good god, cats are expensive! 
ETA: these line items are separate from “necessities” that include food, supplements, and cleaning stuff.
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Hmmm…I didn’t count the RX cat food in my grocery budget…because I can’t get it a grocery store. And in my state no wine is sold at grocery stores, so that was t counted either.
The cat food costs more per month than we spend on wine by at least double.
For us, alcohol is subsumed by either (both?) the grocery line item (the liquor store is attached to the grocery store, so I consider it one trip) or the dining out/entertainment item. If we spend $100 on a night out at a restaurant, I don’t parse out the $20 that was spent on drinks.
Pet food is its own line item. I do a recurring shipment from Chewy, so that’s an easy one to project and reconcile.
My total included alcohol, cat food/litter, and a large portion of our weekly costs is H’s protein powder and supplements. All vitamins and OTC allergy meds are in there too. But to be fair, I don’t drink at all, and H probably averages 1-2 beers a week -and that includes meals out, and he just drinks regular old beer, nothing special.
Maybe if I have time, I’ll pull a month’s worth of receipts and try to add up just the food items. It would certainly be a whole lot less!
Pets are a separate line item. Two labs, both on prescription diets - food alone is around $250 a month. They might have to get jobs!
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