How much do you spend on groceries and household expenses each week?

[Blessedwithboys]

I'm spending around $150-$200 per week for our family of 5 (3 hungry boys -11, 11, 16, dh and myself) plus a dog, rabbit and ferret. This includes everything I need for the week that I typically buy at Wal-Mart, but excludes gas, eating out or other outside activities. I would love to get it down to around $125 per week, but I'm still trying to figure out how to achieve that.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I am spending about 150-160 a week for a family of 6. Except for dh and ds#2 splitting a sub on Tuesday evenings before CAP, we do not eat out.

 

*I will not pay more than $2 a lb. for meat, and I never buy meat at Walmart. When I find it at a price I like I buy multiple "family" packs and freeze them.

 

*I also try not to pay more than $2 a lb. for any fruits and veggies I buy. Generally speaking that limits me to things that are in season. If there is a good deal on something, I buy more of that. Right now I'm waiting for the fall sweet potatoes. Last year, when they came into our local grocery, they were 19 cents a pound the first week. I bought enough to last all winter.

 

*I comparison shop like crazy, paying attention to the unit price and getting the most for my money. I buy extra of especially good deals.

 

*I am not brand loyal and will often buy store brand.

 

*I buy off the discount bakery racks, if there is something I would usually buy, or for a treat.

 

* I make my own: pizza, biscuits, pancakes, pie crusts, chocolate milk mix, bread crumbs, muffins, cookies, cakes, frosting. It is less expensive than store bought mixes or premade.

 

*I buy prepackaged lunch meat (ham and turkey) and cheese. It is half the price per lb. of deli-sliced. Bacon is even cheaper than lunch meat.

 

*I hardly ever use coupons, because I can almost always find a better deal.

 

*Powdered laundry and dishwasher detergent is more economical than liquid.

 

* I do not buy bottled juices, only frozen concentrate 100% juice. Bottled juices are made from concentrate anyway and are more than twice the price. I also dilute the juice more than the instructions call for.

Edited October 5, 2009 by Virginia Dawn

[Lolly]

We spend about $300 a week on 4 teens (3 of whom are swimmers/double the eating), 3 adults, and a dog. In addition, we tend to eat out about 4 times a week. I have found it to be cheaper to eat out than cook at times.

[Denisemomof4]

we try to keep groceries to $250 per week for a family of 6, two teenage boys, but we oftentimes we go over. I never include household expenses or animal food in that figure. I used to have a grocery budget and could easily stick to it but I find that I can't do this since my head injury, no matter HOW hard I try.

[Ferdie]

I wish I had a simple way to track our grocery budget. So far this year I have been averaging $1,200 per month at Walmart, Costco, Target and grocery stores. That amount includes groceries, cosmestics, clothing, school supplies, household items, decor, pet supplies, meals for friends in need, and entertaining. We rarely eat out and have a family of 5 so I wish I knew how much of that was for groceries.

[Pretty in Pink]

We seem to be $180.00/week for our family of six. This includes dog food, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and diapers. I always buy organic beef and dairy; I usually get organic granola bars, juice pouches, and cookies as well. It costs more than packing reusable water bottles and homemade snacks but the convenience is worth it to me, and it's cheaper and more nutritious than drive-thru.

[bamagirl]

$50-75 a week for our family of 4 plus dog and cat. That includes groceries, diapers, toiletries, etc. I'm a big coupon /deal shopper...use the Grocery Game to match deals with Qs. When I can get something at a rock bottom price, I stock up so I'm not spending more than I need to.

[Elizabeth Conley]

We spend about 165 dollars a week, and this includes quite a few luxuries. We're eating well, and not scrimping at all.

[LauraGB]

Its nice to see I'm not overspending, because I kind of felt like I was but couldn't see where to cut anything.

 

We spend about $225 (in a good week) to $300 (in an average week), so about $1000-$1200 per month for a family with 5 adults and 2 children, 1 dog and 1 cat. I make most of our food from scratch; seems everyone in my household has some kind of special diet that needs to be addressed. I stock up on seasonal items I can get at the farmer's mkt like maple syrup, raw honey, onions, etc. The amt also includes things like shampoo, soap, toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap and those kinds of things. We try to eat our fresh things, coffee and milk(s) organic, but it doesn't always work out that way due to unacceptable pricing on the fresh things (always milk and coffee, though).

[MamaAkins]

We are a family of 7....3 adults (me, dh, and my dad), 1 almost teen and 3 kids (ages 8, 5, and 2). We spend about $225 per week...that includes diapers, household products, eating out, groceries, toiletries, etc. I do use coupons and shop the sales when time permits. I was doing it on $150 per week about a year and a half ago, but have had to up it a bit to accommodate growing appetites, price increases and overall, just an inability to put in as much time to try to get good deals.

[LibraryLover]

Easily $200/week, sometimes more.

Edited October 7, 2009 by LibraryLover

[mom31257]

We used to spend about $100 for our family of 4, but lately it's been between $130-150. I've just started trying to find out about using coupons, so I hope to get some good advice in this thread. I went to Kroger twice this weekend so I could hit both sales. I saved $21 in coupons that I printed off the internet this weekend. Most of the items were on sale to begin with. I spent $110.

[Mrs Mungo]

We spend about $200/week, that includes all cleaning supplies and most basic toiletries.

 

I have 3 kids. I cook 3 meals a day, at least 6 days a week. We eat lunch out one day a week because we're out of the house the entire day. We don't eat casseroles very much and have meat for dinner 90-95% of the time (the rest of the time is pasta, beans, etc).

 

I buy a lot of fresh produce, it's probably my biggest expense.

 

Once in a while I will wind up spending significantly more but I've found it's usually when I haven't planned well and wind up over-buying.

[shalom22]

Has anyone ever tried the grocery game website? My friend sent it to me and said she saved a lot. I was kind of surprised at this and haven't tried it yet.

 

http://www.thegrocerygame.com/

 

Love to hear any thoughts on this,

Annika

 

I love the grocery game. I have been doing it since April and I am to the point of 'cherry picking', meaning I have my stockpile of food and health/beauty stuff and I only shop for the best deals and my needs.

 

I used to spend $1000 to $1300/month on all grocery/HB. But I am now spending less than $500.00/month for all our grocery/HB. I buy 3 sunday papers/week to get multiple coupons and follow the GG list to make the most of the deals.

 

You can sign up for a free 4 week trial and give it a try. There is a forum that you can visit to get any help you need. I think that the ladies are nice enough, I have not experienced any bad behavior on the forum and I have not had any problems with the GG so far.

 

Here is an example of my savings this week:

 

I went to Krogers on sunday - total before coupons/sales - $ 24.81 - savings: $9.97 = out of pocket: $14.84, note: I bought 3 paper and a couple of needs. total percentage saved: 40%

 

Randall's on sunday - Total before coupon/sales - $53.86 - savings: $28.69 = oop: $25.17 percentage saved: 53%

 

Kroger's this morning -Total before coupon/sales - $110.73 - savings: $66.57 = oop: $54.16 percentage saved: 55%

 

So my shopping this week would have been $199.41 - $105.23 in savings and my out of pocket was $94.18 for a 53% savings overall. This is a normal week for me, occasional it is even better.

Edited October 5, 2009 by shalom22
example

[paula j]

I spend about $100 a week for dh, self, 23 yo ds, 14 yo ds, and 5 doggies. I also usually have 1 or 2 truck driving dbils over the weekend. I purchase a side of beef twice a year. I do clip coupons and save them for rock bottom sales. For instance a few weeks ago I went to Walgreen and they had some really good buys that I also had coupons for, things like Dawn, laundry soap, toilet paper, and several other things. My total in sales was $148 but I only spent $39 and I have enough laundry soap, dish soap, and other things to last a few months. It makes clipping the coupons and going through the ads worth it for me. I know it isn't worth it for many but I have to be frugal as we just can't afford to spend more right now.:glare: I also have a dd in college that I purchase these things for as being a college student she never has any extra money. I normally feed between 7-10 people on weekends and do most of my cooking from scratch.

[Tree House Academy]

We spend $400/ month for 4 people. :) We grow and can a lot of our own food, though and that really helps. :)

[DesertDweller]

I spend an average of $100 a week for a family of 3-4. Oldest son eats breakfast at home and sometimes supper, but because of school and work is usually gone and provides his own meals at his cost.

 

$100 includes toiletries, cleaning supplies, and food. It does not include pet food or eating out. We seldom eat out anymore.

 

I use the Grocery Game and have for a few years. I use coupons and my list to buy things in quantity at the cheapest possible price. I stockpile. My cupboards, laundry room, freezer, and extra shelves in the garage are always full. Some weeks I don't have to shop or I buy only items that give me the absolute best savings since I have most of what we might need, so it may not always be $100.

[Tutor]

$100-$125 per week for a family of 6 and a cat plus lunch and snacks for a 3yo and 1yo 5 days per week. It used to be less, but we switched to hormone-free/ antibiotic free milk, and that stuff isn't cheap. :glare: We eat meat maybe 3 times a week and usually in soup or casseroles. If alone, we treat it as a side and not the main dish.

[justamouse]

Has anyone ever tried the grocery game website? My friend sent it to me and said she saved a lot. I was kind of surprised at this and haven't tried it yet.

 

http://www.thegrocerygame.com/

 

Love to hear any thoughts on this,

Annika

 

 

I LOVE the grocery game, and I don't give up my organics to do it. I save on average 1/2 of my bill, but I've been doing it for months and have a lot stockpiled.

 

 

We spend roughly $325 a week for a family of 9. That doesn't include animal food but it DOES include the $3 pair of Halloween earrings I'll pick up for the girls at Wally World. *g* Or the pretty lipgloss the oldest tossed in the cart. Plus I live in the NY metro area-stuff is NOT cheap here.

 

We eat meatless at least three times a week, just because we like to, and I buy my meats from a local farmer. We normally don't eat more than $50 a week in meats, but if it's a good sale I'll buy extra and freeze it. I do make my own bread, but we've been eating so many leftovers I haven't in a while.

 

We're not extravagant, we like to spend our money on other things, so we pare down the food bill.

 

Oh-we started saving a LOT of money when Dh started bringing his coffee (thermos) and lunches to work. @ 200 a month!

 

And that doesn't include the Costco bill of $300 every 6 weeks.

Edited October 5, 2009 by justamouse

[Mommyfaithe]

For our family of 8 (oldest dc is away at college), we are spending just under $800 a month for everything, including household supplies, diapers, wipes, dog food, etc, but not including my dh's lunch. We do one big trip to WM, one trip to Sam's, and then the rest is stopping at the store to pick up milk, bread, or sale items. I do not coupon or check sale ads or any of that stuff.

 

Us too...It costs us between 800 and 1000 per month for food, gas and household supplies NOT including meals eaten out or extras like movies.

~~Faithe

[Cammie]

Here in India I spend about $100 per week for family of 4. Of course it could be much less - vegetables and basics are obviously very cheap here because otherwise most people couldn't afford them. Where we end up spending money is on the imported/Western products that we just have to have - pasta, sauce, kraft mac n cheese, etc. Paper products are VERY expensive (napkins, paper towles and toilet paper are crazy!) We do eat our a fair bit because that is another great passtime for life here in Bangalore!