Grocery Budget Per Meal: Making a Weekly Number Useful

A weekly budget only guides shopping when it is broken down. Per-meal figures let you compare a recipe's cost with what you actually have.

What is the Grocery Budget Per Meal Calculator?

A weekly budget feels abstract until it is divided by meals. This calculator splits your grocery spend across the meals you cook each week, so you can judge whether a recipe fits the budget before you shop. It covers groceries only, not eating out or takeaways.

How to use it

1. Enter your weekly grocery budget.
2. Enter how many home-cooked meals you make per week.
3. Enter the number of people fed and click Calculate Per Meal.

Worked example

An 80 weekly budget across 14 meals gives about 5.71 per meal, about 11.43 per day, and about 2.86 per person per meal for 2 people.

What does an 80 weekly budget allow per meal across 14 meals?

About 5.71 per meal, or about 2.86 per person per meal for 2 people.

Frequently asked questions

Does this include eating out?

No. It covers home grocery spending only, so takeaways and restaurant meals sit outside the figure.

How do I use the per-person figure?

Compare it with a recipe's cost per serving. If the recipe costs more per serving, it needs a cheaper week elsewhere to balance out.

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