Realistic grocery budget for a family of three in Warsaw?

ryanbThreads: 28 Posts: 28 Joined: Apr 27, 11 ♂	Apr 30, 11, 19:32 #1
I am moving from the US to Warsaw to pursue a master's degree and I will be there for two years. I have a Fulbright grant and I am trying to make a budget. What is a realistic grocery budget for a family of three in Warsaw?

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,395 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Apr 30, 11, 20:37 #2
ryanb: I am moving from the US to Warsaw to pursue a master's degree and I will be there for two years. I have a Fulbright grant and I am trying to make a budget. What is a realistic grocery budget for a family of three in Warsaw? What kind of shopping? Kaczyński style or Biedronka?

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Apr 30, 11, 21:05 #3

I am unfamiliar with either of those terms. Google tells me that Biedronka is a discount grocery that sells mostly local products under store brands and is targeted toward low-income consumers. That sounds a lot like Aldi in the United States where we do most of our grocery shopping (we've always been frugal people). What is Kaczynski style?

I assume that Biedronka is probably the way we would go. I assumed that we would be trying to buy as local as possible to keep costs down.

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Apr 30, 11, 22:03 #4

ryanb:

I am unfamiliar with either of those terms. Google tells me that Biedronka is a discount grocery that sells mostly local products under store brands and is targeted toward low-income consumers. That sounds a lot like Aldi in the United States where we do most of our grocery shopping (we've always been frugal people).

Yes, correct. Apart from Biedronka, there is also Liedl. You might check their sites and try to figure out the prices.
E.g.,:
http://www.lidl.pl/cps/rde/xchg/SID-99A63CB8-E1F47666/lidl_pl/hs.xsl/7 509.htm

ryanb:

What is Kaczynski style?

It is posh performance shopping in the style of a superstar, with TV cameras around you etc, in the most expensive stores/shops in the area.

♀

May 1, 11, 14:57 #5

Hi-
We have a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids under 5) and we spend between 1000 and 1500 a month on groceries. That includes food and dishwashing liquid, shampoo, etc. We cook at home. I don't shop at Biedronka or Lidl because I've got a Carrefour supermarket closer to home and a TESCO supermarket closer to work. I think they are quite cheap as well. I don't shop at Alma which is more expensive and not close to home. One thing - I don't buy meat from the supermarket - only from a butcher.

Good luck!

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May 1, 11, 21:11 #6

300 zloty per week is realistic, and would include all normal weekly grocery shopping... food, cleaners, toiletries, sundries, etc.

Milk is 2.50 /liter
chicken 17zl/kilo
ground beef 13zl/kilo
frozen veggies 5zl / 400-450 gram bag
fresh veggie prices are all over the place and vary seasonally much more than in the US.
pasta 4zl/400 grams
rice 3zl/kilo
sugar 5zl/kilo
flour 2zl/kilo
sliced cheeses from deli 15-24zl/kilo
lunchmeats 10-25zl/kilo

If you buy a lot of snacks and sodas like Coke, count on 400/week. Brand name snacks are expensive over here.

♂

Edited by: JonnyM May 1, 11, 21:44 #7

Threegigs:

300 zloty per week

OK if you're happy with scrimping and saving and are good at shopping very carefully, buying in bulk (try and get a card for Makro or Selgros) etc. 500 a week is more realistic.

One tip that can help if you're on a budget is to eat like the Poles do, rather than looking for things you're used to. The Polish diet can be healthy, wholesome and cheap. Buy the things they do.

THE HITMANThreads: 1 Posts: 416 Joined: Jun 15, 10 ♂	May 1, 11, 22:45 #8
Threegigs: 300 zloty per week JonnyM: 500 a week is more realistic. Are you joking ? JonnyM: Buy the things they do. chleb ze smalcem ........ 50zloty/week. JonnyM: The Polish diet can be healthy, wholesome and cheap.

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,395 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	May 1, 11, 23:35 #9
THE HITMAN: chleb ze smalcem ........ 50zloty/week. If you add skwarki to smalec, you need extra 10 zlotys.

gumishuThreads: 17 Posts: 3,943 Joined: Apr 6, 09 ♂	May 2, 11, 10:07 #10
pawian: It is posh performance shopping in the style of a superstar, with TV cameras around you etc, in the most expensive stores/shops in the area. why do you need to spill such bullshit around

gumishuThreads: 17 Posts: 3,943 Joined: Apr 6, 09 ♂	May 2, 11, 10:17 #11
as for grocery budget - I used to live for less than 200 zł a month 4-6 years ago and it was a rather healthy diet with quite a lot of fruit and vegs - still I was not buying meat that much

scottie1113Threads: 11 Posts: 873 Joined: Mar 13, 07 ♂	May 2, 11, 15:11 #12
gumishu: pawian: It is posh performance shopping in the style of a superstar, with TV cameras around you etc, in the most expensive stores/shops in the area. why do you need to spill such bullshit around You didn't hear what he said about shopping at Biedronka? It outraged all the Poles I know.

THE HITMANThreads: 1 Posts: 416 Joined: Jun 15, 10 ♂	May 2, 11, 17:08 #13
pawian: If you add skwarki to smalec, you need extra 10 zlotys. Now you,re talking upmarket budget. lol ........ but it,s worth ther extra 10 zeds I think. ( afterall we all need a bit of meat in our diet ).

Nonie	Mar 16, 12, 19:25 #14
So can I assume for a single person who does not eat wheat rye or barley, very little red meat, and mostly fish and sea food that I could be looking at around 100 - 150 zlots a week?

delphiandomineThreads: 42 Posts: 9,954 Joined: Nov 25, 08 ♂ [Suspended]	Mar 16, 12, 19:55 #15
Nonie: and mostly fish and sea food that I could be looking at around 100 - 150 zlots a week? No - sea food is expensive and poor quality in much of Poland, unless you live by the coast. White meat is ridiculously cheap, however.

pipThreads: 11 Posts: 1,293 Joined: Jul 4, 11 ♀	Mar 17, 12, 07:09 #16
the majority of fish sold in supermarkets comes from farms in Norway. It sucks. It is cheaper to get farmed Norwegian fish than the fresh Baltic fish from the north.

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Edited by: jasondmzk Mar 17, 12, 07:21 #17

Nonie:

So can I assume for a single person who does not eat wheat rye or barley, very little red meat, and mostly fish and sea food that I could be looking at around 100 - 150 zlots a week?

If you stick to frozen shrimp, and don't eat out much. I bought a fresh baguette every day, and made plenty of sandwiches. That would have kept me well below 150 pln, but I ate out nearly once every day. If you buy cheap bullcrap at places like Biedronka, you should be alright. But you're gonna get sick of pasztet pretty quick. I never ever got sick of Pudliszki products!

♂

Mar 17, 12, 09:23 #18

The most expensive thing is clothing. Make sure you won't need to buy anything whilst you're here. I still buy all my clothes in the UK. I bought a timberland coat and shirt at home and saw the identical ones here too for 5 times the price. Same thing with trainers/sneakers. Also don't expect the variety of food or quality that you get in the States. It's hard to fin good Chinese/mexican/Indian food that is value for money.

jasondmzkThreads: 32 Posts: 502 Joined: Jun 1, 11 ♂	Mar 17, 12, 09:28 #19
Pushbike: It's hard to fin good Chinese/mexican/Indian food that is value for money. To me it's not the value, it's the authenticity. Mexican and chinese food is prepared with very different ingredients, and "asian" doesn't mean the same thing in Poland as it does in the U.S. The Italian food is superb, however. And there's TONS of Italian places and gyro joints that are good values.

PushbikeThreads: 3 Posts: 65 Joined: Feb 15, 12 ♂	Mar 17, 12, 09:56 #20
Gyros are Greek Kebabs? I've not seen any yet. Loads of Kebab houses though.

MEMBER ♀

Mar 17, 12, 16:35 #21

If you stick to Polish Food and products ,you ll be fine, anything imported ( foreign Cheese,foreign jam, foreign anything cost an arm and a leg.
+Polish food ( apart from Cheese but its my personal opinion) is delicious.

Alma = Whole Foods but cheaper
Lidl + Biedronka =Walmart
Carrefour+ Auchan = in the middle

There are also plenty of small around- the -corner -shops and open air markets (Buy seasonal fruits such as raspberries, apples ,plums) avoid any imported fruit or vegetable such as avocado and lime etc

A Fulbright scholarship is around 2000 $ per month ,right ?

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