How much do you spend on groceries?

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Around $300/mo for 5 people. I make everything from scratch, including baking bread, homemade yogurt, etc. We eat veggie occaisionally because meat is expensive–a nice pot of read beans and rice with some cornbread, or a veggie/pasta meal. It helps. No name brand anything. No eating out. Hard, but doable.
 
Teakafrog said:
Around $300/mo for 5 people. I make everything from scratch, including baking bread, homemade yogurt, etc. We eat veggie occaisionally because meat is expensive–a nice pot of read beans and rice with some cornbread, or a veggie/pasta meal. It helps. No name brand anything. No eating out. Hard, but doable.
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Teach me your shopping skills! I have shopping and cooking envy!😃
 
Do you have an Aldi near you? it’s a discount grocery. We don’t buy EVERYTHING there, but butter, milk, and eggs are WAY cheaper there. You ahve to pay cash or you have to use a debit card…they don’t take credit because it’s a fee. They do whatever they can to keep costs low…often only 2-3 people working at a time, you put a quarter in to get your cart and then you get it back when you return it (don’t have to hire people to round up the carts)…little things like that.

When we strictly shop Aldi for everything except produce (sometimes you can get good produce at Aldi…but sometimes not…) we spend $35-50 a week on groceries and that is for a family of 5 and a cat. Granted, my kids don’t eat a huge amount yet, but I’m still encouraged at the selection and prices at Aldi for when they hit their growth spurts. 👍

What we’ve done also, in addition to changing where we shop is getting cash out of the ATM at the beginning of budget period (used to be every other week, but now that one of us gets paid each week, it is weekly). The cash is put into envelopes…one for grocery. When the money is gone, it’s gone. It helps us prioritize…milk, eggs, bread, peanut butter are items that we don’t run out of, for example.

We also use this with our gas…even with the prices of gasoline these days, we have tamed our budget using the cash envelope deal. We got the pumpstart card from the gas place we like to go to, so we can pump the gas and then go in to pay. I know this is aobut groceries…but just giving an example of how we have gotten a handle on our budget by just always paying cash.

I guess the short answer is that we spend roughly $250 (on a lean month) or $300 (on a better month) on groceries for our family of 5 plus the cat.
 
I must second the Sam’s or Costco idea. Our Sam’s is $35/year. I buy all our meat there, our milk just when we are there (we have a monthly trip to Sam’s for diapers and meat and chicken and the rest of our grocery trips are to the discount grocer). I really think we get the value of the membership early in the year even…steaks, ground beef, pork chops, all that stuff is so much cheaper at Sam’s when you buy in bulk.

We separate the ground beef into 1 lb. freezer bags for use later. Same if we get steaks or something. One of their big steaks is usually enough for our whole family to eat anyway.
 
for 2 of us–and we both eat different things and different times and do our own shopping and cooking for the most part.
I spend about $80 at the grocery store when I get paid (once a month), but that covers paper products, toiletries, cleaning supplies etc (which all seem to come out of my check) and I spend about $20 a week for fresh foods, I eat out 2-3 times a week, senior meals, under $5, and at work eat food from home or lean cuisine, 5 meals at least per week. I also order a shipment of about 70 lbs of grass feed beef and poultry once a year, which covers most of my meat for 9 months. depending on the mix it works out to $2-3 per pound for edible meat.

DH shops twice a month, spends about $40, mostly on bread, PB&J, fresh fruits and veggies and snacks. He eats out 4-5 times a week, bean burrito, loaded baked potato, or fish sandwhich. he does not eat meat but will eat fish if I cook it (and pay for it).
 
I spend about $125/wk on my family of five. I don’t buy stuff that the kids eat through in no time. I find that the more boring the food that I buy, the more it lasts and the less I spend.

I’ve also found that just avoiding processed foods and foods that have a lot of sugar/corn syrup, etc…my kids are actually better behaved. So, kind of a win-win.

If I could get it back into my schedule to hit the farmer’s market once a week, I know I could save a lot and make some great meals. Still looking for some ways to balance my time now that I am working full time.

Planning meals for the week and looking at the prices on the shelf and going for what is cheapest seems like the best way to save. I stopped shopping at Costco about two years ago, and find that I save a lot of money by not going there.
 
jrabs said:
Teach me your shopping skills! I have shopping and cooking envy!😃
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Well, when we moved here a couple years ago and I became a SAHM for the first time, I had no choice! 😛 I had to learn to cook and shop better. Necessity is the mother of invention! I had some good basic cookbooks like the Fannie Farmer cookbook and More with Less cookbook by the Mennonites. I just learned by trial and error. We only had a certain amount of money per month, and it HAD to stretch over the whole month. You learn quick that way! 😉
 
I avoid the “discount” grocer’s in my area due to their questionable health record.

Target has very good regular prices on national brands and they take coupons.
They also have the best prices on alot of dairy products for my area.
 
idrum677 said:
I avoid the “discount” grocer’s in my area due to their questionable health record.

Target has very good regular prices on national brands and they take coupons.
They also have the best prices on alot of dairy products for my area.
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My Target offers a limited amount of groceries, and that is where I head when I want to pick up a few things, because their prices are great.
 
dulcissima said:
My Target offers a limited amount of groceries, and that is where I head when I want to pick up a few things, because their prices are great.
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I don’t have a full grocery target either. The one I go to has a decent food section. The best prices on mac and cheese!😃
 
My best tactic is to plan all my meals aand snacks for the fam make a thourough list and stick to it!!! I cook from scratch and I used to hate to bake but lately some things I like to bake and try to keep deserts for the weekend. Someone else mentioned not buying snacks kids will eat quickly- that is something I thought of today becuase my three kids ate two boxes of granola bars in 3 days!!!
Looks like lots of dried fruits,nuts, and yogurt for my kids. They wont be to happy about it. Gmarie- you must live close to me becuase I shop Caputos too, and I know there is only 3 of them- You have good luck with thier meat??
 
I try to keep it under $100/wk for 6 kids (2 teenage boys :eek: ) plus Hubby and I.That’s with 3 kids packing school lunches every day,and I don’t have a Sam’s membership.
I shop mostly at Kroger as they double and triple manufacturer’s coupons and give me extra coupons since I’m such a good customer (I think they are called “loyalty coupons”).

First thing I look at when I go to the store is the clearance tags on things like produce,bread,yogurt,milk,and meat.I get good deals there and either freeze or use them right away. I also have a certain price threshold that I will pay for certain items.For example,I will not ever pay more than $1.67 a box for name-brand cold cereal.I limit that further by only buying those with 10 or less grams of sugar/serving.The kids may have one bowl of cereal at breakfast and if they are still hungry,may have toast or fruit.I don’t buy a lot of “junk” so that helps there.Oh,there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when I decided to cut out the junk 2 years ago,but they are used to it by now.

I don’t ever pay more than $2.50 a gallon for milk (that’s the best I can do these days) and will buy plenty when it is on sale and freeze it.We go through 4-5 gallons a week so I check prices carefully.All dairy and produce prices are at record-high prices for around here.

I spend too much of my time and money at the grocery store anyway.
 
petitfleur said:
My best tactic is to plan all my meals aand snacks for the fam make a thourough list and stick to it!!! I cook from scratch and I used to hate to bake but lately some things I like to bake and try to keep deserts for the weekend. Someone else mentioned not buying snacks kids will eat quickly- that is something I thought of today becuase my three kids ate two boxes of granola bars in 3 days!!!
Looks like lots of dried fruits,nuts, and yogurt for my kids. They wont be to happy about it. Gmarie- you must live close to me becuase I shop Caputos too, and I know there is only 3 of them- You have good luck with thier meat??
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Actually there are six Caputos and I usually shop at the ones in Addison or Bloomingdale (even though, when I move, I won’t be near one, so I’ll have to just buy the produce on my way home from work). I know that there are other markets that are owned by the same owner (closer to where I’m moving) so hopefully their choice of produce and meat will be excellent too.

I LOVE their cheeses and I have think their Italian sausage is the best around (even though Jewel’s brand is pretty decent too). I have eaten their chicken, pork loin roast, and ham and they cook up (and digest 😃 ) nicely. I had purchased some steak of theirs but had to throw it out after that storm in August knocked out our power for a few days so I can’t report on it’s quality. Their fish is also top notch, imho. I do think that their bakery needs improvement, but that’s in comparison to the excellent Italian bakery my family has been using for years. If you knew anyone in my family,they’d tell you about my obsessive love of Caputos (I get such a high from shopping there and saving money on quality products). Did I mention, I love Caputos? 😃
 
kenvinsgirl,

My husband and I live in a pretty expensive area, but I’ll give you my grocery shopping rules.
  1. Make a list. Keep it around and update it when you’re about to run out of something, not after. This will cut down on shopping prices.
  2. Buy 12 of anything that’s on sale for a really good price and won’t perish (especially items that are going to be discontinued, they can be more than 50% off). Don’t need 12? It won’t go bad, so buy it anyway.
  3. Look for sales on items you use frequently and then refer to rule #2 even when you have not yet run out. Maybe there’s a sale one week that will be gone by the time you’re running out of the item.
  4. Buy in bulk on items like meat, and even butter, when its on super sale and store in the freezer. You’d be surprised what you can fit into even a small freezer with some creativity.
  5. Figure out which stores have the best prices for which products and shop several stores.
    –Trader Joe’s has great prices on bread (including some great pita bread!), chips, nuts and dried fruit.
    –Whole Foods is a bit more expensive, but for us, living with my husband’s food allergies (corn, soy, etc.), it is a lifesaver. The items that are Whole Foods’ brand, called 365, do not have corn syrup in them and are cheaper than the equivalent. For instance, their ice cream doesn’t contain corn syrup but is less expensive than Turkey Hill or Breyers ice creams that also do not have corn syrup.
    –Like others have said, Target is a great place to find some really low prices. Their gallon jugs of Motts apple juice is 2/3 the price of the grocery store. And always, always buy cleaning products and bulk paper products at a Target-like store. It’s so much cheaper, and if you keep an eye on how much you have left, you won’t be picking up those kinds of items at the last minute at the grocery store.
Oh, and a note on coupons. Only keep and use the ones that make sense for you. There’s no point in getting pulled into buying something you don’t want just because you have a coupon. And if you have a pile of coupons you won’t use, you might miss the ones you would use in the mix.
 
I forgot to mention that you can sometimes cook more than you will eat in a meal and use the leftovers for lunches. I, personally, like sandwiches for lunch, so my husband and I will cook a whole chicken and use the leftovers or sometimes will cook up some extra seasoned chicken breast, etc. It’s cheaper, healthier and tastier than lunchmeat.
 
unless you are very disciplined, plan very well, and can keep kids out of the pantry, stay away from Sams and Costco. if DD buys a week’s supply of something it lasts a week. If she buys a month’s supply, it is gone in a week. exception is icecream because SIL got smart and put a lock on the freezer
 
puzzleannie said:
unless you are very disciplined, plan very well, and can keep kids out of the pantry, stay away from Sams and Costco. if DD buys a week’s supply of something it lasts a week. If she buys a month’s supply, it is gone in a week. exception is icecream because SIL got smart and put a lock on the freezer
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This is exactly the problem that I run into with 4 kids. I have even tried keeping snack foods in the garage or in my car. My kids go through it too fast. This is why I avoid buying in bulk. It costs me more in the long run. I guess I could keep it safe here in my office, but that would be a huge inconvenience. Sticking to boring foods is the best solution I’ve come up with. I just buy a small amount of treat type food.
 
puzzleannie said:
unless you are very disciplined, plan very well, and can keep kids out of the pantry, stay away from Sams and Costco. if DD buys a week’s supply of something it lasts a week. If she buys a month’s supply, it is gone in a week. exception is icecream because SIL got smart and put a lock on the freezer
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lol about the lock on the freezer.

I try to spend $200-$240 a month for 3…except the 3rd person is the G and she’s all mama’s milk. She eats random stuff off our plates every once in awhile.

Both my parents and IL’s live nearby so we shamelessly take them up on any dinner invite and bring leftovers home with us. 😃

I do not buy snack food. Ever. No chips. No pretzels. Nada. Saves a ton! If we want to snack, there are veggies or fruit. I found that DH would eat a whole bag of chips in one sitting. What a waste. He’s not hungry, he’s just eating to eat. So I stopped buying it 🙂 My only grocery dillemma is trying to buy organic milk…I was getting conventional milk from Whole Foods for $3.69 that had not been treated with rBGH but they aren’t selling that anymore :mad: So I have to pick from either the regular Kroger brand for about $3.15 or the good organic Whole Foods stuff for $5.69. It hurts.

Learn to cook with lentils. They are WAY cheaper than meat, and pack more protein. We never eat red meat, just chicken, and I buy in bulk and freeze. For lunch DH eats left-overs or sometimes I’ll buy a turkey breast when it’s on sale and roast it, shred it and we have sandwhich meat for weeks. Cheaper and healthier than buying deli meat. And very yummy!👍
 
JennBob said:
I try to keep it under $100/wk for 6 kids (2 teenage boys :eek: ) plus Hubby and I.That’s with 3 kids packing school lunches every day,and I don’t have a Sam’s membership.
I shop mostly at Kroger as they double and triple manufacturer’s coupons and give me extra coupons since I’m such a good customer (I think they are called “loyalty coupons”).

First thing I look at when I go to the store is the clearance tags on things like produce,bread,yogurt,milk,and meat.I get good deals there and either freeze or use them right away. I also have a certain price threshold that I will pay for certain items.For example,I will not ever pay more than $1.67 a box for name-brand cold cereal.I limit that further by only buying those with 10 or less grams of sugar/serving.The kids may have one bowl of cereal at breakfast and if they are still hungry,may have toast or fruit.I don’t buy a lot of “junk” so that helps there.Oh,there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when I decided to cut out the junk 2 years ago,but they are used to it by now.

I don’t ever pay more than $2.50 a gallon for milk (that’s the best I can do these days) and will buy plenty when it is on sale and freeze it.We go through 4-5 gallons a week so I check prices carefully.All dairy and produce prices are at record-high prices for around here.

I spend too much of my time and money at the grocery store anyway.
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I’m totally not kidding, I’d like some advice on how you do this…it’s impressive!!!:o I will admit, I spend $ on stupid things at times, but have really tried to curb that type of grocery buying. Also–my kids gave up snacks (bad ones) for Lent, which has helped on the bill…and time it takes to shop!:eek: LOL

Your advice on how to cook economically, and healthfully is appreciated. Thanks!🙂
 
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