Realistic Grocery costs for family of 6

[Mama_Leah]

My husband gets paid weekly and we are trying to start putting a small amount into savings, probably about $100 a week. We have normal bills (no cable or cell phone), our van is paid for and most of our clothes come from thrift stores. We eat out less than once a week and really the only way I can see how to cut spending is on the grocery bill.

We shop weekly when we go into the City and usually spend around 150-170 dollars but this usually includes household items as well, not just food. At one point about a year ago I was able to keep it at about $75 a week but my kids are eating more now and I am trying to buy more healthy food, some organic but not a lot. I do most of my cooking from scratch.

I've gone over it in my head and I just can't come up with a way to trim our grocery bill without resorting to buying "crap food" from Save-a-lot! My kids seem to have hit that age of being "starving" all the time!
Anyone have any suggestions on how to cut back? Is our grocery bill in the range of normal for 6 people?

[Benji'sMom]

I think what you're spending now is already really really good for 6 people! I could spend that much on the 3 of us if I didn't pay attention to sales and stuff, so for 6 people I don't think it's bad AT ALL.

[A&A]

Prices have really gone up lately!!!

[Mama_Leah]

Originally Posted by A&A

Prices have really gone up lately!!!

I know! I went to grab a bag of frozen blueberries and they were almost $6!! Luckily they went back down a couple of weeks ago, I don't know why they were so high that day. Milk is outrageous though, we have cut way back on dairy.

[greenluv]

I got my grocery bill down to @ $125 for all 6 of us. For us, my largest outlay of cash is for fresh produce which is like $70 of my weekly spending. We don't use a lot of reg. milk, so I can get away with only using 1-2 gallons a week unless cereal is on sale that week and then I go all out with coupons and cereal buying. The kids like to nom on cereal if I have a bunch of it in the house.

[lilyka]

I think you are doing great! That is about what we spend on a family of 4 with only one adult.

[Nursingnaturalmom]

we spend about $500 a month on food and another 50 on household things for the month. We have 6 people in our family. My kids are 10,6,4 and 2.
Chandi

[~Megan~]

I think that's great. Its about what we spend on 2 adults and 2 kids.

As for cutting down buying in bulk and stocking on sales can make some difference. If you have space, time, inclination, and talent growing a garden and preserving food can help cut down costs especially if you grow organic foods. Your kids can probably help too depending on age.

[mamasee]

Do you have a vegetable garden? That saves lots of money on fresh produce. We also planted blueberries and fruit trees. They take longer to produce, but I can't wait to put my own blueberries in the freezer for winter treats. We also buy flats of berries at the farmer's market and freeze them. Or, you can find the "pick your own" places.

[Adamsmama]

I think that sounds about right too. We spend $150-170 now per week that includes our trip to Costco and to the grocerystore or whole foods store. We are a family of 5. If we had to not buy any groceries for a week, though, we could survive. I keep the pantry full of things to cook from scratch and even some prepared items in the freezer. Maybe look into your pantry and freezer (if you haven't already done that) and find food to make that you've been storing (again, if you are like me and even do that). I tend to buy in bulk and have some extra left over at all times.

[KariM]

I think you're doing fine.

We spend $450/month for a family of five, but one of those five is a breastfeeding infant.