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

[eclecticmom]

Each week I budget money for our family of four to cover groceries and anything else you would buy for the household. This is everything except clothes, Home Depot projects, etc. Stuff you would get at WalMart.

 

For our family of four (Kids 7 & 8) we used to spend $100/wk about 2 years ago. Last year I increased it to $130/wk. For two weeks in a row my bill has been $200. This is $50/week per family member.

 

What are you spending per family member per week? Do you feel the amount you are spending is adequate? What has helped you the most in reducing your grocery bill?

[TammyinTN]

We spend 300 every two weeks on all household/grocery items. Family of four and a border collie. I shop the commissary sales and use coupons and I save between 10 and 20$ per trip. Sounds like your right on target..things are just expensive these days.

[Snickerdoodle]

200 a week for food and other household necessities. I live in a very high COL area.

[wulfbourne]

100-200 per week depending on what I need to get. This is for a family of 4 and a dog, but the 2 are still pretty young. I do buy a lot of the natural/organic brands which is more expensive though.

[Mommyof4ks]

We spend about $200 a week for a family of 5 and a dog, but two are young.

[Kanga]

I budget 100.00 a week for our family of 5. It did get out of control a couple of years ago and we inched up to 200.00 per week. Here are the things that helped bring it back down:

 

Joining CVS Extra Care Plan to buy vitamins, toiletries, and cleaning products. Money Saving Mom (who is a poster here but I can't remember name) has a primer:

 

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2008/03/cvs-101.html

 

Using Walgreens to do the same: http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2008/01/walgreens-101.html

 

Moms By Heart has a couponing 101: http://www.momsbyheart.net/search/label/Couponing%20101

 

Printing Coupons at coupons.com

 

Comparing sales ads for the other local stores with the best Walmart price. Instead of buying everything at Walmart I shop the other stores for their really good sale prices and then pick up the rest at Walmart. (I usually do it in one evening after dinner with out the kids. I throw an ice chest in the van and make the rounds.)

 

I plan my menus based on what is on sale. This week broccoli is on sale for .59 a lb. and squash is on sale for.99 a lb., so I will incorporate those into several meals this week. Mangoes are .33 a lb. and grapes are .99 a lb., so that is what we will be snacking on. I have more flexability with meat and canned food that can be stored or frozen.

[Julie in AZ]

I budget 100.00 a week for our family of 5. It did get out of control a couple of years ago and we inched up to 200.00 per week. Here are the things that helped bring it back down:

 

Joining CVS Extra Care Plan to buy vitamins, toiletries, and cleaning products. Money Saving Mom (who is a poster here but I can't remember name) has a primer:

 

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2008/03/cvs-101.html

 

Using Walgreens to do the same: http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2008/01/walgreens-101.html

 

Moms By Heart has a couponing 101: http://www.momsbyheart.net/search/label/Couponing%20101

 

Printing Coupons at coupons.com

 

Comparing sales ads for the other local stores with the best Walmart price. Instead of buying everything at Walmart I shop the other stores for their really good sale prices and then pick up the rest at Walmart. (I usually do it in one evening after dinner with out the kids. I throw an ice chest in the van and make the rounds.)

 

I plan my menus based on what is on sale. This week broccoli is on sale for .59 a lb. and squash is on sale for.99 a lb., so I will incorporate those into several meals this week. Mangoes are .33 a lb. and grapes are .99 a lb., so that is what we will be snacking on. I have more flexability with meat and canned food that can be stored or frozen.

 

:yes: I basically do everything Kanga does including the websites. I stock up when things are on sale and shop the sales for weekly meals.

 

Last spring we were spending $150/week just for food. Now, we spend about $200 for everything each week (including clothes, oil changes, gas, etc.).

 

It takes a little while to build up your stockpile but then you're buying many things for "cheap" or free.

[cathmom]

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.

[Karen in CO]

About $150 a week for 2 - 4 adults, 2 kids, a dog, and 5 hens (sometimes its 5 or 6 people depending on if my ds is home from college or if my mom is spending a few months with us). But it would be less if we didn't have food allergies.

 

I don't do coupons; I don't shop in bulk, and I never go to more than one store per week. I try to shop only once every other week.

 

I do keep a price log with prices for every item I buy from every store I shop at so that I know what is and isn't a good price on something. Its amazing how much the price of things fluctuates. The organic, whole-wheat cereal I eat costs between $1.75 and $4.25 - even at the same store. Sometimes the store will put it on "sale" at a price that is higher than its normal price. If an item I usually buy is at a low price, I will buy more of it. If it is at a high price, I'll skip it. If its at at the average price, I'll only buy it if I absolutely need it within a week.

[Renthead Mommy]

Well I just walked back in from the store. I spend between $100 to $150 every week. Most of it is on produce I'm sure, as that is very high. I usually buy about 4 dinners worth of food at a time and it lasts us about a week or so. The rest of the time we just eat out, so I guess you'd have to add that in as well. Some weeks that might be $100, some weeks it would certainly be more. And that's for 3 people.

 

I will pull coupons from the shelves, but that's all, I'm not going to sit there and go through those huge packets of coupons they'll give you. Plus I almost NEVER use anything of regular coupon stuff. It's all processed foods (which we don't eat) or cleaning supplies (and I just make natural ones). I never seem to find anything in the coupon packs of stuff we actually use.

[Catwoman]

Wow, I'm impressed! You all seem very frugal to me!

 

You're not counting the cost of restaurant meals, though, are you? Because if you are, I am in AWE of all of you!

 

Cat

[KJB]

Well.

 

I spend roughly $1400 a month on everything.

 

Everything to us includes groceries, eating out (which we rarely do), pocket money for everyone but dh, movies or any other entertainment, clothing, gifts for birthdays for our family or others, and any other thing small or large that we might need.

 

I never know what these types of polls mean since sometimes people just include food and other times it seems like people are including food and consumables, and other times it seems people have added in entertainment, or whatever.

 

I feel neither frugal nor overspendy. We're never hungry but I'm not driving a Rolls Royce or wearing a mink, kwim? :lol:

 

(not that I'd necessarily *want* a rolls or a mink, just sayin' I don't have many real big ticket exciting luxury items for my $1400, imo)

Edited May 4, 2009 by KJB

[Laura Corin]

I spend about GBP 150 a week (about USD 225). I buy a lot of organic though - if I cut that out, I think it would probably take fifty pounds off the bill. Family of four plus small dog.

 

Laura

[Laura Corin]

Wow, I'm impressed! You all seem very frugal to me!

 

You're not counting the cost of restaurant meals, though, are you? Because if you are, I am in AWE of all of you!

 

Cat

 

Once every few months, husband and I might go out together. About as frequently we go out as a family. I find that most restaurant food is not better than what I make at home - I'd rather go out for a really wonderful meal very occasionally.

 

Laura

[mamaof2andtwins]

I spend $120 per week or $560 per month for 6 people. This includes food and household items. Clothing, eating out, and pet food are a different line item in the budget.

 

Here is a link to my blog entries about how I grocery shop.

 

Jennie

[elegantlion]

We spend about 150.00 a week for a family of 3 plus cat and big dog. We go out to eat about once a month, but get take out about once a week. That includes the take out.

 

My dh takes his lunch most of the time but our budget has increased as ds11 is now ALWAYS hungry. His appetite has really increased in the last few months as has our budget. :001_huh:

[MomLovesClassics]

I spend from $250 a week to $300 . This includes washing powders, soap and so on. We buy mostly organic like milk, butter, sugar, free range organic eggs, meat without antibiotics and hormones when we do eat meat etc. If I could cut that out I could probably shave a good amount from the bill. I admit I splurge on expensive bottled water. I know this sounds strange, but I drink a lot of water, and I can taste the difference between brands. We have 2 adults, 2 children, border collie, 2 cats. My husband takes his lunch. Usually a sandwich. In the past I have compared prices with other areas, and stores around here are expensive, not sure why.

[Prairie~Phlox]

We have a family of 5, dc are 11, 9 & ~8 and I budget $400.00 per month for food (includes groceries, health & beauty, paper goods, etc. and 1 cat and also eating out. (which is about $50, goal-80 reality) I just adjust my food budget accordingly. Now I buy beef from my parents about once a year, I garden, can and freeze what I can. and do http://www.couponmom.com cvs, bargain shop, menu plan according to sales. I cook a lot from scratch, stretch things a lot (using whole chickens for several meals, what not) I figured this is something that I can control, we all gotta eat, last year we averaged ~$600.00 a month and I strategic shopping about October and realized how much better I could do, told dh if I could get it to under $400.00 that would be $2400.00 a year that we could use elsewhere, for us, that's a good chunk of money.

[Tracey in TX]

We spend $1700/mo for all groceries, household/beauty items for a family of 7 and two large dogs.

[Desert Rat]

$100-150 per week for our family of 4.

[Kanga]

Wow, I'm impressed! You all seem very frugal to me!

 

You're not counting the cost of restaurant meals, though, are you? Because if you are, I am in AWE of all of you!

 

Cat

 

We don't eat at restaurants. One child can't eat gluten, one can't have lactose, and the other one is two!;) But my grocery budget does include their specialty foods like almond milk and brown rice flour. It also includes my entertaining budget, since we can't get together with friends at restaurants I often host dinner parties at my home.

 

I should add that I have stopped buying paper napkins and paper towels and use cloth instead.

[JFSinIL]

Let me see - family of six, and four cats and a Labrador - about $175 - 200 per week to cover everything. Note - one ds had meds that are $200 every three months, too.

 

The bill would be far higher if my teen boys (17) actually ate anything!!!

[laughing lioness]

For the past 2 years we've been at $100 a week for everything for a family of 4 adults, 3 kids (incl the teenage boy), 2 dogs.

This past year my oldest has been away and we just upped the $ to $120 a week.

We don't live in a particularly high cost area, but we are far north and veggies and fruits are sky high most of the year.

[Katiebug_1976]

We spend $120-$150 per week for our family of 7. I shop the weekly sales and buy most of our groceries at Aldi (much cheaper than other grocery stores!). It's getting harder and harder to get what we need for the week. We have had to cut back to primarily chicken and pork (when it's on sale). I have also learned how to cook beans and rice from scratch and use them more often. Less meat, more vegies and grains. We also eat a lot of leftovers for lunches. Hopefully this will work for a while longer, cause when the budget is spent, there is no more until next week.

[Ali in OR]

We're averaging $650 per month this year for 5 people, 1 labrador, including food, paper products, and toiletries. That's about $150 per week. After 4 months in 2009, the average is exactly $650 per month, but the lowest month was $502 and the highest was $768, so it can vary greatly depending on which months have the big stock-up trips and Costco runs.

[MamaT]

We spend about $1200 a month for our family of 7. I have to say that they are all big eaters and I cook EVERY night. I also have 2-4 extra teenagers here a couple of times a week, as well as my oldest son's fiance about half the time.

 

I don't use coupons or shop around. I usually have about 2 hours a week to shop and unload (we have activities every afternoon), so I feel like I don't have time.

[Mom22ns]

We don't eat at restaurants. One child can't eat gluten, one can't have lactose, and the other one is two!;) But my grocery budget does include their specialty foods like almond milk and brown rice flour. It also includes my entertaining budget, since we can't get together with friends at restaurants I often host dinner parties at my home.

 

 

 

I'm with you here. Our budget is between $100-150/week for a family of four. That includes all the specialty foods for gluten and casein free diet, but we don't eat out, so it averages. It is much easier to invite people to my house where I can control the food than to go out or to someone else's house, so it includes entertaining too. I do like to cook and we eat no pre-made or processed foods. Simple things are healthier and cheaper - sort of :001_smile:

 

I don't think I'll ever give up paper napkins though :lol:

 

Oh, we are in the midwest. Our costs here are lower than many places.

[Quiver0f10]

Between $800-$1000 for 12, which is for everythig except pet food, which my Dd gets from work.

[Tammyla]

I spend at least $200 a week, but go for organic veggies and keep a very large pantry because we don't eat out often. This often includes stocking up on big sale items, paper products etc. (Family of 4)

[Jumping In Puddles]

$200 week for a family of 4. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

[momto2Cs]

About 100-150 a week, 3 adults and two children, plus 2 cats, a small dog, two birds (parakeets), and a snake. This includes household items (those that my BIL doesn't pick up at Costco), frozen rats (for the snake), a little beer for dh, etc.

 

I do buy in bulk and stock up when possible. For example, this week, one of the stores I go to had bulk organic oats for 99 cents a pound, and London Broil for $1.85/pound, so I stocked up on both, and threw a few London Broils in our big freezer. I buy at Trader Joe's a lot too, where I can get all-natural peanut butter for under $2 a jar, among other items.

 

I also stretch food. For example, a roast will be served one night with lots of veggies, potatoes, etc., then comes back as a soup a few nights later.

 

I do pay attention to sales and seasonality too. I could get peaches from Chile for $5 a pound, or I can get more local strawberries for $2 a container. I tend not to buy off season produce because its often way too expensive, plus I really don't like buying food from who know's how far away. I make a lot of things from scratch too.

 

Oh, and we don't eat out much at all. A dinner out is a really special thing. Sometimes, on a very busy day out, we'll stop at Subway, get a $5 footlong, then hit the grocery store for fruit. There's lunch for 3-4 on less than ten dollars!

Edited May 4, 2009 by momto2Cs

[Ria]

$700-$800 per month for a family of 6-8 (the twins are in college but come home to visit sometimes).

 

Ria

[tristangrace]

For our family of five, we're trying to stick to a budget of $600/month for everything except mortgage, tithe, utilities, insurance, transportation. This is (hopefully!) a short-term situation, as it means we cannot currently eat out, or go to the movies . . . or buy next year's curriculum or summer clothing on this budget! In other words, this is not a sustainable budget for us, but it does keep us fed, etc.

[redheadeddaughter]

2 adults, 2 children. Somewhat picky husband. :) High cost of living area (north san diego). But even so, I find I cannot buy nearly what I did 2 years ago for that amount. My cooking experiments have been seriously tempered by the increasing grocery costs! I do buy the sale items and occasionally use coupons. We do organic eggs and milk, but go for value on almost everything else. I think if I made my own bread I could save alot of money... we eat alot of bread! :) I feel like beauty supplies and household items are almost a luxury these days. A small bottle of Windex around here costs nearly $5. And fresh food is always expensive around here, even the farmer's markets. Which is weird since we live in California, don't you think? We tried a food coop and ended up spending way more than we saved and not using all the produce. So frustrating. I need a good size garden. That would help. I'm also going to look into the CVS extra care idea.

[mcconnellboys]

I'm spending about $140 per week for things that sound similar to what you're doing. I have an 11 year old and an almost 17 year old, both boys.

 

I'm not sure what I do that helps, to tell you the truth. I buy ahead and on sale and so keep my pantry and freezers pretty well stocked. So on a weekly basis, I'm not usually buying tons of meat or other big ticket items, I guess.

 

I don't, in general, buy things like chips, cookies, candy and soft drinks. My older son swims and drinks quite a bit of Gatorade during workouts, but I get large containers of the dry powder and he makes his own, rather than buying individual bottles. Other than that, I can't really think of anything else....

[wimseycat]

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

[Shelly in the Country]

I find this hard to calculate since we do big stock up trips at Sam's and Aldi about once per month. We refill the house with perishables at our local grocery once a week. Let's see, we probably spend about $300 at Sams once per month and another $300 at Aldi once per month. We get most toiletries/cleaning supplies/medicines at Target and spend about $200 per month. Our local grocery ends up being about $50 per week. So that comes out to $1000 per month for our family of 6. (There may be a wee bit of fat in that Target $$ figure since I'm a sucker for sale items on the end caps.) We don't eat out much anymore. We usually do a McDonald's run on Saturday afternoon, and sometimes hit the Chinese buffet after church on Sundays. So meals out would add another $50 per week. We generally only eat out at a nice restaurant these days when there's a birthday or something. I make two hot meals every weekday (dh comes home for lunch). Breakfast is usually cereal. On the weekends, I make a big, hot breakfast most Saturdays, the aforementioned McD's run and leftovers for dinners. I'm scared to see what this figure does in the future when my littles (3 yo and 1 yo) actually eat normal quantities of food.

[Prairie~Phlox]

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 use couponmom because the people are nicer, it's free and it's basically the same thing.

[ConnieB]

Comparing sales ads for the other local stores with the best Walmart price. Instead of buying everything at Walmart I shop the other stores for their really good sale prices and then pick up the rest at Walmart. (I usually do it in one evening after dinner with out the kids. I throw an ice chest in the van and make the rounds.)

 

 

 

You do realize that if you take the ads into Walmart they will price match.....so long as it's the same product, same size, etc. They don't price match on percentage off items but most times I find that walmart beats those anyway.

 

I know I've read how some Walmarts across the country give people a hard time, so perhaps you live in such an area....but all the Walmarts in our area are very easy....I don't even have to have the ad. I've been questioned a couple times when it's been a really really super sale (and usually only on Wednesday when the ad is so new that the staff hasn't seen/heard of it yet, lol)....but I pull out my internet phone, call up the ad and show it to them, lol.

 

The biggest heartache I ever got was when Joann's was running a 99cent pattern sale and the closest one didn't have the size I wanted.....went to Walmart wanting to price match and the cashier had to call her supervisor who then called the store manager. It was something like a $10 discount so the cashier and supervisor couldn't do it....the manager did it with only a slightly shocked look on his face, lol....but didn't give me a hassle about it. Patterns are so overpriced anyway, lol. Lately I've seen Walmart having fixed prices for their patterns based on manufacturer, so maybe they wouldn't be as shocked now, lol.

 

I know others complain that Walmart's meat is not the greatest quality, and I'd agree it's not always the best......but I buy a side of beef from the local rancher and it is soooo much cheaper. We got an upright freezer for $150 several years ago and the meat all fits with room to spare. When I have compared the price if I were to buy all the same pieces from the store it's always been more than half off. Yes, we have to take it all and that has meant I've had to learn to cook some pieces of meat that I normally wouldn't have bought, but a few of those recipes have turned into family favorites and now almost nothing we're given goes to waste. This wasn't the case the first year, and I almost didn't do it the second time, but the rancher's wife helped me figure out how to use things, so that was very helpful to me (and of course benefited her since we bought again). And I gotta say that this meat, even after having been frozen for months, just smells and tastes fresher to me than when we have to buy something at any of the local groceries because we ran out.

[mama2cntrykids]

We're a family of six. One teen-ager, one 8 y/o who eats LIKE a teen-ager, one 6 y/o who eats a fair amt and an almost 3 y/o princess who just eats and eats and EATS, lol. Oh, and two dogs (one cocker, one rottweiler). We spend about $80-125/week. It all depends on if I can hit Wal-Mart when they mark the ground beef down to $1/lb! I should say, it depends on other things as well. Not just the meat, lol.

 

I think I do a dang good job, considering we have kiddos who eat ALOT (typicallly).

[HeatherLynn]

Well, when all 4 kids were here (the three older kids eat a lot) we were about $1,400 a month. Now, we are spending about $600 on groceries/toiletries/needs, and about $200 eating out.

[Tree House Academy]

Each week I budget money for our family of four to cover groceries and anything else you would buy for the household. This is everything except clothes, Home Depot projects, etc. Stuff you would get at WalMart.

 

That is hard for me to answer becuse we don't really budget that way. We have a grocery fund of $400 a month. This includes things like paper towels, cat litter, shampoo, etc. However, we use a good bit of that money to "stock up" items, so it is not like every penny of that fund goes to feed us each month. A good bit goes toward meat and canned goods that we may not eat for another month or even another 3 months.

 

We grow food in the summer in our garden (we live on a big farm) and we can/freeze for winter. That helps tremendously on the grocery bill. :)

 

I guess you can average it out to $25 per person per week. ??

[Shenan]

When we first moved here 2 1/2 years ago we were spending $1200-$1400 a month for this family of 8! (I don't purchase goodies either. i.e. fruit snacks, cookies, snack cakes, etc.) I discovered their wasn't a discount bread shop nearby and none of the grocery stores would double coupons. Except for Martin's which will only double the first coupon. PUHLEESE! :rolleyes:

 

So after searching for alternative ways to save on the grocery budget I have now gotten it down to $600-$800 a month for our now family of 7. Lat month I only spent $500 and that included our expnesive brand of dog food. We don't eat out much, because its too far to drive! :D

 

I have basically gone back to doing a lot of things I did when we were first married and were saving to purchase our first home.

 

I save $100-$200 a month with those wonderful beer rebates that you don't have to purchase beer to use. For example, a Budweiser rebate may say spend $15.01 on deli meat and get $15.00 back. These are only good in certain states though because of laws, etc. Our April rebate savings were $180!

 

Since the closest discount bread store is over 60 miles away any savings that were to be had would be spent on gas. So I make my own bread again. Saving anywhere from $.25 -$1.00 a loaf. Depending on whether I make white or wheat bread.

 

I still coupon but only for items I regularly use. For instance toilet paper, milk, cereal, sugar, etc. (yes there are milk coupons and meat coupons available)

 

Since my abundant supply of very cheap laundry detergent has been consumed, I started making my own with FANTASTIC results (see my blog for a brag about it) This laundry detergent actually works out to be cheaper than the 'deal' on detergent I had thought I had gotten.

 

I have also found out when our local grocery store discounts the about to expire meat so I am sure to make my milk, fresh veggie and fruit run on those days.

 

I drive 30 miles to our neareast WM every other weekend. Unless there is a great sale I shouldn't pass up, then I go between. Their prices beat our local grocery store hands down and even adding up the cost of the extra gas still means we are saving a bundle by shopping their every other week.

 

When we moved here I had to re-establish a price book in order to know what and when the good deals were to be had in this area. If you are familiar with 'The Tightwad Gazette' she explains how to use and establish a pricebook in it. It helps to recognize when a deal is to be had.

 

We also purchase a hog every year from a local farmer. He discounts it for us since dh helps with the butchering. We are trying to locate a source for a cow but haven't had any luck yet. We also have a garden that produces fresh veggies in the summer. We freeze or can our abundance to have over the winter. (even city folk can have a garden. We gardened when we were first married and lived in a mobile home park. Container gardening is great.)

 

The kids and I also go to pick-your-own farms for fresh fruits. We freeze or can the abundance for over the winter months. Pick your own farms are not usually super money savers (just a few cents most likely) BUT if you buy in bulk/abundance they will often discount. It never hurts to ask. I have ONLY been turned down once when I asked and that was during a drought year. Even though the savings are nominal I know how the farmer has taken care of the fruit, and we know we are helping the American Farmer stay afloat! ;)

 

We are gearing up for a strawberry run in a couple more weeks. What strawberries I have left over from last year will now be made into jelly/jam. I also purchase our eggs from the local farmers when the chickens are laying. The store brand is cheaper by $.50 but I know where and what these chickens have been eating/doing. PLUS..., again...were helping the American Farmer stay afloat. ;)

 

I am hoping that as our connections continue to grow and our garden finally takes off (this is our second FULL year here and second garden here) our grocery bill will fall a little more.

 

Our biggest bargains last month were $15 hams for $4.00 (we went for it even though we still have 1/2 a hog in the freezer) and 5 lb bags of sugar were put on sale for $1.49 AND I had $1.00 off coupons!! So I picked up 24 - 5 Lb bags of sugar for $.49 EACH!

 

Hope this helps,

Edited May 5, 2009 by Shenan

[Ohdanigirl]

Whe in the states I budget about $100/wk or even less for our family of six, three boys, two adult males and myself. I guess that's pretty good, but I have only managed to do it because I cook everything. I didn't know how to cook when I was younger and first got married, so I made it a point the first year not to buy any canned food (aside from tuna), and nothing that comes in a box. This forced me to learn a lot and actually spend a lot less money since some of the ready and go food can be very pricey. The only draw back is that there are rarely any coupons that I can use aside from cleaning supplies and the kids have a hard time with instant food when visiting family.

 

I also add potatoes and veggies to main dishes, make light soups to start, and try to always use the left overs. The soups helps keep down the amount of meat we actually need per meal. Also, I always make two sides, no matter what. It sounds like a pain, but it has become second nature and my kids eat well and never get sick.

 

Other things I do are make a list of what I want to make for the week, and then create my shopping list from that. I try to use veggies that are in season, and always keep fruit in the house, great for fruit salad desserts. All this allows me to have extra money during the hot months when I spend about $50 a week on fruit. My kids are very active thin boys who eat about six peices of fruit a day when it is hot on top of their three meals and snacks.

[Jumping In Puddles]

Whe in the states I budget about $100/wk or even less for our family of six, three boys, two adult males and myself. I guess that's pretty good, but I have only managed to do it because I cook everything.

 

I cook everything too but I can't get it to less than $175-200/wk.

 

What do you do for breakfast?

 

Do you make your own sandwich bread?

 

Do you buy anything in bulk? (beans etc?)

 

I am curious because I would LOVE to only spend $100/wk but still eat healthy.

 

Thanks! :)

[Ohdanigirl]

2 adults, 2 children. Somewhat picky husband. :) High cost of living area (north san diego). But even so, I find I cannot buy nearly what I did 2 years ago for that amount. My cooking experiments have been seriously tempered by the increasing grocery costs! I do buy the sale items and occasionally use coupons. We do organic eggs and milk, but go for value on almost everything else. I think if I made my own bread I could save alot of money... we eat alot of bread! :) I feel like beauty supplies and household items are almost a luxury these days. A small bottle of Windex around here costs nearly $5. And fresh food is always expensive around here, even the farmer's markets. Which is weird since we live in California, don't you think? We tried a food coop and ended up spending way more than we saved and not using all the produce. So frustrating. I need a good size garden. That would help. I'm also going to look into the CVS extra care idea.

 

N. San Diego is costly. I have been able to find some good deals at Henry's recently(surpisingly). I also can't figure out why the farmers market are so costly. when at my dad's we drive a little extra to avoid the high prices at the nearest store thet dh refers to as the Cardiff mark-up. Funny, when I am in S. San Digeo I can find some real deals. Hmm shouldn't the prices be similar.

 

Danielle

[sgilli3]

I average anywhere from $200- $300 a week for the 5 of us.

 

I cook everyday, except Friday ( and any other time we may be out unexpectedly)

[Osmosis Mom]

So where do you find your coupons? This might seem like a silly question, but we only get a couple of ads pr. week and don't get the Sunday paper.

[Mom0012]

I use the Grocery Game to keep our bill for groceries and household items to about $100 a week. We don't eat much in the way of processed foods because of multiple food allergies, but the list alerts me to the best deals on meat, tp, paper towels, ketchup, mayo, bbq sauce, etc. We are not having any gourmet meals here, though on that budget.

 

Lisa

[MamaT]

I feed 7 of us every night of the week - 3 meals a day. Lots of times I have extra teenage boys or other extra kids here who eat a lot. I usually spend about $1400/month for everything. I bake my own bread, buy organic most of the time, and the snacks we have are nuts, trail mix, crackers and cheese, yogurt, homemade desserts or fruit. I can't get it any lower than that - I've tried.