How much do you spend on "household" stuff a month?

[Just1More]

I feel like my usual budget for "household" is far too high, but I'm struggling to shrink it (even stay within it, for that matter).

I have 1000 a month to work with, and that includes anything household...food, light bulbs (etc), dog food, clothes, shoes, gifts, postage, tolietries, laundry, home-schooling, gymnastics tuition, eating out, misc. stuff that comes up, etc. Basically anything household related (as in, not the garage or the vehicles). I don't have to pay for gas. And no official bills either.

So, is that a lot? We're a family of 5, by the way.

Oh, and I spend about 500 a month on food, I'm guessing. What do you spend? Is that a lot?

Keep in mind that we have to be mostly gluten-free, and don't eat beans.

AND my dh is very active with a very high metabolism. He eats 5000-9000 calories a day. When it's just me and the kids, I can make one chicken last 3 to 4 meals. When he's home, one chicken doesn't make the meal...and he'll be hungry later...

Talk to me...

[Satori]

I have 1000 a month to work with, and that includes anything household...food, light bulbs (etc), dog food, clothes, shoes, gifts, postage, toiletries, laundry, home-schooling, gymnastics tuition, eating out, misc. stuff that comes up, etc. Basically anything household related (as in, not the garage or the vehicles). I don't have to pay for gas. And no official bills either.

The red stuff is optional and can be cut, the blue stuff can be gotten/done cheaply. I don't think we've spent more then $50yr on homeschooling and all our clothes are hand me downs, thrift store finds or super cheap clearance like $2 or less prices. Toiletries I use coupons and sales for and get them nearly free or free. The only thing I pay full price for is $3 bar soap at the health food store because its the only one that doesn't give me a rash and it lasts at least a month it seems.

Were a family of 3 and were all gluten/dairy/soy/nut free and we rarely eat beans unless its winter then its usually in something like chili or taco's and its half meat anyway, the beans are for flavor not filling. (we like black beans)

A lot of household stuff can be gotten really cheap, like I picked up 4 packs of CFL light bulbs on sale at the health food store a couple months 4 for a $1 so 16 bulbs for $1, that will easily last a year. I make it a point to get 80% off everything and stock up to last us until the next sale/coupon combo.

Learn better shopping habits and coupon usage at sites like www.hotcouponworld.com and www.afullcup.com tolieteries should never cost you more then pennies. I even got a 9 month supply of toliet paper for free using coupons I hear Kmart is having a sale and I can get Angel Soft Toilet Paper (4-pk.) &
Sparkle Paper Towels (3-pk.) for a total of .44 cents with a coupon. (we rarely use paper towels but you have to get them to use the coupon and I can trade them with someone else)

Anyway, I do pay rent and all the bills and everything else, after I pay rent I have $100 to pay everything else, phone, internet (need for school for dd and I), gas, electric, clothes, meds, household stuff, diapers ect. I can't fathom having $1000 a month disposable income I get $498 in food stamps a month and that is wayyyy more then we need, about $150-200 gets spent on $$$ GF goodies and convenience stuff and general keeping the freezer/pantry stocked.

anyway, is there some medical issue why your DH needs 9000 calories a day? (you don't have to answer, just something to think about. The only time I've heard of someone needing that much is when they have something like CF) That is insane, baring any medical issues it sounds like he needs to get used to eating a lot less (your stomach gets stretched out and its harder to feel full) and add a lot more fat to his meals to help him feel fuller after eating.

[LilyGrace]

Originally Posted by Just1More

I feel like my usual budget for "household" is far too high, but I'm struggling to shrink it (even stay within it, for that matter).

I have 1000 a month to work with, and that includes anything household...food, light bulbs (etc), dog food, clothes, shoes, gifts, postage, tolietries, laundry, home-schooling, gymnastics tuition, eating out, misc. stuff that comes up, etc. Basically anything household related (as in, not the garage or the vehicles). I don't have to pay for gas. And no official bills either.

I would need a budget to be more broken down. Saying "household" is one category and throwing all that together would make my head spin! I don't know if your budget is too high. I think it's comparable to ours, but we live in different areas.

500-Food/toiletries
300-personal items (clothes, allowances, classes, shoes, fun money..)
100-gifts
100-homeschooling

Broken out like that for us, we can see how much we're spending where and decide if it's too much. Gifts and homeschooling are rollover categories that accumulate until we need to spend. $300 for personal items seems high until I count up all the sports and other things that go on here, and then it's a right bargain.

So, I don't know if it's too high or not, just that it's easier to see the numbers when you know what it's actually being spent on.

[DavinaT]

The same as a poster above I would break that down into smaller categories as I would find that easier to work with.:
Category 1 : Groceries to include food, light bulbs, dog food (we buy it by the sack) toiletries and laundry, which for us basically consists of washing powder - basically what you can buy at the supermarket.
Postage doesn't apply to us
gifts and things that come up we deal with as follows.
Category 2 : I add up all the one off expenses that come up annually, car tax & insurance, home insurance, gifts, holidays, car servicing, health & eye checks etc and that sum I divide by 12 and put into a seperate account, so the money is there to meet the expenses as they come up.
We can't homeschool as niether of us are qualified teachers/educators (you can't teach here - even your own children after a certain age unless you're state qualified) so I can't help on ideas of expenses for that
Category 3 would be discretionary spending and clothes, shoes, gym tutition and eatign out would come under that category and for me that would be the first area I would try to cut. Then, try to cut the budget as far as groceries /food is concerned.

Having categories probably sounds very boring but it works for us so that';s why I (I am the bugetter and cook :-) ) stick to it.

[Just1More]

Well...we rolled it all into one category because our expenses seemed to flex so much that it was hard to divide out the money. No category was equal each month. For example, dh travels a lot. So, one month he may be gone nearly all of it, and the kids and I eat for pennies. The next month he's home the whole month and my food budget goes through the roof. And I also travel alot. It's WAY more expensive to feed us on the road than at home. The logistics can be ridiculous with a kid who can't have wheat...and no easy way for me to slice food or keep it cold. So, I take out 500 cash every two weeks and work from that. When it's gone it's gone...

In answer to two questions...My dh is a very active Marine. It's common for him to run 10-20 miles in a day, several times a week, do a 10-30 mile hike, and all of the push-ups and pull-ups in between. And he has long days and short nights. So, in spite of all the fat for fuel and salt for hydration, he just needs food. He's 170 pounds, and can easily drop 10-15 of that at a school or something. I'd say, on a low end day, he probably consumes about 3000 calories. A high end would be 9000, no problem.

The second is to clarify that I don't drop a lot of money on all the stuff I listed, and I don't pay full price either ($5 is ALOT for me to spend on one item of clothing for the kids, for example), I was just listing several of the items that go in that category for comparison's sake.

Thanks for the suggestions at whittling it down, though. Something has got to change. It's not so much that we can't afford it, it's really not a big deal at this point in our lives, but more that I feel appalled when I look around me and see the waste of our society. I WANT to teach my children to be minimalists and not waste things, and I want our life to reflect that.

I don't buy anything pre-packaged...I cook entirely from scratch (snacks...nuts, dried fruit, cheese...I don't make). I rarely buy paper products with the exception of toliet paper. I buy lots of things local. Just for more clarification about where I'm coming from.

So...I guess I'm curious (and you all did explain, thanks), what is a common budget for "household" for a family of 5?

[SuzyLee]

To me, just off the cuff, 1000$ is not unreasonable, but it is definitely not frugal. But if you can afford it and still save, and it works for your family's budget, then fine.

If you are having trouble making payments in other areas or carry debt like a CC, then I would say it is time to cut some things down a bit.

[SuzyLee]

Also, jsut curious, with your DH in the military, does he get fed on-base during the day? If so, can he take a second helping at lunch? I am not sure if military food is actually edible but I would be encourageing my DH to fill up on the free stuff if he can

[Chicky2]

I spend approximately $600/mo for food for a family of 7, but we raise and butcher our own meats, or butcher pigs that my moms dh traps. That cuts down our budget quite a bit. Plus we garden and raise chickens (eggs). I cook mostly from scratch. Household items I include are toilet paper, shampoo, soap, laundry detergent,lightbulbs, batteries, dog and cat food. I'd say I only spend $50/month on that stuff, and not that much every month, either. Feed for our rabbits, chickens, guineas, and goats is separate, but comes to about $65/month, sometimes a bit more.

[Just1More]

Dh can't eat more at work, lol. His job doesn't work that way. When he's in the field and gets MRE's, it comes out of his pay, so...he may as well eat the healthier stuff I make.

Keep it coming...

I'm feeling motivated!

[Alyantavid]

We're a family of 4 and I spend $300-$500 a month on groceries and household stuff. I lump it all together so I'm not sure how much isn't food. That doesn't include dog/cat food, clothes, eating out, shoes, gifts or anything else really. Just food, laundry stuff, toiletries.

I make almost everything from scratch and stock up during sales.

[annethcz]

Like you, I think it's easier to have a catch-all 'household' category in my budget. It includes most of the same things that you listed- clothing, shoes, gifts, kids' activities, toiletries, light bulbs, toothpaste, postage, etc. It doesn't include eating out or entertainment. My household budget varies but is anywhere from $250-500/month. Eating out/entertainment is generally $150-350/month. Our grocery budget for a family of 6 is about $500/month.

[slsurface]

Originally Posted by Alyantavid

We're a family of 4 and I spend $300-$500 a month on groceries and household stuff. I lump it all together so I'm not sure how much isn't food.

I make almost everything from scratch and stock up during sales.

We are a family of 3, very active people. We spend about $400/month on everything that is not a utility bill (fuel for the cars, food, meds, co-pays, pet supplies, toiletries, everything...). The biggest way I cut out costs are:

1) eat meat only a couple times a week
2) make all food and snacks from scratch
3) never eat out
4) thrift, thrift, thrift for any "needs"
5) never shop for wants, only needs
6) buy flour, beans/lentils, rice, and such in bulk (http://www.clnf.org/)
7) make all my own cleaning and bathing supplies
8) grow veg in garden and volunteer at a CSA for more veg
9) make my own gifts
10) use the web for homeschooling resources
ETA: 11) drive less and walk/bike more

I realize that this isn't for everyone. I would be spending more on protein in our diet if I could. But right now money is very tight and I don't get any food stamps or other assistance to help out.

[Delicateflower]

We spend that for a family of four. It includes gas and everything discretionary that's not a class or preschool. The groceries part is $600, everything else (not utilities or preschool/class) is $400. It's pretty generous for us, the only budget buster is insurance copays if we have a busy time (like, nine copays in the last month), then I can't shop at the Carter's outlet that week.

My two tips for cutting back are divide it up more, and use cash.

I can think of two ways to even out varying expenses. When your husband's traveling, does he use the grocery money for traveling expenses? I roll my money from week to week. Each Friday I go to ATM and get the money, and if there's left over from last week it adds on. Would taking money out weekly rather than two-weekly work better?

[Youngfrankenstein]

I have a family of 5 and I spend $860 per month on food and have $250.00 for other. It sounds like the same "other" you have.

I am a huge believer in spending good money on good food. That is where a lot of money goes. I spend more for organic meats but I'm also not buying cases of pop tarts.

[completebeginnings]

We are a family of 5(soon to be 6) and currently spend $300 a month on food. And $100 a month on household stuff(tp, lightbulbs, cleaning stuff,thread etc.) Wish we could do more. We used to spend $500 on food and it was so nice but we had to cut back. I am so jealous of everyone who qualifies for WIC or food stamps. We are about $150 a month too much money. Classic middle trap. It really sucks.