S/O - Grocery budgets.

[AimeeM]

If you're comfortable sharing, what do you spend on groceries (inclusive of toiletries) every month? Again, if you're comfortable. It would be helpful for me to know what types of things you buy, too (food-wise), and if your toiletries also include diapers (huge expense here, but we have medical needs that contribute to an inability to potty-train).

 

Right now I'm okay spending what I spend because I feel like I need the convenience. I'm overwhelmed (with life in general - moving, kiddo with therapies, another with doctor appointments, etc). However, once we're settled into the new house, I'd like to cut back the budget... because I feel like it's higher than most. 

 

My grocery budget is about $1,050/monthly. I split that (unevenly) between Publix (a regional chain) and Costco. Family of 5 (DH, myself, DD14, DS6, and DS3). I feel like it could definitely be lower. About $150-$175 of that is toiletries (that we can't change; until DS6's medical status changes, we'll be buying diapers and wipes for a while longer). I'll admit that I spend a fair bit for convenience foods, but after we're settled into the new house, I'd like to change that. 

 

Anyway, I'd love to see the average. I know it's been done before, but I can't find the threads (story of my WTM Forum life).

[fraidycat]

Dude! I wish!!

 

No diapers. 4 of us. (Kids are 13 and 9) $1200-$1500/mo, including paper products, toiletries, etc.

 

We eat mainly primal, and as humanely as possible (budget-wise), so free range, pastured, grassfed, fair trade, organic, wild caught, etc. are all labels that tend to grace a lot of our packages.

[Entropymama]

It's been done before, somebody even did a poll. But I can't find it either. :)

 

We're a family of 8, my kids are 13, 11, 10, 6, 5, and 1. I spend around $800/month, including toiletries, paper products and diapers. I know I spend a lot less than many families. Aldi helps greatly - I can't recommend them highly enough. I buy meat and staples (flour, rice, etc.) at Costco and everything else at Aldi. We do not eat steak or fish, or Poptarts or most other processed foods. I make a lot of things from scratch. We eat a lot of soups, pasta dishes and Mexican foods. I can still do most meals with one pound of meat, but that is quickly changing. 

 

I imagine in the next few years, as my boys hit the teen years, we'll see our budget go up drastically. 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

My spending is about equal to yours, for two adults and two kids who eat like adults. It does include TP, some shampoo (T-gel, ugh), razors (though I buy them very rarely), and conditioner (as well as things like dish and laundry detergents) because I buy those at the regular stores, but it doesn't include toothpaste, shampoo, vitamins, body wash, or most household cleaning items (mainly Dr. Bronner's) because I buy those at Vitacost and they end up under a separate budget. No diapers here anymore. 

 

I do buy convenience items because I find that when I don't have quick things in the house for busy nights, we end up eating out instead, and that costs way more. I also buy as much organic produce as possible, natural chicken (Coleman at Costco), organic ground beef (Costco), and eggs from our local farm. I try not to shop at Whole Foods because I end up spending way more, but if there's an organic or natural item at BJ's, Costco, or my local grocery stores, I'll try to buy that over the conventionally produced stuff if I can (e.g., Amy's frozen burritos vs. El Monterey). I also eat GF where I can, so I keep some GF convenience foods in the house for me. 

 

I waste more food than I'm comfortable admitting, but I'm really trying to be better about that. I could probably cut $100-$150 off my budget with better planning and controlling waste more carefully, but...it is what it is right now. We just came through a few months of trying  to eat more vegetarian, and I wasted SO much produce because I had a hard time transitioning out of my "big shopping every two weeks" habit. Fresh veggies and fruit just really don't last that long! '

 

It's hard. I've been trying to get back to using coupons again (not very successfully--there's just not a lot of coupons out there for the stuff we use), and the overall increase in prices, even with the "deals" that are available, is pretty shocking. 

[AimeeM]

We don't buy anything organic :P 

Well, I feel better about my budget. It appears to be pretty normal. 

 

[Arcadia]

This thread was for restricted diet.

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/465953-grocery-poll-for-those-on-a-non-processed-non-standard-or-special-foods-diet/

 

We spend slightly less than $500 per month for 2 adults and 2 kids who doesn't eat much. We buy mostly non-organic and we don't eat much meat/fish.

[mommymonster]

We are around $600 per month for a family of four (kids are 9 and 6 and eat like hobbits). That includes toiletries, paper products and dog food. We tend to do more processed meats than I care to admit, as I'm a vegetarian and not comfortable cooking meat. I could do better, in all honesty. But I don't. And I'm trying to accept that it's ok. 

[Tsuga]

We spend about $1400 for all six of us (aged 6 through nearly 40, one teen and a pre-teen boy), but really it's like five since the step-kids are only here half time. That includes about $200 on school lunches which the kids prefer (they are pretty good!) as well as, to be honest, deli foods for myself and my partner since school started because I'm a lazy bum and haven't gotten into a routine yet.

 

If we stopped eating fish, we could probably save a good $150/month. If we stopped eating organic meat we could probably save another $150. But the bulk of our budget is fresh organic fruits and vegetables. I'd say those are half the bill or so on most of my grocery receipts. From apples to asparagus, it adds up. We would give those up if we were facing homelessness and turn to just frozen/canned, and then cut organic out of the picture.

 

Last night's dinner was spaghetti (not organic), homemade tomato sauce from canned tomatoes and fresh garlic and onion with dried spices, roasted chickpeas, and a light green salad. Very simple. I think it cost about $1.50/person. Tonight was a bag of chips for me because I didn't eat, almonds in the car, and the family had turkey sandwiches before going to the three events on the calendar tonight. Probably again $1.50/person. Night before that was leftovers. Night before that, chowder (homemade with salmon leftovers and clearance broccoli) and biscuits. I'd give it a good $2/person what with the organic butter and milk. Night before that was grilled salmon and corn, probably a good $3.50/person even though the salmon was on sale. Night before that, meatloaf and scalloped potatoes leftovers with green beans from a can. Night before THAT, meatloaf and scalloped potatoes with salad. ;) Both of those meals were probably $2 / person even with organic beef. The beef was $6/lb and I used two pounds for a lot of meatloaf, but it fed us twelve meals (the kids had leftovers after school one day, teens, ack!).

 

Snacks were mangoes, kiwis, apples, bananas, grapes, blueberries as well as Annie's bunnies for school snack (nut free and they need calories). I know it's awful and I try to eat local but sometimes you just want them to EAT.

 

So, compared to families of four that eat on $1,050 organically, that seems about right. That's $350 more for one more person and we don't cut corners with food at all, and we live in a high COL area with high grocery prices.

 

I use every coupon that is for fresh fruits and vegetables and quality meat that I get. Which is to say, never, lol! Nobody will give you a discount on those things because there's not a big choice, you eat the only organic meat or you don't.

 

Toiletries... girls share shampoo and I buy buttloads on sale. We buy our shampoo at Costco.

 

I guess this is where we could cut costs but health is wealth and we don't have time to make something from nothing or shop around for hours, so it is what it is. Reading this, more vegetarian meals and more frozen veggies are in order, though.

[Desert Rat]

Family of 4 with 2 teen boys, we spend $700-$800 a month, everything included. 

We buy fresh when at all possible, organic if it's cheap. 

I'm vegetarian. The rest of the crew are meat eaters. ;) We buy meat, cheese, some produce, paper products and some toiletries all at Costco. 

Today was shopping day. I paid $125.

Included: 

Romaine
2 pounds carrots
10 # potatoes
2 # onions
a few peppers
3 # peaches
3 # apples
6 bananas
1 head of broccoli 

1.5 gal milk 
1 gal OJ
1 gal AJ
1 16 oz sour cream
1 8 oz cream cheese
1 5 oz parm cheese

2 cans chick peas (I make my own hummus)
2 bags of chips (potato and tortilla)
18 bagels
6 pitas
a loaf of whole grain bread
hamburger buns
2 # pasta

Ice cream
frozen chicken
frozen raviolis 

1 take and bake pizza

Pop
a bottle of wine

I shop at Walmart (I know, I know) and this is a typical week ,well except for the wine.  

I buy generic when I can and it doesn't affect the taste- pasta, canned veg and beans. I 

I've been adding about $10 a month for the last year as my boys begin to eat me out of house and home. My 12yo has grown 2 inches this summer alone. :D

 

[LucyStoner]

$650 ish, just on food for humans. Toiletries and cat needs are buried in another budget category for us. This is for 4 people wirh kids who eat a lot. Not too many organics. This is our "low budget" budget and it's very tight. We used to spend more like $900-1000 for three people and I will be rubber banding right back there or a bit higher as soon as my husband is done with school. The difference in these two budgets is organic and we don't eat as much fish or nicer cuts of meat anymore. I ration nuts and maple syrup and stuff like that now. Both of these budgets relied on sale shopping, bulk purchases and getting some food direct from farms. Both budgets allow for 7-10 servings of fruits and veggies a day.

 

I assume diapers are a $60-90 expense so I don't think your food budget sounds especially high.

[Guest]

I spend roughly $400 month which includes food for one adult, one child, one large dog, four cats (prescription food), 1 lizard and six chickens.  I think the animals' food equals the human food.  We get by.  I can't afford organic, but we eat our own eggs.  Mostly I buy milk, produce, bread, breakfast somethings, lunch meat, hot dogs when they are on sale, and generally a few whatnot cans every week.  If there's any left over I'll buy chicken or fish from the deli so I can just get one breast or one filet.  I used to shop at WinCo but I've been shopping at Fred Meyer since the prices aren't that much more if you buy store brand and I get the fuel points.  I'm not looking forward to the teenage years...although maybe that will be motivation for me to eat less and compensate for DS's eating more :)

[mamakelly]

$900 for a family of 6, with 4 kids (3 older teens). It's brutal, I almost always run out of money before the end of the month

[lea_lpz]

Family of 5. $800 month, with toiletries, cleaning products, pet food, etc. We don't buy organic though I wish we could. Not a lot of conscience food. Lots of fresh produce from the farmers market. I cook most nights. Not much junk food either. No food allergies though either.

[Ali in OR]

My budget this year is $875 per month and I'm running just under that, but the holiday months tend to be higher so I expect to end up at that amount on average over the whole year. This is for 5 people and includes all toiletries. Costco is a bit of a drive for us, so I make a run every 6 weeks or so (my regular Costco items are most of our meat, cheese, shampoo, lotion, almonds, a few convenience items, maybe $250 per trip). Two out of three months have a Costco run and those months go a bit higher than the non-Costco months. When we eat ground beef, it is local grass-fed stuff, but we don't eat a lot of it. I don't seek organic for anything else. All of our girls are on the light-eater side of things--no teen boy appetites here.

[SemiSweet]

We are at $1250 per month, but that doesn't include all of our toiletries. It does include eating out too for the most part. I'd like to lower ours to $850 after our move. We eat meat pretty much every night, we buy beef in bulk in a cow share, but it's really expensive here in Hawaii. I'm looking forward to mainland food prices. We have 5 people, and buy organic when possible.

[3 ladybugs]

We are a family of 2 year old (dairy and white potato free), 7 year old and 2 adults. $1000 a month here. We eat 90/10 paleo. We shop at Costco, Aldi, Wegmans, Trader Joes, Whole Foods and a few local places. Shopping day is exhausting.

 

I would cut our budget but honestly I am not sure how as meat is our biggest expense and the most needed.

 

Eta: About 5 years ago we were eating normally and were able to use emeals.com Aldi plan. Back then our food budget was only $400 a month! Now there were 3 of us then but I assure you, my 2 year old doesn't eat $600 worth of food a month!!😄😄😄

[Amira]

I think this ends up being a lot like the discussions we've had about what we all spend on homeschooling. I spent less on homeschooling when we had to and I spend more on it when we can and I choose to. Some people have to figure out how to eat well on a small food budget, but it's pretty much impossible to have a healthy diet with a variety of foods without either spending some money or some time on it. The least expensive healthy foods take time to prepare. Then there are people whose diets are restricted or modified in some way so they have to do things differently. And the place you live makes a difference. It's fine to spend more money on food than others if that's what works for your family.

 

We've never spent more than $500/week on food, even in high-cost areas (the cheapest I managed was in a high-cost area with five people and we spent $350/month) but I trade a reasonable amount of my time to make that happen. I go on foot to places with inexpensive produce that doesn't last as long. Because it doesn't last as long, I have to go more often which wouldn't be practical if I weren't walking, but that obviously takes time (but I don't spend time going to the gym or have a dedicated time to exercise). I buy in bulk and make lots of stuff from scratch.

 

We don't eat much meat because no one in the family needs a lot of it. We can eat everything. We don't eat out in the US and the only beverage we buy is milk. I'm comfortable with shopping at and cooking from any ethnic market you can imagine- although not all save you money, many do. We don't eat anything organic and I focus on in-season produce, especially local vegetables. I have over 75 meals that I can make when we live in a city with a decent selection of ethnic markets. I knew how to cook when I got married and I have a few time-saving devices like a bread mixer and a good blender. I've nearly always had a good kitchen. All of these things make it possible for us to spend less and any one of them could increase our budget a lot if things changed. Our way isn't right for everyone.

[Laura Corin]

Probably around £150 a week for four adult sized people, so that's about USD 1000 per month.  That includes food, toiletries and gin but not wine or dog food.

[xixstar]

I think it is about $600-800/month for family of 5.

 

That doesn't include any dairy (dairy-free) or meat products (buy those on a quarterly basis at a few hundred or more). So mostly just produce and pantry staples and probably 80% is organic. No toiletries either (Amazon subscribe and save for those).

[HomeAgain]

$600 - 3 adult sized people, one small sized one.  It includes toiletries but not alcohol.  Also usually includes meat bought in bulk (separated at home, trimmed, and cut into right pieces before freezing), 3 gallons of milk, about 6lbs of cheese (various pieces), whatever fruits and veggies are in season through Bountiful Baskets, 2 dozen eggs, about 10 loaves of bread (6 for lunches, 4 for dinners), bulk box of pasta, and instant oatmeal - two different styles because my children can't decide which is better, steel cut or rolled.  Buying instant saves me the headache in the morning.   We rotate buying these each month: toilet paper, laundry soap, rice, propane for the grill.

[The Girls' Mom]

We spend 1200-1500 a month, easily, for a family of 5.  We are all adult sized.  The healthier we eat, the more I seem to spend.  It is a bit lower right now because, admittedly, we are eating more pizzas and burritos than normal.  We are just SO busy, and I'm SO tired of food planning.  

 

If I bare boned it, I could probably get it down to 800 a month, but we'd all be cranky.  

[Pawz4me]

Ummm . . . is it bad that I don't really know?  I'd guess somewhere in the range of $1200 - $1500.  But that includes everything--food, toiletries, cosmetics, OTC medications, cleaning supplies and most of the pet stuff.  There are three of us humans (four when oldest is here) and three pets.  DH keeps up with this stuff, but I think he lumps everything into a "household" category or some such.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'd really have to guess.  $1000 a month maybe.  Family of 4, two pets.

[DawnM]

Well, I need to get back to budgeting.    When I was really strict with the budget, I got us down to $650/month, including toiletries, for a family of 5.  That was my lowest with being comfortable.   I technically did get it down to $500/mo. for a while, but it took a lot of effort an planning and didn't allow us any extras (no pre-made anything, no salmon or more expensive meats, etc....)

 

I have been so lax this past 18 months or so that I can't even tell you what we spend because I don't know!  Even if I looked back at spending, some of the grocery store ATM purchases include cash back, so I can't even go back to the bank account or credit card purchases and tell you.  I also can't tell you because places like Costco sell non-food items that we have been purchasing.   My guess is that it is around $1000 right now.  I really would like to cut it back to $800 and keep it there.   I know we CAN do it.

 

 

[Heatherwith4]

Our budget is pretty close to yours. It's around $1100/month for 5 people, 1 dog, 3 cats, and about 20 ducks/chickens. I mention the furry and feathered friends because their food is included. I'm also including toiletries and cleaning supplies. However, no diapers. I could probably reduce ours a bit, but I'm already overwhelmed a good portion of the time as it is. :)

[Butter]

We average $1000 a month.  That's for 6 people, no one in diapers, 100% gluten free (three Celiacs and one at least sensitive to gluten) so that adds a lot (we used to eat a lot of pasta meals and can't anymore; before diagnosis I was spending about $800 a month).  We have a dog, but she's tiny so her costs are minimal.  About $100 of that is Subscribe and Save from Amazon.  Every week I scour our grocery bill and figure out what I could add to S&S.  It saves quite a bit.  Also, cost of food in our part of TX is much lower than many other parts of the country (I had sticker shock when I went back to the east coast to visit my parents!).

[AmandaVT]

This link is helpful. Monthly averages across the US for food budgets. If you're in a low COL area, it'll be a little less and more for a high COL. 

 

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodAug2015.pdf

 

We've been spending too much the past couple of months and I need to get back on track with budgeting- ideally, we spend less than $800/month. No diapers and we eat mostly plant based.  

[Mimm]

About $1000 for a family of five, not including diapers and we don't buy anything organic, free range, grass fed, or gluten free. ;) There are certain places I could cut back. Instead of boneless skinless chicken breasts, I could buy drumsticks or hey, eat more beans. I could buy the cheap store brand toilet paper and paper towels. I could make things like spaghetti sauce from scratch, and cook oatmeal or pancakes for breakfast instead of buying cereal. And I would if we needed to, but right now we're ok. :)

[Btervet]

We are a family of four, though the two little ones don't eat as much as an adult yet. its a little hard to figure out on a monthly level, because we spend a lot a few times a year. We splurge on a relatively expensive CSA that delivers to our house, and on our yearly beef purchase. The rest is all store brands or other cheap options.

 

1/4 cow once a year - $400

CSA - $169 per month (fruit, veg, eggs)

IL's summer/fall veg - free, but I'd value them around $60 per month.

Costco - $150 per month

Grocery stores - $400 per month

Wine/beer - $60 per month (we host a party a month, not just for us!)

Eating out - $150 per month (work lunches, pizza nights, coffee shops, very very rarely a sit down restaurant)

 

So that's a little shy of $800 per month in groceries. $950 for all our food including eating out. Area makes a big difference, we are in a high COL area around DC.

 

I used to be very strict with out budget on food, and got down to $450 for our family(of 3 at the time), but thankfully we've had some good years so I didn't need to be as tight. Being able to up the food budget has been a huge life improvement for me.

[elegantlion]

We spend between $200 and $250 a month for two people, me and ds. It's not enough. Realistically, it should be about $350-$400 to keep ds full and have better choices, even in low cost of living area. It's not an option right now though as my income is less than some of your grocery budgets (just stating a fact, nothing else). 

[Murphy101]

We spend between $1200 and $1400 a month for a family of 12. That's everything food, toiletries, and pet stuff.

 

I buy my meat from a resurgent (ha! I meant to write restaurant!) meat supplier once a month and when it goes on sale somewhere else.

 

We buy almost all our produce from Sprouts, again, unless there's a sale beating them somewhere else. And I indulge in buying my coffee there too. Espresso. If we need everything we usually get from here, and we don't every time we go, I spend about $200

 

SAMs is where we get the bulk items if they are cheaper there. They aren't always. Like anywhere else, we have to compare size, quality and pice. Most of the bulk pasta is cheaper, some of the frozen items, bulk sliced American cheese, sometimes meat, a few convenience items like bulk pancake mix. Bulk spices. Bulk white vinegar... If we get everything we use there, it's about $350

 

We buy a lot at Aldi's. Milk, flour tortillas, canned veggies, corn tortilla chips, shredded cheese and cream cheese, butters, most baking items, oatmeal... For everything we might get, about $300

 

The rest is at wackomart. Dog food, bird food, cereal, anything we need and can't fine elsewhere cheaper. These are often the most expensive items on the list. $300 or there abouts.

 

I make those really big runs once a month, but there's much smaller weekly runs for things that just won't keep a month or miscalculations of how much I needed or something came up and I need something I didn't account for. Those once a week runs to the store(s) add up to about another $300 total a month.

 

Today I need to buy - about $45 worth in my estimate with the coffee and rabbit litter being the most expensive.

Coffee (I'm sipping my last pot until I buy more! :o )

Peanutbutter

Sliced cheese

Breads (sandwich bread, hotdog buns)

Margarine

Rabbit litter. (I'm starting to think those bunnies poop to capacity. I can't seem to buy enough litter?!)

 

I keep two printed lists in the pantry door each month. One for grocery items and one for non grocery items. They are also listed under where we usually buy them. We mark how much we bought and how much we still have at the end of the month and if we ran out. It's never perfect, but it helps estimate how much I need to buy and reduces how much I forget to add on the list. I'll also move items if I notice somewhere else has been cheaper consistently.

 

We don't do coupons very much. Maybe one or two a month, if that. The majority of the time, even with the coupon doubled, it is still more expensive than the brand we usually buy or it is for something we can do without.

[Southern Ivy]

We do around $700 a month - 2 adults, 1 toddler. I have to eat gluten-free, so we have a lot of veggies, fruits, meats and cheeses. We have some rice pastas, but it's not a huge part. The only convenience foods are for dd's breakfast (quick oatmeal, muffins, yogurts) and we do little to no eating out. 

I try to buy my meat in bulk at Sams and freeze it (unless I can find the grassfed beef at Aldis which around here is almost never). The rest, I have started buying at Aldi's. 


ETA: We still buy nighttime pull-ups and a few daytime pull-ups. That runs us around $40-60. 

So, our budget breakdown looks more like this: 

$640 - food
$30 - cleaning supplies

$40 - toiletries (NOT including toilet paper. We get that in bulk at Sam's.) 

$50 - pull-ups

So, adding in the pull-ups, our budget looks more like $760 a month. It's tight for us. Sometimes, the cleaning and toiletries budget plays hanky-panky with the food budget so I can pick up another quart of organic milk or bread for the kiddo. 
 

 

[mamiof5]

Was so glad to see some I don't know! Because that's my answer. There's 7 of us, 3 adults (dh, dd and I), 3 between ages of 7-11 (very good eaters) and an 11 month old who thinks formula is free. I want to say, hopefully... around $1200 per month? I honestly don't know. I do most of the grocery shopping, but dh helps when I need something. We do like wine, and have salmon once a week, like meat and chicken, live off paper plates (which adds up). I just don't know, don't keep track

[snickerplum]

We (6 people, one dog) budget $1150, but Dh says we overspend that consistently by $300. :-) Our children are still young, but they eat insane amounts of food.

We have many food issues. Three of the children are gluten free (one is allergic to the ingredients in standard gf pasta - her box of pasta cost $10), 3 have issues with milk (in our fridge right now we have organic whole, lactose free, unsweetened almond and hemp milk), two cannot have eggs, and the 7 year old has so many allergies I'm not going to list them all now. The dog has food allergies (of course, we choose the only dog at the pound who has food allergies - no one told us that he threw up a lot) and has to have food that has no poultry ingredients. Dh is the only completely normal one in the house.:-)

To sum up, a lot of what we buy is not normal or inexpensive. I try to buy organic and the like when I can. I buy most meat, some paper products, and some produce at Costco (high five Costco!). I spend the rest pretty equally at Publix, Kroger, Aldi, and Target.

I cook many things from scratch. We eat out once in a blue moon or when traveling.

I would love to be able to have easy, inexpensive meals, but that's not who we are. :-)

[Tanaqui]

Okay, well, I'm gonna pretend that those of you spending under a thousand for tons of people don't even exist, and instead pat myself on the back for the fact that some of you have three people in your family and spend twice as much as I do!

 

We spend about $120 a week on food. I order toilet paper and some other household supplies online, that's about $100 a month. Our CSA is maybe $900 yearly, summer and winter with fruit, beef, and eggs. Pet food is counted separately, and I also order that.

 

So monthly we spend, uh... math in my head time... um.... about $700 when you count in the pet food?

[Aelwydd]

It is what it is. Usually around $1100 for our family of three. Mostly vegetarian, includes eating out a few times a week. Between school, hockey and TaeKwonDo, we are already busy. As we add more activities, DH finds less time to cook, as several Indian and Thai dishes can take 2 hours or longer.

[skimomma]

About $800 a month for a family of three big eaters including our CSA, toiletries, and cleaning products.  Mostly organic and all vegetarian.  I do 70% of my shopping at our local co-op and 20% direct from farmers.  The other 10% goes to our neighborhood grocer.  I purchase a lot of our staples (rice, dry beans, wheat berries, nuts, etc....) in bulk and I put up a lot of food during the summer.  I do buy some convenience foods like dry pasta, tortillas, and crackers but for the most part try to stick with whole foods.  I find I can save 50% or more by making my own yogurt, peanut butter, fruit leathers, and other convenience foods when I have the time to do so.  We refill our shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, and soap bottles from the bulk jugs which also comes in at about 50% of the pre-bottled price.

[Desert Strawberry]

Seven of us and a small dog, under $500 a month for everything.

[Murphy101]

I gotta admit.

 

I despise our grocery bill and cringe over it every time.

 

But after seeing how much some are spending with families half as big or smaller, at least...

 

Well at least nothing.

 

I'm still thinking, what can I cut off this mammoth list? I can cut a lot and don't. 😩

[freesia]

We spend around $1000 a month. We live in a high cost of living area, have 4 children and one person with allergies who needs all organic veg and fruit (but we only do organic for that person) as well as some other special products. We don't do any prepackaged foods (or very seldom) b/c of the allergy. We could do a bit better--but would feel it. Food has just gotten expensive.

[QueenCat]

Budget is $800 for food/toiletries/paper goods/pet needs. This does not include dining out, which is a separate line item in our budget. Add $300 to the food budget to include the dining out. Family of four. No diapers.

[lynn]

1200 - !500@ month for family of 5  inlcuding pet care, cleaners etc.    We choose to pay more for certain foods, organics, etc.  I am sure I could cut it by 1/3 or more.

[FaithManor]

Hmmmm

 

About $150 a week at present. Toilet paper, sometimes a roll of paper towels,kleenex, when we need it are our only regular paper supplies. Shampoo and conditioner are usually only replaced once per month. I use vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice for most of my cleaning so that cost is inconsequential. Oh, laundry detergent does come out of it.

 

We have very few convenience foods. We eat a lot of eggs, salads, salmon and perch sometimes even pollack or walleye because certain times of the year these fish are very cheap, home canned, frozen, and dehydrated veggies and fruits, and I almost never bake so do not replenish those supplies often at all. We consume very few bakery products as the family prefers casseroles,soups and stews, salads, baked potatoes with toppings, mexican foods, and rice and beans over sandwiches and such.

 

We do get a quarter organic beef each year which is not reflected in that weekly amount.

I have Mennonite Bulk Food Store nearby and the prices are very competitive which helps.

[FaithManor]

Oh, family of five, three teen boys, no diapers.

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

We spend $700/month in a high COL area for our family of 2 adults, 4 kids with hearty appetites, a large (100lb) dog, and 11 chickens (that better start laying soon to make up for how much they eat!). This covers a few toiletries as well - toilet paper, tissues, razors and shaving cream, toothpaste, stuff like that. We have a separate budget of $75/month for cleaning supplies, vitamins, and toiletries like soap, shampoo, and lotion that we order each month from Melaleuca.

 

I've been feeling like this budget was tight and comparing to above posts seems to confirm that. I checked out the link posted above too and we spend $200 less per month than their "thrifty" amount for a family our size. I'd love to increase our food budget but I don't know where the extra would come from.

 

I shop primarily at Aldi. Whatever I can't find there I get across the street at Wal-Mart. I go to BJs occasionally but the closest one is 30 minutes away and seldom worth the time or gas. I also try to run in Stop & Shop (national chain similar to Kroger I think) to pick up whatever discounted meat they have.

 

We eat very simply. I make nearly everything from scratch - including our bread. The only processed food I buy is mac and cheese for the kids to have every other week or so, and one small box of cereal a week. We eat fairly healthy with occasional organics and free range/grass feed meats but not as much as I would like. We don't eat dessert or snack foods and we drink primarily water. I pack my DH's dinners for work (plural - he eats 6 times a day :-P)

 

A typical day for the kids and I is:

 

Breakfast - eggs and toast

Snack - a piece of fruit

Lunch - grilled chicken, sweet potato, salad

Snack - cheese/crackers and fruit or a smoothie

Dinner - sandwiches, popcorn, and veggies

 

DH adds oatmeal to breakfast, a protein shake to snack #1, and a salad with chicken or tuna after dinner.

 

It's as tight budget but we eat pretty well and none of us are hungry so I guess we make it work.