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I'm so frustrated with my food budget! It's the one area I'm really struggling with trying to stay in budget. We have a family of six and my budget is $800 a month but I usually run closer to $900-$1000. I have four teenagers and three are boys...they eat alot!!! I do try to buy healthy food which is more expensive. I use coupons and shop at Wal-Mart which matches any sales from other stores.
If you don't mind sharing...what is your monthly grocery budget. I want to see if I'm totally off here
Our area is very expensive -- the San Francisco Bay Area. Food selection is almost unparalleled in quality and breadth, but it comes at a price.
For the two of us, no kids, we spend about $800-900 per month. Just buying sustainable and line-caught fish at the farmers market is about $40 each week, but we prefer to support local fisherman whenever possible.
Hi Robbi! I'm in the same area as you, and for three of us, one teenage boy and two adults, we spend about $500. Some months we entertain a lot, and those months run closer to $700. When my other son (age 21) lived with us for three months last year, the total monthly bill was over $600. With all those teenage boys, it sounds to me like what you're spending is reasonable for this area.
I should mention I'm not a frugal shopper necessarily, and the figure I gave you does not include much meat. I only buy poultry and fish at the grocery store. We get whole butchered pigs, and half beefs at the smaller markets around here. I will not pay over $3.50 a pound for flavorless hamburger!
I would agree what you're spending is probably reasonable, given the number of bottomless pits you're feeding (that's our loving term for our teenage boys, lol.)
A freezer to stock up on beef, poultry and pork, either when your stores do primal cut sales, or by buying a half- or whole- animal will help you cut down on the monthly expenditures (but it's a bit one-time cash outlay to fill the freezer.)
When both boys lived at home (and were eating us out of house and home), I stopped buying most ready-to-eat "snackage" (as they called it). Microwave popcorn, and a couple SMALL bags of chips every now and then, and no canned softdrinks. We make a lot of iced tea for mealtime (there's always milk, juice and water); I make cookies from scratch (except when the Girl Scouts are peddling ;o)
I learned if it's here, they eat it. If it's not, they figure out how to "make do" with a peanut butter sandwich or other low-cost snacks they can assemble themselves from simple, cheap ingredients (saltine crackers, blocks of cheddar or monterey jack cheese, whole-wheat bread, fruit, etc.)
I've gotten more lax now that there's only one hairy-legged man-child at home, but I should probably get back in that habit, because it saved us a lot of money (and forced them to make healthier snack choices - including skipping a snack if there were no easy choices on hand.)
Make sure you're not comparing two different things. I have a friend who prides herself on her low grocery bill, but she buys every non-food item - toilet paper, sandwich bags, dish soap, etc - at Walmart. Robbilyn, you're not far from what I spent when I had several teenagers at home.
Have you tried Super Saver? I find their prices, especially on produce, average lower than Walmart and are better quality. Super Saver tends to run a lot of non advertised items that match other stores (especially HyVee).
I have tried Super Saver...I'm kind of a snob when it comes to produce. I buy my produce at HyVee because Wal-Mart is awful. Super Saver is better than Wal-Mart...I'll check it out. We just moved to Lincoln and I want to try the farmers market. I don't know if the prices will be better but I love fresh produce. I try to use coupons etc... so I can spend more on produce. I'm going to start a vege garden this year to help with the cost...produce is more expensive out here!
Yes I agree the HyVee produce is excellent especially compared to Walmart and many times it's even cheaper. And you can't beat HyVee customer service. If you are ever in need of something special, I've heard will HyVee will try to special order it for you. My mother-in-law loved coffee yogurt and the one at 70th & O would special order it for her. You can' t get that service at Walmart. Have you ever been to Ideal Market (about block north on 27th of 27th & Normal Blvd) Wonderful little family owned store that has the best produce in Lincoln.
Lincoln has two excellent Farmers Markets - the one in Haymarket on Saturday a.m. and one on Sunday at 56th & Old Cheney. I actually like the one at 56th & Old Cheney as it is more food and small farmer items. The one at the Haymarket has a lot of craft items.
By the way - welcome to Lincoln. I can't remember where you were originally from.
Add your $0.02 worth for these...add any personal favorites we've missed, and let us know if we need to correct/update the details for any errors you spot.
And while you're there, it's a great time to post your reviews for your local garden centers, public gardens, etc. Pretty please????
I second the bulk buying idea.. and though I am sure you are already doing this I found it really helped the food budget when I planned out my meals in advance. I was using Lynn Nealy's "Saving Supper" cookbook for a while..She has the weekly menus organized by season to take advantage of what's available locally and has shopping lists and nutritional info. She even suggests things to go with the meals which is nice when you have a busy schedule. It was great becasue I didn't have to try and figure out what to cook and if I had everything I needed.
The only adjustment I had to make was to include some "normal" meals with what she provided..Kidlet didn't like eating new foods every day but did find when I mixed it up. ( I actually lost weight when I was doing that too..hmm I shoudl start again..lol)
You are right in line with what we spend. Food is one thing that we are happy to pay a little more for & put quality stuff in our bodies, especially our kids. We get specials whenever we can and stock up that way, and we are firm believers in supporting local agriculture, farmers markets and the like. The subject of food budgets come up at house every so often, and in the end, we are happy with putting quality food into our bodies.
I agree with everyone else, family of 5, three teens, only 1 boy and a hungry husband, I spend about 600.I too feel like I spend too much on "snackage", I like that term. I tell everyone it's only for lunches and bye-bye food, but The boy(18) makes a meal out of it sometimes. Do you have Aldis where you live?
When we were raising children and trying to make every penny count, my idea of being rich was to be able to go to the local grocery store and buy anything we wanted and not worry about what it cost. I am proud to say, now that the children are gone, I have reached that plateau. I now spend about $600 + a month for the two of us, two dogs, 4 cats, and 5 indoor birds. (I purchase outdoor birdseed, etc. from a special bird store. While this type of bird seed is a little more expensive, in the long run you save because there is no waste or filler added.) Admittedly my grocery costs would be cheaper if we didn't purchase so many non-food items and convenience foods.
There is 6 of us and we spend right around $600 a month. That includes all groceries including eating out. No, I don't include toilet paper in my grocery bill.
I rarely turn down something because of the cost but I am also not a careless shopper or have expensive tastes, like, have to have shrimp 3 times a week. lol.
I just spent a few days in San Francisco and the food prices there were not any different than my area which is about 100 miles away from the bay area.
$600 a month for a family of six if really good! How do you do it on $600? Are your children young? Mine are teenagers so they do eat alot...lunches really add up too. I need to quit buying packaged food for the lunches...sometimes convience is the worst thing for the budget!
They are 15-girl, 13-boy, 10-boy, 9-boy. I don't buy a lot of small prepackaged for one items unless I find them at the dollar store for treats. I I don't keep stocking up while I have plenty at home, I purchase the things that are a great deal at the time. If ground meat is a good deal, that is what we have, if chicken breasts are a good deal, we have that.
I don't make too much and give my younger kids portions they can't handle or waste and I will also shop 2-3 local stores for what they have onsale.
I don't do one large trip. We need lil things like milk and bread anyway so we usually buy what we need two to 3 times a week. This keeps us from *stocking up* on more than we will actually use or need and allows me to hit different stores on the way home and use the opportunity to see what they have on sale. I am lucky, I have 6 major chain stores within 2 miles from me to make this happen and being in CA, weather is never a reason to not go out or have to stock up for winter..
Just the other day Safeway was having a grand opening for their redone store. I got $130 in groceries for $48.
I don't use my time to clip a bunch of coupons from the paper because then I am tempted to buy things we do not need. I will use instore coupons if I am there and it makes it a good deal, but my time is worth usually more than I save on coupons.
When I pack lunches or they have them here, they don't need a sandwich, chips, an apple, cookies and milk. They need the sandwich, apple and milk. They can have the cookies later for a snack. If I gave them the cookies at lunch, they would still want a snack later.
My kids snacks are fresh fruit, yogurt or Zbars from Trader Joe's. They aren't allowed to raid the cubbards and fridge.
I have no doubt as the little two get older they will definitely eat more. But overall, we do pretty well.
This is one of the reasons I am doing a garden this year. Heirloom tomatoes are $5-$7 a pound. I won't pay that, but growing them allows me to have what I want...lol
When I worked in residential care we had 7-10 kids and two staff at all times, so basically 9-12 people to feed at a time. If I remember correctly, the budget was about $200 a week for grocery shopping.
I don't know how I did it, but I managed to never go over that budget..
Yet somehow, our little family of three spends about 400 a month...so I don't think yours is that bad
Giddy...thanks for the tips. I miss the CA store...Trader Joes was one of my favorites. I grew up in Hermosa Beach and a good friend of mine lives in Carmicheal. It's funny that you shop three times a week when you always hear go once a week or every two weeks. I guess what ever works!
Oh, we love T Joes! We get all our vitamins there and a lot of healthier options that are too expensive everywhere else.
Well, everyone has to do what works for them..I used to stock up and go less often and you are right, we do hear that if we go more, we are more tempted...but not for us. I have found that when I have the stock up mentality, I buy a lot more than I really need. When we go every few days, we get enough for those days and move on. We live in a great old house, but low on cupboard space...so stocking up is not easy anyway. lol
We always have full cupboards of food, but I no longer have two shelves in the garage of stuff I never use and ends up going bad. lol
SMall world huh?? lol
We like the part of Carmichael we are in. We are 1/8 mile from the river and nature center on the verge of Fair Oaks. Lot of older charm with turkeys, chickens, quail, and deer all within a mile...and I still have 5 major grocery stores! LOL
i just started tracking my food and related expenses (dishsoap, laundry detergent,
paper towels, etc) on quicken. my goal for a family of 6 is to spend $250 per week. like so many of you, i'm pretty picky about what we eat...try to make it healthy and interesting every night. i would sure welcome tips (or even better WEEKLY MENU ideas!) from those of you that spend much less. maybe i'm not so far off if i am including pretty much everything i buy at the grocery store in my total???? thoughts are always welcome! sue
Hi Sue!
My goal is $200 per week for our family of 6...4 of them teenagers! If I make it through this week I will have met my goal but I have to tell you it's been hard! I use cash and when it's gone it's gone. I've been pretty spoiled in the past and just going out and buying whatever...whenever. It's amazing what you can find in the house if you have to or go with out some things.
I shop at Wal-Mart because they will match any price that way I don't have to run around to all the different stores. I try to plan my meals around specials that week which usually come out on Wednesdays. It's worth looking at the paper daily for specials. I use coupons but they don't double out here in Lincoln. I only use coupons for the things we use otherwise I end up buying junk food! I started making stuff from scratch for the kids lunches and snacks.
As far as weekly menu ideas there are places on the internet that will help you do that. I confess I'm pretty boring and tend to make the same things...You can keep it simple by have certain days to make certain foods like for us...
Mondays: Vege Day...steamed veges with different sauces on rice or salad with baked potatoes or soup
Tues. Mexican Food ...Tacos, tosatadas, enchaladas
Wed. Egg Night...omelets...bacon and eggs...pancakes and eggs
Thurs. Italian Night...spegetti...different pasta dishes
Fri. Family Night...Junk food !!! Pizza...chicken nuggets
Sat. usually BBQ or something new that takes more time
Sun. I try to do crock pot meals or something that easy...chili...sometimes it's whatever night...whatever they can find :)
This helps me not to get bogged down and leaves me room to try different things
Sheesh and I was hoping to cut my budget but sounds like ya'll spend way more than I! There are the 2 of us, baby (formula, diapers, wipes) and 2 cats (who only eat dry). I include in the budget toiletries and sometimes co-pays on prescriptions. We spend about $100 a week and pre-baby we were much better and spending about $70. We don't eat meat every night, only few times a week and no beef. So we enjoy lots of fresh veggies and yep CARBS in the form on good pastas and breads. Some weeks it's more or less $100 but I am terrible and don't add up my perchases as I shop. I used to. We are blessed enough that I don't have to but still I'd like to curb this spending as best I can as it's just about the only fluctuating bill we have (besides gas-HA!).
I think that amount is a little excessive...but my 3 boys aren't teenagers yet...
I have a family of five...gosh...did I just type FIVE?!?!? lol Anyways, my 6 year old is eating me out of house and home...with our 5 year old following close behind...and a 3 year old who is allergic to milk and milk proteins...which means lots of special foods, vitamins, and large stock of tums! ;)
Anyways, my grocery budget...which includes toiletries, cleaning solutions, etc...is $100 a week...yup - you read right! I spend about $400 a month...
Buy a half or quarter cow...that will help IMMENSELY...the most I do is price-match at Walmart...hope this helps!
Help! I manage the food and misc expenses for our family of six (2 adults and 4 kids 12 and under). I don't have a budget. I work part time time and the money I make covers food, child care when I work, private school, and misc (gifts, clothing, entertainement.) I have tried several times saving reciepts to see exactly where my money is going but have failed. My goal for years now is to get a handle on this. I know I am spending way too much (>1000/mos on food and non-perishable).
I typed up a simple expenses statement in word estimating those fluctuating bills (electric, phone, etc) and the fixed expenses (house, etc). I GAVE myself a $100 a week budget for food/toiletries. NOW when I go to the store I honestly have to price add it up in my head as I'm buying. I used to be better and I would price it in my head as I wrote my grocery list. Oh yes, WRITING OUT a grocery list---keep it on the fridge and add to it as items expire or are used up, then when you go you know EXACTLY what to buy and you can have already added it up in your head, knowing full well what you'll be paying at the register. Having a veg garden or just a few pots with veg plants on the patio and having your kids help be in charge of it will help supplement a little but also teach the kids a great thing to.
While I have a budget ($100 for groceries & $50 for allowance a week) I use ONLY cash. Try splitting it up into envelopes...Let's say this is what it looks like:
$100/week = food into "Food Envelope"
Everytime you spend something in the "Food" category - you write it down on the outside of the envelope - just like a check register.
You'd have envelopes for food, childcare, private school, and MISC.
Let me know if this helps - it's what I've been doing for 3 years now...and I don't ever go over...in all honesty - it's a game now..."How much can I have left over at the end of the week"?!?!?! My mom says it's a sickness!!! LOL
I have a family of 3 (2 adults & 13 girl) just wanted to add - she'll out eat any 13-year boy I know! I don't know what my total monthly bill is, I don't track it, and I know I should. We shop a Sam's wholesale club once a month, and pick smaller items at Wal-Mart weekly. We eat a lot of chicken, veggie, rice, & pasta. We only eat beef once or twice a week and we buy it in bulk, I have bought 1/2 cow before and was very unhappy. For the money if you eat ground beef, buy ground beef in bulk, etc. I don't make large meals, my family will just eat more, leftover don't usually make it til the next day. Pop is not keep in the house; it's a treat (like going out for ice creamor holidays). My daughter like power bars, so we don't buy a lot of snackage. We are very lucky, the school lunches are really good, so no sack lunches. Daughter does not like a lot of sweet, her favorite food are grapefruit and sunflower seed. The husband is another story.
I think for a family of 6 - $800 seems reasonable.
Just googled up this thread. We live in San Francisco, and we have a family of five, including three very tall (but skinny!) boys. Who eat. A lot. Also, hubby and I are foodies. I am ashamed to say we spend around $3,000 to 4,000 a month, including wine, beer, and dinners out. (So about $800 per person.)
It's been a while since I've gotten back on this thread - you liked my D.R. method huh?!? lol I'm a Ramsey junkie - we're getting real close to be debt free (except the house)...
Mrs_S - I can understand "how" you are able to spend that much in (food) to feed 6 people...but WOW - if you cut back even just a 1/4 - think of how much you'd SAVE - and be able to put towards debt. That amount makes me sick - only because I'm such a "saver" and just thinking about my $1100 mortgage payment makes me want to vomit! haha!
It's funny - when I think back and it was just my husband and I...I think I spent the same amount on groceries - $100/week...lol and that was just for TWO! Makes me sick to think that we probably could've lived off of $30-$40/week! haha!
I realize this is an old thread, however, I found this info out and thought some of you may find it intresting. According to Crown Financial 11% of your monthly income is a standard guideline for food.
I am working on a budget. Boy is it tough.
I have documented what I spend where for the past week, now I am trying to go day by day, so I know where it is spent. Seeing it on paper is an eye opener.
Dayna
I'm just finding this thread. Insomnia this evening.
I agree with the consensus...$600 is pretty good.
We're a family of 3, sometimes 4 when my step daughter is here and I average between $150/200 per week. That does include the cost of paper goods (including toilet paper), cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, etc. and food for 3 cats and 1 large dog. Admittedly, I keep a stocked kitchen because I love to cook and I love to try new things. A few savings tips for me are:
1) For this you have to have a large freezer (a good overall investment that usually pays for itself with a year or two). I try to buy my meats in bulk, at a butcher. You can purchase 1/4 of a cow for about $250 and have it cut to your specifications. You'll get roasts, steaks, ground beef, sausage, top round. Whatever you like. Frequently, these meat markets will also have packages that are less. You can buy different packages starting around $60 and they tend to include chicken and pork in those. Whichever route you go, you save a lot more than purchasing from a grocery store. You DO have to shop around because some of these markets don't use quality meat. I insist on prime cuts.
2) I buy all paper products, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. at Sam's or Walmart. I also buy all cleaning supplies there as well...ESPECIALLY laundry detergent and dishwasher soap. Purchase the larger sizes of everything!
3) I purchase all pet food in bulk at Petsmart, Sam's or Walmart...wherever the price is the best.
4) I don;t have a lot of time to devote to this one but I try...I look at my local grocery fliers and purchase the canned or frozen items when they are on sale...stewed tomatoes - 4/$1, etc.
5) I do use manufacturer coupons. At Kroger's they triple anything up to .39 and double up to .50. Sometimes the no-name brand is still the better deal. You have to really pay attention.
6) I DO NOT grocery shop on an empty stomach. My bill doubles! And when I get home to finally eat...I'm not craving anything else I bought. Money not well spent.
7) One rotisserie chicken can make 3 meals for us. As soon as I get home, I slice the breasts and pull all the meat off the bones. One night we can have the chicken, plain with side dishes OR (pick 3): make chicken enchiladas, chicken tostadas, a greek chicken and pasta salad, chicken/portabello/ciabatta sandiwches, chicken rice and artichoke casserole, chicken and poblanos with a cream sauce over egg noodles, cobb salad...I could go on and on. Those rotisserie chickens are worth their weight in gold for a family on a budget. For a family of 6...you could get at least 2 meals out of 1 chicken if you add enough other ingredients. Just get creative.
8) I have a garden and grow my own veggies and herbs. I also have a lot of fruit trees. Every little bit helps and I have a very small yard! When I can't grow my own veggies here, I make a monthly trip to my local farmers market. I save a TON going there.I'm fortunate, though, to live in a large metropolitan area with a good climate. Not all have this luxury.
9) I process the herbs from my garden with olive oil and freeze in ice cube trays to use when out of season. You wouldn't believe how much I save on basil alone.
10) I try to make my own jams, preserves and pickles. I should do it with tomatoes and sauces but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.
11) I make things (especially casseroles, vegetables and sauces) in bulk and freeze them. It doesn't take much longer to make 2 casseroles (add 5 minutes).
12) When there are leftovers, like spaghetti or beef stroganoff, I freeze them in containers from the dollar store and label them with masking tape. Great for individual lunches or dinners. When there's a lot of options, everyone gets a choice. Why buy frozen dinners?
13) I keep gallon and quart size freezer bags at all times. You can wash them and reuse them. I keep them folded in a drawer.
14) When I bake potatoes, I bake 2 extra and pull them out before they're soft. Cube them and make potato soup (which freezes quite well). Tomoto basil soup freezes excellent, too. Almost all soups do. Great for those freezer baggies!
15) Some leftover soups make great additions to mashed potatoes without having to add any other ingredients. Dann's garlic soup, for one. French onion soup. Broccoli cheese soup. It's a nice change to a staple that we almost all make weekly.
16) I purchase a lot of fresh fruit. What is leftover at the end of the week turns into a fruit salad.
17) Remember that canned veggies are really more expensive than fresh (and have all that added salt and preservatives). Fresh will go A LONG WAY. Especially if you cook in bulk and freeze them yourself. From July until February, asparagus is generally $5/lb. here. In March, it can be as low as $1.49/lb. I'll buy 15 lbs., blanch it and put it in 1 lb. freezer bags with the date. It's good for at least 6 months (longer if you double wrap). Learn the seasons of the veggies and fruit and learn how to quickly store it for long term. Same thing with seafood! They say shrimp is only good for 3 months in the freezer. When the jumbo's are on sale from $12.99/lb to $5.99 per lb, I'll buy 8 lbs. and double freezer bag them. They're fresh for 12 months! I actually have a 'shrimp guy' now that I buy from during the summer months. He drives to the coast at 4:00 am in the morning and I can get it fresh from him by 10:00 am., right off the shrimp boat. Again...I know not everyone is lucky like that but take advantage of the seasons at the supermarket.
18) Most cheeses (cheddar, mozarella, monterrey jack) freeze well. Use what you need and freeze the rest before it goes bad in the fridge.
19) Most breads freeze well. Buy it on sale and freeze it.
20) Buy flours, cornmeal, sugar, etc. in the larger 10 lb. bags and put what doesn't fit in your canisters into the freezer. You'll save a lot of money! Just make sure it's room temperature before you use it in a recipe.
21) If you buy cereals for breakfast, put them in a large plastic canister (I found these at the dollar store). they don't go stale for a few weeks. You can even do that for chips.
22) For you mom's with the picky little eater that only wants Ramen noodles...puree vegetables in that broth that you make. Use spinach or carrots or whatever...they'll never know. Add water though, that stuff is too salty. If you have just a tad of spinach leftover from the night before...it's perfect. They get the vitamins, you spent 10 cents and the cost of a little spinach and everyone is happy. Sure, you can have ramen noodles! (as you slyly whip that leftover sweet potato out). Heehee.
Let me tell ya'll...I got creative awhile back due to finances (or lack thereof) and it has stuck with me. We're blessed to be out of the situation we were in but I think I could never go back to the wasteful old me. Buying in bulk took some time because, at first, I literally had to say, 'Well, on this paycheck I'll get the toilet paper and dishwasher detergent', next paycheck will be a trip to the farmer's market, etc. I had to break it down to the nitty gritty like that. Weird...once you start doing it, it no longer is work but just habit. When you familiarize yourself with the time of year that certain items are on sale, it becomes old habit. In the spring you buy certain items, in the summer and in the winter.
Now, with the gas prices what they are, our food costs are really going up. They're predicting $4/gallon by the end of May???? OMG...how is anyone having to drive more than 10 miles to work going to be able to afford it? Food prices rise with the gas prices. I'm actually scared with this economy. What are ya gonna do?
Just my 'food for thought'. This seems to be an inactive thread so, I'm not sure anyone will read it at all but I thought I'd just throw it out there.
Well milk is about 4 a gallon here now to! I read that part of cost of food prices is the increase of farmers growing corn for fuel thus reducing the farmers who are growing food for eating...it's driving up wheat and all those products that use it (think cereals, breads, Kraft Foods, etc). I've actually seen our bill going up with buying the same old items.
We are planning to get our veg garden in this year. It will be slow going for produce this year but in years to come we will really benefit.
TNN - You will come to love and enjoy your veggie garden. I started about 10 years ago and couldn't imagine not having one. I'm now interspersing a few veggies in my flower beds and it looks fabulous in the right spots! Keeps the weeds down too.
I can just imagine what a chore that would be. My husband built 8 raised beds just for the veggies and herbs last year. It's saved me a ton of work. I hire my favorite local teenager to do the weeding for me twice a year (needs the money for band so it's a win-win for both of us).
Yep, we're actually looking for a local teen to help us with landscape projects to! LOL!!!!!
We did raised beds at the last place and it was quite a chore on us. I've run across a new-to-me method called lasanga gardening which combines the compost with the garden. We'll try that one this go around.
Also bought a food dehydrator to help with the surplus and thus reduce winter grocery bill to.
k - great ideas! Might be an old thread, but as long as "watch", see the new posts. Back on and still catching up about 50 threads later...
T - dehydrate anything yet? I bought one several years ago, but moved shortly afterwards. 3 moves later, it is new and still packed in my shed. Good reason to start unpacking!!! Want my stuff but life is too hectic to manage all at once. That, and finally recovering from a minor accident that went haywire.
