food money!

[kezza5222]

i was wondering, what kind of budget one could attach to food and eating? im england, our weekly food shop is about £70 for 2 people, is this going to be the same sort of money for orlando? or is the food in wallmart more expensive or cheaper? someone passed me the tip to buy the toiltries out there as quite cheap (saves on luggage space) but didnt mention the food shopping.

also are the restrurants (out of the parks) still reasonable priced? obviously depends on where you go, but would £10 a head for a 1 course dinner and a soft drink be unattainable?

really really having trouble with this part of my budget! ANY help or tips here would be wonderful!
love kerry

[sammibabe]

Would definately recommend buying toiletries there. We ate in Ruby Tuesdays which we liked a lot for about $70 (not inc tip) for 4 adults, 1 child and drinks (not alcoholic), no desserts usually. we don't eat in a lot so can't really help with the food bill. I think Ruby Tuesdays was sort of middle of the road price wise.

[Katys Grandad]

I'd definitely buy toiletries over there even if it's just to save the weight in your luggage. I think they are probably no more expensive there and might even be a little cheaper.

I was in Florida a couple of weeks ago and, for 2 of us, spent quite a lot more than £70 on groceries for a week, mainly due to the poor exchange rate at the moment. Something to bear in mind is that you're starting more or less from scratch so you have to buy things like cooking oil, salt & pepper, sauces and detergents which you don't usually have to buy every week at home. They can add up and you'll probably throw some of it away because you won't use it all during your stay.

£10 a head is now about $14.50 but US menus don't include tax and tip so you probably have to think of around $11/12 as your base budget for a 1 course meal and soft drink. There will be plenty of chain restaurants you can eat out at for that but extra courses and drinks will break your budget all too easily.

[MarkJan]

As an example, TGI Fridays menu is approximately the same in US$ as GB£. In May this year, Jack Daniels Ribs was £18.95 in Manchester or $18.95 in Kissimmee.

[kezza5222]

ooo i like TGI, stupidly i never realised there was any in america!! what other brands are in the USA, i know of Ponderosa, and Wendys and dennys and now ruby tuesdays.... a lot has changed since i was last there as a kid 20 years ago!

love kerry

[sundowner]

You should get a good meal on the budget you have set in the restaurants.

As for shopping, a lot depends on whether you would buy beer, wine etc (although they are quite reasonably priced). We tend not to cook too much at the villa, but when we do it would be things like bbq's or the cooked chicken from Walmart/Publix with fresh salad.

Actually, one day we went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch. I ordered soup and salad, when it arrived the salad was huge so I had the soup and boxed the salad for back home. I made a chicken salad for 3 adults for dinner.

For sauces and salad dressings have a look in Walmart as they do small jars so you don't end up throwing much away. The things I usually take from home are a few dishwasher tablets, washing tablets and tea bags (cant live without my Tetleys [msnwink]). Have a look through the cupboards in the villa before you go for your main shop there may be things such as oil and salt and pepper there (we were at the villa a few weeks ago and there was 4 lots of salt and pepper in the cupboard).

[steph_goodrum]

Its also a good idea to put a few thing like half a dozen black sacks for your trash as often thing like that you may have to buy a large quantity to get rid of your rubbish and only use a few.

when you go to fast food food places you can always pick up a couple of sachets of salt and pepper, ketchup, vinegar etc if you are only going to use them a couple of times and if you have takeaway delivered now and again then you often get spares.

We find we tend to graze a lot more here than at home and had been here 4days before we sat down to a meal. Pizz hut at Target do a lovely broccoli and chees soup in a bread bowl for $4 and I found when I'd eatent that I didnt want much later as I was so full so a couple of pieces of toast and some fruit was more than enough.
salads are all cheap in the supermarkets and good to go with a barbecue.
you should find your budget will cover most of what you want. I usually bring a box of variety cereals over as well as I find the US ones have too much sugar for my liking.

[Katys Grandad]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by sundowner


The things I usually take from home are a few dishwasher tablets, washing tablets and tea bags (cant live without my Tetleys [msnwink]).

[/quote]

A bit OT Mary, but do you find that your luggage is searched when you're carrying things like that? We used to take similar bits and pieces and it seemed our checked bags were opened almost every time. Stock cubes and curry powder seemed to be a particular magnet for Customs Officers.

Since we stopped doing it (we figured we weren't saving much), our bags tend to be left alone.

[sundowner]

Not OT to me. When we used to go over for 2 weeks at a time I hardly did any washing and the dishwasher only went on 2-3 times so it was not worth buying the larger ones while we were there. (Must admit, it is a little different now as we stock up on everything and leave it for future guests).

Never had our bags checked once in all 20 years we have been going to Florida (bet that has put a curse on me now). Perhaps it was the strong smell of the stock cubes that attracted the dogs !

I still take tea bags for me but also my neighbours who are expats living there and miss their tea bags. Our MC (American) also loves the tea - she never drinks coffee.

[Katys Grandad]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by sundowner
Not OT to me.
[/quote]

Just to clarify Mary - by 'OT', I meant "Off Topic" although I can see why you would think it meant something else.

No offence intended and I hope none taken!