How Much Do You Spend on Food

I definitely have to recommend trying www.thegrocerygame.com. We have a family of 6 (2 adults, 12 year old boy, 9 year old boy, 6 year old girl and 3 year old girl). My boys eat like adults. I haven't spent more than $100 a week for groceries for over a month and for the last two weeks it has been closer to $50. I don't buy anything unless it is on sale and/or I have a coupon. Stockpile when prices are good. I can usually skip a week or two except for milk if money is especially tight. Using the techniques on The Grocery Game I always save at least 45% on my groceries, usually more.

We have a family of five and spend about $480 per month. I reccomend Costco, Walmart is not alway's as cheap as people think. For a big family you can't beat Costco. ( and Costco is much better than Sam's club). Also the line's at Costco move much faster than Walmart, I personally avoid that palce like the plague.

Hi,
I have two children and my husband, total 4, we spend about $480 per month. It seems to me that all the necessities are raising in price. We try to stay in budget by making a list every two weeks. I look at recipies, write down what i need, make a weekly menu then shop for it. I realize we have two less children then you, i wish you the best of luck. Grocery shopping is always a budget breaker.
good luck,
T.

Personally I do think that is quite a lot. I have a family of four two kids, and me and my husband. I spend $250 for the entire month that includes diapers for two kids and dog food.
Some things that are real important is menu planning. I always go shopping on Friday (because we get a paycheck then) I take the ads we get in the mail on Wed an plan my menu off of that. I also do some prep work on Saturday to help the week go smoother. IE I make muffins from scratch and put them in the freezer along with cookies. I get the chicken on the bone boil and shredd it off and then it is ready for meals along the way. Hope some of that helps. I also have this terrific book that has great dinner ideas. "Whats for dinner" It has recipes from scratch but that are not terrible to make. It is sold at Harmons.

Thanks
Good Luck

Hello, we are a family of 5 DH 31, me 27, DS 7, DD 5, DD 4. We spend about 450 a month. But thats dividing what I spend at costco every few months. I buy TP there especially so I don't have to wait for a darned sale on our brand.
There was someone who said something about cereal sales, yep! You don't necessairly have to go to the site though. Albertsons a lot of the time has those coupons hanging in the isles that dont expire for a while so collect as many as you have the patience to stand there and get. Last time I bought cereal I paid .50 cents a box for general mills.
Also, I don't know if its within you budget to do this or is you would even have a deep freeze to work with, but if you have the money to get 1/2 a beef every 6mo or so, it really helps. We live on a ranch that provides a full beef a year broken into 1/2's at every 6 months. We also personally have pigs that we butcher around this time of year (were probably going to wait this year b/c their kinda small still). The kids catch the pigs at a pig scramble on the 4th of July rodeo. What they catch they keep so more bacon for us!
Walmart price matching, they have started to insist that you bring in the ad, so if you start to do the price comparing, make sure you bring the ad. It is a great tool though, especially when you don't want to go to more than one store.
If there's a great sale and its freezeable, get it. I know I do it with a lot of stuff, but all I can think of right now is tortillas and cheese (not cream cheese)and milk.
Another thing I do to save money/time~ I get those alluminum baking dishes. If I'm making a lasagna or something else that freezes well, I just put it in smaller pans (my family doesn't do leftovers well so I keep the cooked portions small). They don't have lids so those square pans I just slide into a gallon size ziplock bag (thank you costco), mark what it is and how long to cook it for.
Here is a site that you can type in OMAC or freezer meals and see if that could help any. www.recipezaar.com
Oh, one more thing, mashed potatoes freeze very well. Sometimes I forget I have potatoes b/c I don't go into that cubbard very often, so I try to get a big batch of mashed potatoes cooked up and place family serving sizes in zip bags.
I also live 22 miles from town so the urge to go to the store for a gallon of milk probably isn't quite as high as yours. I hope peoples suggestions have helped! Okay, I just read your response that you live in the middle of nowhere wy, so ignore that last sentance!! ;)
J.

T.,

If I am repeating an earlier response, I apologize. About a year ago, I started doing The Grocery Game (www.thegrocerygame.com). You definitely should check it out. You can print out a list each week for what items are on sale, which coupons you need to use, etc. Anyway, it takes some preparation on your part (printing the list, cutting coupons, etc.) but with my family of 4, I am only spending about $70-$100 a week on groceries (including ALL cleaning, toiletries, etc). If you do it right, you will be able to stock up on items so when you run out, you don't have to run to the store and pay whatever the current price is just because you need it (i.e., toothpaste--I NEVER pay more than $.50 for a tube now--most times it's free!) I believe you get 4 weeks free with the grocery game and then it's $10/every quarter? But SOOOOOOO worth it. I actually don't dread going to the grocery store anymore and the checkers are always amazed at how much I have saved with my coupons plus the store savings. I have even stopped going to Sam's Club because doing this, I can save even more. I'll be happy to talk with you further about it, if you'd like. (I'm not the one making the $$$ off of this, I just like to help out a fellow mom with a great deal I found.)

Good luck.

T.

I can relate.. about a year ago we got a costco membership for our food purchases. Sometimes I still pop in at Walmart or king soopers too. For my cleaning products I shop online with an amazing health and wellness company and they have saved me tones. We are probably pretty close to 500 a month but we eat alot of meat and seafood too.

C.
www.AMomCareer.com

You need to check out "NPS Market Square" if you are in Salt Lake area. It is not advertised, but in an industrial area/wherehouse part of SLC. It's between Empire and Industrial roads (both run parallel to Redwood Road and I-215, between them) and between 1500 and 1700 South. It has wholesale prices on foods, overstock, slightly outdated (ok for cereal, not for meat...), etc. It is VERY cheap. We cut our food budget in half when we started shopping there for our groceries. Only it's hit and miss. You never know what you are going to find. So we go and stock up when we see something good. Check it out and I guarantee it will save you money.

You should check out www.homeeconomiser.com
It has given me some helpful tips on how to save money while doing my shopping. They are known as America's Cheapest Family.

Dear T.,

My husband and I have been stressed about what a food budget size should look like for what seems like forever. We're constantly asking others the same thing! We've seen the same thing you have, skyrocketing prices at the grocery. What we spend on the three of us (we have a 6 year old and one on the way!) is a little less than $400 every month. But here is something we might be doing that you are not. We bought bulk meat. We bought a buffalo with some friends and we took it to the butcher and got our half. So I don't have to buy meat until at least springtime. My husband has an incredible boss who feeds him once a day (this is a VERY VERY rare quality to find!) And we eat a LOT of peanut butter sandwiches! We also find the time to visit the discount SUPER stores Sam's and Costco when his mother goes. I always send her with a list and I always send her with a list when she goes bulk shopping to case lot stores. I'm a pretty good coupon clipper as well. There are HUNDREDS of "systems" out there. The one that works best for me is to look at them, if we need it now, I clip it. If we'll need it in the next month I clip it. If not, I leave it there! Then I stuff them in my purse!!! They look terrible and so does my purse, but they get to the store with me. I really only clip what we NEED. We don't buy what we WANT. (a lot like you!) You're probably doing really great to spend $400 x2 to feed the 6 of you. Honestly!!

Have a great day!
V.
Eden, Utah

We are lucky if we can stick to our budget of $600. Usually we are over. Family of 6 also. Boys will be getting bigger and eating more soon, so the number will have to go higher before long. I know a family of 3 that was spending $1000/month if that makes you feel any better:)

T., I love Costco a bunch. Prices there have only gone up very little. I realize there is a sign up fee but if you are spending that much in food, you would save money to join. There is a way you can get 2% back at the end of your first year, which will pay for the next years membership and a little left over.

I didn't read ALL of the other responses, but I spend about 200-250 a month to feed my family (two adults and a Toddler who is extremely lactose intollerant) some of that is expensive luxury items- coconut milk ice cream for my LO being the priciest

If it wasn't for WIC I would probably spend another 75 (Lactaide is nearly $5 for a half gallon)

my best tip is to hit Smith's just before closing or first thing in the morning when they have marked out the meat nearing it's sell by date. It still keeps in the freezer for several months, and I cut my meat budget in half (or more) and still get to get the good stuff- especially if they have had specialty things on promo (got king crab the other day for less than $2 per pound, and late june if buffalo season!)

A significant portion of ALL my shopping if from clearance items. My DH claims he can take me into any store that I have never been to and ask where the clearance is and I head right for it.

I have a family of 5 and do daycare for 1 other full time child. I spend about 200 every 2 weeks. We use coupons, price matching and generic whenever possible. I almost alwasy shop at walmart since they do price match.

Meal plan and only buy what you will need for the meal. No fillers. We get icecream and candy still but add it to our meals (snack time is still a meal). Keep a list of what you pay for a particular item that way you can know if it is a good deal or not.

That being said, you used to be able to get ramen noodles for 12 for a dollar. Now the good price is 10 for a dollar. Things are going up in price, but you can still get a good deal shopping the sales and loss leaders. Plan your meals for what is on sale that week.

Good Luck!!!

Well for a family of four we spend 1500 a month, so I think your just fine.
J.

For a family of 6 that is great in my opinion!
Eating healthy and well balanced foods available is what makes it expensive.
I am a single mom with two younger kids 4 and 7, plus I do part time child care at home so I provide snacks and lunches.
I spend about $650 to $700 a month, that includes toilitries, pet foods, cleaners and hygeine items too though.
Check coupons and I can say I don't think Walmart is that great of a saving in the long run. I like King Soopers, and just last Friday when they were running a sale on milk, $1.99 a gallon, I stocked up, they had five loaves of bread for $4.00, so I watch their mail inserts, then I took my coupons. I got $49 off my bill!
I buy a lot of lunch box stuff, lot's of snacks (pretzels, goldfish, graham crackers and stuff) I buy in bulk on sale items whenever I can.
We keep a lot of fresh veggies and fruit on hand so that adds up fast! My kids love grapes, apples, bananas and so on so keeping that fresh stuff around makes it expensive.
I say watch your grocery mail ads, go to the Sunday paper and clip coupons. I used to go to Sams, but it really wasn't beneficial in the long run. I found Target is a lot less and better quality for paper towels, toilet paper, OTC meds and pet supplies so I actually go there for that stuff.
I easily spend $650 a month!! I think $400 two times a month is not so bad if you are preparing three meals a day for four kids!!!!!!

we are spending around 140 a week so that calculates out to 560 a mont for a family of 4 and 2 of them are under the age 4 so i dont know what we will do when they turn into the bottomless pits known as teenagers. We don't do too many snacks either and no pop. Whats killing us is the same in gas a month. Thats the one im having a hard time with between groceries and gas i dont have much to spare

Okay... I asked almost the exact same question a few weeks ago and got ZERO responses! That's kind of irritating. But at the same time, I thank you for asking it again because now I can read all the responses from yours. I also have six people total in my family (2 adults, 4 kids) and our budget is supposed to be $400 total for the month. We were NEVER staying in that. It's always $500 or more, and I feel like I'm trying to spend nothing by the end of the month because we're out of budgeted food money. So... no great advice. Just that you're not crazy. Apparently, neither am I! I'll be reading more of the responses you already got. Thanks for re-posting my question!

We did budget counseling a couple of years ago. According to the USDA, I should be spending $600-$800/month for my family of 4 to eat. I hope that's some consolation! You're under what the USDA says you should be spending anyway...
We are a family of 5 right now (4 boys but 1 lives with his mom) & I spend about $300/month. We're military though, so I've got the luxury of the commissary & their cheaper prices. I check the per ounce prices when I'm looking for something new (or just haven't checked in a few trips, just to make sure it's still the cheapest).
*A neighbor found us a deep freezer in somebody's trash. It was missing a handle (hubby braided up some rope & made a handle) & it was dirty (I scrubbed w/bleach & a good scrubbie) but it works great! If you can find one on www.craigslist.org or freecycle at a good price, it's definitely a great investment!
*I "water down" my cereals-I buy Malt O Meal bagged cereals & mix healthier options in with it (generic Cheerios w/the froot loops, generic rice krispies with Fruity Pebbles, Kix with Cap'n Crunch, etc).
*I buy apples based on price per bag & count the apples to get the most for my bucks.
*I shop at the bread store whenever possible. We just moved to Georgia & the breadstore here sucks but we had a Sara Lee outlet in Colorado where we came from. I could get "grownup" bread-the fatter loaves w/fewer slices but more fiber & yum per slice for under $1/loaf. Regular bread was $80/loaf I think. Most breadstores give you a freebie item when you spend a certain amount of money too-there's another loaf or a special treat you wouldn't normally buy (bagels, mini muffins).
*I use peroxide to clean my house-I mix it about 1/2 & 1/2 w/my diluted Lysol-because it helps clean the funk up w/o costing too much. I use vinegar for the floors, windows & mirrors, bleach for the toilets.
*I mix a more expensive laundry detergent-Tide or Cheer-with a cheaper one-All or Purex. I only use Walmart brand fabric softner. I've not tried it yet, but I read from the Duggar family that you can make your own detergent from Fells Naptha bars. I think their website is www.duggarfamily.com
I don't scrimp on my toilet paper-hubby would cry lol-but I buy generics whenever possible. I do check prices though-sometimes the generic is actually more than the name brand. *I know at least at our commissary, the cheapest time to shop is the 3rd week of the month-soldiers have the option of being paid monthly or every other week & since most everybody is out of money by the 3rd week of the month, the prices go down. It's worth it to track the prices for a few weeks on staple items to see if the prices fluctuate like that.
*As for the food itself, I make a lot of our snacks-kid mix (bite-sized cereals, goldfish/wales, pretzels), Chex mix, bagel chips.
*We eat a lot of rice & pasta, lots of beans.
*We had neighbors who are Hawaiian & we learned from them to eat Island-style (that's what we call it)... they each bring a big cheaper cut of meat, grill it up & then it's sliced into bite-sized pieces. I can feed my family-including a teenager w/an insane appetite-on 2 pork steaks or 2 of the bigger cheap steaks (not sure what they're called) because we have a filler (rice, pasta, potatoes), lots of veggie (I only buy canned saurkraut, peas & spinach, the rest is fresh-frozen) & some meat.
*Drinks-everybody gets a cup of juice for breakfast & water after that. Milk at dinner is the same-one glass, then water. I have started making ghetto gatorade-I use 1 Koolaid packet (or the off-brand) in a gallon pitcher, a cup of sugar & enough salt to make it taste like Gatorade. My kids haven't realized that they're not drinking full-strength Koolaid or Gatorade.

Sorry to say but that sounds about right! I have four children as well. They are 16, 14, 11, and 8. They now eat at school and my grocery bill is still enormous!! I feel your pain! But rest assured you are spending the same as most families with four kiddos!!

It is so funny that you mention Walmart for shopping. I completely avoid that place like it's a plague because it's the most expensive place to shop in my town. We use Fred Meyer and I pay attention to the sale cycle. We only shop once every 6 weeks for staples, use tons of coupons and spend between $300 and $400 for 5 people. Fred Meyer has a great customer appreciation program where we get 10 cents off a gallon on gas for every $100 spent which saves us alot, we get coupons in the mail monthly for nearly $20 a time to use in the store and they are the only store in my area that will take 3 coupons for the same item. I used to get Pampers for $7 a mega pack using a Pamper's coupon, the store sale coupon and a manufacture coupon together. We buy incedentals weekly for a total of another $100 a month and I've gotten to know the produce and deli guys so well that they will actually go in the back and cut me good deals on dicounted products. We buy bulk meat, portion it out and freeze, I cut up the super ripe fruit and make smoothies, popsicles, fruit leather and quick breads. Another thing we do is glean fields and then I chop onions and dehydrate them, grate potatoes and freeze them, can fruits or make my own jams. This helps a lot to make our food budget go further. I will agree though that we used to live better on less at the grocery store and have had to get even more frugal.

For my family of nine, 4 teens, 3 smaller ones, and my husband and me, I spend about 300.00 every 2 weeks,but that isn't including things I usualy have to run in and get, we don't eat out a lot, but I still managea a little junk and sodas. I think you are doing pretty good. I went grocery shopping today and everything had jumped in price again :(.

T.,

If you can fed a family of six on $200 a week, you are doing very well with the price of food these days. One thing I have done is meal planning. Plan your meals for a week based on what's on sale. Also, "Once a Month Cooking" and/or freezer meals helps with both money and stress.

L.

Hi, you actually seem to be doing well, the best advice I can give you because i know it saves me a bunch is before you go shopping at walmart look at all the adds for that week. it's a little time consuming but more than well worth it. price match to the adds. Walmart offers this courtesy and it's awesome. when you are getting the stuff just pay attention and let the cashier know that the product is a price match and how much. Good Luck your not alone!

I spend probably $600 a month on those things total. I have 2 kids, myself and my husband. It does seem that things have gone way up. A couple years a go I was spending 300-400 dollars a month on food and things. I used to buy bread at Wal-Mart 2 for $2.00. Now it's like $1.76 a loaf, so you do the math. I think things have almost doubled in the past couple years.

For my family of 4 we spend about $400 per month, we always shop at Win-Co, I don't know if they have one where you live but they are the best place for low prices where I live. They offer bulk foods like sugar and flour and rice, etc. so you can scoop your own and it is much cheaper. I was surprised to see that one person wrote that Fred Myer was the cheapest, the prices there always seem pretty high to me unless it is a sale. I try to use coupons, but often the price of the name brand item even after the coupon discount is still higher than buying the generic brand. I did not notice anyone write this yet so I will also recomned planting a garden, it is not as hard as it may seem and you can save quite a bit on produce. You can can or freeze many veggies to eat all year round. It is also good exercise to weed, it's a good family activity, it instills a good work ethic in your children, and is a great way for children to learn about plants and where our food comes from. Farmers markets are good too, though sometimes they can be just as expencive as the grocery store the quality of the food is way better! Good luck!

one baby and us: guessing, we spend about 200 a month.

We spend about $400-$600 every month for a family of three so it sounds like you are doing ok. We plan meals for each week and eat a fair amount of packaged/prepared foods. Some people say that by planning the entire month ahead of time and by limiting the amount of packaged/prepared foods you can significantly reduce your grocery bill. We just don't have the time/energy for that!

Forget saving for college. It costs a fortune to feed teenage boys. There are 4 of us, and we easily spend that....Good luck!

I was spending that on 8 people a month and thought it was an great but that was 10 years ago.
I have book call "Once a Month Cooking" by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg. I did it for a while and it was great if you have the money to do it.
C. B

I can't say that I know what we spend on food. I just do the best I can. I really need to figure that out.
My husband heard about CouponMom.com on the radio, on Clark Howard's show. I haven't tried it out yet, but it sounds interesting. I did sign up, and downloaded their e-book that tells you how to maximize your savings. I'll warn you, if Clark Howard hadn't recommended it, I wouldn't have followed through with signing up because there are a billion "free offers" that you have to click "skip" or you'll have tons of junk mail. But the e-book describes a system for saving 50% off your bill.
Another thing we do, mostly because of my food preferences, is that we don't buy much meat. I bought pork chops for my husband as a treat on his birthday, and I couldn't belive how much that meal cost! And it wasn't top sirloin or anything! I'm used to spending $5 or less per dinner for the four of us. Some days my boys eat like adults, other days they eat more like their age.
My husband hates pasta, otherwise we'd eat spaghetti once a week. With vegetables and garlic bread, it's still super cheap. I've tried beans and rice, but my family doesn't like that. They do like rice with other things. I buy my rice and flour bulk when I can, if the price is good. And watch your per-ounce prices. Sometimes buying 25 lbs of flour is actually more expensive per ounce than 5 lb bags.
We also try to save on my husband's lunches. He takes frozen meals we buy at Costco or on sale, or leftovers. Sometimes he goes out to eat fast food when he gets coupons for buy one get one free. He'll take a coworker and they split the bill, or take turns buying.
I hate it when Costco's not convenient! Take coolers so you can buy stuff that needs refrigeration. I buy shredded cheese there (shredded mozzarella is cheaper than blocks at our store, and we buy the Mexican Blend for quesadillas and other things) and freeze it. I split the mozzarella into baggies with 1 cup each, although I've found that's not quite enough. We make homemade pizza every Friday with the mozzarella. I pull out a baggie of cheese and let it thaw. Then I make the dough in my bread machine (or i have another quick crust recipe), make the sauce from tomato sauce and spices, sprinkle the cheese on, add pepperoni, and that thing is gone within minutes! I use a pizza stone and cornmeal to keep it from sticking, so it's healthier and so, so much cheaper than buying a pizza, frozen or otherwise.
I hope that helps!

We're right there with you!! We're a family of 5 and spend right at or a little over 200 every week.....it's ridiculous - but you have to eat!! I think we're all in the same boat!! :(

We have four people total in my family. Two adults and two children ages 8 and 13. We spend about $200.00 to $300.00 weekly at Winco. I think for a family of six, you are doing an amazing job. K.

T.,

You are not crazy. Some food prices have nearly doubled in the last year. If you are spending more on grain products, legumes, eggs, dairy products, meat, and produce, not to mention non-food items, you are not alone. We are all spending more for these. Don't rely on the government's estimates of inflation - they are lies. The real food inflation has been about 25% in the last six months.

It is a little hard for me to estimate exactly how much I am spending monthly right now. I have a small family - 2 1/2 - me, my college-age son, and a Mongolian student, who eats with us some of the time and buys his own food some of the time. I have budgeted $220 per month for food and $80 per month for non-foods for the last 15 years, but have gone off that budget in the last year or so. Some of the reasons for going off the budget have been (a) I have had access to a large garden so have not had to buy produce for the last four months. Prior to that, I was buying minimal fresh things because I was sprouting. (b) I have been putting every available penny, including the money budgeted for groceries, into long term food storage, so my current food expenditures are much higher than normal for that reason.

I have kept my day-to-day expenses down, however, by (a)buying few, if any, prepared foods and doing the preparation myself. (b) Incorporating whole grains and legumes into our diet by making our own bread and using grains and legumes instead of meat for several main dishes per week (With beef approaching $8 to $10 per lb in some instances, this is not a bad idea). (c) sprouting for greens and fresh veggies when the garden is not on. (d) Using whole grains, such as wheat and oats, for breakfasts rather than expensive boxed cereals.(e) Purchasing meat only when it is on sale by having a supply in a chest freezer. (f) Having a rotating supply of food so, aside from fresh items, not having to purchase anything unless it is on sale. (g) Only purchasing fresh items in season (h) canning, freezing, and dehydrating ANY surplus food from the garden, that I purchase from farmers, and that might spoil in the refrigerator if I don't us it up fast- and (i) avoiding big-box stores such as Costco, which end up being more expensive in the long run. Let me reiterate -DO NOT BUY PREPARED FOODS! They are not good for you and they are VERY EXPENSIVE.

Good luck. We all need good luck. And store food - three months comfort food (canned food and - nutritious - stuff you normally eat) and at least one year of long-term storage food. Get rid of all of your frivolous expenses (subscriptions, fashion clothing, eating out, entertainment, etc.) and put that money NOW into food storage so that you can continue to feed your family without going bankrupt.

Hi T. that is funny you bring that up because I have been keeping track of what I am spending the last few months and it seems I spend about 500.00 a month between costco and the grocery store for a family of 4 so it seems your not to far off or might average what others spend. It gets expensive if you are cooking every night and packing lunches every day I wish I had some good suggestions but it doesn't seem I can lower my spending either.

One of the best kept secrets about shopping at Wal Mart is this: They do price matching. Here's what you do: While you are making your weekly menu and grocery list look at ALL of the ads; Safeway, Albertson's, King Soopers etc... circle on those what the best deal is. Then you take the ads with you to the checkout and show the cashier. They'll take care of it. My newly married daughter taught me this. She's gotten great deals on boneless chicken breasts, ground beef and more... Once they even got the price match on a different brand because Wal Mart didn't carry the brand in the ad. Try it and see if it makes a difference.

We spend about $1000 a month on food, cleaning supplies, etc. for a family of 5 - and 3 of us are under 5 years old. Granted, I do not shop specials or use coupons. I go to Costco and Albertson's when I need things & I don't do much analysis - I just buy what I need. I'm not much of a cook, so we buy a lot of prepackaged frozen meals - not the cheapest way to go - and lots of fruits, bread & veggies. We don't buy any alcohol, and very little snack foods or sweets. I'm sure that if I spent more time I could bring that number down - but that gives you a benchmark from someone that is just not that careful about the price of what I buy.

Hi T.,

It is not just you noticing that food and necessities prices have jumped like crazy. We are only 3 people and our bill is $250 at Costco with almost empty card. I now for a fact last year I was paying $13-14 for a big thing of toilet paper and yesterday it was $20. I couldn’t believe it. I hope this price increases slows down, hopefully stops, otherwise more people will loose their homes not just due to subprime mortgages, but because we have to eat and take normal care for ourselves and our families.
But I’m still optimistic and believe things will get better in the next few years. The economy will turn around. Like people it has good days (years) and bad days (years).
We will get thought it.

I come from a country were I had one pair of jeans and shoes to wear for a year. I wasn’t easy, but it was awesome to get home to my family and share a quite evening with them, because that is what matters the most. Everything else is only money.

A.

I know exactly how you feel. I've been really good about staying on budget, but lately, it seems, $150 doesn't go as far as it use to. A few months ago, I can spend $100-$150 weekly on food and that included meat, fruit, veggies, etc. Now, I can spend that much and it doesn't include meat. Like you, we don't buy much snack, except for what the kids take to school for lunch. Now, when they have meat on sale at Kings or Safeway that are buy 1 get 1 free, I just buy plenty to last a while. Even fruit is getting expensive. $1.99-$2.99 a pound for apples. That's 3 apples for $2! The silver lining is that Kings and Safeway are a minute away from each other, so on Wed, I go through both ads and figure out what I need from where.

I have 4 to feed, all adults now and our groceries have doubled as well. There are some ways you can stretch those dollars if you have the time.
When I had three teen age boys at home, I buy one gallon of two percent milk and powdered nonfat milk. when I cut them half and half, they never knew the difference, and it saved me over a 1.00 a gallon. I used a lot of dried beans and made my own refrieds, chili, ham and navy beans during the winter. We had bean based meals twice a week. These also freeze well for quick dinners. You can also make your own bread. I used to bake twice a week, three loaves at a time. Flour, yeast, oil and salt are about half the cost of actual bread for a family your size. Also make casseroles. You can make a can of chicken go a long way if you add rice, (I like brown) a vegetable and some gravy or sauce. Pick up your vegis and fruit when possible at the local farmers markets and freeze or can the excess. You can make a dent in your grocery bill.
E.
PS Talk to your grandma, I'll bet she has some tips from her expereince!!

For a family of 4 we spend $250/week... including eating out though. I think if you take out restaurant spending we are around $600-$750 a month on groceries at least... so you are doing way better than me!!! Every time I go through that checkout line, though- I am shocked. Food really is so expensive now!

Food is more expensive, reality is catching up with us here in the US... the prices are tied to fuel. I wouldn't expect it to change, except to maybe go up. If you look at historic prices, food is actually a smaller part of the pie than it used to be in our parents' day... however, what we spend on housing and healthcare far outweighs what they spent. Anyway, to answer your question! We are a couple with a yr old infant, and spend $700/month on food alone. Add in another $200 for household and baby items. I buy many things in bulk at Costco, especially meat and shelf items, however I feel strongly about eating organic produce and dairy so that ups the price as I do weekly shopping at whole foods.

T.,
We have 7 in our family...including one in diapers and I think it averages around $150 a week. Like you...no snacks, pop, alcohol, sweets and etc. Very little fresh fruits and vegetables either unfortunately. I'm hoping to find some good hints to get it down in your responses!
Chris

I have four daughters and unfortunately eating healthy is more expensive. We buy a lot of fruits and veggies and some organic, mostly milk. We spend about $150 a week on food alone, not counting toiletries etc. I really honestly don't have time for coupons, but I do try to watch ads for what will be on sale. I also try to go to the store alone, so that I can focus on what I'm buying and how much I'm spending. You are spending the average. Good luck

that's about how much we spend at walmart for 5 people, but it is also more than we were spending last year.

I just started coupon shopping and price matching it saves a ton of money and you can build up your food supply too. the easiest way is to go to pinchingyourpennies.com and they have deals by state and printable coupons that way you don't have to clip out of the paper. good luck

for our little family of 4 we spend $400-$450 per month. we found that doing a menu plan and a grocery list helps and for the most part we buy only generic stuff. Food is expensive and the meat is what kills our budget.

I am also a mother of 4 and that amount seems totally realistic...sad isn't it. With the 6 of us at our house we spend about the same, it just depends on what you are buying. I know that a good chunk of our grocery money goes to lunch foods for school, so expensive. What my husband and I have done is made a list in Excel format and put in different categories for everything we buy and gone to the store and gotten a price for all of the items, then when we are bugeting we just have to enter in the quantity and it gives us a total, if we are too high then we have to cut back on some stuff. The prices are all rounded up so we usually end up being right on target, because something are more and some things are less than the amount we have figured, does that make sense? As things go up in price we update our list and it helps to keep us on budget. Also, we take cash out of the account and when the cash is gone, the so is the grocery money and we just make it last. So we make sure to leave enough for fresh foods like milk, bread, fruit and veggies etc... Hope that helps, if you would like to have a look at the Excel file, I could send it along.. Good luck
S.

I have 2 five year olds, one 9 year old and a husband, that makes 5. We spend $140 per week without the running here and there for extra milk and bread (65-80 per week). I also follow the no junk food rule. We eat healthy things like fruit and vegis not fruit snacks. Groceries are rediculous!! I find it very helpful to plan the meals by the week and then purchase what I need for those meals. I also use Sams Club for meat and other items like paper products and laundry soap. If a store is running a sale I run. We have a store called Smith's (Kroger) and they have wonderful sales! 10 for 10 and case lot sales. If I have to go to three different places to get what I need I do. I just make sure that the trips are not out of the way or unplanned. Your monthly amount sounds about right to me. The economy is just so poor right now with gas prices so high and such. Hang in there things will get better. I feel your pain. 5 years ago I could get by on $90 per week!

Dear Tamma C It has been very hard on every one My husban is a truck driver and he owns his own truck. He youse to fill the truck for $200.00 dallars a few years ago now we are paying $1200.00 to fill up. So the price gets pasted on to the comsumers. I know its realy hard and yes Im paying that much at the stores. I have been growing vegtables in my garden and that helps a lot. Im not sure if you have a space to grow one but it realy dont take much room or you could put a few tomatoe plants in a pot.

I hope this will help. C. J.

I have taken to Coupon clipping, as well as taking a list to the store. We have a list on the fridge of the things that we are always going to need Eggs, Milk, Black beans, banana's...an with the help of a menu of things I want to make for dinners for the week...that has cut my cost. I know coupons are a pain in the ass, but really they helped. I saved about 100 with them one time!

I spend almost $200 per week for 3 of us and I only cook 3 times a week. We eat out all the time and I don't even want to know what that bill comes to. You're doing fine!

I was going through my budget a couple of weeks ago and realized I had spent nearly $1000 last month on grocery's, etc. I was shocked but as I asked around my neighborhood a mom of 3 teenagers said she spent about that. I have 4 younger kids so I was budgeting about 125 to 150 per week, but know with rising food prices 800 a month is hopefully what I will be able to average.

Anyway one tip that I have used but I don't always take time is to print online coupons. pinchingyourpennies.com is a website where someone in just about every state for every grocery store goes through and puts together the store shopping list and then tells you where to find the coupons either online or in the newspaper. I've used it a few times and it does help on the prepackaged stuff that we end up spending money on. I just have to make sure I don't buy stuff just because I have the coupon but because I need it. Stocking up on cold cereal this way is great especially if you wait for a 10/$10 or 10/$20 sale plus get the coupons.

I usually look at the ad that comes in the mail first and then if it looks like there are a lot of things we use then I go to the coupons. In fact last week I got a free rotisarie chicken at albertsons by using the coupons.

You know, I noticed the same thing! I can go spend $200 and it's gone within a week! I have 3 children, ages 14, 10 and 7. The cost has gotten out of control. I also shop at Walmart, and I try to cut corners as much as possible. I just wanted to let you know you are not alone.

You really don't spend that much and you didn't say what percentage it was. You need to look at how much you are spending on the whole picture and then come to this as well. First off I don't think that cleaning supplies should be put with food. That is a totally separate thing. We don't consume Clorox. Yuk. sorry bad joke. You may need to find other places too for the grocery area. I know at times others have some really good deals. I can understand getting all in one place may save time, but it doesn't always save money. Really look at the flyers that get sent to your home. I am sure you live by a Kroger's or Safeway or one of the larger chain stores. Make use of them.

C.

we are a family of 4 (2 adults, 5 year old, 2 year old) and spend an average of $600/month. This is being extremely diligent and I include in that diapers, dry goods (toilet paper, etc.) cleaning supplies and pet food (we have 2 big labs). I try to buy organic when I can (the dirty dozen and milk) and things that are in season. I shop multiple stores with coupons, go to costco and have at least 2-3 vegetarian meals per week (dried beans etc.) I try to avoid buying treats - and we never go out to dinner (almost). So, I don't think you are that off.

We are a family of 6 too, and we also spend about $800 or so a month on food, the older they get, the more they eat, so it definately doesn't ever get any cheaper. The fact is we decided to have 4 children, which in this day and age is truly not very affordable. You just wait till you have teenagers! You'll be in the for the shock of your life! If you find a way of cutting back on the bill, let me know!

HHMM.. That is quite a bit. I have 4 girls, and spend about 250 2x a month. I do alot of shopping at sams, and i also buy alot of generic stuff. sure there are some things we dont like as generic, but for the most part, I have switched to alot of store brands. Also, watch the newspaper adds!! That is a big one.

T.,

It's not just you it is everyone.
It is just my husband and myself and we have double our grocery bill in a year also. And when you are on a fixed income that is really tough.
Good luck

I think you are doing pretty good. The price of a loaf of bread has gone up to $4.00! It wasnt like that a year ago. Fruit has also gotten really expensive. We have a family of 3 and I watch 2 kids and we spend $400 a month. That is only on grocery's. We eat a lot of Organic and no junk food.