So I have a question for all of you.... How much do you spend on groceries? I spend about a million dollars every month. Okay, not really, but it feels like a lot. I just figured it out and I'm averaging about $30 a day on groceries for a family of 6. To break it down even more, that's $5 a day per person. This includes diapers and formula and toilet paper and everything. And while $30 a day doesn't SOUND so bad, that's $840 a month! A MONTH! I'm sure I could do much better.
Discuss.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Spent
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25 comments:
without diapers or formula (because we don't use them) we average 6 a person... which is $520 a month. my projected budget is something closer to $300... BAD...
Oh babe, I so don't want to know how much I spend! We're in the process of going natural/organic so our costs are sky rocketing. We're eating less and eating healthier but even so...yipes!
I plan to make more from scratch some day, but that day hasn't quite come yet.
For a family of 3 (2 adults and one baby), I can buy meals that last for 2 weeks for $50/ wk. That does not include formula (as Baby L doesn't drink formula anymore...she's one) and doesn't include diapers or any other "necessities" like TP, paper towels, razors, shampoo, etc.
You can email me at bosssanders@gmail.com if you want more info and such :)
I don't know and I'm fine with that. I think I'd be horrified if I knew the exact amount.
I shop sales if I can but it doesn't always happen. You would die at how expensive food is around here. Whenever I go other places I gasp at the prices. Cheap store bread here is 3 bucks a loaf.
I'm afraid to even think about it. With only two adults and one teen left in the house we probably spend more eating out than at the grocery. I do major shopping every couple of weeks and it runs about $160-$170. We eat out probably 2-3 times a week at $20-40 a pop. If my math is right, that's about $900a month on the high end.... dang, that's horrible!
The hard thing about having boys...is you basically need to serve them up a side of beef and that ain't cheap.
I had a wake-up call recently.
(You might remember -and if you don't - go to http://scorpionsojourn.blogspot.com/2008/01/i-too-come-here-to-make-confession.html)
But that doesn't mean I changed. Much. The only difference I made is going to the store with a definite list, tallying up my bill as I go, and sticking to the pre-set budget.
It hasn't really hampered my shopping style and I haven't had to clip coupons (yet), but I have had to do without on some trips and get the stuff on the next trip.
I'm with Celia and Kim - Ignorance is bliss. Sort of. I can't stand to face the ugly, expensive truth. And don't even ask about "eating out" spending!
I and my husband both grew up impoverished, so going without is not a scary thing.
We're both through with school, so we suck at frugality in general. I think in the last year or so, we've averaged $6- to $800 on food per month and that is to feed a family of six (2 adults, 4 kids under 7). That would include tp, sippy cups, etc.
I recently got a wake up call. I've been getting into different grains and going more natural (not organic per se) with grinding wheat, baking bread, etc. In the last month, I was looking for wheat and thought to check the cannery. Lo and behold, they were rationing and have been out of wheat for a month due to drought in Australia and Argentina. To make that long story short, I am scrambling to get my long term food storage because there IS a crisis and every where I turn, prices have increased and there is a news article here and there about food riots and rationing around the world. Scary.
Sorry. Had to break my comments into two different posts...
So my lil sis and I have become major coupon and sale shoppers in the last six weeks or so. Using coupons combined with sales, we did this and was able to stock up on some food items:
bought 200+ boxes of cereal for $0.24 a box.
bought 30 boxes of nature valley granola bars for $0.42 a box.
bought 30 boxes of quaker granola bars for $0.10 a box (last week!)
bought 20 tubs of land o lakes butter for $0.50 a tub.
bought 20 colgate toothbrushes for $0.06 each.
bought 20 bags of cheetos and fritos chips for $0.70 a bag.
bought more than 175 packs of scotts brand tp (4 rolls in a pack) for $0.06 each.
and more,of course. I have to tell you, I work full time and have four kids. I am new to this coupon business, but surely if I can do it, so can you.
I use hotcouponworld.com and buy coupons on ebay. Last month, I think I spent about $400 on groceries, and about $115 of it was on formula for le bebe in my house.
I would say we probably spend close to $300 or $350 a month on groceries. I'm trying to cut down and if my son would just go in the toilet that would eliminate some expense!!!
I need to figure out how to cut back more. We've definitely been eating out of the pantry and freezer more so as to try and save some cash. Plus, I've been all about buying store brand on MOST things...
have you checked out www.sistersavings.net? she makes an easy to read list of all the stores and all their sales and then even gives you menu ideas for the week to show you what you can make w/ what is on sale. it has come in handy w/ trying to save money. it doesn't go along perfectly w/ your menu board but it sure helps w/ the budget. I just printed cards of all the foods i make and will put the ones in my board that i make that week, thatway i can shop the sales. good luck though, i think grocery budget will always be an uphill battle!
We spend on average about $500 a month. Family of five with two of those five only here on weekends. No diapers or formula at all.
So, we are a family of 5 which consists of 1 girl (me) and four boys. I shop weekly at Costco and just pick up odds and ends at the regular grocery store every other week. Our total FOOD bill alone is close to $1000/month. I'm not kidding.
But we NEVER eat out and I pretty much everything from scratch, so I justify a lot of the cost. Plus, we have that nifty executive Costco membership so I get 2% back of my purchases. Big whoop.
Are some of you not including necessities like toilet paper and deodorant and such? My "grocery budget" includes all that stuff.
And yes, I make all of our food. From scratch. (Except for bread. I haven't had good luck with bread)Anyways, I think we eat pretty healthy, what do you think?
These are my dinners for the next two weeks:
-Orange Crumb Baked Chicken w/ squash, and green beans
-Black Bean Soup over Rice (don't knock it til you try it...and yes, I'm a brown rice person)
-Stuffed chicken breast with brussel sprouts
-beef and broccoli stir-fry over rice
-beef stroganoff and peas
-spaghetti with green beans and garlic bread
-Orecchiette with broccoli rabe
-BBQ ribs with corn and green beans (okay, maybe not so healthy on this one)
-roasted chicken with boiled potatoes
-apple pork roast with homemade applesauce and salad
-Veggie Pizza and salad
-homemade Chicken noodle Soup
-Hot Dogs with homemade mac&cheese (again, not the healthiest, but my kids love hot dogs!)
-Green Enchilada's with corn, tomatoes, and lettuce.
So, is this the kind of stuff you guys eat?
Shut up MomBabe!!! I can't believe you have two weeks worth of meals planned. I barely have tonight's dinner planned!
I'm not sure we can be friends anymore.
Seriously.
C'mon C you got get into CouponSense...even though I've been absolutely TERRIBLE at it since being preggo. It does take time but you get some awesome deals and savings and things you wouldn't normally get but if it's free sure why not?
But what kind of stuff you get with the "free" coupon deals? Cause I'm gonna say it. I'm a snot and won't buy cheeto's. My kids have really bad problems with preservatives and additives in food. We're talking hives here. So like, super processed food? Out of the question.
but I'd love to get free T.P. and feminine products and toothpaste and stuff.... That's where my budget takes a hit.
(well, that and formula and diapers. but the formula will be ending soon and one more person will be potty trained this summer so then I'll only have one kid in diapers. ♫ Hallelujah! ♫ )
Hey C...that's the best part then for you cuz I would say most if not all of the hygiene crap is free. If you're not too picky about what toothpaste. I always get my toothpaste free, TP usually is free, shampoo/conditioner free, mouthwash free...etc.
I spend $800 a month, and we have 6 and I include all the stuff like you...so we're pretty close. And I cook very much like you. I don't shop sales, but I do shop at crappy WalMart and I do buy lots of generic stuff. But I totally have to have lots of fresh produce and I buy whatever fancy ingredients the recipe calls for, but I won't give those things up.
On CouponSense they have this spreadsheet thingy where you enter in what you spent, and what you saved using coupons...for foodish type things and I guess things from like CVS I was averaging $140 a month. I even had my husband get those AMEX gift cards of $150 so that I wouldn't go over. Without coupons and knowing the deals it would have been like triple that and it showed what it would have been, it was scary! The good thing is that you DON'T HAVE TO shop at Wal-Mart. You can get way better deals elsewhere if you know when to go and what to get. I always feel dirty leaving Wal-Mart and dumber too.
Of course it's only my husband, one kid and me to spend on...that makes a difference.
I shop at Wal-Mart, OK? I'm the one holding up the line with 20 different price comparisons (I go thru the ads at home and write the deals in red pen on my grocery list). We spend about $500 a month on groceries for a family of 5 (now 6), that includes diapers and all that other stuff. That doesn't include about $200 we spend every 6 months or so at case lot sales.
I have a friend who does the super coupon thing. She spends HOURS searching, cutting, sorting, and shopping. It's really a hobby for her and it's just not worth it to me. I decided that I like shopping at Wal-Mart best. I like the generic stuff there and I like being able to go to ONE store once a week and get it done.
Wow! I didn't even know there was such a coupon system in place. I may have to research that more. We spend about $600 a month for a family of 6 I think. I'm not sure I'd be able to shop anywhere other than Harmons. I am addicted to that place! Oh, and the fact that you have 2 weeks of meals planned is highly impressive!
So I'm noticing that I spend about the same as the rest of you....hmmmm. Maybe it's not as bad as I thought? Maybe I'm just a cheapskate? maybe maybe maybe?
It's just that a girl down the street from me is a coupon fanatic, and she spends less than half of what I spend and we have the same amount of people in our families... HOW? For the love, HOW!
Buy in bulk...seriously, it cuts down on the mini trips to the store where you can EASILY leave spending twice as much as you meant to. BTW..I LOVE this blog!!
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