I suspect you underestimate how much you spend on food, most people do. Whenever this conversation comes up with my friends I always spend over double what they claim. I trust my estimation much more since I actually have records through splitwise on how much I have spent on groceries for each month. Maybe you should do an experiment to see how much you are really spending.
I think people would notice if their checks bounced because they are spending more than their income each month.
$18K per year on groceries is insane. Yes, some people go with their families to restaurants and bars >1 week, but people who don't go, know they don't.
