I spend $75 per week (actually $150/ 2 weeks) For our family of 4 Includes all food, paper products, laundry soap and other cleaning supplies. My biggest 2 things are I plan my menu's for 2 weeks before I shop. AND I rarely buy any meat except chicken, sausage patties, and cold cuts. We used to raise a beef calf or 2 but my dh is a hunter and he gets us all the deer we could possibly need. I use it ground in any dish that would use ground beef. I season it well and we cant tell the difference, Except I am totally grossed out if I have to use store bought meat b/c it is so greasy. I also hate draining meat and with our deer or beef we dont have too. My typical weeks menu would include Mon- Meatloaf, mashed tater salad Tue Chili and cornbread Wed- Left overs Thurs Chicken Monteray rice and veggie Fri- Quesodillas Sat - Poor mans steak and rice Sun- Fajitas For lunches, we have soups, sandwiches, leftovers, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese canned fruit, applesause, fresh fruit. Veggies with dip something simple. For breakfast, eggs, omelettes, cereal, waffles, french toast pancakes oatmeal etc. I also always pay cash for groceries.
I've started making and freezing stuff for breakfast. I was at the store one time when they had two big bags of Rhodes Bread Rolls (72 count) for $2 each, discontinued. I picked up both bags, and made some into Calzone-type things with sausage, gravy, and potatoes. Then I froze them. The kids LOVE them! They will set them in the refridge the night before, and stick them in the microwave in the AM. I also freeze "McMuffins".
We have stores around here, I am sure they are other places too - where you can buy discounted items because they are dented or something simple. There are several stores like that here and that is a big savings for us. For those of you around here in Pa you should check them out. B&B's is one that is run by Amish. Sharp Shopper - http://www.sharpshopper.net/ Amelias - http://www.ameliasgroceryoutlet.com/ Also some have mentioned angelfood ministries. My membership just expired so I put that on my Christmas list for my MIL for BJ's wholesale club to buy in bulk. I am a BIG coupon person and look for deals. CVS is another place I shop. If you get their card and use coupons you can save big. I never buy toilet paper, cleaning supplies, laundry, ect. without a coupon. When there is a sale I stock up. I have many people give me their left over coupons. I think I am known as the coupon lady at my co-op. I started asking a few ladies to bring in their coupons when they were done instead of throwing them away. Many started and now during my free time at co-op I clip coupons. Then I look in the paper for the sale ads and try to match up with my coupons. My Dh teases that its more of a hobby. LOL
I second and third Angel Food Ministries. It's hassle free (read: no income requirements or paperwork) and quality food. No food pantry rejects there. You can view this month's menu and find a participating location by visiting their website. There really is no catch. Just $25 buys a large box of food that, in theory, could feed a family of 4 for a week. December is a great month to order. The box is especially good and the special boxes are amazing.
We spend roughly $600 a month for a family of 5. That includes all our groceries, household goods, personal care... everything. I do better when I shop at the dollar store rather than Wal-Mart. I buy all our groceries at Brookshires because they're cheaper and have better specials and better perishable food than Wal-Mart. I've been lazy lately and bought a lot of snack foods, that has to stop. I have several friends who do the angel food thing, I think I'm going to start, it's such a good deal. I save more in the summer because we have our own fresh veggies and some fruit. I also hate having to buy meat. We are going to start fattening another calf soon and I can't wait, it's soooo much cheaper and leaner. I'm also after dh to buy a pig to fatten up. We used to have chickens, I want to get some more. We go through at least 2 1/2 doz a week. I would also love to have a milk cow, we drink 2-3 gallons a week. Lisa
We have considered buying half a cow. We've got a meat market right around the corner from us. They always have a good sale going on; right now, I can buy Chicken Tenders for $1.99/lb. I'm also going to buy a whole sirloin, and have it cut into steaks. Oh, and my Great White Hunter took off for his cousin's place in Southern Ohio. They own half a mountain. His aunt owns the other half. Gun Season starts tomorrow. Hopefully, he'll fill up half my freezer with venison!
We spend up to $200 a week for food, household items, cleaning supplies, and pet supplies, for a family of 4. I pull out $120 each week for groceries. I almost never spend the whole amount & what ever is left goes into the gas tank. We mainly do our shopping at 2 stores, Walmart & Aldi. Almost all of our food comes from Aldi. Every once in a while, I'll pick up something at Hilander that aldi doesn't have. We also get some of our household stuff at Aldi, paper towels, q-tips, wipes, dryer sheets, dd's shampoo, conditioner & body wash. At Walmart we get pop for dh & me, laundry detergent, toilet paper, cat food, litter, shampoo, conditioner & body wash for the rest of us (I'll start buying ds's shampoo & body wash at Aldi when he no longer needs the no more tears stuff), printer ink, pull-ups, etc. Depending on what we need that week, Walmart could cost as little as $50 or as much as $100. I make most of our breakfast food & freeze it, so everyone can have whatever they want for breakfast (pancakes, waffles, breakfast burritos, etc.), and my dh takes leftovers for his lunch. I also use some of our leftovers to make other meals; if we have a roast, I'll use some of it to make beef stew, chicken might get used to make fried rice. I make some of our bread myself, it tastes better than store bought and extra loaves can be frozen. Webuy some things in bulk like paper towels, toilet paper, large bags of cat food, big containers of litter, and the big bottles of hand soap refills. $200 a week for all food, household, pet, and personal needs isn't bad. Before I started shopping at Aldi, our grocery bill had gone up to $200 a week, and that was just food. But at Aldi, I can spend as little as $80 a week & have enough food for all of us for a week.
Chickens? Or eggs? :lol: And LOL at Jackie's half a cow, half a mountain, and half the freezer... just struck me as funny.
DaLynn, I'm sure it's because I only use half of my brain, lol!!! When I say I spend $200 every two weeks, that also includes pet food (two large dogs!), hygiene stuff, paper products, cleaning products.
I haven't looked at all the pages of this thread... We are a family of 5 (the kids are 8 and under, so no teens yet). We budget $160 a week. This includes all food, paper goods, diapers, wipes, etc. This also includes if the kids and I eat out once a week. Of course, with my Celiac, eating out for me is REALLY difficult...so we don't eat out much at all. I usually make it okay. I do menu plan - well, I plan out 7 meals, and buy for those dinner meals and make sure the ingredients are on hand....but I don't make in a specific order. I pack hubby's lunch most days and make him breakfast, too...to save on eating out. We just went thru something similar a few weeks ago and couldn't figure out how we had nothing left! When we sat down and figured it out he was spending close to $200/mo on eating out just for him between breakfast and lunch. SO...we're trying to make sure he eats breakfast at home most days and eats out no more than once a week for lunch - and even then make sure he tries to eat at the subsidized lunch room. Anyway...things that help me are Aldi - we love their stuff and it's so cheap! And we have a local deli/meat place that if you buy 10 lbs or more of chicken breast - boneless/skinless...it's only $1.69-$1.99/lb depending on the week. They also have great deals on deli meats, and other meats as well. I take my $$ out in two week increments and usually spend the most the first week buying all the meats and stuff for 2 weeks. The leftover pays for perishables the following week. Like I'll spend $220 the first week, and only $100 the 2nd week. I try to squeeze every dime out of it! I'll post some of my cheapy dinners to see if that will help you...
So we just went shopping and $160 later, we'll be good for atleat the week on the fresh stuff. I bought costco sized beef tenderloins, hamburger, chicken and fish that will last atleast for the month. We bought tons of veggies and I just spent the last hour cutting them up and putting them into baggies, now we can just have ready to eat snacks! I'm excited about that because that is our biggest problem...we're so hungry that we "need" to go out which has resulted in a bunch of weight gain. So I'm very excited to see how this also helps our pocketbook and our weight!
my bulk supplies have been dwindling and we planned to hit up the bulk store on the way home from visiting the inlaws over Thanksgiving....well, two huge shopping carts and $170 later, I'm stocked! I have tons of beans, whole grains, flour, grits, dried fruits, popcorn, nuts and seeds....should last us for months and I'll do some baking for presents, too. I still had to get some fresh stuff (fridge was bare, too) and that came to another $130. I'm doing some meal planning today- I should be able to get a weeks worth of complete meals and another couple of weeks where I'll just have to buy produce, eggs, etc. I'm planning lots of soups and I hope to refine my veggie burger recipe. I did notice everything was a little bit more.
I think gas prices have a lot to do with that. After I planned my grocery list for this week, I'd have to say I'm closer to $115 than $100. I'm not really buying anything different than usual, but prices have got up a bit.
Jackie, we buy whole porkloins and beef loins, we cut them into pork chops and steaks our selves. Saves money that way. We don't have any butchers around here...... if they cut for free I guess its a good deal.
We are a family of 6. We can make it on $150 a week. I don't really know how we do it but we do. We do buy the meat that is in the 40% off bin at the grocery store if they have anything in it that we can use and we use our leftovers to make other meals. Actually Hubby does that. I'm not creative enough in the kitchen to come up with those sorts of things. Like last night we had NO FOOD in the house because I hadn't been to the grocery store yet but my husband found a way to make turkey and dumplings from the left over turkey and it was AWESOME. He even made the dumplings himself without a recipe and used the giblet gravey as well so NONE of the turkey dinner went to waste. The other day for lunch he made turkey and ham tacos. I didn't think they would be good but they were so yummy!! He cut the ham and turkey up into small pieces and placed them in the frying pan warmed them up and then added some salsa.YUMMY!! Some of our best meals come when we think we have nothing left in the cubbords.
That is so true. I used to feel bad when I just threw stuff together, but DH would always compliment how great the meal was. :lol:
Ours varied from 75.00 to 125.00 I run a daycare too so sometimes a week is higher than another if stuff is on sale and I buy 2 of something. KWIM? We eat pretty simple for example hamburger gravy on bread tacos hamberhelper i cook alot from scratch also.
Yes, they will cut their loin for free! There's a Farm Market near my parents that sells cheese/lunch meats for about $3.00/lb. But with the cost of gas, I can't afford to go there too often!
I have a family of 5 and we spend about $150 a week. There are times I spend more but that is always due to poor planning. Now, that includes food, paper products, diapers, dog food, and cleaning supplies. I plan my meals for the week. I know I could use some of the tips from some of you who spend way less than me. I need to spend less! lol. I have saved by not buying snacks and making things from scratch. I need to continue those improvements. I am always trying to cut down my bill. I have stopped buying organic frist. Started that but can't afford it. So, now I pick and choose. However, in the same light, I have saved by not buying alot of unhealthy items like crackers, cookies, sugary cereal, etc. so, I am still a work in progress.
