$1000/ mo for groceries - Page 3

[WC_hapamama]

Originally Posted by KJoslyn78

While your child might be severely allergic, her son may not... just a thought.

But - if you can find it - i hear golden peabutter is an excellent alternative to nut butters

I've heard good reviews about golden peabutter, but it can be expensive and hard to find depending on where you live.

Most of the "peanut free" pb alternatives are significantly more expensive per oz than pb, especially since for some varieties you have to factor in shipping costs.

[BetsyS]

I'd have to be pretty desperate to use cloth toilet paper, too. Though I have a friend that does it (just her; her dh and boys don't), and she isn't permanent scarred for life. LOL

For us, what made the biggest difference in budget was changing what we ate. I've always made a list, stocked up on sale items, and tried to watch prices.

But, when I made the switch to simpler meals, with a heavy emphasis on in-season, that's when I saw the biggest difference in my grocery bills. For instance. The easiest meals for me to plan/cook are "separate" meals. This week, I was sick. We had hamburger steaks with onion/tomato gravy, lima beans, roasted potatoes, and sauteed greens. Good meal, not crazy expensive (not steak or anything), but no leftovers for the approx $8 it cost me.

For the same $8, I could have had 2 meals of a sausage/lentil stew, served with salad and bread. You know? Or, especially for your kids, stretching meaty foods like chili by serving it over rice or noodles or baked potatoes. Stuff like that.

We also do breakfast for supper one night a week, and Sunday lunch is always soup. That soup lasts for lunches most of the week as well.

[2xy]

I don't do cloth tp, but it's because I'm lazy and not because I think it's gross.

You gals make me laugh. What do you think people did before the very RECENT invention of toilet paper? I really don't see how cloth tp is any more "gross" than cloth diapers.

[BetsyS]

Originally Posted by 2xy

I don't do cloth tp, but it's because I'm lazy and not because I think it's gross.

You gals make me laugh. What do you think people did before the very RECENT invention of toilet paper? I really don't see how cloth tp is any more "gross" than cloth diapers.

I think it's the idea of it? Also the smell. I recently used sposies for a week (my MIL came to help after I had surgery), and oh.my.word. The smell. Those things are awful.

With my diapers, the smell stays in the diaper pail only, so it seems so much better. I'm just imagining the used cloth t.p. in a bucket on the floor near the toilet. Ugh.

[Denvergirlie]

Originally Posted by Knittin' in the Shade

Have you ever done the SB diet? What is written above is not at all accurate for SB - pork is not limited, nor is beef or dairy. Pasta and bread are notofflimits, just that they should be whole grain. Beans and lentils are also allowed.

Yes, I have. And yes, these items are limited... not excluded, but limited. Of course it is tweaked by every person, the OP already said that pasta is a no-no for her DH. I also assumed that since they are using a lot of turkey bacon, that they limit their pork as well.

SB needs to be tweaked for most folks. I simply can not have bread or pasta, whole grain or not, except on rare occasions. It just messes with my system, I can eat potatoes, rice and other grains. But refined "filler" grains, no some people can just not eat them and maintain much less lose.

[amyamanda]

Originally Posted by BetsyS

I think it's the idea of it? Also the smell. I recently used sposies for a week (my MIL came to help after I had surgery), and oh.my.word. The smell. Those things are awful.

With my diapers, the smell stays in the diaper pail only, so it seems so much better. I'm just imagining the used cloth t.p. in a bucket on the floor near the toilet. Ugh.

You can put a closed diaper pail near the toilet, or something like it. You can have several "dirty bags" and remove/replace them daily. There are lots of ways to make it work.

[mom0810]

Eeew. Eeew. Eeew.

I think adult poop is way more gross than baby poop. I know, I have some OCD issues. LOL But thinking of people (adults) wiping their butts and then that sitting in a bucket and then going in my washing machine. Oh. My. Gosh. No cloth tp for our family. I am just horrified by the thought.

Cloth diapers are great, but again, not something we have used. I think people who do are awesome, but not for me. Sorry.

We do buy recycled tp, if that matters. Trying to be green... but oh LORD, I could not do cloth tp.

[Smithie]

"I shop at Aldi's too and the prices are hard to beat. The individiually packaged chips and such are actually about the same price per serving as the big bags at Aldi's."

Wow. I did not know that. I need to make a visit to my local Aldi's!

WRT cloth tp - I think every family draws the line in a different place. My MIL is horrified by the nastiness that I will clean up with cloth rags. She is freaked by my cloth diapers. But my mom used cloth kitchen rags and diapers, so I am not grossed out by them. (I was and am, however, grossed out by the frequency and quality of the washing of her kitchen rags! She doesn't even HAVE hot water going to her washing machine! I wash my kitchen rags in warm at the very least, and dry them on high.)

Anyhow, I try not to say "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew" about cloth tp because it irritates me when my relatives say "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew" about my beloved cloth diapers - but deep down inside, I can't suppress the "eeeeeeeeeew" feeling. Adult poo and pee are substances I avoid handling at almost any cost.

<--- would not be a good CNA

[Leta]

Re cloth TP: We use both. We use dry cloth for pee, and put it in a close lid step can. Then, for poop, we wipe with regular TP first, and then use a moistened cloth wipe.

Besides the fact that this cuts WAAAY down on paper TP, once you've realized what paper TP leaves behind, you'll either move to some form of moistened butt wipes or shower after each poo. Really.

[sunanthem]

I know that chips and snacks are expensive too. For snacks we do fruits and carrots w/ dip, I buy a bag of popcorn kernels which is super cheap and I can pop them up and add a bit of butter, I bake muffins and cookies for treats too. You can also cut up corn or flour tortillas and spread a bit of butter on them, sprinkle them w/ garlic or some spices, and bake them in the oven to make tasty cheap chips.

[jeliphish]

um why not cut out the expensive as hell south beach diet and get your DH a gym membership???? $1000 is WAY too much for a family of 6. If the Duggars can buy for about 2 weeks on $1000, then a family of 6 can eat for way less. $12000 a year on food??????
We eat great for less than $300 amonth.

examples of our dinners:

salad and loaded baked potato

stoffers dinner (lasagna or chicken enchaladas)

homemade pizzas (you can make 3 or 4 for less than $15)

a whole chicken in the crock pot with bbq sauce and a whole onion can make a lot of tender bbq chicken. Add some grilled veggies and you are good to go.

2 bags of frozen chicken can make a ton of meal options: grilled chicken salads (add bbq or hot sauce), chicken salad, stuffed spinach and mushroom chicken (another meal that is less than $20 for a family of 6)


When DH and I got married he came from a family that had like 4 or 5 sides with dinner and our grocery bill for the 2 of us would be $500 or $600 a month. Once I got him used to the way I grew up (with 1 maybe 2 sides at most and smaller portions) we have cut our food bill and our waste lines!

[sunanthem]

I agree, it does seem like an awful lot. Do you actually use all of the food before you go out to get more? I find when I think we're out of food, we're really just out of the quick and favorite foods. If I do some digging and being creative, I can usually squeeze a few more meals out of what we have in the pantry and fridge. I find also alot of things will go to waste if I don't find a way to use all of it.

[KJoslyn78]

Originally Posted by jeliphish

um why not cut out the expensive as hell south beach diet and get your DH a gym membership???? $1000 is WAY too much for a family of 6. If the Duggars can buy for about 2 weeks on $1000, then a family of 6 can eat for way less. $12000 a year on food??????
We eat great for less than $300 amonth.

I'm not sure where you are from, but location will play a role in some of the cost of food.

Like the OP - i live in the Finger Lakes region of NY (part of why i suggested the golden peabutter - since i know that 1 major chain store carries it). $1000 a month for food and non-food items (which the OP said her budget includes for the $1000) is not all that outrageous for a family of 6. We're a family of 5, and if i included my food and non-food items, we would broach about $800 ($600 on food, $200 on non-food stuff like laundry soap, paper products, diapers since ds outgrew all his cloth, etc).

[EviesMom]

So, OP, it sounds like you're okay financially with $1000/month for food and household products, but don't want to spend more and you're seeing it creep up. It is a different situation than "DH/I was just laid off and we have to go bare bones." I would focus on 3-4 places where you can save money painlessly/mostly painlessly!

First, juice. Juice isn't valuable nutritionally. But, your kids are used to it, and it's not terrible. I would cut back on the juice. Possibly buy bigger containers and water them down in bottles for the kids to take to school instead of individual servings. Or make 2 days a week water days and do that for the kids instead.

Second, essential oils are also pricey, and while some like Tea Tree Oil have cleaning or antiseptic properties, they're not doing the heavy work in cleaning products. So I would cut those back. If it's the smell you like, get a diffuser ring for a light bulb or an oil warmer and after you clean, use a few drops to make the whole place smell good. That should use less than adding it to cleaning products IMO.

Third, I would look through your receipts and find 2-3 more items that you spend the most money on. Are they convenience products like cereal bars? Choice meat cuts? Chips? Do some hunting and see if you can get some of them cheaper somewhere else. I do Trader Joe's cereal bars because they're under $2/box, unlike the grocery store ones that are $4/box. And the TJs, while not organic, are HFCS-free. Or find a cheaper yet similar alternative, like many flavor crackers are cheaper than chips.

Last, I would take a look at your stockpile. Food prices are actually higher right now. You could eat down some of your stockpile to save grocery money for a few months and then re-evaluate.

[jeliphish]

Originally Posted by KJoslyn78

I'm not sure where you are from, but location will play a role in some of the cost of food.

Like the OP - i live in the Finger Lakes region of NY (part of why i suggested the golden peabutter - since i know that 1 major chain store carries it). $1000 a month for food and non-food items (which the OP said her budget includes for the $1000) is not all that outrageous for a family of 6. We're a family of 5, and if i included my food and non-food items, we would broach about $800 ($600 on food, $200 on non-food stuff like laundry soap, paper products, diapers since ds outgrew all his cloth, etc).

Gotcha- I didn't even pay attention to that. I'm in VA which is defenitly much cheaper than NY

[BetsyS]

Originally Posted by EviesMom

So, OP, it sounds like you're okay financially with $1000/month for food and household products, but don't want to spend more and you're seeing it creep up. It is a different situation than "DH/I was just laid off and we have to go bare bones." I would focus on 3-4 places where you can save money painlessly/mostly painlessly!

.

I think this is great advice.

I know that I love to spend money on groceries. So, I spend all that is available every month, whether that number is $300 or $1000. Every once in a while, it's good to step back and evaluate what you are spending.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by BetsyS

I think it's the idea of it? Also the smell. I recently used sposies for a week (my MIL came to help after I had surgery), and oh.my.word. The smell. Those things are awful.

A big deal of the smell with sposies is the chemicals that are in them interacting with the waste.

Originally Posted by mom0810

I think adult poop is way more gross than baby poop. I know, I have some OCD issues. LOL But thinking of people (adults) wiping their butts and then that sitting in a bucket and then going in my washing machine. Oh. My. Gosh. No cloth tp for our family. I am just horrified by the thought.

I do cloth for pee only. We still have paper in the house because DH refuses to use cloth, and like you I have no desire to handle poopy rags. BUT, that's liable to change once we start CDing this little bean. As for smell, I have a covered (metal) can next to the toilet, I wash twice a week, and there is no smell unless I stick my nose into the can (after it's been closed a while)... and I'm very sensitive to smells, particularly now that I'm pg. If I leave the can open, then the rags dry fairly quickly, and there's virtually no smell. I just take the whole can downstairs and dump it into the machine - no touching involved.

As for the OP's problem - I think some clarification is really in order... do you eat turkey bacon because you keep kosher, or is there some other reason? Is Aldis really your only option, or what other stores are near you? What part of the country are you in, and what's the COL there?

I will repeat what has been said several times - seek out other stores to shop at... Costco, restaurant supply, Sam's Club, whatever you have locally that sells in large quantities. Buy your meat in larger quantities (like a half or whole cow) to save money, don't buy "cuts" of chicken, buy a whole chicken - it's virtually ALWAYS cheaper. Buy all your meat on the bone instead of off - it's cheaper, and the bones serve other uses - into the bean pot, or the stock pot (freeze until you have enough), which will save you on buying stock/bullion. Buy cheese, lunchmeat, etc., uncut in blocks. Invest in a slicer, it will really save you a lot of money. I can get a whole roast turkey breast (or a whole raw turkey breast that I roast myself) for MUCH cheaper than cut lunchmeat. With a slicer I can cut it paper thin and make it last much longer than if I used a knife... freeze what won't be used within a week. Cut/shred your own cheese as well to save money. If you do this once/month and freeze the excess, it won't be nearly as daunting as doing it weekly. Buy eggs in bulk also. At the very least by the flat, but by the case if you can manage it. Eggs will keep at cool room temp for weeks, even longer if refrigerated. Growing up we always had a case of eggs sitting on the floor in the kitchen.

If you don't have the time to make bread by hand, then invest in a breadmaker - you can often find one at thrift stores. Find one that makes a horizontal loaf if at all possible. You can save a LOT of money by baking your own bread. If you do have the time to bake bread by hand (get the kids involved), bake a month's worth at once, slice it and freeze it. You can also do a big bake of tea breads, muffins, cookies, etc., which make great snacks and freeze pretty well (freeze cookie dough, not baked cookies).

I'd also skip the prepackaged lunch foods - they cost a LOT of money. Find alternatives. My (big) kid carries a tiffin in a neoprene bag with a cloth napkin, ice pack and real silverware (check thrift stores for mismatched utensils). He also has a Klean Kanteen water bottle. Everything comes home every day. It means more dishes, but it's saved us a LOAD of money - both on plastic bags, and on prepackaged foods.

I'd also work on feeding them more nutrient dense food - they'll eat less of it. Chips and juice have virtually no nutritional value, and an average kid can easily eat $5 worth of them in a day, and still need more food. Since budget is an issue, work on feeding them foods that will last longer and serve them better, ultimately it comes out cheaper.

There are any number of foods that are cheaper to make yourself than to buy, and many of them don't take all that much active time. Granola, yogurt, "lunch"meat, pretty much most things that are flour based (bread, crackers, cookies, muffins, etc.), even things like jam. And your children are old enough to help in the kitchen - get them involved... one day these skills will serve them well, and its much harder to learn them as an adult.

I'd also look into CSA's where you are, as well as U-picks. I cut my produce bill by about 2/3 when I switched to a CSA, and U-picks can give you large quantities of a particular item perfect for preserving/pickling/jamming/freezing for cheap. If you use fresh herbs at all in your cooking, look into growing your own - it's MUCH cheaper. And most of them can be dried or frozen for use during the winter. This is another great skill for your children to learn now.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by jeliphish

um why not cut out the expensive as hell south beach diet and get your DH a gym membership???? $1000 is WAY too much for a family of 6.

Wow. Talk about insulting. Gym memberships are not feasible for many people, and diet usually is a bigger contributor to weight issues than exercise. If he's having success with South Beach, then he should stick to what's working rather than going back to eating a way that made him sick to begin with.

And if you balk at $1000/mo for a family of 6, I hate to think what you'd say to my grocery budget for a family of 2, soon to be 3. Just because it's a huge amount where you are doesn't mean that it's so huge for other parts of the country.

[onlyzombiecat]

I spend about $300 for my family of 3 people, 3 cats and 2 dogs per month. We feed our dogs meat. So for 6 people I'd expect to spend at least $600 a month. The food costs more some places so you might not be able to cut out much from your $1000.

Soup is a good dollar saver.
We save money by buying a lot of store brands.
You might check your portion sizes too on the more expensive items.

Beans- You could soak and cook the beans and then freeze them. Then you don't have to worry about planning. http://www.centralbean.com/cooking.h...ezing%20Cooked

Snacks- can your kids eat hummus? popcorn?
When I did the South Beach diet I ate celery or peas for a snack.

Lunches- could your dc take pasta for lunches or leftover soup?

Meat- I would buy larger pieces like a whole chicken. Cook it and take all the meat off the bones. You can freeze the meat in 1 cup portions to use in stir fry or soup. A ham or roast will also go farther than a chicken breast or steak. If you have to have chicken breast then cut it up and put it in a salad or stir fry. I have fed the three of us with one chicken breast this way.

Juice and milk- 1 cup per day, water the rest of the time

[kay4]

haven't read the whole thread but I am a low carber and my dh and kids don't think dinner is dinner unless there is meat involved somehow lol. We are a family of 6 and spend $500 a month (food and misc like TP, toiletries, cat food) (We are in El Paso)

The most budget friendly things for low carbing that i've found are making up a bunch of hamburger patties in advance for lunch, canned tuna, canned green beans (not as nutritious but quick) eggs. My family loves pasta dishes so I will make some zuchini or green beans to go along with it and have the sauce over veggies instead of noodles. If i make something for dinner that is too high carb for me, I'll also make a salad for everyone and have just salad, or very tiny portion of the carby thing. I agree with staying away from the 'low carb products' They are so $$$$ I buy SB bars once in awhile because i love them and they are quick in the morning for me, but they come out of my 'fun money' Other than that the only special things i buy are 1 carb ketchup (which lasts forever because i'm the only one who uses it) and low carb tortillas which last awhile too. I hope you get some good ideas here!!!!