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What's your grocery bill like  

post #1 of 17
Thread Starter 
I had been thinking ours great, but with kids getting bigger...home for the summer and increase prices, I realize we spend alot on food. Probably $600/month (including paper and cleaning goods) for a family of 6. It could easily climb to $800/month. We eat out at a minimum and I cook from scratch 80% time. We generally do very little convenience type foods (ok frozen pizza and mac/cheese for dh when I'm working).
What do you do to cut your expenses.
post #2 of 17
5 people in our family-2 adults, 1 teen, 1 almost-teen, and a 3 year old.

We spend about $300 a month, including paper/cleaning products (which we don't spend much on...maybe $20 a month IF that.)

We eat at home 6 out of 7 days a week.

I think we keep it as low as we do because we don't eat alot of meat. Meat seems to be the biggest consumption of a grocery budget, IMO.
post #3 of 17
$200/Month I was thinking about getting on WIC again now that milk prices are going up and DS2 is weaned now, that will cut out about $50 a month from that.

This is what I do to keep costs down

Make a menu
Buy only what is on that menu
Buy items that are on sale if its something I normally use a lot of
buy generic
shop the cheapest stores ( I go to Aldi's, Food for Less, WM)
take advantage of price matching
Shop only once a week (this prevents impulse shapping)
post #4 of 17
$600 a month for 6 people doesn't sound bad.
I really agree with making a menu. I find making a plan for the entire month saves more than planning for a week at a time, because you can buy more bulk items and plan out how to use them all by the end of the month. But even planning for a week is good.
Also keep your meat consumption to a minimum. I think I have one meat dish planned for the whole week, the rest is veggie versions of dishes that are normally meaty, like lentil shepard's pie. The lentils were what, 54 cents a pound? And ground beef would have been something like $3 a lb, so you see there's a big difference. When I buy meat it's usually a whole chicken (78 cents a lb.)
I know I spent less than $80 for a week's worth of meals.
post #5 of 17
Thread Starter 
We'll apparently I've considered all the options since I seem to be doing what you guys suggested, good to know. I plan out our menus in advance. Becuz of gas prices I generally only shop once every 1-2 weeks.
We won't be giving up meat any time soon. I like it and so does dh, but I do buy it on clearance and inexpensively at Aldi's. i get whole chicken rather than skinless, boneless breast, I usually can find a whole chicken for $.49-.69/lb. We go through about a gallon of milk/day. :
Does anyone use coupons and find they save? I shop Aldi's and Walmart so I can't imagine getting much less.
I'm streamlining my cleaning stuff and going to bonami and vinegar for most stuff.
post #6 of 17
Our grocery budget is $500/month for a family of 7--that includes 6 and 8 year old boys and 3 and 5 year old girls, plus a 9 month old and then dh and myself. That number does not include cleaning products or the like, just food. It also doesn't include eating out.
post #7 of 17
We spend about $300/month for a family of 5 including paper supplies, cleaning stuff and pet food.

We are vegan so meat and dairy are not a part of the budget. I cook from scratch almost all the time, we rarely eat out.
post #8 of 17
I notice that when I buy convenience foods and meat, our grocery bill goes up A LOT. This past week I bought granola bars, pretzels, crackers, cereal, juice boxes and bakery items (buns, etc), as well as some meat, and it really increased our grocery bill. I shop once every two weeks. Over the winter I was averaging about $80/week for our family of 6. But my last two grocery trips I spent $260, or $130/week. Some of the increase was due to buying food for entertaining, but I can't blame all of the increased expense on picnics and parties.

If I needed to cut back, I'd probably cut down the meat or go completely meatless (I've been a vegetarian for 5 years, but I'm slowly starting to introduce meat back into my diet), skip the processed snack foods, and do ALL of my own baking. I do make my own bread, but I need to get better about making all of the buns and crackers that we eat.

Already, I'm feeling stupid for buying the granola bars, cheese & crackers, and other snack foods. I bought them because starting this week, we have 5 sports practices/games each week, and I wanted to have convenient snack foods. But I haven't wanted my kids to get a sugar high, so I've been bringing veggies to snack on (carrot sticks, slices of green peppers, cherry tomatos, peapods, etc)- and my kids have been more than happy with that. Why in the world did I think I needed "regular" snack stuff? Oh well, live and learn...
post #9 of 17
We are close to $200 for a family of two but we are all organic in this household. I have $300 budgetted but rarely use that full amount, but keep it in the budget for the few months a year I find a great deal and can stockpile on specifc items.

I before I started stockpiling, my budget was much larger, but I've become a much more savvy shopper. Last month the only things I bought was about $75 for milk and some produce, had everything else stockpiled.
post #10 of 17
We spend right around $400/month for groceries and household stuff (including disposable diapers, baby wipes, cleaning & paper products, pet food, etc.) for our family of 5.

I buy generic everything, and it saves us tons of money. Buying store brand diapers & baby wipes saves us nearly $50/month.

I only go to the store once a week. If I get home from the store and realize I didn't get something we needed, we just wait until the next week.

I meal plan the night before my grocery trip and stick to my list exactly when shopping.
post #11 of 17
We're a family of four (two adults, one teen boy, one toddler) and budget $200/month for groceries. Our grocery budget doesn't include cleaning supplies (other than raw materials) or paper goods.

We're in the process of eliminating paper goods. We use family cloth instead of toilet paper and I bought cloth handkerchiefs to replace the paper tissues. I bought a large lot of used towels to use in place of paper towels. I use cloth menstrual pads.

We make most of our own cleaning supplies. I use a kitchen spray consisting of Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap, borax, vinegar, tea tree oil, and purified water. I found it works better than a 409 type cleaner. We use baking soda as a scouring powder and to clean the bathtub. It works well in the toilet if you keep it up regularly. For the outside of the toilet I use the same spray that I use in the kitchen. The raw ingredients (vinegar, borax, tea tree oil, baking soda) are pretty inexpensive and I usually only have to buy them twice a year.

One way we reduce our grocery bill is to eat less meat. We cook a lot of dishes that have meat as a minor player (soups, stews, stir-fries, etc). We eat veggie meals twice a week - beans/rice are a fav here as are bean burritos.

We also take care to try and limit our produce purchases to in-season fruits and vegetables. We'll stock up when prices are low and can or dry them for later use.

We buy our meat in bulk from local farmers. Each year we buy 20 chickens and either a whole hog or half hog, depending on finances. It's a large investment of around $500 depending upon market prices, but ends up being quite a bit lower than buying from the supermarket.

ETA: Forgot to mention that DD has a dairy allergy so most of our meals are dairy-free, although the guys do consume about 1 gallon of milk & some cheese weekly. We drink only water, tea, and coffee as beverages.
post #12 of 17
We are as much organic as we can afford (and always the "dirty dozen fruits/veggies). We buy from a sustainable agriculture (and they use only organic processes, but can't be called organic yet) farm that is 5 minutes from the house.

Including anything and EVERYTHING you can buy at a large grocery store, we have a budget of $150 per week. I try to keep our bill under 100 per week.

We are a family of 4: two adults, one 4 year old, and one learning to eat. When Ryan is in school (special needs preschool), we must supply a box of snacks per month. We always supply an all natural product. That is included in our budget as well. Even movies we buy are included in this budget. We are omnivores, so there is way too much meat on the grocery list. We use little dairy as Ryan has an issue with it. We buy few substitutes though. We make our own "ice cream," but frequently buy some processed foods (mostly organic/all natural, and all fruit popcicles).

Am I spending too much at the grocery? I wish I could keep my bill under a $100 a week. It's getting better now that we're using cloth diapers.
post #13 of 17
For our family of three, we average around $100 a month. Some months we spend $300, other months only $20 for fresh veggies and milk. We stockpile when there's a good sale, buy only in-season produce, shop with a list, meal plan, cook from scratch most of the time, buy in bulk for certain items. We buy very few certified organic items, although the fruits and veggies are usually grown organically. Vinegar and baking soda are considered part of the food budget, but other cleaning supplies, like EO's, aren't factored in.
post #14 of 17
I spend about 200 a month on food for the both of us, an adult and a tiny toddler. Organic milk is the killer. I think I spend between 30-45 a month on organic milk alone. For two of us. Yes, we both like our milk.
post #15 of 17
We spend on average $250 for the four of us, three dogs and two cats. That includes everything but the occasional meal out (once a month, about $30).

So, you are spending about $3.34 a person per day and we spend about $2.34 per person including eating out and everything else. Really $3.34 is pretty good. I figure this dollar a day difference might be the area we live in, or the fact that I have access to dirt cheap groceries at discount stores, a garden and a local farm market/farms. We also do not buy much organic, although I would love to. I try to buy organic fruit and milk on pay day, but when it is gone it's gone and we are back to regular items.
post #16 of 17
I think that $600 for 6 people is very reasonable and if it fits in your budget, don't let it bother you! That is only $25 per week per person for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks and all paper products. That is right about what I try to spend for our family of 3 although I have a hard time keeping it that low. It often climbs to about $33/week per person.
post #17 of 17
we probably pay $200-$300 a month in groceries for a family of 4 (dh. me, dd age 2, and ds 5 months). it really depends on the month because i have a really good stockpile. this includes food, cleaning/paper products, diapers/wipes (i'm so far behind on laundry as it is that even though i'd love to do cloth, i just know i cant right now), health/beauty care items, cat food/litter, etc.

we're vegan, and we do eat some of the vegan convenience foods (boca burgers, fake hot dogs, vegan cheeses, silk soymilk, etc). i would love to do more whole foods, but i feel overwhelmed right now with the kids, housework, getting ready to move in a few months, and working part time. so i just dont have the time i would like to prepare meals from scratch. we eat some organic, but its too expensive for us to eat more. dh likes the vegan convenience foods, and i notice that when i have those in the house, i'm less likely to find a taco bell receipt in his car. (dh also likes to buy energy drinks and other things like that. he's a grown man, so its not like i can tell him "no, you cant have this" like i tell my 2 year old, kwim?)

i am a heavy couponer, and our grocery stores double coupons up to $0.99. i match coupons to sales and buy in bulk. the cashier often says to me "so, you must like (item i'm buying 20+ of) a lot." i rarely buy something that's not on sale and/or without a coupon.

one of our friends told us about an awesome mom n pop store about 5 minutes from me. everything is dirt cheap. (if i think its cheap, its cheap.) many of the things are discontinued, an off brand, or are going out of date or will be soon. when they get silk yogurt in, i buy about 10 cases. but a case is only $3 (and it has 12 yogurts!). it lasts for about a month after the "sell by" date. they also have good produce that is less expensive than any of the grocery stores (super wal mart included).

i do a lot of rebates. rite aid has an awesome rebate. i get stuff like toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, hair color, for free after rebate. often, i have a coupon for the rebate item and i end up making money on it!

last summer, when old navy discontinued their "ON body" line of soaps, shower gels, etc i bought almost everything they had once they were marked down to $1 each. i got soaps for $0.25 each. (on body was made by kiss my face.) or, i get a bunch of lotions when bath and body works has a really good sale or coupon. (about once a year, they have a coupon for a free product with any purchase. "any" meaning i can buy a $1 soap and get a $13 lotion free.)
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