Ramadan 2027 budget: shopping list and Aïd spending

Ramadan 2027: when it starts and why it costs more

Astronomical estimates published in September 2026 put the first day of Ramadan 1448 on Monday 8 February 2027, and Aïd el-Fitr on Tuesday 9 or Wednesday 10 March. Algeria confirms the start by moon sighting on the evening of 7 February, so it can move by a day. From early October, that leaves four salaries before the first iftar.

And the month costs more than it looks. In 2018 the Algerian consumers’ federation estimated that a family of five could spend up to 76 000 DA during Ramadan, against about 36 000 DA in an ordinary month, and that many families ended it buying on credit at the épicerie, the corner shop.

Prices have moved since. In July 2026 the ONS consumer price index for Algiers showed food 6.9% dearer than a year earlier, fresh produce 13.2% and mutton 19.3%. In September, market prices reported by Maghreb Émergent put a tray of 30 eggs at 600 to 640 DA, against 330 to 350 DA in June. Give your limits a margin, and check them again in January.

A Ramadan budget for a family of five, in dinars

Here is a worked example for two adults and three children, for the whole month. The amounts are our estimates at 2026 market prices, not an official figure: replace them with what you pay in your town.

If this family usually spends about 40 000 DA a month on groceries, Ramadan adds some 23 000 DA. That difference, plus the Aïd, is what to save in advance.

Your Ramadan shopping list, by category

Write it at home, on a full stomach, and take it with you: shopping an hour before iftar without a list is how a kilo of zlabia ends up next to the frik you already had.

• Staples, once: semolina, flour, oil, sugar, coffee, frik (cracked green wheat for the chorba), rice, chickpeas, lentils, tomato paste, spices, cleaning products.
• Fresh produce, weekly: potatoes, onions, tomatoes, courgettes, carrots, herbs, lemons, fruit in season.
• Meat and chicken: red meat for the chorba, minced meat for the bourek, chicken; buy in two or three batches and freeze in portions.
• Dairy and eggs: milk, lben (fermented milk), cheese, eggs.
• Bread: baguettes, dioul (bourek pastry), flour for kesra, the homemade flatbread.
• Dates: two or three kilos of deglet nour, kept in the fridge.
• Sweets: zlabia and qalb el louz on a weekly amount, not every evening out of habit.
• Drinks: water, juice, or a homemade cherbet, cheaper than bottles.

Write each category’s limit next to it. When one is spent, swap within it (chicken for red meat, cherbet for juice) rather than borrowing from another.

Saving the Ramadan envelope from October to January

In the example the extra is 23 000 DA of groceries plus 27 000 DA for the Aïd: 50 000 DA, or 12 500 DA a month for four months. Put it aside on payday, before anything else, as in saving on an Algerian salary .

Buying the staples in January avoids the last-minute rush and leaves 38 000 DA for the month itself. If 12 500 DA is too much, save what you can hold, even 5 000 DA, and lower the limits that matter least to you: sweets, drinks, one less meat purchase.

Aïd el-Fitr: the second bill

The Aïd comes when the month’s money is at its lowest, so price it now rather than in the last week of Ramadan.

• Children’s clothes: about 6 000 DA each for three children, so 18 000 DA. Buying a few weeks early means calmer shops and time to compare.
• Aïd cakes (makrout, ghribia, ka’ak), homemade or from the pâtissier: about 5 000 DA.
• Money and small gifts for the children of the family: 2 000 DA.
• Family visits, with transport and something to bring: 2 000 DA.
• Zakat al-fitr, whose amount the Ministry of Religious Affairs announces each Ramadan, for every member of the household.

That’s 27 000 DA in the example. The next big expense follows quickly: Aïd el-Adha is expected around mid-May 2027, and the same envelope method works for the Aïd sheep .

Less waste, and the help that exists

Bread is where waste shows most. In March 2024 the Minister of Commerce said Algerians throw away over 100 million baguettes during Ramadan and over 900 million a year, a bread subsidised by the State: about two per person in the month, ten or so for a family of five. Count what your table really eats at iftar and at shour (the pre-dawn meal), freeze the rest the same evening, and cook one main dish rather than three.

For Ramadan 2026 the Ministry of Commerce opened local markets in all 69 wilayas , often called Rahma markets, with public companies selling directly. Households in need could also apply for a 10 000 DA solidarity grant from the Ministry of the Interior: couples with no income or no more than 20 000 DA a month between them, registering from 9 November to 8 December 2025, online or at the commune. Watch for the 2027 announcements.

Doing it with Jibi

• Create a savings goal “Ramadan and Aïd” of 50 000 DA with February 2027 as its target month, and add to it on each payday.
• Create your own categories (Ramadan groceries, Sweets, Aïd) with a limit each: Jibi warns you when one gets close to its limit.
• Your cash, Edahabia card and CIB account each keep their own balance, so you know what’s left wherever you pay.
• Salary, rent and bills come back as recurring monthly entries, so in February you only note the Ramadan shopping.
• Statistics by day and by category show where the month went, and give you real figures for next year.

To fit these limits into the rest of the month, follow the monthly budget guide .