1GirlTwinBoys Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 (edited) My DD will be 14 next month and my twin boys will be 13 very soon, so they are at the age where they eat SO MUCH!!! We're averaging $250/week. I do buy some organic and grass fed meats etc. Also, I buy 5 cartons of expensive low heat pasteurized/non homogenized milk every week too. Just curious what other families of similar size are doing?? :001_smile: ETA: This includes paper towels, toilet paper and cleaning products etc... I do use coupons as well. Edited February 7, 2017 by 1GirlTwinBoys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 According to the USDA, that's right in line with their low-cost and moderate food plans for a family your size. Perhaps even a little less if you're counting non-food items. https://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodDec2016.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 We average about $200. My kids are all huge eaters and snackers as well. We buy very little organic and shop Aldi's every week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 We've got 6 total Dh and i, One 16 year old girl (who eats like a linebacker and is about the size of a munchkin), Two 15 year old boys, and a 13 y.o. GF Vegan. We spend about $800-$900 per month. I don't do coupons but I only shop sales. I do think we're in a low cost food area (TN), I know it's cheaper here than when we lived in NC or Florida but Indiana was even cheaper then here. We eat a lot of chicken and veggies. We do ground beef (80/20) but I buy it in the 5 or 10 pound chubs from Walmart for $2 or less per pound. In fact except for the occasional roast/Steak, I don't pay more than $2.50 per pound for meat. I buy most of my veggies at sprouts, $.98 for regular, $1.98 for organic, plus they have good bulk bin prices. Publix is WAY over priced so I only buy BOGO items. We eat well, I cook a lot but the kids also have a selection of junk food (french fries and popcorn usually). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1GirlTwinBoys Posted February 7, 2017 Author Share Posted February 7, 2017 That's good to know that we're not over average. I did forget to mention that DH is gluten free so that is an added expense to our grocery bill too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I spend about $100/week for a family of five (parents and three boys who are 17,16,8). But I also spend a lot of time cooking nearly everything from scratch; we don't eat much meat; I don't buy any beverages except milk; and while we eat a lot of produce, I get what's in season and less expensive. Groceries also aren't that expensive where I live. My point is that your food budget isn't just about monthly totals, it's about where you live and the choices you make about food. If you can afford what you're spending and your family is happy with the food and you're happy with things, then your food budget is fine no matter what others are spending. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Just checked my Excel spreadsheet from last year and we averaged $852.53 per month for 5 people. Some months go over $1000 (months with a Costco trip plus 5 weekly grocery runs, stock-up months like blueberry picking/freezing in July, November will run high with holiday food shopping). Months with no Costco run (about 1 in every 3 or 4 months) are below average. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaluv+2more Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I budget $150/wk for our family (me + 4 girls ages 3, 6, 9, 12). I often end up spending less, but never more. That is only food. I shop toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc in bulk just once a year so I have a hard time adding those to the calculations. I also shop at a large club once every 2-3 months and spend around $200 on things that I buy in bulk. I don't buy much prepackaged, convenience stuff and we don't eat meat every day. We also only typically buy milk for beverages. There are many things I cook/bake in large quantities and freeze, so they aren't weekly, or even monthly, expenses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecropia Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 (edited) About $200 a week here, which includes paper products, toiletries, cleaning supplies and diapers for two. (ETA and wine, 2-3 bottles a month) We eat meat at most meals and lots of fresh vegetables. Edited February 7, 2017 by Cecropia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 (edited) I spend about $100/week for a family of five (parents and three boys who are 17,16,8). But I also spend a lot of time cooking nearly everything from scratch; we don't eat much meat; I don't buy any beverages except milk; and while we eat a lot of produce, I get what's in season and less expensive. Groceries also aren't that expensive where I live. My point is that your food budget isn't just about monthly totals, it's about where you live and the choices you make about food. If you can afford what you're spending and your family is happy with the food and you're happy with things, then your food budget is fine no matter what others are spending. This is us too. I try to keep it to $100/week and that includes toiletries (like toothpaste, deodorant,toilet paper, but not my make up or face lotion), cat food and litter (but not dog food-that's a separate expense), and all cleaners or detergents. I do occasionally buy some ready to eat items, but mostly I make everything from scratch and plan, plan, plan. I repurpose leftovers and try not to throw food away. I roasted a chicken today and for the next two days we will be having chicken soup and homemade bread for dinner--salad too maybe b/c we happen to have the fixings left over from weekend. I recently informed my husband that if anything ever happened to me his grocery bill would at least double. There are weeks when I end up spending a little over (never over $120) and weeks where I can get away with spending $50, so it probably evens out to about $100/week. We also benefit from teen Ds having a good paying job and sometimes buying his own meals at college or out just b/c it is more convenient. The only special diets I have to consider are Dd's food allergies, which are a pain as far as reading labels, but generally not expensive to work around. Also, I am very frugal (cheap) and I watch high cost items like paper towels and aluminum foil. Dc have been taught to use those items sparingly. I learned to do without a lot of things when Dh lost his job. He has been at his new job for almost 2 years, but I still stick to the budget from his unemployment days b/c we are still playing catch up. ETA: Family of 4, NOT a big coupon user Edited February 7, 2017 by shanvan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loowit Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I try to keep it to $200 a week, but usually it is closer to $300. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlemommy Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 (edited) We are a family of 6, but if I exclude the baby's diapers, wipes, and formula, we are between $300-$350. This includes household items like natural soaps and shampoos, detergents, paper goods, cleaning products. We eat clean, organically when we can, drink only milk, coffee, or water, and eat a ton of produce. I spend at least $100 on produce alone. Our meals are a mix of completely from scratch to some convenience. We have a packed afternoon schedule, so I do need some quick cooking dinner meals that travel well in a thermos. As a family, I try to keep a carbs to a minimum. Very little pantry foods like chips or crackers, very little pasta (maybe once every other week for the kids), and pricey sprouted bread. Alternative snacks are either fresh produce, nuts/seeds, eggs, or dried fruit-all of which are more than boxes of crackers. We do like going out to eat, and we do that at least once a week. Edited February 7, 2017 by Gentlemommy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insertcreativenamehere Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 We have 6 in our family, but one is tube-fed and his food is provided by insurance. Kids ages 12, 10 and 7. We have a monthly budget of $600. It gets really tight sometimes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Only 4 of us here. I don't know, but I will say I am pretty certain my 15 year old costs more to feed than DH and me combined. Whew...he can eat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Probably around $300 a week. I do the bulk of the shopping every two weeks and spend around $500. Then I fill in some in between. We have 5 adults here. (mostly...my youngest two are almost 17 and past puberty) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artichoke Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 We're about $600-$800 a month when the teens were all home. This includes the money we would spend for bulk meat purchases once a year, and my orders from Azure Standard. We have no dietary restrictions and eat mostly real foods. If you're purchasing grass fed beef at the grocery store or farmer's market, you may want to look at buying a quarter or half beef. It's less expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 When we were 5, my oldest was only 6. We spent about $50 a week. Now, with 7 of us, and my oldest 14, we spend around$150 a week, which feels like a huge amount to me. These include toiletries and household items, though we use very few paper products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 When we were 5, my oldest was only 6. We spent about $50 a week. Now, with 7 of us, and my oldest 14, we spend around$150 a week, which feels like a huge amount to me. These include toiletries and household items, though we use very few paper products. You must have very low food prices! It would be difficult to spend $150 a week as a single person where I live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 When we were 5, my oldest was only 6. We spent about $50 a week. Now, with 7 of us, and my oldest 14, we spend around$150 a week, which feels like a huge amount to me. These include toiletries and household items, though we use very few paper products. amazing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 We are a family of 6, but if I exclude the baby's diapers, wipes, and formula, we are between $300-$350. This includes household items like natural soaps and shampoos, detergents, paper goods, cleaning products. We eat clean, organically when we can, drink only milk, coffee, or water, and eat a ton of produce. I spend at least $100 on produce alone. Our meals are a mix of completely from scratch to some convenience. We have a packed afternoon schedule, so I do need some quick cooking dinner meals that travel well in a thermos. As a family, I try to keep a carbs to a minimum. Very little pantry foods like chips or crackers, very little pasta (maybe once every other week for the kids), and pricey sprouted bread. Alternative snacks are either fresh produce, nuts/seeds, eggs, or dried fruit-all of which are more than boxes of crackers. We do like going out to eat, and we do that at least once a week. Is that for the month or week? I think an important part of this too is if you spend $ outside of this for food. Eating out. How much do you spend on that? Are you and your kids at home all day? Do you pay more for school lunch? Do your or dh pay for lunch at work? we are a family of 7, the older 3 eat like teenagers. we don't do coupons or anything and spend anywhere from 600-800 a month. That is all food, diapers, toilet paper, cleaners Dh and I hate cooking, we do more instant easy meals. No making things from scratch. We don't eat out. The kids and dh are home all day everyday so this everything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 $250-300. Try to keep it under $300. We buy things like cereal and such, but we also cook a lot from scratch. We buy fresh fruit and veggies but we do let things go to waste sometimes, which is frustrating. This includes toilet paper, paper towels, dog food, and pull ups for a potty resistant three year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Is that for the month or week? I think an important part of this too is if you spend $ outside of this for food. Eating out. How much do you spend on that? Are you and your kids at home all day? Do you pay more for school lunch? Do your or dh pay for lunch at work? we are a family of 7, the older 3 eat like teenagers. we don't do coupons or anything and spend anywhere from 600-800 a month. That is all food, diapers, toilet paper, cleaners Dh and I hate cooking, we do more instant easy meals. No making things from scratch. We don't eat out. The kids and dh are home all day everyday so this everything. Definitely! I sometimes feel like we spend a lot, but we rarely go out to eat. So I'm making all meals for 4 people 7 days a week. I also pick up stuff like cat food and cat litter which adds to the total. Plus time of year is a factor. Produce this time of year can be 2x as much as in the summer months. I've paid as much as $3 for an English cucumber. Which is nuts...but yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 We're at about $250 per week also. 6/7 meals are from scratch. I have two teen boys, a 12 year old boy and a 9 year old girl. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaBearTeacher Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 3 boys 10-15: $300-$400/week. Some organics, all meals from scratch, no sweet treats, no beans and little pasta because of bad reactions. I buy tons of cheese and plain yogurt and olive oil on sale. I buy everything I can on special. Food prices have gone down lately on eggs, butter, vegetables, bread and a few other things and I am happy about that! It is showing in how much we spend. My grocery cart is full 2-3 times a week. The fridge is completely and creatively stuffed and we have a big freezer too. After 2 days, the fridge is empty. I see some of you saying $150/week?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 We are about $250/week if I am being generous. That is divided pretty much 50/50 between Trader Joe's and Costco. I can go down, if the budget requires it. I have 13 year old and 11 year old boys who eat a lot, and a 9 year old DD and 6 year old son who eat less. Oh, this also includes cat food. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Random Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 There are six of us. My husband works construction & eats A LOT. My teen boys are eating machines! Though, my little girl is no slouch. I spend $800-$900 per month, not including toiletries. I'm in a pretty high COL area. I don't buy meat, except the rare package of chicken (my sons hunt & fish & I include processing in our grocery budget). We drink water or cheap coffee. I'm a fairly successful tightwad. I don't buy organic/clean/natural/trendy foods, but I do buy real foods. We could eat cheaper if I bought processed foods. We don't eat out. I guess what I'm saying is, even though my amount is high, I think I'm feeding us frugally. It's our biggest expense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 We average $300 a week. Two teens and one 8 yr old. I buy a lot of organic and 100% gluten free. Nut flours are expensive! Does the money my dh spends on wine count? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I think an important part of this too is if you spend $ outside of this for food. Eating out. How much do you spend on that? Are you and your kids at home all day? Do you pay more for school lunch? Do your or dh pay for lunch at work? We do not eat out. Our eating out is buying a frozen pizza or buying the kids a deli sandwich from the grocery store. We are home most of the day and when not we pack lunch and snacks. Dh packs lunch every day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Does the money my dh spends on wine count? I don't count it, but part of that is probably because I never buy wine when food shopping (you have to go to a wine shop for that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I just spent $125 but my oldest is only 9. This was a lighter than normal week for us and we will likely eat out at least once. We budget around $800 for groceries for a month (including cleaning supplies, paper goods) but that does not include eating out at least once a week. Also, my husband travels a lot and is on an expense account so when he's gone I'm not feeding him out of our grocery budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I don't count it, but part of that is probably because I never buy wine when food shopping (you have to go to a wine shop for that). Dh buys wine almost every time he goes to the store. If I ask him to stop and buy something on the way home like say milk, he will also buy wine. He tells me with a smile, "I bought only the essentials." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 (edited) You must have very low food prices! It would be difficult to spend $150 a week as a single person where I live. That's our budget for four people. I brought it up to a friend and she said she tries to spend under $100 - for five! (And I don't count toiletries, but she does.) I think she must do some strange black magic though. Edited February 7, 2017 by Tanaqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 My DD will be 14 next month and my twin boys will be 13 very soon, so they are at the age where they eat SO MUCH!!! We're averaging $250/week. I do buy some organic and grass fed meats etc. Also, I buy 5 cartons of expensive low heat pasteurized/non homogenized milk every week too. Just curious what other families of similar size are doing?? :001_smile: ETA: This includes paper towels, toilet paper and cleaning products etc... I do use coupons as well. If that includes paper products and toiletries it is probably about right. You could save a lot if you did not buy any organic or that expensive milk. I have two BIG boys and a BIG husband....so family of 4 but probably comparable. We just bought a quarter beef so that will lower my meat bill by about $40 a week. This week was kinda weird because on the weekend I spent almost $100 on snacks and drinks for 2 different gatherings but I also did some stapes like milk and butter and laundry soap. But when I shopped for the week on Sunday I only spent $66 and that will get us through even part of the weekend with some leftovers. My goal before we got the beef in the freezer was $150 per week for everything. It was hard to do. So now using beef in freezer 3-4 times a week I hope to keep it at about $125 for everything. We usually have a leftover day and a no meat day. And a chicken day and a fish day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann.without.an.e Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Sounds great to me. We spend about 300/week for food (not any other household stuff, etc) for 6 of us. We do eat a lot of freshies, are dairy and gluten free ($). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Ours averages to about $400 a week. That includes weekly farmers market plus trips to several grocery stores each week. We don't buy frozen food or convience food. We don't buy soda or juice. We all drink water or brew tea. We eat out one meal a week. I cook all of the others from scratch. Ours is high because we are in a high COL and we don't eat grains or inexpensive filler foods like beans and potatoes. Also my kids are spoiled and only like certain brands of items, usually the most expensive brand. One Dd, just discoverd that bacon from the butcher beats anything that comes in a plastic package. Dh picks that up for her every week now. A friend was visiting and she almost fainted when she saw what Dd's favorite cheese cost. On the other hand, my friend left some food that she didn't have time to use. I can't use it because the broth has caramel coloring, the tomato sauce has preservatives. We just don't eat those things. It all balances out. We are fortunate enough to be in a position to make these choices, and we would rather eat well and buy fewer clothes and go on fewer vacations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecropia Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 When I sit down and think about it, it really is amazing to get by on $800 a month for a family of 5. Take out the non-food items and special items like alcohol and maybe it ends up being $700 in food alone (for us, anyway). Average 30 days in a month, 3 meals a day, it works out to about $7.75 for the whole meal or $1.50 to feed each person satisfyingly and to satiety at that meal. Plus I could easily drive that number lower if we didn't have a habit of indulging in pricey treats, like right now my family is addicted to fresh sugar snap peas and I am buying 2+ lbs of them a week, but they are pretty expensive for produce here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 You must have very low food prices! It would be difficult to spend $150 a week as a single person where I live. Here in Arizona, food is super cheap. Definitely. I don't budget, I'm really not careful at all, and still we start pretty low. I do shop at lower cost stores and so the heck out of sales, buy in bulk when reasonable. Mostly, we just eat very simply. Especially in Louisiana, Cajun food is super simple. Beans, rice, soups and stews. Little/no meat. We were super broke. We had to make do. Lunch was broth, a handful of rice and a few chopped veggies every day. A pot of oatmeal, or pancakes made from bulk flour or masa for breakfast. Discount bread. Peanut butter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Random Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Here in Arizona, food is super cheap. Definitely. I don't budget, I'm really not careful at all, and still we start pretty low. I do shop at lower cost stores and so the heck out of sales, buy in bulk when reasonable. Mostly, we just eat very simply. Especially in Louisiana, Cajun food is super simple. Beans, rice, soups and stews. Little/no meat. We were super broke. We had to make do. Lunch was broth, a handful of rice and a few chopped veggies every day. A pot of oatmeal, or pancakes made from bulk flour or masa for breakfast. Discount bread. Peanut butter. Just a caveat. We used to live in Flagstaff, AZ, where nothing was cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Dh buys wine almost every time he goes to the store. If I ask him to stop and buy something on the way home like say milk, he will also buy wine. He tells me with a smile, "I bought only the essentials." No but see that's the problem. Or maybe that's the reason it's not so bad. You cannot buy wine in a regular store. You have to go well out of your way to a wine shop. That is the only place to buy it and we don't have very many of them. Most of his wine he buys on-line now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Ok, so I must be doing something wrong because we spend an average of $350 or more per week. I do buy mostly organic but I bake a lot and have one teen that can't have dairy. I do include paper products and dog food for 2 dogs plus cat food, though. This does not include wine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonhawk Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Family of 5, but they are little still. Throwing my info in because if you count us as a family of 4, we are still above what I'm seeing here for some families of 5. My regular weekly run comes to around $125. At the beginning of the month I have one large shopping trip which is around $200, then maybe another $100 when I go up to the city once a month (Trader Joe's and Whole Foods). So probably around $650-700 a month. I usually budget $650 for 4 weeks (give or take depending on other expenses), and it can be tight. We live in a LCOL area. We do not eat out except maybe one dinner/month (just DH and me, total of around $20-25), buy 95% whole foods only (no cookies, snacks, prepackaged, etc). May buy a 6-pack for DH at beginning of month, otherwise no alcohol. Do buy sparkling water. We do buy organic milk, some organic produce (when available), natural meat (enough for ~3 meat dinners a week plus leftovers). Toiletries and paper are budgeted for separately. No pets or pet food. By category, rough estimates of the week run (not including average of what is bought at beginning of month, I stock up on meat and staples then): Dairy, 4 gal organic milk + eggs = $40 Meat = $20 Shelves (cereal, pasta, bread, flour and other staples like spices) = $25 Veggies = $30 Fruit = $10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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