$300.00 a week during summer. Maybe $225.00 week during school.
That's way more than you need to spend. I would cut out the steak and hot pockets right from the get-go. Also, bottled water does not have to be purchased. Just buy a Brita pitcher and replace the filter as needed. Probably better than what you're paying for in bottles anyway.
Have you tried the Dollar Tree? They have lots of name brand food in there. I personally purchase everything I can there, then the rest at Walmart. You can get cereal, snacks, bread, rolls, lots of boxed and canned goods (canned veg are 2/$1.) DT has a double pack of pizza crusts that are name brand. They are personal sized pizza, but still much more expensive at Walmart. I buy those and name brand jar of pizza sauce (enough for 8 to 10 pizzas.) I also buy the Hormel pepperoni when they have it. The only thing I don't buy at DT is cheese. It's not real there.
Dollar Tree even has an entire frozen section with boxes of prepared snack foods, pot pies, tv dinners, boxes of ice cream cones, Popsicle, etc. The majority of what they sell is name brand. I would suggest checking expiration dates, but other than that, it's all good!
The rest of what I need, I get at Walmart. We are 5 people: 4 adults who work from home in our business, and one grandchild who hangs for 10 hours per day 5x week.
I don't use coupons at all and my monthly grocery budget for all of us is $500.
Dry beans and rice are very inexpensive. Bean soup is a favorite here. Just whatever kind of beans you have on hand. I usually use kidney, black, navy, and some red beans. Throw in a pound of cooked hamburger and a can of garlic and onion (or whatever flavor you prefer) chopped tomato.
I also buy all of our ground beef at once from a meat market and cook it all in a huge pan. After draining it, I separate it into freezer bags with a bit less than a pound per each one. That way, when making something, it limits the amount of expensive meat that goes in. If doing it fresh, most people tend to cook 3x that much meat for a meal.
and ended up with way too much spending.....(well, I have an overstocked house now, and I refuse to go back to the store for at least another week or two!) I don't even know how it happened,other than just summer crazy busyness,going on too many store trips,and not enough solid lists in my hand(I even forgot to use an easy 4.00 in store coupons just sitting in my car!!!) I have reformed from my 'crazy month' and vow to use careful lists from here on in,as I can't afford to go overbudget like this every month..... my usual MO is to keep it simple,(aldi works for me) with the occasional stop at a warehouse for certain items....as it is I have no more in my budget line to spend till the end of this month so.....
I like a pp's suggestion..... create your spend budget,and make your list around that. just subtract from your amount and get creative if you see it going too fast..... like a meatless spaghetti meal once or twice a week is delicious and less cost! (just make sure your lower cost choices are nutritious and taste good,and your family should be fine with it) You can start with sale flyers, or Aldi,etc. If you always have ingredients for a quick meal with pasta and veggies,or possibly breakfast for dinner(yum) or a nice soup in the crockpot,you should be ok
