Food budget (what's your total been lately)

[disneydreamersx4]

We are a family of 4, 2 adults, two daughters 12 & 9.

In May we spent $500 (this includes paper products)
In June so far it's $600 because we also had DD9's birthday party.

I'm hoping I can at least get it back to $500 every month and hopefully $450

Oh, and we rarely go out to eat and pizza is always homemade on Friday night. I also stretch our money by having meatless nights with a lentils and rice or beans and rice night.

 

[amylynne01]

Since January, I've averaged about $340 a month for my family (me, DH, 2DDs who are 2.5 and 1), which includes food, drink, diapers, paper products, HBA, and cleaning. I would say half of that is for stockpiling and half goes to meat, produce, milk, eggs, and other stuff I can't stockpile.

 

[Mrs.Reese]

Well we're out for summer. It seems that DH suddenly decides to eat in the summer. Our budget will go from $350/month to around $500/month.

 

[marie1203]

Right now that is just me I spend $230 a month but when DH come back from deployment we spend about $400 a month.

 

[mom0299]

My budget is $380 per month for my family of four (me, DH, DS 13 and DD 11). That is for food, paper products, and toiletries. I use coupons and shop sales, but not as much as I should. I would like to cut my budget even more by getting more serious about stockpiling.

 

[eliza61]

I average around $500-600 month including paper products and cleaning product. My kids are teenagers, they don't eat food, they simply inhale anything I bring in the house.

 

[disneydreamersx4]

My budget is $380 per month for my family of four (me, DH, DS 13 and DD 11). That is for food, paper products, and toiletries. I use coupons and shop sales, but not as much as I should. I would like to cut my budget even more by getting more serious about stockpiling.

Wow!! Your budget is really awesome! I would love to be under $400. Would you mind sharing what you cook for dinners and lunches for one week? I could use all the help you could share

Here's my weekly menu:

breakfast - honey nut cheerios, pancakes and during the school year my 12yo likes Carnation Instant drink.

lunch - tuna on wheat bread or crackers, pasta, apples or watermelon, yogurt, grilled cheese, leftovers from dinners

dinner - lentils with rice or pasta, black beans and rice, chicken cutlets or grilled chicken salad, sloppy joes, pasta with ground beef sauce, hamburgers and hot dogs, homemade pizza every Friday.

My DH thinks I buy too many snacks, I don't think so I buy at Costco the box of popcorn, goldfish, fiber one bars, peanut butter bars and these boxes of snacks last for quite awhile. When ice cream is on sale I get 2containers for $5 at the supermarket. And apples, watermelon, peaches, bananas

I don't buy alot of cleaners, basically use baking soda, vinegar and bleach. I get Bounty towels on sale and buy toilet paper on sale too.

 

[tinkmom2]

We spend about $400.00 a month on groceries. Thats for 2 adults and two children. That includes cat supplies, soda, and snacks. I coupon and don't buy brand names unless I have a coupon that is! I love double coupon day! Last month I spent about $300 on groceries by using what i have in my fridge and pantry. There is a thread for it here
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2351213&page=42

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

I average around $500-600 month including paper products and cleaning product. My kids are teenagers, they don't eat food, they simply inhale anything I bring in the house.

That made me laugh out loud.

We are at about $450 for everything, family of 4. DW does what I consider a great job of shopping smart, and we do treat ourselves to a take and bake Pizza every Friday, but that budget is if we do not eat out at all. So I figure with no month restaurant expenses, we're doing okay.

I would love to get a 1/2 a cow from a butcher and just stockpile meat. It seems that we could reduce another $30 to $50 a month by buying meat in bulk.

 

[cassandrap83]

I spend about $600/month for Me, DH, DD4 & DD3. This includes all cleaners, toiletries, cat food, & dog food.

We only eat organic cereals, fruits, veggies, dairy, & chicken. Our "snacks" consist of organic fruit leather, Pirate's Booty, sourdough pretzels, corn tortilla chips, & Kashi cereal bars. My biggest expense is all the organic produce!

 

[charming23]

We have been spending anywhere between $200 to $250 a month for 2 people. I stockpile meat when it is on sale and freeze it to use later. In fact all of our meals this week, the meat came from the freezer.

I have also been shopping each week at Trader Joes which cuts down on a lot of the extra spending on items we do not really need and I get tons of fresh fruit and veggies at a great price.

 

[Justsyd2]

DH and I spend around $400 a month. We do organics, free range, no-antibiotics, minimally processed meats, tons of veggies and fruit, and we make homemade rather than buying packaged foods.

 

[Virgderon]

We are also around $200 to $250 a month for 2 people, but that is food only. It's more like $300 if you throw in cleaning supplies and toiletries. I have always couponed for those, but the last 3 months I have been seriously couponing/sale shopping for food as well.

The budget killer for me is pop. I am a Diet Pepsi and Diet Dr. Pepper addict. I used to buy it no matter what it cost. Now I only buy it on sale, and I look for the best sale possible.

We have dramatically cut down on eating out. In June we only ate out 3 times, and we never got carryout pizza or chinese. That is a major step in the right direction for us. We used to get take out a couple times a week, and ate out either Saturday or Sunday of almost every weekend.

 

[powellrj]

I had to laugh when I read these. Since DS has come home from college he is inhaling food. DD is 14 and complains she is ALWAYS hungry. We are hoping she is getting a growth spurt so her short body will match her size 11 feet! We also seem to have a few extra people eating every night.

We spent $40 at the farmers market yesterday and most of the fruit is already gone. I think I am spending around $800 to $1000 a month this summer. It will go down in the fall when everyone is back in school. I also do more crock-pot cooking and casseroles which are easier on the budget than the fresh veggie and grilled meals I am fixing.

Its hard to do regular meals because with everyone working and coming home at different times. I am trying to do a meal on the grill and then letting people heat it up when they get home.

I know I can do better because I have at different times, but right now I am doing well to get a meal on the table!

I enjoy reading your food budgets because I dream of the days when I use to have a small one too!

 

[mom0299]

Wow!! Your budget is really awesome! I would love to be under $400. Would you mind sharing what you cook for dinners and lunches for one week? I could use all the help you could share

I stockpile meat whenever I can and keep it in the freezer. I also make cookies instead of buying them. I can make them healthier and for a lot less than buying them. The kids snack on those as well as yogurt, fruit, and anything else that's on hand. I buy a lot of generic/ store brand items, except for the things that my family really likes such as Heinz ketchup and JIF peanut butter.

For breakfast we eat a lot of cereal, poptarts, toast, or homemade applesauce (we have a tree and I make the sauce and stock the freezer).

Lunches are usually leftovers or sandwiches.

For dinners we eat a lot of chicken and steak on the grill, sloppy joes, spaghetti, lasagna, taco salad, hot dogs, and hamburgers.

I shop my local Rite Aid for great deals on cereal and snacks. When they have sales that I can pair with coupons I can get some amazing deals. To keep myself on budget I get $380 in cash on payday and use that for groceries. That way I know that when the money is gone I can't buy anymore groceries. It keeps me from going overboard and forces me to eat things we have in our pantry/freezer instead of buying more.

I hope this helps and if anyone has more tips I'd love to hear them. I really want to cut my budget even more.

 

[extremesoccermom]

Our garden is starting to come to life in a big way. We have lettuce (almost done but a new batch going in for the fall), green, lima, and yellow beans, corn, green and yellow squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, radishes, carrots, broccoli, chives, sage, oregano, thyme, basil, onions, cilantro, eggplant, celery, sweet and hot peppers, and 5 kinds of tomatoes.
But last week we did spend $30.00 for things I did not grow and 3 dozen fresh eggs but that came out of the $100.00 a month I keep on hand for milk, fruit....
I usually spend $100.00 at Sams a month and another $40.00 a month at the grocery store. Occasionally I hit the other great deals at Target, Kmart, Walmart, Walgreens and CVS usually only another $40-50 a month at most.
There is me, DH, DS 20, and DD15 plus 3 dogs and 2 nephews 3 days a week. Grand total 250.00-300.00 a month depending on what I need. Hopefully, I will be able to can all our veggies for use this winter to help keep cost down then also.