Welcome to The Receipt, a series documenting how Bon Appétit readers eat and what they spend doing it. Each food diary follows one anonymous reader’s week of expenses related to groceries, restaurant meals, coffee runs, and every bite in between. In this time of rising food costs, The Receipt reveals how folks—from different cities, with different incomes, on different schedules—are figuring out their food budgets.
In today’s Receipt, we follow a 41-year-old single parent of three making $145,000 in Lake George, New York. Keep reading for their receipts.
The finances
What is your occupation? I am a senior manager in business-to-business strategy and operations. I am divorced and my three children, ages 18, 14, and 12, live with me most weeks.
How old are you? 41
What city and state do you live in? Lake George, New York
What is your annual salary, if you have one? $120,000 plus an annual bonus, so $145,000 total.
How much is one paycheck, after taxes? $2,937
How often are you paid? (e.g., weekly) Every other week
How much money do you have in savings? $46,031
What are your approximate fixed monthly expenses beyond food? (i.e. rent, subscriptions, bills)
- Mortgage: $2,000
- Public water/sewer: $100
- Trash removal: $40
- Gas/electric: $300
- Insurances: $250
- Car: $800
- Student loans: $500
- Internet: $100
- Mobile: $175
- Streaming services: $200
- Shopping and entertainment: $500
- Home maintenance: $300
- Total: $5,265
The diet
Do you follow a certain diet or have dietary restrictions? Child #1 and #3 have food allergies including peanut, soy, and dairy. Child #2 does not eat red meat and generally prefers a vegetarian diet rich in nuts and soy, in contrast to #3’s allergies. I also have a couple allergies of my own so it is not abnormal to have a few different variations at the table to accommodate everyone’s needs when the kids are with me. In the summertime we do a lot of grazing separately throughout the day, and typically only eat one meal together because of everyone’s massively different schedules.
What are the grocery staples you always buy, if any? From a pantry standpoint we always stock tinned fish, beans, tomatoes, coconut milk, chicken stock, various types of noodles, rices, oats, nuts, seeds, fruits, chocolate chips, sugars, flours, spices, oils and vinegars. The freezer is stocked with frozen fruits for smoothies, frozen veggies for soups, some miscellaneous air fryer-ready snacks, a few pints of sorbetto and ice cream, and some raw proteins.
Regular weekly staples include eggs, cow and oat milk, juices, kombucha, several cheeses, whole milk yogurt, fruits (fresh or frozen depending on season) and seasonal veggies and herbs. Protein choices are very fluid from day to day. One of the kids loves tofu and tempeh while another is allergic to soy, peanut, legumes, and many fruits, vegetables, and pollens.