“Our budget and our choices are not influenced by inflation”: in Julie’s fridge, 10,800 euros per month

Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who you are. For our brand new format, soberly titled “In the fridge of…”, readers of all ages and with different incomes open the door to their kitchen and their fridge.

• Name or nickname : Julia

• Age : 44 years old

• Place of residence : Parisian suburbs

• People living under the same roof and their age : 4 people, a husband 43 years old, a girl 14 years old, a boy 9 years old, a dog 3 years old

• Family income : 130K per year – 10.8K gross monthly before taxes

• Monthly grocery budget: between 800 and 1000€ (small dog included)

• Dietary specifics (diet, religious restrictions, allergies, etc.) : Nobody

Regular food purchases for Julie and her family

Vegetables, vegetables, vegetables and fruit! This is what we buy mainly and in the same proportions: we are not vegetarians but our meat consumption decreases year after year. The adoption of our dog has made us even more confused about the idea of ​​consuming animals. We keep a portion of meat in our diet (once or twice a week, I think) but we reserve it for the more festive meals, for example when we entertain.

Brands frequented by Julie and her family

We mainly buy food from the market.

Every week, having a very pleasant covered market nearby turns the chore of shopping into a pleasure. We are starting to know the exhibitors and traders and it is reassuring to be able to talk to them about their production or their products.

The rest is purchased in an average store like Auchan for groceries and household products.

Don’t ask yourself the end-of-month question

We know that we are very privileged because of our income, we do not ask ourselves the question at the end of the month, that said our situation has not always been this way and we have maintained some habits such as looking at the price per liter or kilo. That said, we favor products with little packaging and we buy products in “large” capacities. It is useless to opt for the nice laundry detergent in a small format, but which costs 3 times more. However, we are demanding about the quality of hygiene products that we often buy in pharmacies.

When it comes to local or organic products, we pay a lot of attention, and that’s also why we go to the market. Short and organic circuits are among our choices even if it’s not so easy to find total transparency, appearances can sometimes be deceiving.

Eat quality meat and fish

In terms of meat consumption, as I said before, it is decreasing. When we buy it we do not give up quality and we increasingly opt for white meat. For fish the same, always at the fishmonger’s to guarantee freshness and quality. We eat more meat in the summer because we do barbecues…

Cooking, a collective responsibility

We are (finally!) all putting our hands together. In fact, it is everyone who is there who sticks to it. By buying a few processed products, we cook every day without exception! And whenever we can, we cook with several hands to make this moment convivial. By going to the market we follow the seasons, which allows us to diversify the recipes and avoid routine.

Meal, restaurant and food crackers deliveries

We almost never do home delivery, it’s great for a pizza night, for example, and that has to happen twice a year! For lunch it depends on our schedules, so I often go to Parisian brasseries, my husband is mostly at home except during his business trips, the kids are in the canteen!

We like to go to restaurants. It is a pleasure that we indulge in on average twice a month and always in quality restaurants. 2 or 3 times a year, we go to restaurants with Michelin stars or about to become one, as a couple or as a family. I think I can say that the restaurant budget is around 300 euros a month. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

When we entertain we like to please, so yes, we can buy rarer or more refined dishes. Our Michelin-starred restaurants are excellent, it is expensive, it must be said. As for pleasure, for us it is good cheese!

Managing purchasing power and inflation

I can’t say that our budget or our choices are influenced by inflation. The increase in prices is clearly visible, you would have to be disconnected from all reality to not realize it, but our income allows us to overcome this increase.

We donate very regularly to solidarity food banks, this is not a way to exempt us from earning a living, because we have always done so, but our contribution increases with our income. We know that inflation affects many people, families, children, especially in terms of food, so, as much as we can help, we do not hesitate to do so.

Ecological impact

Short and organic circuits, less packaging, no delivery and no or very few processed products. And the market is on foot or by bicycle. I don’t know if we do enough, certainly not, but it is our way of consuming that best fits our lifestyle and the time we can dedicate to it.

The cost of children

Well, there are more of us, so obviously it is more expensive. But that hasn’t changed what we put in our cart. We’ve always cooked and will continue to do so.

Our children eat everything, without fighting over fruit or vegetables. They have a good appetite and almost every dinner, depending on our travels, remains a family and convivial moment. So I think our diet and theirs are balanced.