Jennifer in MI Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I love these threads because they always make me feel better about the money I spend on food. We are a family of four. Two teen boys, one close to teen boy and a little girl. We spend $200 - $250/week on food. The boys' are killing our old budget. They will eat a can of tuna as a snack. They will eat HUGE amounts of food. Even if I serve pasta, we'll go through nearly three pounds (and that's with meat sauce!). I just don't see how to decrease the budget at all. We get eggs from a local farmer. We get milk from a local farm. Honey from a local beekeeper. Etc, etc, etc. I've tried having my own garden, but the stupid bunnies got the food. I'd spend more on fencing to keep them out than it's worth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 (edited) If you are into coupons ( I was before doing Feingold/ GF/DF/SF) then you would never just go out and use a coupon when you got it. You wait until the lowest, biggest sale on said name brand item then you use it. There are people able to save lots of money couponing following the *rules*. Which do vary from place to place. If you watch coupons you will also see that coupons do come up for organic/natural food. You can really save on toiletries as well, even on things like trash bags, light bulbs, deodrant, dish soap, shampoo etc. A lot of those things you can get free if you watch. I don't understand the dogpile on the lady OR on the couponning. BTW for those who didn't read the link this lady was not a big couponer, she used I think 1 or 2 for her monthly groceries. Could she eat healthier, certainly, depending on your standards. But considering most Americans eat out fast food least a few times a week (iirc) and often don't eat vegetables at all I think she is doing pretty good. It would be a step up for many, many Americans diets and certainly more to eat than many in the world have. I would also guess if you are on that budget you aren't eating out(I know our own budget here is $25 or less usually). And for those trying to save money cloth diapers are a lot cheaper(I use cheap pre-folds/flats and pull-on covers). However, I don't have as a goal to feed my family as cheap as possible. I'm lucky that I don't have to. I think it is great for those who do need to go cheaper to look at some of the tips and see what works. Sometimes people have only X amt of money, they have to make it stretch. It is like there is anger over the fact that she is eating cheaply. I think we'd do far better to worry more about those that cannot afford food and are heavy consumers of fast food. (then again to each their own- people can do as they please) I don't feel bad about spending more. I spend about $600-$700, I try to eat low/no grain- and the whole house is GF/DF/SF. I buy meat in bulk (1/2 hog and beef- chickens bought one year at a time from the farm). I use a food co-op and Amazon for some items, shop Aldi's for some produce and buy organic from the co-op for some. I cook from scratch, etc. I could go cheaper if I wanted. I could eat healthier depending on which healthy eating paradigm you follow, it works for us. Edited December 20, 2011 by soror Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I feed my family of 5 plus a large dog on $300.00 a month and that includes toiletries and household products. I do not use coupons. We are not on food stamps. My children are all teenagers and one is a fast growing boy. My "secrets" -. WOW!! Thanks for sharing your secrets. Our budget for food and toileteries/cleaning for family of 5 is 4 times that amount. Where do you live? I am really amazed you are able to whittle this down to $300 a month. Do you limit meat? We do not limit meat as we are low carb/primal/paleo eaters due to food allergies and pre-diabetes in a kid and hubby. We are meat and veggies only. Once a year, I splurge at the health food store to buy expensive stuff like coconut sugar, palm sugar, coconut oil and so on (will be using amazon.com as much as possible from now on). Anyway thank you for sharing!!! Holly IN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 We are a family of four. Two teen boys, one close to teen boy and a little girl. This actually makes you a family of 5 unless you don't live there :tongue_smilie:... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Yeah and even two eggs is only about 140 calories. I don't believe everything I read. :glare: Not everyone eats lots of eggs. We have eggs dated Dec 2 in our refrigerator. We (family of 3+infant) haven't eaten 12 yet and its been 4 weeks since we purchased them. There may be 6 eggs left. So in our family, yeah. We use very few eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGin Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 WOW!! Thanks for sharing your secrets. Our budget for food and toileteries/cleaning for family of 5 is 4 times that amount. Where do you live? I am really amazed you are able to whittle this down to $300 a month. Do you limit meat? We do not limit meat as we are low carb/primal/paleo eaters due to food allergies and pre-diabetes in a kid and hubby. We are meat and veggies only. Once a year, I splurge at the health food store to buy expensive stuff like coconut sugar, palm sugar, coconut oil and so on (will be using amazon.com as much as possible from now on). Anyway thank you for sharing!!! Holly IN I live in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. We do eat meat, though not every meal and yes, I buy what's cheapest. We simply can't afford to buy expensive cuts or worry about organic, grass fed, local, whatever. We eat mostly chicken, turkey and pork, some ground beef and an occasional beef roast. We don't eat fish, other than canned tuna because I am the only person in my family who likes it. I use eggs and cheese to supplement our protein. We eat a LOT of veggies and fruit, which as mentioned, I am able to get in abundance during the season and put up. I know there have been some negative things said on here about pasta as a filler and also using breakfast for dinner, but we like to have breakfast for dinner a few times a month, and pasta, potatoes and rice are all regular sides and fillers around here. I guess if the Italians can thrive on pasta, Asians on rice, and the French on bread, we aren't doing too badly LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Sounds like she has a HUGE pantry and the $200ish / mo. is to fill in the gaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 (edited) I am curious as to how you do OAMC. I can never get my head wrapped around it esp with meat dishes and egg/cheese/heavy cream dishes. Lunch is my weakness....as I always think big for supper. B'fast and supper is my forte. Not lunch.... Do you have a blog post on that? Holly Holly-not sure if others have answered this or not but here's what I've done. Cook what I cook, then double or triple it. Start with simple dishes like spag that are so easy to double/ quadruple. Make enough sauce for that meal once a week. We don't eat a lot of cream dishes- most of recipes in OAMC books tend to be more expensive than we make so, while I might get ideas from them, I don't cook like them-kwim. Divy it up by main meat- chic/ beef/fish/meatless and then cook the main ingred all at once. Lunch and break- sandwhiches and burritos. I found a great burrito recipe I liked that included tomato sauce with the beans/meat/rice. It really made it better but I can't find it again! McMuffin type sandwhiches freeze well, as does french toast, pancakes, waffles, pizza bagel/french bread type things. walk through the frozen food section at StuffMart, check what you like and then make it as cheaply as possible. I don't have a blog post but a quick google search has tons of sites, including lots of forms ;) We do almost everything Just Gin does. We shop once a week for food. We rarely go to the grocery when we run out - we just make due. That saves a TON of money. Make a list based on recipes, stick with it. Our budget is more relaxed now, but when we were on the gestapo budget I bought the same ingredients every week. We ate the same basic stuff almost every week. We cut out most dairy products and all prepared food (including packaged cereal). All the best! Edited December 21, 2011 by laughing lioness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2two Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 :glare: We are a family of 5 and there is no way we could do that...Does she live in an Amish community where everyone farms and trades?...We are pushing closer to $200 a week and could never get by with $200 a month... Same with us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virg Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 (edited) We spend over $100 on milk alone. :iagree: My kids & I go through 6 gallons of whole milk a week and that is when we don't have any daycare children. Add in my son's rice milk which is $6/gal for the only brand he will drink plus his special butter, bread, BBQ sauce etc. My husband is diabetic so he eats very few carbs and a lot of meat and fresh produce. (His sugar level does not do well with beans of course.) Compared to Oregon where we have always lived until this year, produce here in Utah is very expensive! That all being said I have a food budget of $400. If I had the money to feed my family how I would like to I think it would be closer to $700/month. I make a lot of muffins for snacks and make pizza dough for lunch once a week. We eat a lot of oatmeal and cracked wheat for breakfast, they are very cheap in bulk. I go shopping at the beginning of the month and after that I only buy milk. I freeze the bread after the one shopping trip and we eat fresh produce until it is gone, after that it is canned/frozen. We don't buy any snacks or convenience foods at all. I literally do not have money to go shopping again so whatever we run out of, we are out of. My kids know that and eat accordingly. If they eat all of something they don't get more until the next shopping trip. It is very difficult to feed my family healthfully with the amount I have though. I wish we could spend more, every now and then a box of crackers is nice! Let's just say our meat for dinner is normally chicken :tongue_smilie: ETA: Oh this is for 6 people :) and 2 daycare children during the day, of course they have to have all of the meal parts, well-balanced with no unhealthy food Edited December 21, 2011 by ds4159 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 We could spend a fortune on milk, too. We recently started purchasing raw milk. It's $4 a gallon but it is FAR more satisfying and richer. We are actually going thru less milk without the hormones and other stuff added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 We could spend a fortune on milk, too. We recently started purchasing raw milk. It's $4 a gallon but it is FAR more satisfying and richer. We are actually going thru less milk without the hormones and other stuff added. Don't hate me, but raw milk is $2.50 a gallon at a farm down the road from me. Of course, we are lactose intolerant......:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Don't hate me, but raw milk is $2.50 a gallon at a farm down the road from me. Of course, we are lactose intolerant......:glare: That is just not right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 (edited) That is just not right! One farm here sell raw grassfed milk for $10 gallon, if it makes you feel better. The stay sold out constantly and keep buying more cows. (They are good friends of mine) A few other farms that feed grain as well charge $2.50 gal. Edited December 21, 2011 by soror Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 :iagree: I know not everyone has a choice, but I would feel a bit sick feeding my family like this. But then I tend to think refined carbs are about one of the worst things you can put in your body. A meal of pancakes, syrup, and OJ would make me physically ill and also make me hungrier for the whole day. I find that 3 measly breakfast sausages will fill me up longer than a bowl of oatmeal, and definitely longer than the white flour-sugar breakfast that fills half of her menus. You take that back about oatmeal! A bowl of the steel cut oats makes me feel TOO full and not ready to eat by lunchtime. By the time I've invested 20 minutes I to cooking them it just doesn't seem right to only eat half a bowl :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phathui5 Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I spend $10 a day on meals for my family, and I can guarantee I don't feed them junk.:glare: I follow a strict plan. Can you share you menu/shopping list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 no way we could do that either (family of 4) without being an extreme couponer!! lol would be interesting to see how she does though..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 This actually makes you a family of 5 unless you don't live there :tongue_smilie:... Ha! Actually, since I know Jennifer's married, they're a family of six. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 (edited) One farm here sell raw grassfed milk for $10 gallon, if it makes you feel better. The stay sold out constantly and keep buying more cows. (They are good friends of mine) A few other farms that feed grain as well charge $2.50 gal. It's $4.50 a 1/2 gallon here. We don't drink milk, so it lasts a week, at least. Because it's whole milk, it doesn't go bad quickly. Groats or oatmeal made with whole milk instead of water is very filling. Edited December 22, 2011 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I forgot to mention before that we could save a lot more money if we lived closer to a place like this. http://www.sharpshopper.net/index.html You never find the same stuff each time, but you can get some amazing deals. For example, we bought several 5 lb boxes of Gold Medal whole grain muffin mix for 99 cents. A box can be combined with 30 cents of bananas from the overripe bin at our local store and some spices to make four or five dozen really filling normal sized muffins. I freeze them, and thaw two per person with some butter when needed. It would feed six people more than half of your week's breakfasts for less than $1.50 in food costs. Name brand canned vegetables can be as low as 33 or 25 cents per can. Canned tomatoes, sauces, and salsas can be very cheap. Pasta is almost always 79 cents a pound. Convenience boxed dinners can be 25 cents. We only go once or twice a year when we are visiting relatives, but this is the only place we ever buy poptarts or granola bars or juice boxes. We can often find organic processed foods. We don't subsist on this kind of diet, but these are foods we use occasionally. You can also get some fresh fruits and vegetables at good prices, but not as low as the dry stuff. We have found some absolutely amazing deals on frozen meat. I picked up sausage for my red beans and rice at 1.50 for 2 lbs. Frozen chicken and other meats can be cheap too, but near Lancaster some of the Amish stores have even better prices on cases. I don't know if anyone is even still reading, but my point is that it can be possible if you have the right options in your area. With the kind of garden yield we have had when I wasn't pregnant during the summer (or tending my injured husband) combined with this type of store, I think we could do $200 for food only and maintain our pantry levels instead of eating them down. It would be even easier if we just had access to this kind of store and ate a more average American diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74Heaven Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 (edited) The local grocery outlet is actually a bust. We have one and there really isn't that much "real food". Lots of snacks, convenience items. The one in this area is mostly candy/snacks/crackers, cleaning & paper products, and toiletries. I would say 75-80% of the store (it not that big - maybe the size of a 20yo grocery store) is the above products. I would also say that the other foods, i.e. progresso soups or spaghetti sauce, etc. are not priced much better than the local grocery stores. I have went in there a few times with the goal of only getting "food" and had to be quite picky. One thing ours is good for is those individually packed children's snacks like cheese/crackers, fruit roll ups, granola bars, etc. Not healthy, but I pack 15 lunches a week (oldest daughter/husband/co op) & host other children, play dates and they are very, very handy to have on hand. On the OP's original grocery thread, I am fairly careful about family nutrition but I was reminded by the $200/month woman's blog to plan my meals better and make better lists, etc. She also reminded me of when I used to have smaller children and was not homeschooling. i could shop any day of the week, make intricate menus and lists, lots of prepare-ahead mixes, etc. Now, it is much more of a chore to find time (or energy) to plan anything that isn't related to school![/B] Side Note 1: Fwiw, I accidentally made a really quick frugal meal last night! Parmesan/noodles/hamburger. I was going to make homemade macaroni & cheese - whole wheat shells, shredded cheddar cheese, seasoning salt/ pepper, butter, milk and organic ground beef.... I had just bought parmesan cheese and so I decided to forego the cheddar cheese and just use that. It was a smashing success. (Nutritionally, it was lower protein because of the cheese switch - prob. lower fat though too.) I did a quick calculation and I made mac & cheese for 7 with about $1-2 worth of (canned, flaked - not freshly grated) parmesan. That has got to be about the same price as cheddar cheese or less? (not sure - Costco 5 lb. bag is $11-13ish?) Side Note 2 One interesting side note is that I just bought a whole beef (organic, but not certified) from a friend/neighbor and the cost will exceed $100 a month just for the beef! I buy less than $50 a *year* of store-bought beef tho. Lisaj, mom to 5 Edited December 22, 2011 by 74Heaven errorare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigger Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Side Note 2 One interesting side note is that I just bought a whole beef (organic, but not certified) from a friend/neighbor and the cost will exceed $100 a month just for the beef! I buy less than $50 a *year* of store-bought beef tho. Lisaj, mom to 5 While that sounds really expensive....a typical grass-fed cow will have a hanging weight of about 500-to-600-pounds before it's dressed (cut and packed) and when you're buying the whole beeve (cow), it usually runs $3.50 to $4.00 per pound hanging weight, so $1750 to $2400 for the whole thing. You're paying just $1200 which is an amazing deal for a whole! Our last half we ordered was 250-pounds (hanging weight), so that was $963 ($3.85 per pound). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigger Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Are there similar deals out there for pigs? DH won't eat beef (although I love it). That's more than I could consume in a reasonable amount of time. In our area there is one lady who does hogs, chickens and goats (she used to be my source for beef too, but has since moved away from cattle since they're more vulnerable in the winter, thus more expensive) - she sells by half and whole for the hogs....the average weight seems to be 110-140 pounds for the whole, I pay $3.25 a pound packed weight (not hanging weight like beef - hogs are always by net weight BTW). She also sells homemade sausage, chops, roasts and uncured bacon year round from the hogs that aren't sold to specific customers - on that her per pound varies depending on what it is, but it's nearly twice the half and whole price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Are there similar deals out there for pigs? DH won't eat beef (although I love it). That's more than I could consume in a reasonable amount of time. Local pork here is $1.35 from the Mennonite take home weight is about $100 lb per half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Hmmm....well, I try to keep our monthly food budget to somewhere between $400-$500, including toiletries, medicine, cleaning products, etc. for a family of five. We go on a blow-out, two week vacation to Disney World every year with all the bells and whistles, so I save like crazy all year to afford it. We live in Utah, where food prices are relatively low. A gallon of skim milk was $2.92 this week. Butter was $1.98 per pound. Bread was also under $2.00 a loaf (for the good whole-grain stuff...not Wonder bread :D). Ground beef is $3.50 per pound. I only shop at Winco or Walmart. Sometimes Target if they have a good sale. Also, being in Utah, we are very definitely an LDS community (big surprise, huh? :lol:), and the retailers market accordingly. Every supermarket sells food in bulk and sells "food storage" items. Most grocery stores have "case lot" sales at least twice a year, and they are great for stocking up on pantry items. I have a year's worth of food storage that I regularly rotate, and it saves me a TON on grocery prices. I set aside $50 of our monthly food budget to use specifically for food storage items and I stock up when something is on sale. I also buy food in bulk from our LDS canneries and that saves big money, too. We have a large garden in the summer and I can like crazy. We don't buy much processed food, and we rarely eat out (unless we're in Disney World...then it's a restaurant free for all). Anyway, I feel like I live in a community that supports large families and understands how much it costs to feed one. I think that goes a long way in the grocery budget department. Here's a link for a lady who lives in Cali, I think, and she still manages to keep her food budget low. http://grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com/ Seriously though....food storage is the secret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I couldn't do it. No way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.