What's an average grocery budget for a family of 4? - Page 2

[Jilian]

We used to be able to keep it under $400/month for 2 adults and 2 kids (ages 5 and 1) but with the cost of food these days we've been in the $450-$500 range most months.

We stick to only organic for the dirty dozen items and at the least do hormone free milk (organic when we can afford it). We can no longer afford organic meats so we go with the more natural meats and stock up when it is on sale.

[hockeywoman]

We are a family of 6 and spend about $300 a month on food, toiletries, and paper products. We stockpile sales and have a garden with tomatoes, onions, peppers, strawberries. We use cloth for almost everything. We don't do much organic, though. We buy one specific bread (aunt millies), since they don't use HFCS, but we buy when it's on sale. We rarely buy junk foods, but do use Hamburger Helper from time to time. We try to cook as much as possible at home, and I pack sandwiches etc. for kids lunches, and leftovers for DH and myself.

This doesn't include about $100 we spend on eating out each month (1 meal per week).

[JustVanessa]

Getting a bread maker has really cut my grocery bill. We were spending $16 a week in bread (we like good bread). That is $65 a month. Now I buy flour and seeds in bulk and its way cheaper.

[Sonnenwende]

A family of three. We spend between $225-$300 a month. Depends on how much work feeds me or us for free.

We can never get it right with fresh veggies, so we end up buying tons of frozen ones.

There is a bakery thrift store near my apartment that sells bread, good organic bread, for dirt cheap.

We also are lovers of the manager's special bins. Find all kinds of good things in there, particularly meats.

Once a pay period I will sit down with my coupons and sales ads for the two major grocery stores I shop at (only 1/2 a mile away from each other) and match coupons with sales and plan menus around sale items.

I try to avoid going to the grocery store. I save a lot of money just staying the h*ll out of it. I figure, even if I get it for buying milk at the gas station, I still saved money because if I would have gone to the grocery store, there would have been no way I just would have walked out with milk. None. Either I would have saw something or my husband would have, etc. Just no.

[kayleesmom]

we only can spend 50 a wk because of finances. that is for a family of 4

[Sharlla]

$200-$250 for us. No junk food or organics. We just buy frugally and try to shop at places like WM and Aldi's where food is really cheap.

[SAHDS]

I don't even know anymore. Like $800, give or take $200...? We eat a LOT of meat and dairy (mostly organic), but do have a garden and coo/bake from scratch. I really don't know how everyone does it so cheaply.

[CarsonBookworm]

I've asked around to my friends and most of them spend 400-550 for a family of four on groceries.

[justamama]

$2-300 depending on what's on sale. And that's including paper products, shampoo, soap, etc.

[velochic]

About $800. That includes 3 adults because my mom lives with us and a 6 yo dd who is not picky at all. We are on an all-natural diet because we feel better eating good food. I cook almost completely from scratch and we eat no processed foods, so there are literally no coupons out there for me to use. I particularly have a soft spot for things like gourmet cheeses and the more expensive meats (lamb and whole fresh fish, for example) which raises our bill. We buy our beef and pork from a friend by the side once a year, so things like hamburger, steaks, roasts, etc. are not part of that number. Also, we get some of our chicken from a friend, non-certified organic, and those are about twice the cost of regular chicken. Otherwise I get chicken breasts in bulk from Costco.

[Phantaja]

We spend 600 a month for two adults and two boys aged eight and nine. I buy organics as often as I can but I frequently can't remember what's on the dirty dozen.

We eat a lot of chicken with red meat or pork about once, maybe twice a week and I usually cook it for the others and eat a bowl of cereal or leftovers on those nights.

[Sierra]

Wow. This is really interesting. With the rising food costs, we have been having trouble keeping it down to $800, and we shop rather conservatively. Not sure if where I live is just unbearably expensive or if it is because ds has so a number of food intolerances or what?! I am amazed how low some of you keep it. We are a family of four. ds is three and dfd is two.

One thing we are doing right now is transitioning to never buying canned beans. We'll be using dried beans only from now on. We don't eat meat, but we do eat a lot of eggs because it is one of the few foods *both* my kids like that ds doesn't react to. We do try to buy organic, free-range eggs, and we buy from a friend when his chickens are egg-producing. I don't think we can afford the organic, free-range eggs from the market anymore though. We make our own bread.

[wombatclay]

It's all about location and choices!

We have a bread machine, rice cooker, brew our own beer, make our own yogurt and soy milk, the only meat we eat is the "bulk chicken breast" packs, and we don't purchase any fresh veggies because we have a CSA membership (which means we drown in seasonal produce but the overall cost is low). We don't drink cow milk and while we do buy eggs we buy the plain old store brand ones (usually "on sale" for 87-99cents/dozen)

We spend roughly 100-150/week for a family of four in a moderate to high COL region, with dd1 having wheat/corn sensitivities and a specific list of "foods she can bring to playschool". )ur diet is a bit repetitive and I'd love to be able to afford more variety or exotic produce but it's healthy and it's what we can afford. I'm guessing that as prices climb tings will get even more repetitive and portions for DH and I will be smaller, but we'll see what happens!

[kewb]

Right now we are spending $600-$800 a month for our family of four. I started baking our own bread and doing more local/seasonal produce and that has helped keep it down closer to $600. It really depends on what panty items I need to replenish or if their is a really good sale on something. We live in an expensice area.

[theretohere]

We spend about $400 for a family of four. This is for all meals- we don't eat out at all. This also includes cleaners and paper products, personal hygeine stuff, and crayons and whatnot.

[holidaymama]

not to hijack the thread, but for those families of four that spend between 400-500, will you list what you buy and make to eat for the month? What kind of toiletries do you buy?

[my2girlz]

We are a family of 5 and spend about $400-$500 a month. This includes a bunch of organics, paper and cleaning products, and HBA.

ETA: I stock up when things are on sale and combine them with coupons. Here's a typical shopping list for me.

2pk of soymilk
1 gal. of organic milk
organic apples, bananas, strawberries, grapes, carrots, broccoli
loaf of good bread (without HFCS)
2 boxes of cereal
2 bags of shredded cheese
6 small containers of yogurt
1 doz. organic eggs
single serving boxes of rice milk
bottles of water
big pack of Charmin (once every 4-6 weeks)
7th Generation dishwasher detergent
7th Generation dish detergent
laundry detergent
pull ups (once every couple of months)
romaine lettuce
bacon bits
croutons
tortilla chips
tortilla shells (2)
pretzels
organic deli ham

Pretty much everything else is on an as needed basis or when it's on sale. I buy meat when I see it marked down. I shop weekly. I make a menu and it's based on what I already have in the house. What I buy this week might be on the menu in the next couple of weeks. I'll post my menu shortly.

Here's my menu so far.

10/1~fettucine alfredo
10/2~??
10/3~Homecoming game. burgers, dogs, and fries
10/4~tacos
10/5~almond and peach crusted pork chops, rice, broccoli
10/6~chicken marsala over noodles, green beans
10/7~leftovers
10/8~pancakes
10/9~ham and cheese ziti
10/10~cheesy chicken and salsa skillet
10/11~one-pan roast pork with parmesan fries, asparagus
10/12~parmesan-garlic chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli
10/13~??
10/14~speedy chicken stir-fry
10/15~something fast. girls perform at football game.
10/16~??
10/17~??
10/18~date night

[snazzy_mom]

Wow, this is an eye opener. For a family of 5, at most, I can spend about $225 a month. Granted, we can't afford to eat the way I would like but this is the best we can do. I try to stay away from overly processed foods and buy store brand when possible.

This thread made me sad. I just don't know how people do it. We both work full time.

[Drummer's Wife]

when we were a family of four our grocery budget was around $500-600 per month. That probably didn't include eating out, which we used to do a lot. Now that we have 6 people (all of whom eat) we spend closer to $1000 a month but we eat out a lot less often than we did previously. DH still does eat lunch out pretty much every day for work, but he does fast food and can eat pretty cheaply (dollar menu type of food, I know- not so healthy!)

Food is our biggest expense after housing. I do want to get better about how much we spend. I am looking for budgeting ideas, paying more attention to prices/coupons/sales, learning to cook from scratch, eating leftovers, smaller meal portions, etc. With the rising cost of food and trying to actually save money for the future, I'm on a mission to lower our grocery spending.

[justmama]

I have a family of four(one adult, one school age, one preschooler, and a baby on solids) and spend $244 in food stamps monthly. We do organics when they are on sale for the baby and we do have wic so my guess would be $300 a month or less total with everything wic buys.