So what did you spend on groceries in April?

[ExOfficia]

At the end of March I invested in a copy of Quicken to (finally!) begin tracking my spending and create a budget.  I'm SO glad I did, as I really didn't have a good picture of where my (little) money was going.  Anyhow, I generated a report of all my different categories, and for groceries, I spent $576.49, for a family of one adult, and two kids (9 and 10).

This amount includes all toiletries, cleaning products, etc.  Basically anything consumable.

It was very eye-opening to do this.  I had some very, very lean weeks this month, and I made a conscious effort to spend less.  My goal had actually been to keep it between $300-$350.  Scary how far I was off, and I didn't buy much meat at all :(

When I looked at my receipts for what brought my total up, it was pretty easy to see.  First, there was Easter- and I hosted a dinner.  Plus, there were chocolates and candies for the egg hunt.  Second, I did a detox for 12 days, which required me to buy a lot of organic and other things I don't normally buy.  Pretty much everything I bought this month was organic.  I do make buying organic a priority, but usually I buy only the dirty dozen (which I'm much better at remembering now that I keep the list in with my coupons when I do groceries!) so that was a big difference.  I also just had to restock a lot of staples I don't buy frequently.

That all said, I'm hoping May will be more in the $300-$350 range.  My pantry is pretty well stocked, and there are no big holidays like Easter.  I'm also pretty sure my CSA (already paid) starts delivering early season things like salad greens.

How did everyone else do this month?

[happysmileylady]

I keep a spreadsheet to track my spending and savings with copuons and sales and such.  These numbers include all pet food for 2 large dogs and 3 cats, as well as dipes for two kids, and all toiletries and paper products like tp etc.  My family is myself, DH, and my 3 kids (ages 15, 2, and 7months.)

Total Shelf Cost:			$  827.85
Total Coupon Savings:			$  151.50
Total Discounts:			$  222.25
Total Savings:			$  373.75
Amount Paid (after rebates):			$  475.65
Savings Rate:			45.15%

[ExOfficia]

Wow, happysmileylady...that is amazing!  I shop the sales and use coupons, but I've never tracked exactly how much I've saved that way-I'm so impressed and inspired :)

[Alyantavid]

$217.  That's everything we use in the house except pet food for my family of 4.

[happysmileylady]

Originally Posted by ExOfficia 

Wow, happysmileylady...that is amazing!  I shop the sales and use coupons, but I've never tracked exactly how much I've saved that way-I'm so impressed and inspired :)

Thanks! :-)

I am HOPING, for May....to spend NOTHING.  The ONLY exceptions will be milk, eggs, and some fresh produce for snacking on.  I actually started a blog to track it,

http://thespendnomoneychallenge.wordpress.com

So, those April numbers include some prep work for that-going through my stockpile and looking at what I am going to run out of, like sugar, and getting enough to cover me through the month.

The savings tracker spreadsheet I use is something I found through the moneysavingmom.com blog.  And she posted the link from another blog, that I can't think of at the moment.  But if you go to www.moneysavingmom.com and put savings tracker spreadsheet in the search, it will take you to the post with the link.  Once you get it downloaded, you just enter in the information from your receipts when you get home (I do it as I nurse the baby since she apparently must nurse the moment I get home, even if she just ate five minutes before.)  It does all the calculations for you.
 

Originally Posted by Alyantavid 

$217.  That's everything we use in the house except pet food for my family of 4.

Now that's impressive! You must have a great stockpile at home!
 

[crunchy_mama]

Mine was up this month due to buying bulk of beef this month.  Since I had extra expense there I kept the other spending as tight as I could.

Total-$800

Breakdown-
1/3 Beef- $550

Azure-$90
Some produce and bulk

Produce-Nuts- Dried Good Goods $160

[Ruthiegirl]

Ready for a shocker???

$1443.00

We live in Sweden where food prices are 30-40% higher than the US.  We shared housing for part of the month and I was responsible for feeding 17 people for 2 dinners and 1 lunches, so that jacked up the price a bit too.  But really, we spend much, much more on food here.  We do eat meat, dairy and eggs and lots of produce which is expensive here.  I shop the cheapest stuff I can and cook everything at home.  

$1000 a month is very normal for us.  

[Sharlla]

roughly $400.  just the end of the month we spent $80 but we got a ton of produce and we spent $30 of that on 30 tubs of hummus lmao

[nolansmummy]

For a family of four we spent roughly around 650$, but this was a low month actually, because we ate out quite a bit :(

[Amys1st]

I spent $495 in April. But that is low low low because, we went away for 6 days. So the week before, I used up all the fresh stuff and didnt go to the store much because we were leaving. So it shaved some $$ off. But we arrived back on the 29th and the fridge and pantry were bare so I shopped for everything on Friday to stock up. I am usually at $650 a month, that includes are beef and pork purchase factored in every month.

[laohaire]

We spent $626.23 and it makes me want to cry. No, it doesn't include anything but food; dish soap and toilet paper and cat food is another category.

Our usual budget is $450 and this year with rising prices I've really not been able to keep to it anymore (it's been the same budget for years, but I haven't gotten a raise in a long time).

Last month we stopped feeding DD crap like cereal and frozen pizza and macaroni and cheese. We spent more than we would have to because we were trying different things, and not all of it was well used. I am hoping very hard I can keep it to $500 this month. Thankfully our CSA starts in the last week of the month, so that should help.

[ArtsyMomma]

For a family of two adults, four children (8,7,3,1) I spent 768.96 on food. Just food. Not pet food, not household items. Just food. That # was a lot bigger than I expected. We got pizza one night, and DP took me out one night, the rest of the meals were at home. I was a bit shocked by the number, because I had thought I did rather well! I meal planned and everything! I would love that # to be smaller in May, but my stockpiles are getting low.

[honeybunmom]

Looks like $993 for a family of 4 including a newly pregnant me with a sometimes ridiculous appetite.  And this includes stocking up on some sale meats on Friday, so, I actually feel kind of good about this!  And we also participate in a weekly organic produce CSA and monthly natural meat CSA.

[redvlagrl]

We spent about $800 but DS had a large birthday party (about 30 kids and adults). Normal is $700 for 2 adults and 2 kids, 2.5 and 1. But we are in Canada so it's quite expensive. We rarely eat out.

[BetsyS]

I track mine by 2 week cycles, so for the last 4 weeks, I spent $423.  That's for 2 adults, 3 small children (1, 3, 5), all meals eaten at home.

[aussiemumma]

we are in Australia and our food prices must be much higher here than in the USA. If I spend $1000 a month that is great. Normally it is around the $1300. We have two children in diapers and we eat mostly organic. We also have my brother here at the moment living with us, so another mouth to feed adds up. We don't eat red meat and we only eat minimal organic chicken and fresh fish.

C

[tinuviel_k]

I spent about $875 this month, $770 last month, and $825 the month before that. (I also set aside $50 per month to be used in the future for bulk fruit, 1/4 beef, and bulk pastured chicken from a great local farm). We are 2 adults and one 7 year old, but we also have people over for dinner at least every week. We buy all non-processed and organics, and it tends to drive things up a bit.

This month was higher than usual because the farmers opened up the first weekend in April. I went a little bit overboard in my rapture. ;-) I've also been job training in the evenings and on weekends and have had to rely on more expensive convenience foods. I would like to get down to a solid $700 a month, not including my $50 "food savings" every month.

[laura163]

$627 for a family of 4 for just food.  My parents were visiting for Easter so there are some things that they bought that isn't included in that number.

[sunnysandiegan]

Eating: Food

207.57

322.40

475.67

334.45

That is January, February, and March (all final totals); plus most of April (missing anything spent on last Friday and Saturday; which may be $0). DD & I were camping with Girl Scouts and there was food in the house for DH. April does include a little extra for that camping trip and another one coming up this weekend; roughly $25 total. I haven't finalized April's finances, yet. Our budget is $350 per month in food (not dining out; not household items). March was high because our CSA bills quarterly and it was due then; plus DD's birthday was that month. We had a party here (extra food) and I cooked her a special dinner for a small family dinner party (special ingredients that cost more than a typical meal + more people to feed). Averaged out for the entire year (rest of the months set at $350), we are under budget and doing well.

[mamaofprincesses]

$426 for two adults and four small children (well, one of them is nursing, but I eat more because of that!) Includes household products except for diapers.