DawnM Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Actually, I think the new rule of thumb is $125 per person per month. At least, this is what most on the Dave Ramsey site have said, We do try for $100/mo per person though. But then we spend about another $50-$100 on toilet paper, paper towels, pet food, cleaners, etc....so our bill is about $600/mo for 5 of us including the above. Dawn I think about $100 per month per person is about right. You're a little under that, but you do have 3 under 5yo. You're right on target for what I like for a food budget. Of course, because of other bills going up we only have $500 a month for food, toiletries, paper products... That's just our luck. Can't ever quite have what would be comfortable. To keep it under $500 per month I look at what is most filling for the least amount of money. It's not always the most healthy but it's not junk food either. We bake all our own ww breads, muffins, etc. My teen boys prefer ww so that they don't have to eat as much to get full. We're definitely high on whole grain carbs, use meat sparingly and eat fruits and vegis in season. ETA: I also do not buy paper towels. In our house that is a luxury and food comes first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcyB Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I buy our personal care items (shampoo, etc) and a few grocery items like milled flax seed, pumpkin seeds, etc from Vitacost. One little thing here...buy your flax seed in bulk and invest in a cheap coffee grinder :) We got ours for about $15 at Target, and I do a quick grind of flax every couple of days (as well as chai seeds, too). It's cheaper, healthier as the milled flax goes rancid easily, so doing it every few days keeps it fresher. I've been doing the same with other spices, too, and it just tastes so much better being freshly ground! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 So, Costco or BJ's? Just wondering which place people prefer? We have had a membership to BJ's before, but never to Costco's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5KidzRUs Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 Do you think Dave Ramsey's $125/person/month applies to vegetarians too? I have two ovo-pescatarians (OK, I really do not know if that is a real word! LOL!). Also, I am jealous of all your choices - we are overseas and verrrry limited. I wanted to make Hummis and can not find TAHINI anywhere and the only sesame seeds around are in the spice isle ... hmm, maybe I can grind those us ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 So, Costco or BJ's? Just wondering which place people prefer? We have had a membership to BJ's before, but never to Costco's. Having price-shopped both... Costco is a bit better price-wise on most things (same brands, sizes). One thing you have to be careful about when comparing is the packaging differences (package of 3 cheeses vs. 4 cheeses, 2 trays of eggs vs. 3). BUT, BJ's sells KAF flour cheaper than anywhere around (even WM!). My dad has a membership at BJ's, my family has a Costco membership. BJ's also has a larger selection of things like crackers and cereals. I also think BJ's usually have better coupons -- but you still have to shop carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcyB Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Do you think Dave Ramsey's $125/person/month applies to vegetarians too? I have two ovo-pescatarians (OK, I really do not know if that is a real word! LOL!).Also, I am jealous of all your choices - we are overseas and verrrry limited. I wanted to make Hummis and can not find TAHINI anywhere and the only sesame seeds around are in the spice isle ... hmm, maybe I can grind those us ... You can..and you can also use peanut butter, which is what I do when I'm out of sesame seeds. It does have a bit stronger of a taste, but it's good in a pinch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 So, Costco or BJ's? Just wondering which place people prefer? We have had a membership to BJ's before, but never to Costco's. Costco is about an hour away, and I've never been to one. I've been meaning to check and see if they have guest passes so I can find out if it's worth the drive for us. We have both BJ's and Sam's near us, and for a while used both. We let our Sam's membership expire since we discovered we were hardly ever shopping there. BJ's takes coupons, and I can get name brand items using coupons, quite inexpensively there. Definitely cheaper than generic. We like their meat too, though I've heard really good things about Costco's meat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Could you bulk buy the toiletries/detergents and pet food. I have done this a bit and it is worth it if you can find somewhere to buy it. I get 5 litre containers of products we use a lot and then just refill the small containers. I wont suggest brands/places to buy as I am in the UK but generally I have seen them online and also in a local farm supply store owners where they sell huge sacks of detergents/cleaners of all types and huge sacks/boxes of pet food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooahwife Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I would stop buying paper towels. Honestly, $700 for eight people is not a bad expenditure, especially when buying stuff like cleaners, toilet paper, etc. You will run out of food at only $250. Perhaps you could eat the paper towels? Just a question?? I have 6 kids in my house plus my husband and I. Ages are 18, 15, 7, 4, 4, and 2. We spend about $700 a month on groceries that includes cleaners, paper towels (that my DH uses like crazy) etc. Is that to much? I make all my own bread, make a lot from scratch, buy a few snacks like goldfish, cheez-its, graham crackers, for the kids to snack on cause I have one 4 year old who refuses to eat fruits veggies or drink milk. My DH thinks I spend WAY to much for food and this month we are VERY short on cash and he limited me to $250 for the month (until the 2nd week in Feb). What do you think? Sorry not trying to hjack the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I spend $70/month to feed 17 of us due to my extreme skills with coupons, gardening, and making absolutely everything from scratch. NOT really! I just wanted to be that perfect homemaker for one little minute. lol You had me for a nanosecond as I was reading the first sentence. :D Oh my gosh. I haven't even finished my first cup of coffee and I thought, "Good grief! $70/month for 17 people?" She had me too! I thought I was going to be sick I was so envious! :D I am loving reading all the responses to this thread. I am learning so much! I'm loving it too. Just started clipping coupons, shopping sales, trying like the Dickens to stick to a firm budget. I've asked DH to give me X amount for groceries each week, no more, and MAKE me stick to it. It's a generous amount, but a hard limit and I'm hoping that as I get better at this I can save the difference for a freezer! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abigail4476 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Well, for our family of 6 + 2 kitties and 2 dogs, we average $1200/mth. Things I've done to cut costs: - For snacks, I buy in-season fruits, popcorn (the kind you pop yourself), applesauce, cheese, and crackers. I'll occasionally make a pan of brownies or a cake, and we'll have small servings of it over the course of a week. My husband has a food dehydrator, and he often slices up apples and makes dried apple slices or uses apple sauce to make fruit leathers. We do NOT buy: sodas, chips, pre-cooked cakes/cookies/desserts, or candy (except for bags of veggie chips to go with sandwiches - they aren't used for snacks) - Streamline breakfast and lunch. Every morning we have either eggs and toast with a 1/2 glass of OJ, or oatmeal and toast. On Saturday mornings we have pancakes and bacon and that's our big splurge. Lunch follows the same format every week, with cheap and easy family favorites: Chicken Quesadillas/Steak Fajitas/Tuna salad sandwiches/roast beef pinwheels/Crab Salad & Crackers/turkey sandwiches and chips/Taco Salad --Avoid processed foods - frozen pizzas, frozen dinners, pre-cooked frozen anything. --For pets, figure up the cost of buying in bulk. I use Iam's dog and cat food, and it's about 40% cheaper to buy the big bags and store them in plastic containers. You may pay more up front, but you'll save money in the long run. The same with toilet paper - we buy the big 24 roll packs of Scott, because Scott lasts so much longer than the softer brands. I may go over budget the week I have to buy pet food, but then I won't have to buy again for a couple of months, so it levels out. --Two nights a week our meals are beans/rice or soup/crackers. Monday nights I make beans with cornbread or rice (red beans, rice and smoked sausage this week); Tuesday nights is soup night, which is homemade chicken noodle soup this week. --cleaning supplies - I don't buy multiples or huge containers of cleaning supplies; I stick with my favorites and replace them as they run out. --drinks: I don't buy individual bottled waters. I buy the 2.5 gallon containers and sit them on the counter for everyone to serve themselves. We don't drink sodas except as a birthday treat or when we're eating out, so they're never on my regular shopping list. OJ is doled out in 2-4 oz servings in the morning, because my kids will rarely drink a full glass anyway. We have tea at dinner, and water or milk all other times. --sales: I don't buy a sale item just because it's on sale, unless I'm going to plan a meal around it somehow. You're not saving money by buying extra food, even if it's cheaper than usual. We have $60/week set aside to eat out after church on Sundays. Some weeks I may spend $300, others I may spend $150; it still averages out to around $1200/mth no matter how hard I try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilymax Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 So much great advice in this thread! I do a lot of the things mentioned, but only started a few weeks ago doing the meal-planning thing. Holy cow, that has saved us a lot of money! I thought I was doing well managing our food budget until I started planning and truly...I've been surprised at the difference it's made. I've also been surprised at how hard it is to shop like that, passing by good deals because it's not on the plan for the next two weeks. It's not in my nature to skip a good deal! LOL But really, when I looked at it truthfully, my husband has been right: I've been "good dealing" us into the poorhouse! :lol: It definitely takes time to figure out the menus and how to include items you already have on hand, but yesterday I left our commissary having only spent $150 instead of the usual $250. It felt weird leaving with just one cart... :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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