We are also a family of 6, and so far we have spent $308 on groceries. However, our month started on the 26th of Feb since that's when DH gets paid.
My suggestions:
Look for Buy 1 Get 1 Free sales. BiLo, here in TN, doesn't require that you get two, so you are basically charged 1/2 price for these items. A coupon makes it even better.
I shop at
WalMart Supercenter for my groceries and pricematch (although I can't with BiLo's B1G1F things b/c they don't put the price in the paper) I have found WalMart to be cheaper than any other store.
Look for small vegetable stands for your produce. We have one here that is quite a bit cheaper than the grocery stores.
Stock up on loss leaders. BiLo has their Pepperidge Farm freezer cakes for $.99 this week, so I've picked up several, b/c I LOVE their cakes, but not the usual price.
Look around for food co-ops. My church just became involved in something called Angel Food Ministries. Basically for $25 you get a box of food once a month valued at around $70. We were very pleased with what we received last month. The food varies from month to month.
Try to find bread outlets. We had one close to my house and I would get loaves of bread for about $.35, but they closed it. I hate paying $1.00 for a loaf of bread b/c my family can go through bread so quickly.
As someone said above, try generic. I CANNOT eat generic peanut butter and insist on Downey fabric softener, but most other things are fine.
Unless the convenience foods are on a great B1G1F sale, I usually don't buy them, b/c they can run up your grocery bill in a flash.
Be willing to do a little work for your meat. I don't mean to go out and kill the cow, but just be willing to get your hands a little messy. I remember once, a store had split chicken breast for like $.89 or $.99 lb., but a lady beside me picked up the SKINLESS split chicken breast which was probably over $3.00 lb. I told her about the sale, but she giggled, wrinkled up her nose and said something to the effect of "Oh, the skin just grosses me out" Okay, well, I think I can afford to be "grossed out" for 45 seconds while I pull off the skin in order to save over $2.00 lb on chicken.
I really feel your pain. I am the only female in our house, and my DH and oldest son already eat so much, I can only imagine what it will be like when all of my boys are teenagers. I guess I 'll have to start raising livestock and gardening.
Good luck with your budget!
Lori P.
