How much for YOUR groceries? Switching to Cash

[kimara]

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I have NO idea how much we spend for groceries.
I am going to start using cash envelopes tomorrow. I know how much to put in the envelopes for my other categories (or at least a good ball park to try) but I am clueless as to how much I should budget for groceries and other household items like laundry soap and stuff.

We are a family of six (2 adults and kids are 13, 10, 6 and 3).
(I am not a total flake when it comes to money, we are debt free except our house, and living within our means. Yet I have been slacking when it comes to control in Walmart, Costco and Target.)

Thanks in advance

 

[laurafergie]

How have you been paying for groceries up to now? Debit or credit card? Then you would have transactions, go back and add them up. If you have been paying in cash it's a little harder, but if you can add up your other expenses, you can get a round about figure. If you take the time to do this you will be VERY much more motivated to get your budget under control. Mainly because you'll have a heart attack when you realize how much you've been spending.

There are four of us at home right now and I spend $100 a week for groceries, paper, cleaning and pets. When the other kids are home in the summer I spend about $150 a week. I shop the loss leaders, do some couponing (casually) and do shop at BJs for some things.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

When we are a family of 5 during the summer (three kids in college, DS21, DS20, DD18) and I spend right around $200 each week. Now that includes household cleaning items, personal care items, and alcoholic beverages. The boys drink almost 3 gallons of milk a week and quite a bit of OJ. We also all pack lunches everyday. We also have meat at least 5 nights a week and I buy tons of fresh fruit and vegetables. I do not coupon but try and stock up on loss leaders if it is something we eat.

I don't think $40 per week per person is bad considering how many meals it covers.

 

[kimara]

How have you been paying for groceries up to now? Debit or credit card? Then you would have transactions, go back and add them up. If you have been paying in cash it's a little harder, but if you can add up your other expenses, you can get a round about figure. If you take the time to do this you will be VERY much more motivated to get your budget under control. Mainly because you'll have a heart attack when you realize how much you've been spending.

We have been paying by debit card, credit card and cash! Plus, when we use debit cards at the grocery stores, I often get cash back from the cashier to use so I didn't keep track of how much was spent at the store and how much was cash back. It makes me sick to think about how irresponsible I have been when it comes to this.

 

[kimara]

Now that includes household cleaning items, personal care items, and alcoholic beverages. The boys drink almost 3 gallons of milk a week and quite a bit of OJ.

We go through more milk than that, but we skip the alcohol so it probably evens out in a similar way

 

[dizluvah]

OP
Don't beat yourself up - we have to start where we are. Focus on going forward being more mindful of tracking your budget. Once you know how much you spend you can focus on trimming that budget line item.

Don't get discouraged before you even begin.

 

[jakoky]

We are a family of 5 and I have started keeping track of exactly what ee spend... I am averaging about 850/month....this includesnthings like laundry soap, tp, shampoos,etc....If something is on sale, I buy extra...right now i have 14 boxes of unopened cereal ..with 3 older teens, and extra kids eating here all the time, I think what I spend is reasonable....I shop sales, but also refuse to be cheap with groceries-although sometimes I wish I could be ...between milk, yogurt and cheese and fruit, I spend a lot. I figured out the other day we go through at least 5-7 bananas a day and close to that in apples and oranges....We also eat out very rarely and my kids and dh pack a lunch every day! Groceries are definitely one of our biggest expenses

 

[yesiamcrazy]

On a normal month our family of 8 (plus 6 pets) spends about $700. That includes all the soap/tp/pet food etc. BUT we buy our beef 1/2 a cow at a time and that is not included in that.

 

[kimara]

You Dis'ers constantly amaze me.
I love all the ideas.

When I told my DH that I was just gonna ask the DIS about grocery money he thought I was kidding. When he realized I wasn't kidding, he thought I was a little crazy. Now, he can see that I'm right. The DIS knows everything.

Great ideas--as I read through your posts I realized I forgot the 7th member of our family--Zipper the dog. The 65 lb eating machine need his food too, right?

 

[mb_uh]

Okay I am not always good about this but I try to budget so much for cleaning, food, holidays, diapers, etc. ( I buy things at sams like paper towels, laudry soap and plan to spend 50 a month so I each month I buy 2-3 items planning for them to last 2-3 months so I do not have to buy everything at once. Then I keep my sams walmart etc receipts so I can go back and deduct what I spent on cleaning, diapers, etc from my actual groceries- I still go over my goals sometimes but I find the more I buy at Sams the better I do.

Items I buy at Sam's

5lbs of cheese is $13 which is about 2.60 lb and last a long time (separate and put in freezer)
butter 4lbs for $9 Freezes very well
Hamburger/hotdog buns 2 for a pack of each brand name
OJ Bordan Gallon for $3.50 good and lasts a long time
Frozen chicken breasts 10lbs $23 2.3 lb
Hotdogs OM 30 for $4 Freeze extra they are sealed in 5 to a resealable pack
Water 35 for $4

I plan on about 100 dollars for food at sams every month to strech my regular food budget and it really helps plus if we are ever low on funds I know I have plenty of food in my freezer.

plus lots more

 

[chris31997]

Can't forget the fur baby Disers know everything

We spend about 400 a month. We are a family of 4. I do use cash and I shop at a farmers market which saves me some $$ when it comes to fresh veggies and helps to support the local farmers That does not include hygiene stuff.

My advice, cut yourself some slack in the envelope system. It is going to take you some time to get it even out and than a month is going to come by and mess it all up

 

[laurafergie]

You Dis'ers constantly amaze me.
I love all the ideas.

When I told my DH that I was just gonna ask the DIS about grocery money he thought I was kidding. When he realized I wasn't kidding, he thought I was a little crazy. Now, he can see that I'm right. The DIS knows everything.

Great ideas--as I read through your posts I realized I forgot the 7th member of our family--Zipper the dog. The 65 lb eating machine need his food too, right?

You know, I think a really good way to start would be to spend like you normally would for a couple of weeks - But keep track of the items. Then you can see where your money goes. Then you could adjust to suit your family. I think this may work better than just picking a number of the air and trying to conform.

 

[Virgderon]

I can tell you exactly how much because I am on the no buy thread here, and I track my grocery spending and how much I saved in coupons and sales. In April I spent $283 on groceries, and saved $126 using coupons/sales.

That is high for me, I usually stay under $250 for 2 people. I think Easter hurt my spending last month.

 

[ilovepete]

Family of 4, the kids are big eaters (DS eats more than me sometimes!) and we spend $200 or less a month. I coupon, too, and I feel we eat pretty well.

ETA - Mine includes toiletries/household stuff, too, not just food.

 

[momof1princess]

for our family of 3, we spend about $80.00-$100.00 per week for groceries between two stores, which includes all toiletries and pet products. once every 8-10 weeks, we go to sam's and buy meat, snacks and paper products, and spend $150.00-$200.00.

 

[CouponAngie]

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I have NO idea how much we spend for groceries.
I am going to start using cash envelopes tomorrow. I know how much to put in the envelopes for my other categories (or at least a good ball park to try) but I am clueless as to how much I should budget for groceries and other household items like laundry soap and stuff.

We are a family of six (2 adults and kids are 13, 10, 6 and 3).
(I am not a total flake when it comes to money, we are debt free except our house, and living within our means. Yet I have been slacking when it comes to control in Walmart, Costco and Target.)

Thanks in advance

Don't feel embarrassed! We were in that same boat until about a year ago when we started following the Dave Ramsey plan. We went thru Financial Peace University and it completely changed the way we think and the way we do things. We do the cash envelope system as well. At the beginning of the month, DH does a budget where he basically tells every dollar where it is going. We put cash in each of our envelopes according to that plan. It has made such a difference. You tend to give things alot more thought when you have to turn over cold hard cash rather that just enter an Pin number or give your signature. If you are not good about writing down debit card purchases, it's really easy to forget how much you have already spent. There's no question about how much money you have spent when you count what's left in your envelope!
We have also discovered the art of bargaining since we have gone to the all-cash system. Places that I never before dreamed would haggle on price (including upscale furniture stores!) have cut us some really good deals for offering cold hard CASH for our purchases!
We've also added couponing to our repertoire, which has saved us even more money! (thus enabling us to pay cash for our upcoming Disney vacay!). Mind you, we're nothing like the Extreme Couponers, but we are doing quite well, and have definitely noticed how much further our budget is stretching now!!!

 

[kimara]

You know, I think a really good way to start would be to spend like you normally would for a couple of weeks - But keep track of the items. Then you can see where your money goes. Then you could adjust to suit your family. I think this may work better than just picking a number of the air and trying to conform.

I have "tried" to do this for the past few months but I apparently lack the discipline to control myself when i know there is just more money in the bank. I am wanting to pay cash for our upcoming Dland trip and we will be paying for 12 of us. I'm hoping moving to the cash system helps me save more green for disney

 

[Mary•Poppins]

We are a family of 5 and I have started keeping track of exactly what ee spend... I am averaging about 850/month....this includesnthings like laundry soap, tp, shampoos,etc....If something is on sale, I buy extra...right now i have 14 boxes of unopened cereal ..with 3 older teens, and extra kids eating here all the time, I think what I spend is reasonable....I shop sales, but also refuse to be cheap with groceries-although sometimes I wish I could be ...between milk, yogurt and cheese and fruit, I spend a lot. I figured out the other day we go through at least 5-7 bananas a day and close to that in apples and oranges....We also eat out very rarely and my kids and dh pack a lunch every day! Groceries are definitely one of our biggest expenses

This is us.

We were in the same boat at you. We were not keeping track of our spending and made a goal of keeping track of it starting in January. Our grocery bill has been between 750.00 to 950.00 (This depends if we are stocking up on items at Sam's Club some months). We also eat like the poster I quoted ... meat with dinner 5 times a week, bagged lunches, etc.

However, when we kept track of our spending, the money that shocked us the most was our gas (car) bills ... and the way it has been going up, it will be increasing again this month. UGH!

 

[Psychodisney]

We're a family of 5+ a golden retreiver. I try to shop sales and coupon but I still spend close to $1000/month. We eat a lot of fresh fruits/veg but also probably too much junk and snack food and soda. We go thorugh 5-7 gallons of milk/week.

 

[StephMK]

We spend about $125 a week on average. We go to Costco for our meat & other staples then supplement w/grocery sales & a few coupons. We usually go to one store because we get fuel points, it's close & their store brands are really good. DH packs & the kids do a combo of hot/cold lunches at school.

I have noticed prices going up so I expect we will be spending more this summer when we're home more. Plus DS is starting to eat more so I think we'll end up closer to $700-800 a month before too much longer.