.

[mhsjax]

Seriously? I guess stuff where you live is waaaaaaay more expensive than here. I could have bought an entire weeks worth of groceries for $50 w/o using coupons including several cuts of meat. My budget for the next 2 weeks of food is $120. He spent over half of that on "party supplies" (minus the detergent and cat food). BTW, I didn't "send him out", he offered to go so he could get out of cleaning the house for HIS family that is coming to visit. I guess we are eating ramen noodles and PB until I get paid again. Hope his family enjoys the party.

You must live in a really low cost of living area. There is no way I could buy a weeks worth of food, including meat. I don't know anyone that could. I think for what he got, it was fairly reasonable.

 

[SaraJayne]

You must live in a really low cost of living area. There is no way I could buy a weeks worth of food, including meat. I don't know anyone that could. I think for what he got, it was fairly reasonable.

Regardless of what anyone says, they can't buy a weeks worth of groceries (including meat) for a family for $50, without doing some serious couponing.

 

[tiggger1]

wow! I am so glad that I dont have a grocery budget. he bought stuff for dinner tonight, frozen strawberries and mixed berries, fresh apples and bananas) for smoothies and stuff to make apple cider donuts and a few other stuff and spent close to $100. I usually spend a least $200 a week on groceries, more if I make real food instead of the usual quickie meals...

 

[marthachick]

DH rarely shops. He has volunteered to but I know he will not buy the same things I do and doesn't bargain shop like I do. I know when he goes that he will spend more than I do and it's sometime worth the extra money if I don't have time to go. Sometimes he will meet me during my lunch hour and go with me so he can bring groceries home so I don't have to go after work. (He's working part-time right now) But if he goes I appreciate his effort.

 

[kirstenb1]

That's not bad.

We have an annual party at this time of year, my husband hosts - which means he does most of the grocery shopping.

We serve chili - three kinds - meat, bean and tofu. We have tortilla chips and dip. We bake up brownies. We get a veggie tray. Cheese. Crackers. There is soda, beer, wine - although we don't buy the beer - people bring it - and I might need to run to the liquor store to round out the liquor cabinet. A trip through Costco for what looks good to round out the table. People will also bring things to share - we end up with more cheese and dips and more sweets. We plan for forty to sixty guests and have no idea who will show.

The meat alone for the chili was $100 - New York Strip. The total bill for this party this year was probably close to $600 - maybe more. Almost everything is organic. The brownies are gluten free from a mix - and gluten free mixes aren't cheap. Plus "real" brownies.

I have learned over the twenty years when we host this party to breathe, get the house clean, and not worry about it. Most of the food disappears - this year we ended up with a lot of extra beer (we always do) and a lot of extra soda (no one drank much), gained two bottles of wine, three bottles of really good scotch (we don't drink scotch), two bottles of bourbon. The chili was gone (imagine that! grass fed organic New York Strip and the chili disappeared!) I could do this party a lot cheaper, but that would shift the burden of it from him to me, and its really his party - I don't want the stress.

He is like that whenever he goes grocery shopping - I go shopping and get food watching prices - he goes shopping and I get organic small batch chocolate sauce for expensive ice cream and wonder where the vegetables are for dinner. If I need to be cheap - I make sure there is no reason he needs to go to the store - and I make sure to buy lots of the expensive stuff he wants when its on sale and stock it. When I'm feeling more flush, its nice to have him shop - its one less thing I need to do and I know there will be good chocolate in the house

Agree!! we've been married 23 yrs, and dh rarely does the grocery shopping. When he does, it tends to be expensive.

 

[North of Mouse]

I know one thing... If I went to the store with a list from my wife and came home perfectly with everything on that list and later sat down at the computer and found a post like this, I would promptly stand up, walk out to the kitchen, open all packages I purchased, and dump them in the garbage. There you go, you go do the shopping!

And I don't believe a word of anyone who constantly claims they spend $50/week on groceries unless they don't count the 5 days of eating out that they do. I couldn't feed my family Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 7 days for $50. $50 for a family of 4 would be $0.60 per person per meal. I've seen enough folks post the $50/week with even more than 4 people in the family. You're not getting a meal for 60 cents.

You wouldn't have stayed my hubby long if you pulled a stunt like that - where's a little communication and understanding here???? It would be your *paycheck* going down the drain also - seems seriously juvenile to me.

Also, for starters, I would never have sent my hubby to the grocery store. It only happened once (except for maybe an item or two) when our last child was born, and he came back with all kinds of *goodies* and nothing to fix for a meal.

 

[North of Mouse]

Wow, if we had to spend that much on a gathering for 12, we could never afford to do it. I cook mostly from scratch and love to make very nice dishes. I stock the freezer with very nice cuts of meat on sale, and can easily fix a great meal for a family gathering for $50 or less. That's including the meat, appetizers, desserts, the works.

 

[Tiger926]

Regardless of what anyone says, they can't buy a weeks worth of groceries (including meat) for a family for $50, without doing some serious couponing.

In Canada we don't even really get coupons. The few we get are for processed foods or lots of cleaning supplies and paper products.

As for the $50.00, as someone else already mentioned, if you are pulling food out of a freezer or pantry, you then have to include the cost of that food. It was paid for at some point, maybe not the week that you shopped and your total was $49.00, but it absolutely has to be included in some total, as the food was purchased from the grocery budget.

Food is expensive here in Canada, and so $50.00/week for a family of 4, assuming breakfast, bagged/leftover lunches, snacks and dinners, is pretty much not possible.

We don't drink pop, bottled water, buy junk food or eat hardly any processed foods, don't go out to eat, and we make all meals at home, and so we can cut costs this way, but food costs are very high these days.

Interesting thread, Tiger

 

[maggiew]

Because of this thread, I sent my husband to the store today to pick up some tortillas for dinner. He came home with a package of raspberries, a package of blackberries, a huge bag of grapes ... and the tortillas.

Maggie

 

[4mousefans]

Rarely does my husband grocery shop...when he does, he almost always returns amazed by how expensive things are! I just smile. Honestly, there are only four in our family (in addition to five furry friends), but I spend easily $100 per week on groceries. Tonight for supper we had meatloaf with homemade mac and cheese and green beans...easily was a $15 meal, though there was enough leftover for lunches tomorrow. Homemade mac and cheese is expensive to create...lol!

The amount that the OP stated her husband spent seems fair to me...and I am in the midwest where groceries are a bit more reasonable I think.

 

[4mousefans]

Because of this thread, I sent my husband to the store today to pick up some tortillas for dinner. He came home with a package of raspberries, a package of blackberries, a huge bag of grapes ... and the tortillas.

Maggie

 

[judomom2]

We average 400 or less a month for groceries for a family of 3. I have a freezer full of meat and a very well stocked pantry. I have done it for less but ... We have decided to cut out eating out for 1 month so I upped it back up. I was at 250 a month but we ate out and spent way more than 150 so I think we will still be saving money.

 

[mhsjax]

Wow, if we had to spend that much on a gathering for 12, we could never afford to do it. I cook mostly from scratch and love to make very nice dishes. I stock the freezer with very nice cuts of meat on sale, and can easily fix a great meal for a family gathering for $50 or less. That's including the meat, appetizers, desserts, the works.

It is great that you stock up when on sale, but you still do purchase those items. YOu have to factor that in, you can't just say it would cost you X amount because your freezer or pantry is stocked, you didn't stock it for free.

I for one live in Florida and with power outages I just won't chance stocking a freezer full of meat, plus I prefer to buy fresh. I know lots of people that do stock up, I just don't care for it.

 

[North of Mouse]

It is great that you stock up when on sale, but you still do purchase those items. YOu have to factor that in, you can't just say it would cost you X amount because your freezer or pantry is stocked, you didn't stock it for free.

I for one live in Florida and with power outages I just won't chance stocking a freezer full of meat, plus I prefer to buy fresh. I know lots of people that do stock up, I just don't care for it.

That *does* include the price for the meat and anything used from the pantry - reread my post you quoted - I wouldn't have to run out and *buy* $50 for a planned dinner, but I do factor in *all* costs.

As for having a freezer full of meat and power outages - I live where both hurricanes and ice storms are possible, but we've had only one occasion where our freezer was a *write off*. We wised up and have a generator, best money we ever spent. (our insurance actually paid us for our freezer loss that time.)

 

[mhsjax]

That *does* include the price for the meat and anything used from the pantry - reread my post you quoted - I wouldn't have to run out and *buy* $50 for a planned dinner, but I do factor in *all* costs.

As for having a freezer full of meat and power outages - I live where both hurricanes and ice storms are possible, but we've had only one occasion where our freezer was a *write off*. We wised up and have a generator, best money we ever spent. (our insurance actually paid us for our freezer loss that time.)

I see where you sated what the meal included, it wasn't clear to me that you factored in the cost of the meat. I wouldn't remember what each cut of meat cost me 1 month from now so there is no way I could accurately figure out how much a meal cost.

Generators are fine, but I don't care to purchase one, it isn't that important to me. As I said I prefer fresh over frozen, others don't and that is fine. Also you have to factor in how many people. For us, the immediate family is 5, that is 2 teenage boys. they eat the equivalent of 4 people, then I have to count guests, and we need to know a specific number and how much does each guest eat. I have some friends that eat like birds and some that throw down food like my 2 teenage boys. There is no fast and hard number on a dinner party, too many variables.

My Christmas meal including 4 kinds of desserts cost me around $300.00 and that was with Turkey and a splurge of a Honey Baked Ham. . No way I could ever do that for $50.00. And we had only 7 people. OH and we did have left overs

 

[Minnie]

I cannot speak to whether the prices paid on that shopping trip were too high.

But I do know that I wouldn't last very long in a marriage where one of the partners decides whether the other " gets to do the shopping"!!!

Good grief!

OP - It you are struggling so much that you will need to eat only ramen noodles and PB until next paycheck - then seriously why host the party? So many are struggling and most would or should understand.

 

[pat fan]

Because of this thread, I sent my husband to the store today to pick up some tortillas for dinner. He came home with a package of raspberries, a package of blackberries, a huge bag of grapes ... and the tortillas.

At least he got the tortillas!

 

[MOpGrad2013]

DH does a large portion of the "run by and grab it" shopping. He knows more about the WIC than I do. Yep, there are days when we end up with more or less than we wanted...It was on sale!! But as he often says, "To quote Bill Cosby, 'we are dumb, but not so dumb. It takes great work to keep from working."

So I have a choice, let him spend extra money at the Dollar Tree or other sale items. OR I can go out in the storm w/ little one.

He never points it out to me, but I'm a SAHM so I know how to stretch "his" money.

He gets excited when I come home with the "you saved $$ receipts" and wants to know what I did different. Um, you were at home...

 

[faindrops27]

Wow, if we had to spend that much on a gathering for 12, we could never afford to do it. I cook mostly from scratch and love to make very nice dishes. I stock the freezer with very nice cuts of meat on sale, and can easily fix a great meal for a family gathering for $50 or less. That's including the meat, appetizers, desserts, the works.

It could be your area, we live in Long Island, NY. It could be I shop at Costco, a trip for a few items there, could easily put anyone over any budget. I am a chef by trade so I cook from scratch pretty much everyday, and at family gatherings. Believe me, I try to cut corners.

As for you feeding 12 people for $50 for a family gathering, that is impressive! But, I am pretty sure, that is not the norm. I guess it comes down to what you buy and prepare for the meal. What the op stated for her gathering would not do for me. Meat, appetizers, desserts, the works are all variables. A rib roast at costco is more than your whole $50 dollar budget, it is more like $80+ for a 10 lb roast, comparably a rib roast on sale @ a local store would be around $40 so that leaves 10 dollars to spend on everything else, a $50 dollar budget for 12 just cannot cut it here.

 

[pigletto]

Hmmm.. this thread has me thinking. I think if dh did the grocery shopping it would actually be cheaper! When he's the one that goes to the store he's actually pretty good about watching for sales and not buying what he thinks is too expensive. Our disconnect comes in to play when it's me doing all the cooking and menu planning for a party. I tend to want to buy things we don't normally splurge on when we are entertaining. I don't go overboard, but he pulls me back in sometimes. On the other hand, I push a little for him to not be so thrifty that we sacrifice quality.
That's kind of how we work at everything though, we pull one another back from any extremes and try to meet in the middle somewhere.

We have a lunch tomorrow for 9 people. Just a casual thing. Someone else is bringing the soups. We are providing all the things for sandwiches, appetizers, salad and beverages.
That alone was $60 dollars and we had a lot of the stuff already.