SO: If you spend less than $500 a month for food... - Page 3

[ALittleBitCrunchy]

1.) How many people are eating?
Four - 2 kids, 2 adults

2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area?
Mid

3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it?
No

4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others?
No

5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food?
No

6.) Do you shop with coupons?
Just started 2 weeks ago to try and cut food costs down more, but this is very new

7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends?
No

8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work?
Yes - between the 4 of us, we have 17 packed meals and a bunch of packed snacks each week

9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...)
Not a 'plan' or anything, but we do try to eat foods with as little preparation as possible and we really focus on fruits. DD is diabetic, so we do stock special foods for those just-in-case emergencies, but that's fairly minimal.

10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"?
I'll go with typical. I probably eat the most, then DH. Kids eat more than their peers, but they still eat kid-size amounts. DH doesn't eat much of a breakfast and I don't eat breakfast at all, so that does impact our numbers.

11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's?
Not specifically as a rule, but I don't really cook more than I expect people to eat. So, there is enough for what everyone typically eats. If we run out of food and someone is still hungry, they can grab something from the fridge or cupboard.

12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"?
I don't buy into anything, so if I ever post an amount, it's all-inclusive. I would say that I wouldn't think to include odd events if we were talking typical bills. For instance, I wouldn't think to include money for birthday party foods in there, if that makes sense.

13. What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday? I post on another forum, so I'll steal this week's meal plan from there. It's designed to make a shopping list, so it's rather vague.
Breakfast for kids:
Toast/Roll/Muffin/similar - 5 days
Eggs/Cheese - 2 days

Breakfast for DH:
7 breakfast bars

Lunch for kids:
5 days of sandwiches (PBJ or Jelly for DS; Ham or Jelly for DD), 1 of fish, 1 of corndogs
7 days of fruit
4 days of graham crackers, 2 days of tortilla chips, 1 of soup

Lunch for DH and I (plus dinners for me on days I work)
Leftovers, salads, sandwiches, rice - whatever is in the fridge

Afternoon Snack for kids:
2 days of sandwiches, 2 days of tortilla chips, 2 of muffins, 1 of rolls
7 days of fruit

Dinners:
1 of tacos and veggie
1 of chicken, rice and veggie
1 of spanish rice and fruit
1 of spaghetti, bread, applesauce
1 of pancakes and fruit
1 of eggs, hashbrowns, toast
1 night a a week at mom's house (we have dinner there once a week)

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

Originally Posted by Thystle

Care to share a bit? I see soooo many posts about this.


(spin off from another thread)





1.) How many people are eating? 3, 2 adults and 1 toddler


2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area? I guess mid COL KC metro area


3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it? no


4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others? i attempted gardening last year, didn't get much out of it, i am attempting it again...


5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food? freeze


6.) Do you shop with coupons? Yes!


7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends? no


8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work? mostly no, but dh occasionally gets a free lunch at work, a couple times a month, dh comes home for lunch most days.

9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...) We don't eat beef or pork, we try to mainly stick to veggetarian, but we do occasionally have poultry/seafood, and we do eat a lot of eggs/dairy


10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"? I would say normal eaters

11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's? no


12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"? no CSA's or co-ops








What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday?

Yesterday: breakfast: eggs and toast w/oj. Lunch mac n cheese and left over curry and rice. Dinner frozen pizza w/added veggies, rest of mac n cheese and raw carrots. Snacks include, rice cakes, fresh fruits, granola bars, yogurt etc...





Sorry for the length.... thanks if you actually read it, let alone posted in it!



.

We spend about 150$ a month on everything for the house, food, h&b, eating out. So far this month we've spent 85$, but that is not typical, i am in a challenge on another board so i am trying to keep my oop down for this month and havent been stocking up as much. Most of savings comes from coupons, but also shopping store sales and catching clearance deals and manager's specials, etc. I've been couponing for over a year and prior to couponing we spent about 400$, and about 100$ was eating out. We have pretty much eliminated eating out so taht is saving us quite a bit right there.

[isosmom]

1.) How many people are eating? five


2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area? high


3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it? no


4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others? every once in a while, I would say minimally


5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food? I don't go out of my way, but if I have more than I can use, I stick it in the freezer rather than throwing it away.


6.) Do you shop with coupons? no


7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends? no


8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work? dd eats at school, dh and I both eat at work (which is a restaurant, so it's free)


9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...) I'm vegan, so everyone eats that way I would say 95% of the time in the house


10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"? we all have good appetities


11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's? no way


12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"? I usually don't think about my CSA since we've been doing it forever, but it's usually about $65 a month and even including that we spend less than $550/month.








What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday?
Let's see...
breakfast was fruit smoothies for everyone with frozen and fresh fruit, nuts, and green powder, also toast for dd
lunch was at school for dd (cheese pizza, carrots, apple, and milk) I dropped dh off at work and picked up lunch for ds1, ds2, and myself, sandwiches, roasted potatoes and green beans, white bean and asparagus salad, and fruit salad
snacks were pretzels and apples
dinner was gnocchi with tomato sauce, steamed broccoli, fruit salad, leftover white bean and asparagus salad The kids were still hungry after that, so they both had a pb&j.

I honestly don't know how people spend so much. But in some ways I do. I spent probably more money on food when it was just dh, dd, and myself. I would go shopping every day at WF and buy whatever I wanted. I just eat simpler, but still delicious food. We eat mostly organic, never feel deprived. I feel like if you just pay attention to how much you throw out and use your money wisely you should be able to eat well on less than $500/month.

[Marlet]

1.) How many people are eating? 5...2 adults, an older male child, and 2 young children

2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area? Low. We're second lowest of the 11 western states. Though it won't be as low here soon when we move back to "home".

3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it? Nope, we did when we were first married/pregnant. We "needed" it then for a variety of reasons, one of which was a different diet than now and poor planning (financially and meal planning wise).

4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others? Oh I wish. We don't currently have a garden (though we are planning one). We get the random little bit from my MIL but it's seriously little....a cucumber here and there, freezer jam etc.

5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food? We are slowly working on freezing larger quantities. My mom and MIL and sister all can and share their goods with us randomly (mostly my mom and her spicy asparagus ). I'm getting a canning system here soon though and am going to start this summer. Mostly for my own love and nothing to do with finances/economy.

6.) Do you shop with coupons? No. We shop between two palces, one being a discounted bulk co-op and the other being a local overpriccced "mainstream" store. We do have a "savings card" with that one and we do use it. After a certain amount is spent we receive a coupon (we have two and haven't used one yet) that equals to 5% off and up to 20% off if we pair it with the card. We also earn gas money on the card and are up to .65 off a gallon up to 20 gallons. We have yet to use that either.

7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends? No, we are vegetarian/vegan.

8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work? DH will somtimes eat out during work hours but it's almost always work related (meaning he takes employees with him and pays using the business account). We eat at home most of the time, especially now that he has gone vegan and we are learning the ropes of it a bit more.

9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...)? Yes. We are vegetarian and vegan. DH is vegan while the rest of us are vegetarian (though DSS has meat outside of the house but is rather particular about what and when. DD1 is allowed some as well but she has a tendency to stick to what she knows.)

10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"? Dh and I are big eaters, DSS is moderately picky (depending on what is served...if I cook it than he's extremely picky ), DD1 can be...depends on how big a stink DSS is throwing. If she picks up on it from him she can be extremely picky. DD2 is a huge eater!

11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's? Nope! There are some things that aren't allowed as snacks (such as bread) but other than that nope, food is not rationed. I will put a portions time limit on things though (such as drinks and bread or other "fillers" due to DSS's pickiness...if allowed he'd fill up on water and bread and then be to full to eat. If they want more of those type items they do need to eat the rest of whatever meal first).

12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"? I count it all. That has more to do with my OCD desires to have everything accounted for.

What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday? Hmmm...breakfasts are minimal due to 2 reasons. 1. I'm not a breakfast person and neither are the girls (DSS eats something before heading to school) and 2. DH wakes up hours before we do and fixes himself a smoothie type drink. Given that yesterday was: Oatmeal with raisens (for DSS) for breakfast, macaroni with veggies (tossed with a dressing on top), lima bean falafels (on a sandwhich for me and the kids but as a salad topper for DH). Yesterday was pretty low key actually. We have salad at least 5 times a week. We do lots of soups as well (DH has been on a soup kick ). In 2 weeks time (we shop in that incriment) we go through about 6ish lbs (minimum) of fresh produce (give or take some depending on season). Dairy and eggs varies quite a bit so I can't really give an estimate on that one...I've gone through a spurt lately where I have done a ton more scratch cooking (like breads and what not) so that combined with DH going vegan has thrown this last month into a tail spin. We go through tons of dry beans too. Like....we are to the point of considering the 25 lb. bags of them now. :

[my2girlz]

I spend about $400/month for our family of 5.

1.) How many people are eating? 5 (2 adults, 3 kids (9, 7, 4.5))

2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area? mid

3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it? no

4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others? no

5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food? I do freeze stuff that I bought in bulk

6.) Do you shop with coupons? every chance I get

7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends? no

8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work? I'm a SAHM and dh works out of his home office

9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...) try to buy as many organics or natural items as possible

10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"? good size eaters

11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's? no

12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"? doesn't apply to me

What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday? here is my menu for this week.

Sunday~pork shoulder, potatoes, carrots
Monday~goulash, bread and butter
Tuesday~pasta topped with leftover chicken
Wednesday~BBQs with french fries
Thursday~baked ravioli and salad
Friday~parmesan-garlic chicken, rice, veggies
Saturday~??

[wildmonkeys]

Okay, I replied early on, but didn't use the correct format and then EVERYONE did, so I am going to respond quickly...

1.) How many people are eating? 5


2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area? High for real estate, probably mid to low for food


3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it? No


4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others? Not recently


5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food? No


6.) Do you shop with coupons? Rarely anymore


7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends? No


8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work? No, everyone brings them


9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...) Egg and nuts allergies (it is expensive to eliminate eggs)


10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"? We are pretty average



11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's? Not with "real" food, only with juices or treats


12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"? Not even sure I understand, it is all there when I post...








What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday?

Posted already early on. Our typical meals are cheaper in the winter when I can do soups and stews for dinner, oatmeal for breakfast, etc. Warm weather pushes our meal bills up - if anyone has summer food suggestions, let me know!

[oneKnight]

ETA: Monthly cost $200, less if I can squeeze it, a little more if we both have a job.

1.) How many people are eating?

2 adults, plus 1 dog (rawfed) and 2 cats and I count all their food in the grocery budget so that's why I mention them.


2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area?

pretty low, but it's pretty low income too so....


3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it?

No


4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others?

Occasionally free stuff, I grow tomatoes in the summer


5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food?

I can and freeze stuff, I can tomatoes if I can grow enough or get enough combined with my grandma's garden.


6.) Do you shop with coupons?

No, I mostly buy storebrands and I don't even get a newspaper so I don't go out of my way to get coupons


7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends?

I hunt some, but I've killed 1 deer in the past 4 years. Not exactly solving any grocery costs!


8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work?

DH (and I used to) packs a lunch at work


9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...)

We eat mostly TF, and avoid high-gluten stuff, but we aren't strict. A good bit of the budget goes for meat.


10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"?

I eat like birds, DH eats for 3. LOL
A typical "family sized" meal lasts us one meal together with enough leftovers for DH's lunch. I kindof like it this way because I don't have to store a lot of leftovers in the fridge.


11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's?

Not usually. If anyone has to limit it's DH.


12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"?

No, because I don't have any of that stuff.


What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday?

frequent meals in random order:
Hamburgers
Spaghetti
Pork chops and baked potatoes
Chicken, veggies and rice
Lasagna
Veggie soup, veggie only or with small amounts of whatever meat
Chicken legs and baked potatoes
Egg omlet sandwiches with onion and jalapinos, nothing pricy


We just got done eating lasagna for dinner.

[skolbut]

Originally Posted by Thystle

Care to share a bit? I see soooo many posts about this.


(spin off from another thread)


1.) How many people are eating? Right now 4 adults one toddler one baby on only rice so far... usually just 2 adults (staying with mom and grandma in between houses)


2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area? I would guess mid to low


3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it? yes, covers almost all our milk, eggs, cheese, pb


4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others? Not regularly but if someone offers I'll take it!


5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food? No but I will when we're in the new house. Right now I freeze meat when I buy in big packs or cheap.


6.) Do you shop with coupons? Not usually, since they're not my usual products or store sale items are cheaper or not all that good of a deal (I got one recently for $1.50 off 10 items, but didn't need 10)


7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends?no


8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work?dh does occasionally, maybe twice a month

9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...)
nope

10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"?
Dh is big, rest of us are moderate, toddler just grazes

11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's?
No

12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"? We don't have this situation currently but I think we would have that as a one time expense as opposed to dividing it out over time.


What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday?

Monday: Pasta (with or without meat, sauce varies, veggies vary)
Tuesday: Chicken and rice (I have 3 kinds I rotate)
Wednesday: Leftovers or sandwiches and soup
Thursday: Meatloaf or Goulash or Sloppy Joes, something ground beef
Friday: Something on the grill or imitation crabmeat with angel hair or baked potato bar or the weeks leftovers in the crock pot
Saturday: Leftovers or Little Cesars Hot N Ready pizza (5 bucks)
Sunday: Mexican (with or without meat, always with beans and rice)

We have coffee, milk, cereal for breakfast. Sometimes oatmeal, pancakes, eggs, toast, english muffin, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. DS1 has raisins just about every meal.

Lunch is sandwich or leftovers, grapes or apple or orange, carrot sticks and (homemade!) hummus or whatever veggie we dig out.

DH packs 2 pb sandwiches, apple, yogurt daily.

We have 3 major grocery chains near our house so I only buy what is on sale and stockpile. I buy in bulk when I can. I freeze meat, bread, cheese. We have a market nearby that has fresh produce year round for awesome prices so I drive across town once a week.

For us the key has been simple, no frills meals. We eat really simply but yummy and can really get by on very little. It also means we might have to compromise on organic vs not, some processed foods, etc. However, mostly we add fresh fruits and veggies to our main dish and that's it. And we don't do a lot of desserts, cookies, etc. (except maybe some ice cream). I make yogurt and hummus (a bag of dry beans gives me 4 blenderfulls of hummus).


.

When it's just us 4 I can spend about $350 a month on groceries and pet supplies (we don't factor in h&b items). Adding 2 extra adults gets us closer to that 500 mark.

[krankedyann]

1.) How many people are eating? Four- two adults and two kids
2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area? We're in a high COLA, but we do have several grocery salvage stores which helps with the cost significantly. I also only bulk-buy many items such as grains, beans, beef and the like which significantly cuts down on my expenses.
3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it? No.
4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others? Yes, we garden, have fruit trees and berry bushes. I regularly have people give me stuff since they know I'll use it.
5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food? Yes, all.
6.) Do you shop with coupons? Yes, with the items we buy from a regular grocery store.
7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends? We have chickens for eggs and eventually meat. Their feed isn't included in the grocery budget, since sales of their eggs covers their feed cost.
8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work? No, although DH takes his food to work.
9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...) Yes, we're all gluten-free at home and one of us is also dairy-free. DH consumes gluten away from home, as he is not celiac.
10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"? Dh and DD are big eaters, DS and I eat average amounts.
11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's? Only on things that are very expensive like nut butter on a spoon, and we do limit them to one piece of each type of fruit in the house a day, otherwise they'd easily eat 3-4 bananas apiece at one sitting.
12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"? I keep a monthly budget and have a specific line item for bulk buys that is included in the total budget. Cat food, paper goods, HBA, etc.... aren't included in my grocery budget, just food.
What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday? I regularly post my daily and weekly meals. We do grains and fruit for breakfast, leftovers from the previous night's dinner or a vegetarian meal for lunch, and meat and vegetables and sometimes grains for dinner.

[scrapadoozer]

1.) How many people are eating?
One very big man, one very pregnant lady and one very hungry 5 year old girl.


2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area?
Mid.

3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it?
No.

4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others?
Yes, we have a large garden. We also started tapping our maple trees this year.

5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food?
Yes.

6.) Do you shop with coupons?
No. I buy ingredients much more often than pre-packaged foods.

7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends?
No.

8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work?
No.

9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...)
No.

10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"?
We are huge eaters. Especially my DH! It is a chore to keep him full! DD eats as much as I do most days and I'm no slouch in the eating department.

11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's?
No, I would be laughed out of the house if I tried that one!

12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"?
No to all of the above. I include all food, pet food and household supplies in our monthly food budget.


What does a typical week of eating look like for you?
Simple meals prepared with lots of meat, whole grains, vegetables and fruit.

What did you eat yesterday?
DD & I breakfast: Zucchini bread & strawberry banana kiwi smoothies.
DH breakfast: Yogurt, apple, zucchini bread and sausage egg & cheese sandwich.

DD & I lunch: My brother took us out for pizza & salad.
DH: Leftover shrimp alfredo from the night before, beef jerky, chocolates.

Everyone (including my brother) dinner: BLTs, french fries & broccoli normandy. Candy bars for dessert.

[Adamsmama]

subbing for ideas!

[Knittin' in the Shade]

I don't always spend under $500 a month, sometimes it's $600 depending on what staples I need to replenish. Here's my answers, anyway


1.) How many people are eating?
6 - 2 adults, 4 boys aged 9, 8, 5 and 2.5

2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area?
I'm just outside Philly, I'd say upper-middle COL.

3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it?
no

4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others?
We garden in season, so have fresh produce in summer/fall. I can and preserve as much as I can then for the off season. But, even at the height of harvest, I need to supplement our produce from the market - we eat a LOT of fruit/veggies.

5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food?
yep - all three. In summer, I buy produce in bulk from some local (hour away) Amish farms, and preserve that.

6.) Do you shop with coupons?
Not usually, because I don't usually find coupons for stuff we eat. I do use coupons at CVS for toiletries like toothpaste, shampoo, etc.

7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends?
nope

8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work?
I pack lunches for the older boys for school and for DH at work - but the food all comes from home, they don't buy/get lunch there.

9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...)
no, we don't have any special need dieats, but we do strive to eat whole, minimally processed foods

10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"?
big eaters, except for the 2.5 year old, he eats like a bird. I'm working at cutting my own portions, because I really need to get to a healthier weight. My two older boys both eat more than I do (and I'm sure that's only going to get worse as they hit the teen years, LOL!)

11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's?
not really - except for meat, but that's more for health reasons than frugal ones. If they are still hungry after the first serving, then we'll encourage them to have more veggies or fruit rather than another helping of meat or a grain.

12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"?
I don't recall doing that - I think I usually post a total that includes everything, because that's how I think about it.

What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday?

Here's what we ate yesterday:

breakfast:
DH - bran cereal
me - greek yogurt with banana and honey
9 and 8 yo - whole wheat bagels (homemade) toasted with peanut butter, banana, glass of milk
5 and 2 yo - hard boiled eggs with ww toast and glass of milk

mid-morning snack
me - handful of almonds
2.5 yo - apple slices and cheerios

lunch
dh - leftover veggie stir fry from the previous night
me - grilled chicken sandwich (chicken leftover from the previous night)
8 and 9 yo - sliced deli turkey and swiss on ww bread, organic applesauce cups, ww pretzels, carrot sticks and cranberry juice
5 and 2.5 yo - egg noodles with (homemade) chicken stock, carrot sticks and annie's chedar bunnies

afterschool snack
me - coffee!!
kids - iced tea (brewed at home) matzos with peanut butter and/or honey

dinner
(all of us) pork medallions with cider gravy, spinach salad (with spinach, red onion, cherry tomatoes and avocado - homemade buttermilk dressing) melon cubes and buttered poppy seed ww noodles.

The pork was from a huge pork loin that was on crazy sale at the grocery store (buy one get one free) about a month ago. We got 4 loins for less than $40, and from those, we've currently got 10 tenderloins, 6 packages of boneless chops, and 4 packages of cubes pork for stir fry or stews. Dh did all the cutting and packaging, and we used the reynold's handivac to vacuum seal it. We'll get more than 20 meals (when you take leftovers into consideration) from that pork

[ewp11100]

1.) How many people are eating? 4, 2 Adults, 2 kids
2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area? HIGH
3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it? Yes
4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others? We have a small 3 x 5 foot plot and come cotainers. This year we will only have containers as we will be in an apt all summer. I can generally score free/cheap apples (in season) but that's about it.
5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food? Last year was the 1st year I canned. We canned 3 patches of apple sauce an 2 batches of apple pie filling we only have on can of apple pie filling left. I freeze extra bits of produce like 1/2 eaten bananas for bread
6.) Do you shop with coupons? yes at this point I have stock piled to the point I only buy lost leaders with coupons
7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends? I wish As I have stock piled a bit I try not to pay for the 1.99 lb for meat
8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work? My husband and I pack lunches
9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...) No, just whole foods from scratch
10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"? BIG EATERS!!! My husband eats more then any human should My 4 year old eats the same or out eats me and my 2 year old eats %75 of her 4 yo brother. I would say for a meal I plan 4 adult portions (if we aren't planing on leftovers)
11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's? I have but then I get 2 problems 1) I have no fruit because my children eat it all between meals (we buy a lot of fruit they were eating 2-3 apples each a day) 2) my husband eats all our "junk" food I would make muffins and they would all be gone when I was planning on having them for breakfast, the PB disappears. SO now I just ration/moderate my self
12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"?
No our budet is $500 for EVERY.THING. .... toilet paper, bulk buying, cleaning products, any kitchen utensils, meat.

What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday?

Lets see...
Last night- Burritos basically beans and rice, corn, salsa, wic cheese, onions and peppers
before that- Spag. $.99 sauce, $.60 discount find organic pasta, steamed frozen broc.
before that- whole turkey bought for $.29 lb and fed us for a week

[mamadelbosque]

1) How many people are eating?
2 adult men, a pregnant lady and a 2 yr old boy

2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area?

I'd say we're probably mid-range COL area.. rural OH, so lots of poor folks, but the local stores (who have NO competition... are expensive. Or you can drive 30-60 minutes for decent prices.

3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it?

No. But I used to and go back and forth on whether I want to again or not.

4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others?

Yes! I had a big garden last year and am planning an even bigger one this year

5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food?

Yup. I canned 98 quarts and 18 pints of tomatoes, 48ish pints of peppers, and frozen a ton of green beans, bell peppers & fruit (blueberries, strawberries, peaches which I picked myself at others' farms for a marginal price, and blackberries which we picked from our own woods

6.) Do you shop with coupons?

No. I don't shop at grocery stores enough for it to make much of a difference. Mostly my food comes from my co-op which I order from 1x ever 4 weeks. Grocery store is random things, mostly apples, potatoes, onions, etc - stuff for which they don't (generally) have coupons.

7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends?

We have chickens for eggs, and raise some for meat last year and are planning to do so again. We buy lambs & goats from our friends/neighbors (though we now have goats too, so we'll see if we eat ours or sell them.., and hunt deer. My dad also does a yearly trip up to canada with his dad to fish and between that and a trip to lake eerie, we're pretty stocked up on walleye & northern pike, usually.

8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work?

No, but DH does. He's trying to pack more, and my dad usually packs his lunch too.

9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...)

Nope

10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"?

My DH eats a TON. I'm always amazed at how much he can and will eat. I'd say my dad eats a normalish amount (though he too can eat a lot).

11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's?

Nope. We all get firsts and then if anybody whats extra they claim it... maybe ask 'does anyone else want more?'

12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"?

I don't include the lambs & goats that we buy in my monthly totals (maybe an extra $300 a year, total??), but other than that everythings in there.

What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday?

I have a constant goal of eating 2-3 vegetarian meals a week, 1 of seafood and the rest of whatever. So, recently we've had (or I'm planning for):

Sunday: Baked Chicken Parmesan (I did some eggplant for me)
Monday: Homemade Pizza (veggie, since I realized too late I was out of pepperoni)
Tuesday: Tofu Veggie Stir Fry with Rice Noodles
Today: Tostadas (I just made bean dip yesterday)
Tommorrow: Baked Lentils & Peppers with Cheese
Friday: Roasted Scallops
Saturday: Probably DH will pick up chipotle on his way home from school...

Lunches are generally fend for yourself - lots of leftovers, sandwhiches, burriots, etc. Occasionally I'll make a box of mac'n cheese or chicken noodle soup up for me and DS.

[BananaBreadGirl]

Originally Posted by Thystle

Care to share a bit? I see soooo many posts about this.

(spin off from another thread)

I spend $80-$120 a month.

1.) How many people are eating? 2 adults, one baby on the way

2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area? low, as far as groceries

3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it?
Yes, but I spend the same amount now as before WIC (just eat better, stock up more)

4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others? Yes, both

5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food? Some, hoping to do more in the future

6.) Do you shop with coupons? Just the ones in the local grocery store flier

7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends? No

8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work? Not regularly

9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...) No

10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"? Medium, maybe I was a little bird-like before pregnancy

11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's? Sometimes I say only one helping of meat, you have to save some for leftovers

12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"? It includes everything but the very rare eating out, and a couple bucks for garden seeds.

What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday? Yesterday: oatmeal with dried fruit, juice, cheese sandwich, apple, milk, homemade oatmeal/chocolate bar, banana bread, spaghetti-sauce/rice/okra main dish, tea

Main dishes for the rest of the week's plan: homemade pizza, crock pot pork roast, hummus and pita bread, baked french toast (from bread "ends"), fish and rice, eggs on toast

Hope that helps!

[Norasmomma]

1.) 3 people-1 hungry man, 1 pregnant woman, 1 toddler who could practically eat her weight in food


2.) Food isn't that expensive where we live, but housing is.


3.) Yes-but we have gone w/out it. I freeze milk if necessary and buy it on sale.


4.) We will have a garden this year, also my neighbors give us produce. I live in the country we get free apples, as many as we want in the fall.


5.) I freeze a bunch in the summer-I'm afraid to can, but would like to try. I got a book at a yard sale last year. I also like to dry peaches.


6.) As much as I can, on sale and a coupon is the best.


7.) I could, but we don't really like deer meat. My neighbors raise cows, we have thought about getting meat from them.


8.) Dh packs his lunch every day.


9.) Nope, we eat pretty much whatever we want.


10.) We like to eat.


11.) Not really-I don't let my toddler eat 5 yogurts a day and try to limit her amount of fruit because she could eat a whole box of strawberries if she could.


12.) I include my every 4 month trip to Costco usually, and I also include all household, dog food and things to run my household(laundry soap, dish soap, shampoo) and beer/wine.

Last night we had a wonderful noodle stir-fry w/ left over turkey tenderloin and tons of veggies. A typical week would have a least a night or 2 of "planned overs". The night before we had BBQ turkey tenderloin, potato packets and coleslaw.

We usually spend about $400 a month on food. I seriously have been thinking about applying for FS because of the limits being so dramatically increased we could get about $150 worth. Not sure about that though. I find for us I have dramatically reduced our food spending by stocking up on loss leader and shopping sales. I buy cases of things twice a year when my local store has their case sale. I buy all my canned tomato products and usually a case of peanut butter. My biggest secret for shopping is following sales. If it's a good deal and it's something we enjoy I will stock up. Having a freezer is key. My store does awesome sales, so I can save quite a bit of money. I also live aways from town, so I like to have things here to plan with. Meal planning works, but I find having a written plan is too difficult. I just like to have it in my head what we have and cook from there.

[Sonnenwende]

1.) How many people are eating?

Two adults and one 3 year old.

2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area?

Low-mid.

3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it?

No.

4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others?

No.

5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food?

I freeze, but it is on no grand scale.

6.) Do you shop with coupons?

Occasionally.

7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends?

No.

8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work?

Yes, almost all of them.

9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...)

No.

10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"?

Big eaters.

11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's?

Eh, depends on how much is left. If it is enough to make another meal out of, both of us will leave it for the next meal.

12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"?

I post everything. My groceries include all HBA products, training diapers, and eating out (but McDonald's is going out for us).

[aliah79]

1.) How many people are eating? 4 (me, dh, 5yo ds, 3yo ds)

2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area? Probably low-mid - I really don't know - I found this: "lowest cost of living among the nation’s 20 largest metropolitan areas for 2008" - were tied with Houston.

3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it? No

4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others? Only in the summer

5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food? No

6.) Do you shop with coupons? No

7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends? No

8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work? Dh takes lunch to work, it's not provided though.

9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...) Whole foods/ low carb

10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"? Big eaters

11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's? Sometimes - mostly with snacks otherwise the kids would eat 12 bananas in one day.

12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"? It includes it, though we don't buy into any of that at this point.

What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday?

Breakfast - two scrambled eggs & piece of toast, cereal & milk for boys
Lunch - pizza on whole wheat pitas; dh took two turkey sandwiches, some pickles & a granola bar.
Dinner - stuffed mushrooms (sausage, mushrooms, green onion, cream cheese, smoked cheddar); one boy had a turkey sandwhich and carrot, other had scrambled eggs w/ carrot
Snack - apple & peanut butter, granola bar

[KariM]

We budget $500/month and tithe $50 of that toward feeding ppl who can't feed themselves (through our church welfare program).

1.) How many people are eating? Five. We have 2 adults, one 17 year old boy (who eats more than both adults combined), one 4 year old girl, and one nearly 1 year old girl (whose diet is mostly breastmilk at this point).


2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area? I'd say we're in a low to mid COL area - the Great Lakes area.


3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it? No - we don't qualify.


4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others? Yes and yes. We use the square foot gardening method and grow a lot of food in a small space. We also will accept any and all gifts of excess fruit and veggies from neighbors and friends.


5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food? Yes, yes, and yes. We preserve everything from our garden that we don't eat fresh. We also try to buy produce in season and can or dehydrate it when the price is at its lowest.


6.) Do you shop with coupons? No - we really don't find too many coupons for eggs and fruit, you know.


7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends? We don't have our own but DH does hunt and we also contribute labor toward the raising of chickens and turkeys and are able to get range fed poultry at a fairly low cost because of that barter arrangement.


8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work? DH packs a lunch to take into work and sometimes his college provides free luncheons for faculty. The kids and I eat at home (we homeschool and I'm a WAHM).


9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...) DD1 has some allergies, but our solution is to eliminate those foods from our diet. So...we don't buy dairy and that actually saves us money!


10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"? I'd say we're big eaters. I often have to remind DS and DH to eat what they need, not what they want.


11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's? No, but I try to encourage healthy portions.


12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"? We budget that $450 and then I save excess money from that for use in bulk buying or for paying for the poultry. I don't include my seed cost, but honestly that's less than $7/year. This year we did spend $20 on strawberry plants and that came out of the general household budget and not grocery.

I also have to add that the $450/month also provides us with food storage. We don't consume $450 of groceries monthly.








What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday?

We eat very little in the way of meat and use a lot of eggs for our protein intake. We have one meat meal per day typically. I only buy in season fresh produce so winters see us eating a lot of root veggies, apples, and canned fruit.

Yesterday we had an unusual day, actually.

Breakfast was leftover venison sausage with rice. Also bananas.

Lunch was turkey sandwiches and apple slices. (the turkey was on sale at $1.99/lb so we splurged. Usually we don't buy deli meat)

Dinner was a casserole of home canned tomatoes, rice, and venison sausage.

Winters see us eating fewer vegetables and fruits and summers see us eating more vegetables and fruits.

[kathirynne]

$400

1.) How many people are eating? 5


2.) Are you in a low/mid/high COL area? I would say mid, but I don't know.


3.) Do you recieve WIC to supplement it? No


4.) Do you garden or get free produce from others? I have an ever-increasing veggie patch, and I get surplus veg from my neighbors and friends.


5.) Do you can/dry/freeze/preserve food? I can and freeze some, but not as much as I would like to.


6.) Do you shop with coupons? yes, but most of the things I buy don't have coupons.


7.) Do you have your own meat animals/hunt or get some from family or friends? no. we're vegan


8.) Do you eat some of your meals at school or work? The children eat school lunch. I eat leftovers at my desk.


9.) Are you on a special "diet" (Veg, allergies, lowcarb, TF, etc...) mostly vegan. We do use eggs, though, so I guess we're not vegan...


10.) Are your family members big eaters or "eat like birds"? I'm feeding 3 teen aged boys. You do the math.


11.) Do you "ration" food or portions? Not allows 2nd's and third's? I only ration "treats" (popsicles, usually). Other than that, I let my children eat until they are full.


12.) When you post your $$$ spent on food, do you divide up any sides of meat or CSA's or co-ops you buy into monthly amounts? Or do you post a $$$ and then say "Oh and that does not inculde XYZ"?

My grocery budget is only for food. I budget separately for soap, toothpaste, et cetera.



What does a typical week of eating look like for you? What did you eat yesterday?