How much does Pesach (on a budget) cost for a family of 4?

amother

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 1:13 pm

I know it's possible to spend tens of thousands of dollars on Pesach, so Im not asking about Pesach like that.

How much would Pesach cost for a family of 4 (2 adults 2 kids) n NY?

Basic meals using mains such as bone in chicken, chicken cutlets, a pack of ground meat, etc.

Wine just for the Sedarim..

Tia!

mha3484

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 1:17 pm

How much do you eat?

But if you take out wine and matzah and non food items, 2-3x your regular food budget is reasonable.

amother

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 1:36 pm

tichellady wrote:

Depends if you have guests and or bake. I would guess 3x regular weekly budget

No guests.
2 adults 2 kids

keym

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 1:39 pm

Depends on the age of the children.
Also depends on what minhagim and chumros you are makpid on.
Hechsherim.

Matza can run anywhere from $5/lb upwards to $90/lb. Depending on what type you prefer.
Many pesach products are significantly more expensive than the year- a box of macaroons is around $4.

amother

Indigo

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 1:51 pm

I didn’t make sedarim, we go to my parents, but the rest is home. Really not terribly expensive. I bought chicken and meat on sale (5.99/lb for brisket and $6.49 for chicken cutlets-Costco is cheaper, but then I have to fillet))
Free Yehuda/Manashevitz/Striets matza at ShopRite. I buy whatever jelly/spices /dries apples there as well. I spent $150ish
Nuts, cheese, and salmon from Costco.
Raisins, chocolate, applesauce, potato chips at amazing savings.
Potatoes, onions, peppers, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes/fruit and eggs Aldi’s or the farmers market -same as always.
We don’t drink juice-we drink tap water with a Britta (I put it away year to year)

I don’t buy packaged cake and I don’t really bake. Eat a piece of chocolate or an apple.
It’s expensive, but not crazy. And I definitely don’t make myself crazy.

amother

Skyblue

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 2:18 pm

There are years we did it around $1000. This year $2000-2500 and that's with receiving matzah from school and not needing to buy wine this year bc had so many cases already. Plus got some stuff from giveouts. We did do a bulk meat order and used a lot (we have some guests so that is more expensive too)

Oil alone is $50 here for 64oz! Everything more expensive where we are now so it could be why we can't get by with the $1000 anymore

amother

Daffodil

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 2:24 pm

I bought at Costco, and sales at the Jewish store for matza and meat. Family of 6. Less than 1k. I didn't count every dollar but I'm pretty sure it was less than 1k.

amother

Lemonlime

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 2:26 pm

We're a family of 5 but without scrimping, it's on average 2k for first and second days. Some years can be cheaper, others not. This year, we did less side dishes (since no one eats that much) and more salads and soup.

amother

Seashell

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 2:56 pm

Doesn’t it depend on if you already have the infrastructure? Like the pots/pans/urn/crockpot/utensils/tableware etc etc

amother

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 4:05 pm

keym wrote:

Both below age 7.
How many lb of matzoh would we need ?
I wouldn't buy macaroons or stuff like that.

For Hechsherim, I follow the OU / Star K list

amother

DarkOrange

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 4:12 pm

For family of 12 with a lot of chumras, Pesach costs $2500. But we already have all of the equipment because we've done this a number of years. I also tend to overbuy paper goods.

We buy oil from Walmart (extra virgin organic olive oil) which is very affordable, and bought shmurah matzah from Bingo this year ($9/lb) which was similar to the $15-$20/lb matzah we usually buy.

I think $1000 is a reasonable budget assuming you don't need to spend $500 on cookware and dishes. You can probably even do it for somewhat less.

amother

Skyblue

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 4:59 pm

amother DarkOrange wrote:

Wow. We spent same amount and we are half the people. Nothing processed here

imanotmommy

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 5:58 pm

$1000, but that incudes the new packages of ingredients you'd need to buy because it's pesach, but you wouldn't finish it all on pesach.

amother

Cappuccino

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 6:06 pm

You need to also factor in not just the actual food but the supplies to clean and cover the kitchen, new sink racks etc if you don’t have, and all the foil pans, ziploc bags, paper goods. Snacks are expensive. I can’t see it be being less than $1000.

amother

DarkOrange

Thu, Apr 25 2024, 9:14 pm

amother Skyblue wrote:

Wow. We spent same amount and we are half the people. Nothing processed here

Also nothing processed. But we are frugal, we buy the cheapest wine, meat only on sale, mostly chicken on bone, etc.

I also shop in multiple stores to maximize spending. Actually we did pretty well this year with sales. Last year we spent much more.