It has been forever since I have visited my blog or the blogs of others! Back at the end of June I was having severe eye strain and constant headaches. I was so nervous that I was going to have to go back under the laser and have my eyes readjusted. I went to the eye doctor and found out that my vision was still perfect (phew!!) but I had to cut back my computer time. Waaaaaaaay back. 30 minutes broken up over a course of a day. That does not leave much time for blogging, tweeting, facebooking, and then of course doing real work!! Fortunately I am doing much, much better but still need to watch the amount of time I spend on my beloved MacBook Air....
I belong to several different homeschool yahoo groups and was dumbfounded by a thread from one of the groups this past week. It kind of put me to shame and made me really think about how I spend money. Here was the question:
Please share with me what your family generally spends on groceries per week or per month. All I need is a dollar amount and how many people are in your family (any explanation or seasonal fluctuations welcomed but not necessary).
So what were some of the answers?
-We spend between $300-$350 per month, and there are 8 people in our family.
-We budget $1400 per month which covers all food, cleaning and personal supplies and some toward food storage for our family of 11.
-I spend $200 per week for 9 people which includes all personal and cleaning supplies.
-We spend $200 per month for our family of 4.
-$200 per month and there are 6 people in our family. If I am trying to can something (chicken, vegetables) it is occasionally $50 higher.
-We typically spend $80 per week for our family of 7.
-$120 a week for a family of 7 (5 kids under 11) - at least half of this is fresh fruit.
-$200-250 per month for a family of 9, soon to be 10.
Now it's my turn to share with you what I spend per month on groceries (in addition to food this includes toiletries, cleaning items as well as diapers, etc) for my family of 5.
23 tweets and twitters:
Hope your eyes are doing better. I swear the reason JK had to get glasses was because of the strain the computer puts on his eyes each day at work.
I love your question about how much we spend each month on groceries etc.
I will tell you I have started couponing and LOVE it. I have a budget of about 800 a month to work with and I use it up, completely. This does pay for gas for our cars, cleaning supplies, diapers/wipes, fun and extras as well as our groceries each month.
Oh yeah, that's for two adults and two young boys and a baby boy (soon to be one!!)
Wow ~ I'd like to hear what some of people make for meals based on what they spend. I spend between 700 and 900 ~ this is based on the fact that some times my husband isn't home and my son is away at college so there are any where from 2 to 4 people being fed and two are teenagers. I also pack lunches as well.
Jo
Let's see, I spend about $600 a month for a family of 5 BUT, we shop at the military commissary. That has to count for something.
Who can feed a family of 4 for $200 a month? That is nuts!
And my kids will only eat kraft cheese sticks too. But ours are cheaper!
I spend between $600-$700/month for our family of 5 on groceries/toiletries.
I'm able to do this by menu planning, couponing, and shopping 2x a month. We don't eat out much but if/when we do, we're at the higher end of that number.
GREAT question. I'm amazed at those numbers you just threw out there.
Glad to hear you're feeling better.
This question actually is not easy for me to answer because honestly I don't keep a running total every month. I'm always at the grocery store or picking up something while I'm out. The neighborhood kids are always raiding the pantry & I have no idea how much we spend.
Pitiful I know.
We spend about $1,200 per month on a family of 5. It seems like so much to me and we are really trying hard to get it down to maybe $1,000 per month or so.
I would really love to know what those others are making and where they live! $200 a month!!! Seriously! Anyway, I don't really know what our total is but I do know at the grocery store, my total tends to be between $120-150 and that is usually every 10 days or so. But I also go to Costco every couple of months and Walmart or Target for odds and ends. So I don't know exactly what the total is a month. I have tried to keep a budget but it never seems to work, any tips?
Oh gosh. I used to be so good at keeping track of stuff like that. I've gotten lazy. It's hard around here since they don't double or triple coupons. And the coupons I've seen aren't for the products I'd use (or I can buy the store brand for cheaper).
I do try to match my meals with the great deals available (grocery sales flyer). I also buy lots of certain products when the price is really low- like butter (which I freeze). I also do a lot of home canning & freezing of the veggies I grow.
I admit...we spend more now- I'm not as careful.
Oh...and Sam's Club or Costco may not have the best deals. You have to do a price comparison to see if you're getting a deal. I've noticed this to be true on their canned goods. But I get a great price there on other stuff- dog food, laundry detergent (a box lasts me an entire year!!!!!), dishwasher detergent, peanut butter...
Good luck! There are several blogs out there dedicated to meal planning..
:)
And I have absolutely no idea how a family would be able to get by on $200 per month unless they were eating strictly rice and beans every meal.(just kidding) LOL!
I spend at least $800.00 a month on food (5 people) in our home!
That's a good month!
sandy toe
Hey Rae, glad you are doing better. I've been wondering about you.
For a family of 3 about $400 or less per month. Groceries/Cleaning/Toiletries/Diapers (when we needed them)
I read a few of the $5 dinner, $60/week blogs, and I was a gobsmacked as you! My information is even worse...I really don't know. I don't have a firm budget or really keep track. I have tried a bit, but never made it through a month! There are 4 of us in this house, and I would like to say we are between 800-1000 a month?????
We generally spend $ 150 to $ 250 a week, we go shopping once a week and I plan menus in advance with some flexability in the actual order of the meals during the week. We are part of a CSA (community supported agriculture) and so for about 20 weeks out of the year we get fresh vegetables once a week for a total of $250 (we are splitting a share so a full share would be $500). The above grocery number is all at Wal Mart and who can go in there and stick to the list so that is ALL the shopping for the entire week. We plan so we usually don't have to grab anything at the small store here in town. There is 2 adults and 2 children in our family. And when the weather cooperates we have a small garden just for weekly use not large enough to can or store anything. I also usually by extra stuff for each meal and call it food storage.
PN
Hey there---glad to see you back! I was going to post about the time that you came to see my show, and had NO picture!! AACCCKKK----the picture that my drummer took----he sent to me, and my phone died two days later!! AAACCKKK!! Anywho---haven't forgotten how amazing you are---and by the by---we spend about 500.00 a month on groceries---and there are only three of us. Sigh.
Go figure.
Okay, I take saving money as my personal mission, however you have to find a balance between saving money and getting a good quality product. Couponing is a really good way to save money. There are some services out there that will actually tell you each week what is on sale and if there has been a coupon for it and sometimes even a link to an internet coupon or where you can find a coupon for the items. They tell you which items are really good deals and that you should "stockpile" which means it is an extraordinary value and you should stock up or buy as many as you have coupons for if it's an item you will use before it goes bad. One example is this Lysol toilet bowl cleaner that is usually around 4 bucks a bottle, It was on sale BOGO and there was an internet coupon and the store doubled the coupon so I got them for like $0.74 each and I bought like 6 bottles. I know it seems crazy, but if you have the room to store it it's great. I did not have to buy toilet cleaner for a year. I do the same thing with toothpaste, deodorant, etc. One of the services is www.thegrocerygame.com You can get a free trial but they charge you quite a bit after that. I believe you can get pretty much the same info at couponmom.com it is just not as organized and nice as the other one, but hey it's free. Another thing I do is I buy all of my meats at Sam's Club. Unlike their ugly step-sister Wal*Mart (which I hate to step foot in) they have butchers and cut and grind all their meat in house! I buy a huge family pack of 97% lean ground beef, a family pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and a family pack of their thick pork chops. Then I brig it all home and divide it out into one meal portions and freeze it in Ziploc bags. The pork chops are at least an inch thick so I turn them on their sides and cut them in half before I freeze them, this way you get two pork chops and they cook faster. I also love to keep fresh flowers in the house. I am in Georgia and at the grocery store here they have a great floral dept. Just about every day they are marking down bouquets to like $0.99 or $1.99. I trim the stems and put an aspirin in the water and they usually last me at least a week. Check with your stores about double coupons, most here will double all manufacturers coupons up to $0.50 Kroger also has partnered with Procter and Gamble and instead of having to clip coupons you can go on their website and download the coupons each month to your shoppers card and when you buy the product it automatically gives you the coupon and the double if under $0.50 and you don't even have to have the coupon, it's on your card.
I have to say that spending 200 a month at a normal grocery store is almost impossible. You have to find a discount food store- if you don't mind shopping there. We typically spend 280-350 a month just on food stuff for our family of 3. I haven't bought toothpaste, shampoo etc for a really long time. Walgreens and CVS usually run a sale on these and then you can use a coupon and sometimes you get money back. I am not picky about my shampoo or tothpaste though. It is possible to cut your food expenses, but it does take a lot of work.
When I see numbers like that, I have to wonder what part of the country thry live in. Can't be CT or CA! After reading so many blogs and being inspired, I have started to make an effort to get our numbers down, we love fresh produce, so its hard. Although I'm not good at it, I think menu planning and shopping with a list are key.
I have GOT to show this to my husband. We go round and round the same discussion because we have friends who have three kids and CLAIM to spend only $500 a month on food.
I spend right about what you spend, honey, and I do not think we live frivolously. I don't know what those people are eating! My hubby thinks that maybe I am the crazy one, but you have just validated me. Thanks for that.
Seriously what do they eat. I know I can do a better budget, but I am not willing to bake my own bread, raise chickens, or can. Seriously, what does the family of 9 eat for $200 a month???!!!! Do they eat healthy. That seems like ONLY pasta. Are these people eating fresh fruits and veggies? I'm fine with eliminating ice cream, soda, chips, etc. but WOW!!! Can you forward me the site you were looking at?
Wow! $1600!!! I have a family of 5 and spend $300-$400 on groceries (not counting toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc.) I am an avid couponer and sale watcher.
We are Dave Ramsified, so.....
We budget between $450-$500 a month for our family of 4. This includes cleaning stuff and personal items, but did not include diapers or formula when we used them. It also includes any meals out, although we also tend to raid other envelopes toward the end of the month if they have anything left-over. Eating our is something we love to do!
PS - $200 a month for a family of any size just seems impossible and discouraging and not at all enjoyable... Yikes.
I've done the Grocery Game and coupons, etc, but I have found I don't buy the items that have coupons. In Aug for cleaning supplies/toiletries/food I spent $1200. Family of 4.
I am wasteful, though. Sad, I know. I am much better when I have a menu planned and happy to use my food all up! :)
I have found that Trader Joe's fat free milk is the cheapest around. I paid $2.19 for a gallon today. And for eggs not on sale, 1.49 for a dozen there, too. I love them.
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