How to spend $30 per day? Or lump sum $930 per month?

[maddykate]

I have a budget of $30 per day to feed my family of seven, provide gas for two vehicles, and buy any extras we might need. This money is after all other bills have been paid, so it is groceries, gas, and extras. How would you do it?

[eternalsummer]

Well, I don't know how much you drive or need to drive, but to cut down on driving I'd get all the groceries I could at once.  So figure out everything you'd need for a month in terms of non-perishables, and a week in terms of perishables.

 

The most cost-efficient things, I've found, for food are dry beans, grains, fruits and veg. that are in season (bananas are so cheap that they might as well always be in season), some frozen vegetables (peas are good, depends on what your family likes).  For breakfast I used to do biscuits made from scratch and eggs, then lentils/other bean+whole grain+fruit for lunch, then other protein + veg. for dinner.  Fresh bread is tasty and so easy to make if you have the time, and cheap.  You can put an egg or two in the batter to help with protein.

 

If you can fork out for a big thing of olive oil at the beginning of the month and a smaller thing of canola, you'll be fine for fats and won't need to buy butter (which no one needs anyway).  Avocados (sometimes on sale) are also good for fat if you're non-dairy.

 

 

[elfgivas]

plant a garden, get as many chickens as your location will allow, cook from scratch (and fruit trees if your location permits).

 

group activities by location.  eg.  a trip to the library might also include the bank because they are close to one another.  i don't go out for just one thing unless its an emergency.

 

we have carpools for almost all the kids activities.  it really does cut down on gas costs, and build community. 

and go to as plant-based a diet as you can manage.  (meat is expensive)

 

hth,

ann

 

[Anne in CA]

With summer coming up try to save money by going to U-pick farms for berries and other fresh foods.

[Seasider]

As far as allocating the funds, I'd try to work with it in two payments of $465 (did I get that right?). That's an amount that you can take advantage of buying something bigger (meat on sale, toilet paper and or laundry soap in bulk), yet still have your cash "refreshed" sooner than a month. Or, maybe go weekly, that would help with fresh produce purchases.

 

I believe gas is going to be a place where you can control cost if you don't have many outside classes or obligations. Definitely plan ahead and try to consolidate trips.

[eternalsummer]

So one day for my family of 6 (yours might need a bit more food, we're pretty small people still) on a tight budget would cost something like this:

 

1 dozen eggs for breakfast: $4 (we only do free range eggs)

Biscuits: 1/3 bag of flour $.75, 1/10 container of organic vegetable shortening $1, water: $1.75

 

Lunch:

1 bag of dry lentils: $1

1 loaf of wheat bread: $4 if you buy it made, $2 if you make it (1/2 bag flour, 1 egg, 1 packet yeast)

1 dark green vegetable (kale, spinach, etc.) $2

 

Dinner:

1 bag brown rice $1

1 wild salmon (chinese, unfortunately, you're on a budget) $10

1 bag of peas $1

 

Snacks: one apple per person (.50/apple) or one banana per person (.50 per banana), $3 total.  One bag of pretzels, $3.  1/5 of a jar of peanut butter, $.50

 

So you're looking at something like $29.25 on a day where you eat salmon; eat beans for dinner 2 nights a week instead and you have gas money, 3 nights of beans and you have $ for things like paper towels/shampoo, 4 nights of beans and you have beer $ once a week. :)

 

Oatmeal for breakfast, with honey, is super cheap too.

[momto10blessings]

Just a few suggestions:

 

Make your own bread, pancake mix, biscuit mix, etc

 

Pop your own popcorn is super cheap for a snack

 

Do you have an Aldi nearby? A pound of baby carrots is $.49 this week. Cucumbers are $.29. A bag of pretzels is regularly less than $1.50 ($1.19, I think).

 

Shop sales (obvious, I guess)

 

Good luck!

[eternalsummer]

omg yes, an air popcorn popper (or doing it in oil on the stove), so so cheap!  And a decent source of calories.

[Lanny]

Do not go to the supermarket without a list and stick to your list, unless there is a temporary bargain on something you need that is not perishable. My wife usually sends me to do most of the shopping, because I am a better shopper than she is and I stick to the list. Sometimes  (we live in South America) on the shelf in the supermarket, I will see the exact same product, in different packaging, at very different prices and am able to save money by selecting the lower priced package.  Use coupons on products you need!   When I lived in the states, sometimes the supermarkets would give double or triple credit for coupons, on certain days.  My belief is that the hardest thing to shop for in the supermarket is toilet paper. There are so many different kinds and so many different sizes of packages.  I usually spend some time, trying to figure out which package is the best buy for our family. We always use the same kind of laundry detergent (FAB) in our washing machine and if there is a sale on that, I will buy it, because it is not perishable and we will use it. If there is a section of things that are on sale, always check that out to see if there is something  you need that you can save money on.  I do much of our shopping in one small supermarket (we began shopping there because of the meat) and sometimes an employee will alert me to a great deal on something that I am not aware of.  Never shop when you are hungry. Eat before you shop. People who are hungry spend more $ in the supermarkets than people who are not hungry. GL

[bolt.]

I'd work weekly, and try to keep it all to one planned trip per week: including topping up the gas weekly. That's $210 per week.

 

Is "extras" including clothes, shoes, school supplies and recreation? Or more like toilet paper and such? What about car issues or home hardware expenses? Prescriptions?

 

If its the 'big extras' I'd reduce the weekly amount to something like 180, and put maybe 30 into an envelope that works like a piggy bank: it gets filled faithfully, but depleted irregularly and in larger chunks.

 

Anyhow you take your 180 cash (or go to the bank and get your 210). Set aside or leave behind any cash that isnt for groceries and errands.

 

First go to the gas station, fill up the tank and pay cash. Then carry on to your groceries (meal plan) and errands (list in order of 'soonest and most important').

 

At the last stop (or at each stop) place your putchaces on the belt in order of importance, and as the cashier to stop when the total reaches xyz amount of money. Don't be ashamed. Say 'thanks' brightly and be proud if yourself for being financially wise and wonderful.

 

If one of your planned errands is shoes or clothes or bike helmets or whatever, take that money from the 'piggy bank' envelope with you on your way. If you don't have household needs one week, you can buy extra groceries, or put the 'change' in the 'piggy bank' -- better safe than sorry.

[umsami]

How much are you driving?  How big are your gas tanks? Here, I'd probably have to allow at least $100/gas/week.  If your DH needs one car for work, can he do grocery shopping on the way home?  

 

If you assume the $100/week for gas, that leaves a little more than $100/week for food.    The Hillbilly Housewife has a good emergency plan (which you might need to double)… http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/70dollarmenu.htm

 

For us, we'd probably try to go to a bulk food/warehouse store.  So, buy two big containers of peanut butter for $10.  That will last you at least two weeks, maybe longer.  Buy one large jar of jelly, or honey, or make your own.  About $7.00   Bread, two loves, $6.00.    Big container of cheese (shredded)…about $9.00…. can be used for grilled cheese, bean and cheese burritos.   

 

Big bag of flour for pancakes and 2 dozen eggs.   $10 total.  Can make pancakes, eggs, for breakfast.  Egg salad.  Don't forget breakfast for dinner some nights.  Can make homemade pizza.  

[mamaraby]

I'd figure out generally what a fill-up from emoty costs me. Here, with my minivan it's $70 which is my gas budget for two weeks, but I hardly ever use it all. We have two cars, so my dh's car (an older minivan we own outright) gets $90 every two weeks. It gets slightly worse fuel economy and has a bigger tank, but it's the key to him making the money we live on. My dh is often under budget on gas as well. In the case of my gas budget, the surplus usually goes into the grocery budget. In my dh's case, that usually stays in the gas budget. The only exception for me is when we're travleing a lot and then I might hold any surplus for gas.

 

From there I'd do my best to consolidate trips, drive less, and walk whenever possible. The goal would be to come in under budget on gas on a regular basis and free up more money for food.

 

To start I'd probably use the Hillbilly Housewife emergency menu to help with what will likely be a smaller budget. The Prudent Homemaker blog is another good source of inexpensive, but still healthy and very filling menu ideas (religious content elsewhere on the blog by way of disclaimer, but not, thankfully where the menu/recipes are concerned). Beans would be a good friend and The Prudent Homemaker even has a menu for at least a couple of weeks of eating beans every night without repeating the same dish.

 

Aldis is also a good choice if you have it. I have been able to shop there exclusively in the past, but given your budget includes gas, if i couldn't shop there exclusively, I'd probably find one grocery store to shop at and then shop there. I used to shop at three or four different stores (including Aldi) for the "best" price at each, but since that also costs me time and gas money, I've switched to one store with "better" prices which also happens to be super close to home. Since gas is always a factor, it's entirely possible that some of the traditional options for saving (farmer's market, u-pick, etc) may not be a wise choice if they increase your driving.

 

Oh, and shopping once a week seems to work best for me. That way if there are meals we didn't get to or more leftovers than I anticipated, I can carry them over into the next week. It also helps waste less food and means all my produce fits in the fridge.

[Gil]

I have a few tips--most of which are common sense and you have probably already thought of, but maybe one of them will be new to you.

 

1) Manage your budget in weeks. Don't go anywhere spur of the moment, don't shop in spurts. If you take the time to look up/plan out your trip carefully, then you shop and travel in the most efficient way possible, you just have to organize and plan ahead. In my household, We are a family of 3 and we eat on about $70 dollars a month. We eat lots of rice, beans, fish, pasta etc.

 

I batch cook a lot. (Make rice for the whole week, make potatoes for the whole week. That sort of thing. We have tuperware that makes it easy to cook and sort food by days. The boys do not really eat snacks, they never have. Personally I eat lunch every other day, not every day. I almost never buy anything while I am out and about (fast food). We eat ramen noodles or canned soup a couple of times a week.

 

2) As a rule, I do not drive on the weekends. We take the bus to my weekend job, the library and or the pool. If we can't get somewhere on the bus, then we don't usually go there on the weekend.

 

3) With the exception of caffeine/energy waterdrops (such as Mio Energy) for my personal use, I NEVER by drinks--we have clean, running water coming for the sink which is more than almost 800 million people world wide can say. After all, I pay a water bill for a reason and it isn't so that I can go and buy drinks. We refill the same water bottles.

 

4) We buy staple items such as eggs, rice, oil, etc, in bulk every 4-6 weeks as we run out.

[Amy in NH]

I budget $100 per week for gasoline, but we live in a rural area and do a lot of driving to get anywhere.  The rest would go toward food and extras.  I shop for food at a variety of places based on what I need and the price.  I keep my pantry stocked with staples, and we do a lot of cooking from scratch.

[prairiewindmomma]

The advice about menu planning and weekly shopping above is good, imo.

 

As far as how to keep your groceries low, it means you have to give up most prepared food. Eat oatmeal or eggs for breakfast. Have soup or pasta for lunch. Supper should revolve around rice or beans using meat as a garnish. We prioritize having fruit and veg often, so we've cut out almost all junk food and dairy. Snacks are either fruit, veg, or popcorn here.

 

I saved for a while to be able to purchase a rice cooker and a crockpot. Both help me cook rice and beans in a less time consuming way.

[Prairie~Phlox]

I stay home quite a bit, so we fill the tank about 1x every two weeks.

Make stuff from scratch, garden, watch sales, buy things in bulk if it's cheaper, we only drink water & a little milk. Dh does drink coffee and I keep tea in the house as well. Buy meat on clearance, cook whole chickens & use for several meals.

[KarenNC]

If you have a bread or bakery outlet in the area, you can get great deals. We have a Flowers bakery outlet, and I can get bread 3 loaves (or hotdog/hamburger buns, English muffins, bagels, etc) for $2.97 (including whole wheat, brands like Cobblestone Mills, Thomas, Nature's Own). I buy several loaves at a time and keep it in the freezer, then thaw slices as needed for sandwiches (there are only 3 of us, so you'll likely go through more than us at a time :) ). They sometimes have 69 cent loaves, which are good for croutons for salads, French toast, stuffing, etc.

 

The cheapest way I ever bought beef was by buying in bulk---a quarter cow for us lasted quite a long time and even though organically raised was cheaper than regular ground beef in the store. The problem with that is the large initial outlay and the need for a freezer. Another option that gives good value but requires an initial outlay, is a share in a community supported agriculture farm, especially if you can do a work share for a reduced price. You would want to factor in gas costs, though.

[DawnM]

A couple of book that really got me through our super budget time period for a few years:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Feed-Family-Month-Without-Coupons-ebook/dp/B008QQ9VHI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398348314&sr=8-1&keywords=feed+10+for+%24500

 

http://www.amazon.com/Feed-Family-More-Less-Month-ebook/dp/B00710A0V6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398348363&sr=8-1&keywords=feed+a+family+of+4

 

Both are a little outdated, so I would plan on their suggestions costing 20% or so more than their quotes, but they are fantastic references.

 

The other book that helped me tremendously:

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Tightwad-Gazette-Dacyczyn/dp/0375752250/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398348503&sr=8-1&keywords=Tightwad+gazette

 

I would pick one of the e-books and get The Tightwad Gazette......if I had to pick one of the e-books, I would pick the Feed a Family of Four for $200/month.  The other one requires a lot of price listing.  

 

Dawn

[maddykate]

Thank you all for these great suggestions. To answer a couple of questions:

 

We live in a rural area and try to consolidate trips to town, so that we only drive in three times a week. I think $200 per month is fair for my gas.

 

The extras would be for toilet paper (amazon subscribe and save, $14 per month and usually have a little extra left when the next shipment comes - I have an irrational fear of running out of TP :), school supplies (very occasionally, and I purchase it on sale), dog food (expensive, but lasts about 6 months), chicken food ($12 per month), diapers (I am registered with amazon moms and get them for around $35 per month), laundry (amazon S & S, $14 every month)

 

We have a very good savings built up. If something big were to come up, we should be ok, unless it is super big. We do not have any other debt besides our mortgage.

 

I don't know how long this budget amount will last. My DH is in a nightmare job and while he is making lots of money and is committed to it until late summer, we are determined to find another job for him. The budget amount above is what I will have to spend after this job ends and he finds another job to take its place.

 

I have a little bit of time to sort of stock up to carry us through the lean times. We do have a deep freeze and will have summer vegetables in it. I also can lots of tomatoes, jellies, and salsa, etc that will be helpful.

 

I am feeling a little more at peace this morning. When I posted my original question last night, I was in a bit of a panic about it and the whole job change, etc. I feel much more able to tackle this head on in the light of day :)

 

Thanks to you all for your suggestions and I look forward to hearing more!

[KarenNC]

Since you have a chance to stock up, you may want to consider getting a half or whole cow and/or pig and putting it in the freezer. If you are using meat as an addition rather than the main portion of the meal, that could last you a long time. Given the size of your family, not knowing their ages (a teen eats a lot more than a toddler <G>), and not knowing how big your freezer is, it might be worth keeping an eye on sales and considering a second freezer to allow you to stock up even more when you find a really good sale on something, plus allow for bulk purchase of things like meat or freezing lots of summer vegetables. The initial investment may not be huge and the amount of electricity to run it shouldn't be too bad if you have space, if you get an energy efficient one and keep it pretty full.

 

If your climate allows it, don't forget to consider planting fall into winter crops like kale.

[Amy in NH]

Thank you all for these great suggestions. To answer a couple of questions:

 

We live in a rural area and try to consolidate trips to town, so that we only drive in three times a week. I think $200 per month is fair for my gas.

 

[snip]

 

In your OP, you stated that you are budgeting gas for two vehicles.  If you spend $200 per month for "your" gas, what about the other vehicle?

 

The $400/month I budget for gas is also for two vehicles.  DH spends about $30/week for gas in his vehicle to get back and forth to work.  I go through about $70/week in my vehicle carting the kids around and getting to classes and meetings myself.  We also take my vehicle when we go places as a family.

[eternalsummer]

That is a ton of money for gas!

 

We only have the one car, and we live in a suburb so we don't have to go very far, and gas is not too expensive here (goes between $2.80 and $3.60 usually), so it makes sense that you would maybe have to spend more, but I just can't imagine having to budget $200/month for gas, much less $400.

[Ottakee]

If you can stock up between now and then that would be great.  Hit the farmer's markets near the end of the day and ask for the 2nds---produce that is still very edible but isn't the show room quality looking stuff.

 

Garden if you can and then freeze/dry/can whatever you can.

 

We have a discount grocery store that we go to a few times a year.  They have huge savings on some things.  HUGE bags of cereal for 79 cents.  a 10 pound bag of shredded cheese (real stuff) for $17, and various other things.  You never know what you are going to find there at huge savings as some things are the same price or even more than Walmart/Aldi, etc. but it does save us money.

 

 

[StaceyinLA]

I don't know how old the babies being diapered are, but using cloth diapers would save that money each month.

[LucyStoner]

After this job ends, you may want to check if you are eligible for food stamps, WIC and/or any food pantries.

[bolt.]

Instead of stocking up on things (well, do it if it is cheaper to do it) I'd reccomedations just socking away future grocery money. Cash for the store is more useful than kilos of dry, bulk, this-and-that.

 

Do a savings account where you set aside money now, then take out a monthly 'pay check supplement' from that account into your main account. When that 'pre-fund' runs out, you can move on to this level of budgeting if it turns out that you need to. (Even $50 extra per month will make a huge difference when you are on a tight budget.)

[StephanieZ]

I would coupon and sale shop like mad to try to keep groceries under $500 or so. I did this for a year or so when I was a mad couponer. I budgeted $100/wk, but that didn't include the beef we bought once a year, or the eggs we get from our chickens. I had about $1000 left over at the end of a year, with which I bought new couches. And, we eat a lot of expensive foods. I was not scrimping on veggies, cheeses, dairy, wine, etc. I just got many staples for nearly free (sometimes even making money buying things) . . . and I tried new recipes if I got a crazy deal on certain things. :) It will cost more, say $600/mo for the first couple months, but if you are diligent, and spend a couple hours (say 4 hrs/wk for the first 2 mos, then 2 hrs/wk after that) a week reading couponing websites, printing or buying coupons on ebay . . . You can save a huge amount, and get it to $100/wk for the family. You have to combine sales with coupons to get the best deals, and you have to stock up on the great deals. 

 

Then I'd spend as much as I needed to on gas to get to essential places. Then, I'd see what is left over, and divide it among non-essential trips/gas, and other fun stuff.

 

FWIW, I'd probably also look for ways to earn more money, because that is really tight, and I am not a good budgeter. Maybe older kids could earn money babysitting or pet walking . . . or house cleaning . . . and then take over paying for their own non-essential expenses. Or, maybe you or your dh can pick up a PT job for a few extra hours a week to give you more wiggle room. 

[blondeviolin]

You might also want to look into cloth diapers. :)

[maddykate]

I don't know how old the babies being diapered are, but using cloth diapers would save that money each month.

I have actually been considering that. What is the best brand of cloth diapers, though I am sure it is probably a personal preference? I found a listing for 23 kissaluvs and 6 covers for $175.00. Is that a good deal?

[maddykate]

You might also want to look into cloth diapers. :)

I have been thinking about that. Do you have a brand to recommend? I typed to Stacy in the above post that I have found a local listing for kissaluvs. What do you know about those? Is $175.00 for 23 fitted and 6 covers a good deal? Seems kinda high to me, though I think it is a little less than half the regular price.

 

It is scary to put that kind of money into something I don't even know will work for us.

[eternalsummer]

Make sure the costs will still be less after you buy the diapers and wash them and buy the detergent and diaper pail and etc.  If the baby isn't young enough to justify the outlay + cleaning costs, disposables might be cheaper.

[blondeviolin]

I have been thinking about that. Do you have a brand to recommend? I typed to Stacy in the above post that I have found a local listing for kissaluvs. What do you know about those? Is $175.00 for 23 fitted and 6 covers a good deal? Seems kinda high to me, though I think it is a little less than half the regular price.

 

It is scary to put that kind of money into something I don't even know will work for us.

I don't know much about Kissaluvs, sorry. Keep your eyes open, though! My favorite brand is Grovia, but they're pretty expensive.

 

If you're wanting to be economical, you could grab a couple dozen prefolds/flats and one-size covers OR some inexpensive made-in-China pockets. You could get all you need for about $100.

 

My sister was in dire straits for a time and decided she would spend the $40 she'd normally spend on disposables on 4 one-size covers. Then she scrounged around the house for old t-shirts, sheets, and receiving blankets to use in the covers. The next month, with the $40 she would have spent on disposables, she bought some prefolds and wipes. And so on.

 

TBH, we've had our stints with disposables and our water bill never has any noticeable increase using cloth diapers with two kids. YMMV, though, depending on how expensive your water is. We do use an extra three loads' worth of detergent a week.

[walkermamaof4]

Do you have a price sheet you keep to price compare per unit prices? I have one for everything we use and I continue to try to find cheaper prices. I posted on here recently I think about cheapest dishwasher detergent and got good ideas. I use single ply tp as it is so much cheaper. We bought norwex cloths to clean instead of buying cleaners and really like them. I compared to ecloths and really preferred norwex and returned the ecloths. Sometimes buying things in bulk costs me more bc/ I will use more bc/ it is here. Also, the paper towels (if you use them but they are costly) cost me more in whole sheets bc/ usually a half sheet will suffice.

HTH!

 

[momto10blessings]

Re: cloth diapers- the cheapest would be flats with covers. All-in-ones and pockets are going to be a huge investment. It may be worth it if you have a newborn, but if you just have 6 months or a year left in diapers then it may not save much money. I'd suggest going to abbyslane diaper store's website and contacting the folks there for help. They are a HUGE help! There are also some organizations that give away cloth diapers which you may qualify for depending on your income level.

 

While we're talking about diapers, what brand are you using and how many babies do you have in diapers? $35/month seems like a lot to me. I'm not sure I spend that much and I have 2 in diapers. We use target brand and I always but when there is a gift card deal. 2 boxes for $50 and $10 gift card back. I think the boxes usually last for 2 months

[momto10blessings]

Oh, and paper towels... I stopped using them lately. It took a while to get used to it, but I only buy some super cheap ones to clean with and keep them hidden because my kids were using them up like crazy.

[blondeviolin]

Oh, and paper towels... I stopped using them lately. It took a while to get used to it, but I only buy some super cheap ones to clean with and keep them hidden because my kids were using them up like crazy.

Oh yes! We started handing the kids cloth wipes instead.