What do you spend on groceries. - Page 3

[dachshundqueen]

What's wrong with using what you have? I'm sure you have stuff on hand to make a cake. It's all those little trips that add up. Just don't go or go but with DH in the car and take a list or cash only to keep you accountable.

Liz

[mbtmom2000]

We spend between $500-$550/month for food and household supplies. This includes 2 Adults(who take leftovers), 2 children and 1 puppy. We live in a lower/middle COL. I do not include eating out two times monthly in the total . That amount is normally less than $50 and included in our entertainment budget. We shop Costco for the bulk of our pantry and meat needs. I pick up the rest at Super Target or at Publix. I make a menu plan and shop every two weeks. We buy a few convenience items like 100% juice boxes(Apple and Eve), cheese crackers, and granola bars, but for the most part, meals are made from scratch.

[hjrowan]

Originally Posted by mom0810

sigh... I post this all the time and keep trying to do better, but for us (2 adults and 2 children) it's at LEAST $1200 a month. That's more than our mortgage and car put together. It's huge. But no matter what I do, that's the lowest I can get it. Sometimes it's $1600 or more. I don't know how some people get it so low... I really just have no idea.

Yep, I'm afraid this is us too - although the average last year was $1000/month for 2 hobbit-sized adults and a toddler - it pains me to write that down! We live in a high COL area and tend towards TF (all organic animal products, including some raw milk and cheese), and most foods are made from scratch, including baked goods.

At this point I'd like to get this down to $800/month but I'm not sure where to start considering most food is from scratch. I had a garden last year (and will again this year), made a year's worth of pickles and preserves, froze a small freezer full of fruit, bought a share in a grass-fed cow, and keep a small stockpile/pantry of basics (grains/beans).

I use coupons when they're available for the foods we buy, if something's on sale I buy in bulk and got a breadmaker for Christmas so we don't have to get the $4 to $6 whole wheat loaves at the supermarket: yet food is still our major non-fixed expense. *Sigh*

[mom0810]

dachshundqueen wrote: What's wrong with using what you have? I'm sure you have stuff on hand to make a cake. It's all those little trips that add up. Just don't go or go but with DH in the car and take a list or cash only to keep you accountable.

Liz

Well, that's just it. I don't HAVE anything...LOL No cake flour, no sugar, no butter... it's all used up! No eggs... shall I go on? We just go through it and I have to keep replacing it all. I bought yogurt for the boys last week, it was all gone in two days. So I will have to get yogurt, too. They eat. And eat. Nobody's overweight at all, quite the opposite... but they are growing by the minute... ds grew 4 inches in the last part of last year! So I just keep buying food.

And cash isn't an option, we don't carry cash. Ever.

[CookiePie]

We are a family of 4, 2 kids 2 adults, but my 12yo eats adult portions. We spend about $400/month on food.

Some things that I have done to both lower our food bill & allow us to incorporate more organics. I make lots from scratch. I make our yogurt weekly we easily eat a half gallon a week! If you have a cooler you can make yogurt so cheap & easily! I shop at certain stores for certain things based on price. Finding the best cheapest sources for the things you use a lot is time consuming at first but so worth it when you lower your grocery bill & get better food at the same time! Going direct to the farmer can be cheaper, if you get a few families together to order in bulk.

Use the bulk bins at the HFS &/or Whole Foods for organic dried beans, rice, oats, barley, quinoa, popcorn, cornmeal. You have to compare costs between the bulk & packaged stuff as well as from store to store to see the best place to shop. My grocery store charges an insane amount for organic bananas while my HFS charges $.99/lb same as the conventional bananas at the grocery store. Dried beans are way cheaper than canned & no worries about the chemicals in the cans lining. I make big batches & freeze in glass jars & defrost as needed. I make a batch of hummus weekly, all from organic ingredients!

We eat oatmeal & eggs most days. I have an egg share from organic free roaming hens, they are delivered to my door & if I told you how cheap they are you wouldn't believe me. I do keep cereal in the house for the occasional quick breakfast or the occasional soaked grains pancakes, or smoothies, but eggs & oatmeal is our usual daily breakfast.

Lunches are packed for the kids to take to school hummus, pita & veggies a fruit & yogurt, are the typical. But sometimes PB & J, egg salad, tuna, a veggie hummus wrap, a garden salad, or leftovers like, soups, stews, homemade pizza, chicken salad.

Snacks are fruits, trail mix, yogurt, granola, cheese, crackers, veggies, smoothies.

Dinners vary but we try to do lots of soups & stews at this time of year, We only have a couple of meat dishes a week, usually one chicken & one venison. This way we can afford to get only good organic pasture chicken, I have a source of free venison so I usually skip the beef all together. Pizza is homemade, sauces & stocks are homemade.

Eating out is very limited at this time of year when funds are lower. We try to utilize restaurant.com when they have 80% off certificates to get the best bang for our buck.

It is always a work in progress, I'm really wanting to start making our own bread, tortillas & pitas since those items add up & it isn't easy to find good bread without additives. I've done it in the past but have got lazy with the baking! We have a freezer in the basement, so when staple items go on sale I'm known to stock up! I do keep a price book but I'm not real good about updating it.

[mauri456]

we spend around 650/month on groceries and another 250/month on eating out/lunches at work for dh, myself, and one child (aged 2)

i'd really like to get it down. the first area we are working on is the eating out. we both work FT and so sometimes you just fall behind with the cooking. its usually more takeout then eating out, but my goal is to greatly reduce this.

i think our grocery budget has some room to go down too. but, i try very hard to only do organic dairy/meat/some produce. so i dont think that it will go down too much. but, there are some areas to work on!

[dsaucone]

We spend about 130 and visit the store about 3 times a month. About $400. Kids are 3 and 1. We shop the outsides of the stores.

Soymilk for the kids and I. 1 Gallon cows milk for dh when onsale for $1.69/gallon.

[lucifugous]

I will break down our current living situation as best I can. When it was just my ex and I living in the city (and me pg), we shot for $400 but had a hard time sticking to it- that is for groceries and some household things. When DD was eight months old I moved in with my mom in the suburbs, before which she was spending about $350/ month for herself and the cats (who get a can of food every day in addition to as much dry as they want). After I moved in, we spent about $450-500 (baby was still nearly EBF). Then my brother came home from school and the bill shot up to $800 for the three adults and this is JUST groceries. Over the course of a few months we got it down to the $500-650 range. We generally aim for four dinners at a time when planning because we don't determine the exact order they will be in and we need fresh veggies for most meals. We buy organic for apples, potatoes, celery, and other high-pesticide foods, but only about half of the leafy greens we get. We had trouble getting our schedules in sync, I try new recipes more often than she would like, and she uses more processed ingredients than I prefer. My mom had surgery and I took over the planning and prep for a few weeks.. and then she decided that she was sick of trying to meal plan together. So in January we have supposedly separated our planning and shopping and it's a mess. I will be able to stay within my $280 EBT budget, even with them eating a good chunk of what I prepare, but overall there is a lot of confusion and waste.

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by hjrowan

Yep, I'm afraid this is us too - although the average last year was $1000/month for 2 hobbit-sized adults and a toddler - it pains me to write that down! We live in a high COL area and tend towards TF (all organic animal products, including some raw milk and cheese), and most foods are made from scratch, including baked goods.

At this point I'd like to get this down to $800/month but I'm not sure where to start considering most food is from scratch. I had a garden last year (and will again this year), made a year's worth of pickles and preserves, froze a small freezer full of fruit, bought a share in a grass-fed cow, and keep a small stockpile/pantry of basics (grains/beans).

I use coupons when they're available for the foods we buy, if something's on sale I buy in bulk and got a breadmaker for Christmas so we don't have to get the $4 to $6 whole wheat loaves at the supermarket: yet food is still our major non-fixed expense. *Sigh*

Food is our biggest single expense period. We spend about $600-700 most months (it does vary widely). I try to be frugal and use the resources I have the best I can, but I feel we eat like kings (grassfeed beef, organic dairy and coffee, lots of good veggies, and occasional local beer). Eating healthy and tasty food is important. We could easily spend less and not be hungry, but eating well is an important value to our famiy and I don't worry about it too much even if it as a percentage of take home pay would be pretty hard to take for a lot of people.

[Freedom~Mama]

I would say $600 a month on food (fs, wic and a bit of cash), $30 on househols products and about $20 on petfood.

[Freedom~Mama]

BTW we are a family of 4 (2 adults, a 3 yo, and a 5 yo).

[columbusmomma]

Originally Posted by mom0810

I do that, too columbusmomma, and just today I see I have to run for sugar, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. And I know I will see some other stuff there I need. Plus dh's birthday is Wednesday and i have to get him a cake OR make one... so that will add up.

Adding that I spent $270-something on Friday... and will be back there again tomorrow. So you see how it goes... no matter what, I just can't seem to save money on food.

I hear ya Momma! I can think of at least 4-5 things I need today but am not going to the store b/c I want to make it through the day without shopping!!! I just can't win.....

[hjrowan]

Originally Posted by mnnice

Eating healthy and tasty food is important. We could easily spend less and not be hungry, but eating well is an important value to our famiy .

Ditto - I needed reminding. We might spend a lot but eating well is part of our value system, and I don't feel that I'm profligate!

[justmama]

We are a family of four(one adult and a 9, 5, and 2 year old) and we get $403 in food stamps and that enables us to buy organic produce and a few treats here and there. And if we do really really well for a month or two and have extra I take the kids to whole foods for lunch on a weekend and let them pick out some of the cold prepared foods like burritos or salad bar and eat there for a treat.

[Reebekah]

we are a family of 5 (me, dh, 4yo, 2yo, nursing infant) plus 1 dog. we try to spend under 400/month on EVERYTHING....and usually we are able to accomplish this goal. just a few things we do to keep costs down....buy in bulk, day old bread from bakery at discount prices, angel food ministries, fruit/veggies from small local market, coupons/sales, some meatless meals, packed lunches, no expensive drinks like soda, shopping stores like aldis, etc. i dont buy meat for more than like 1.99 lb.....i wait until it is on sale and then buy a bunch and freeze it.

sample diet might be:
b-fast - any combo of eggs, fruit, yogurt, toast, cereal, bagels, oatmeal, pancakes.
lunch - sandwiches (pb/jelly, egg salad, tuna, grilled cheese, toasted tomato), leftovers, soup, etc.
dinner - usually a meat/veggie/bread combo of some sort.....today we had cranberry angus roast done in crockpot with stuffing and salad....yesterday was tropical chicken done in crockpot with green beans and garlic toast....etc.

this amount does not count eating out. lately we havent been eating out at all because i just left my job to be a sahm and our income is cut in half...and the weather is too bad to leave the house anyway. when we do eat out, we try to keep it between 10-20 for all of us.....like ponderosa buffet where kids can eat free, we order water with lemon, we use our AAA discount card, and we will fill up on the bufffet and take our steaks home for the next day....all $20 ;o)

[mom0810]

I would love to take a stroll through the grocery stores where people are going and pay $400 a month... even $600 a month! I know that where I live, food is really expensive and I have had several other people tell me that. But I still would love to compare prices in a lower COL area. It might even make me want to move! LOL

DH and I paid $600 a month on food before we had kids. That was from 1999-2005. I am sure it actually crept up over time, didn't just happen right when the kids came, but I can remember that was our "budget." Now it's more than twice that. I do know that food prices have gone UP a considerable amount, to near double on some things, and that coupled with the fact that we have two preschoolers who eat their weight in food it seems, means we have a much higher bill.

I also do buy convenience things, like frozen pizza, to have on hand, but it's not like I am buying 20 of them! So I guess it's just a matter of COL, or really COFood. I am just floored that people can get away spending so much less and I am convinced that it's as much to do with location as it is frugal spending.

[Alyantavid]

Ok, I went to Fred Meyer last night to pick up a couple things. It's a few towns away so either dh goes after class or we go if we're going there for some other reason. I only bought some items that were on sale for a good price.

4 6-packs of English muffins $1 a piece
bananas $.39/pound
probably 10 apples $.59/pound
2 cartons of rice milk $1.67 each
bag of chips $3
supplement $9ish

The bananas and rice milk were organic, the rest weren't. Apples are super cheap around here this time of year and my kids love them so we eat alot. Fred Meyer always has organic bananas on sale. The muffins and chips aren't the greatest, but the boys all love egg sandwiches and well, I sometimes need a bag of chips.

I'll go to our small local grocery store today to pick up some other things they have on sale. And then we won't step foot in another store until at least next week, depending on the sales. But we shop sales well enough that we're pretty stocked.

[JamieCatheryn]

$500/month, family of 4-5: 2 adults full time and 1 more part time, 1 child and 1 infant.

Meal planning, using whole foods, 93% from scratch, very little organic, homemade household cleaners and body soap, shopping weekly.

[BetsyS]

I don't know.

I do know that I shop several different stores, in different parts of the city (if I'm near a certain store, I'll stop). My friends that only shop one store spend more, but they also spend less time grocery shopping. Usually, those friends don't think of cooking/grocery shopping as fun, though, but as a necessary chore. For me, it's really fun, so I don't mind lots of stores.

For instance, I shop at an ethnic store that is crazy cheap for produce. Right now, limes are 10/$1, apples are $0.49/lb, eggplant is $0.59/lb, mushrooms are always $2/lb. The meat is decently priced, seafood is the freshest in the city. "Regular" groceries like oil and sugar and flour?? Way over priced, though. So, I don't buy those things there. And, I mentioned the store to some friends recently, and they were surprised that I'd go there. It's in a marginal area, but not scary, so it doesn't bother me. Obviously, it bothers them. It's also about 30 minutes from home. No big deal for me, but a big deal for them. My kids are little, though, and they think it's a big treat to go there because they have fresh tortillas to sample and fish in big tanks to stare at.

If I didn't shop there, I'd buy less produce or spend more. No question about it.

Also, right now, I'm out of ground beef, and no where has had sales in a good while. So, we're eating MUCH less ground beef. Lots more chicken (which has been on sale), roasts, if we have tacos they are lentil and rice. Instead of ground beef twice a week, we're having it once every 2 or 3 weeks, and that'll continue until I find a good sale. It just hurts me to pay $2.99/lb instead of the $1.50/lb I can find on a good sale. So, I don't. We eat other stuff instead.

Same with anything. If we run out before another sale, we eat it very sparingly, if at all. There are very few things that I will pay full price for. Maybe mayo. Staples, like rice and beans and flour, that rarely go on sale (but even then, I'm kicking myself for not buying enough at the last sale). But, never crackers (we'll eat cheap saltines instead) or yogurt (I'll make homemade or we'll do without) or granola bars (I'll bake a different treat) or you get the idea.

[mom0810]

4 6-packs of English muffins $1 a piece they are 2.50 here ON SALE
bananas $.39/poundmore than double that here
probably 10 apples $.59/poundsame
2 cartons of rice milk $1.67 eachdouble that here... sometimes triple
bag of chips $3$4 here
supplement $9ishof course this depends.