OK, how much do you spend on groceries?

[dbal]

I think when my oldest dd starts school in Sept. I am going to start going to Aldis again. I really hate to, but when I was doing it on a regular basis- I probably spent at least $25 less a wk. Then I will compensate what I can't find there at my regular grocery store.
I can't believe how my grocery bill has been inching up & up. My dd is finally potty trained and I stopped buying diapers about a month ago and really thought I would sock that $ away. I have been spending just as much though. I need to get back on a tighter budget.

 

[mrsboz]

I am actually flabbergasted at what some of you spend. We are a family of five and I usually spend $200/week. We also usually eat out once sometimes twice a week. Do you eat out lunch all week? Good for you. I can't seem to get under $175.00.

 

[sweet angel]

I bring my lunch to work almost every day. Maybe once a month I'll go out and buy a sandwich.

I can't imagine being able to spend so little...don't get me wrong, I sure wish I could!

I'm still waiting for the tips!

 

[curlyjbs]

Wow! For my fam of 5 + 1 dog & cat I spend a minimum of $150/week not including 1 take out night. Jeez, if I have to run to the store for a gallon of milk I end up spending another $20-$40 on top of that.

I need helppppppp

curly

 

[arminnie]

What I'm feeling bad about is that I have no clue what I am spending on groceries. I lived alone for years and ate a big lunch at a company subsidized cafeteria so I really didn't buy much at all - cereal, bananas, milk, bread, cheese and tuna could last me for a week. I also traveled on business and didn't have to pay for those meals.

I am now a stay at home daughter - taking care of my 83 year old father. I need to start keeping track of what I spend and planning more. Thanks for the inspiration.

 

[mamalle]

I say that ours is $200 a week for groceries and gas but it never seems to stay right at that. I shop at costco every week and depending on our needs- I'll spend around $100 . maybe higher depending on extras like dvd, books, toys or contacts. I hit the grocery store usually every other and will spend around $80 there. I gas up at costco every week and include that in my weekly allowance. we eat out every friday night usually pizza and I will take the kids out for lunch at least once during the week. $200 just doesnt seem to cut it anymore for our family of 4. I like to buy in bulk since dh take alot to the fire dept. Im hoping we will be diaper free this next month and that should save me around $30 a month in diapers and wipes.

 

[KimOhio]

that is really good at $100.00 for a family of 5 we average 125-150 for a family of 3

 

[CrazedDisFan]

I went grocery shopping today to the tune of $118.00.

I don't usually spend that much, but like others have said meat is outrageous.

I try to keep it at $75.00 a week. I do use coupons and if I see something I buy every week on sale, I will pick up a few of that item. I just can't see spending say $2.99 for a jar of pasta sauce next week, if it's .99¢ this week. So I will pick up several jars and hope to make it to the next sale before buying any more.

I also always stock up on canned goods in the fall. Stores seem to have great sales in the fall on canned goods. This helps save in the long run too. A well stocked pantry is a great grocery $ saver.

 

[MrsPete]

We spend $75-100/week for a family of four. That includes brown-bag lunches and paper products. We usually order pizza on Friday nights (not included in above budget), but we don't eat out frequently.

Someone asked for tips:

Notice how much you're spending on beverages -- it's probably a significant amount. Consider decreasing your sodas (they're horrible for your health anyway). Buy re-usable water bottles and drink tap water. Frozen concentrated juices are about 50% the cost of pre-mixed, and they're lighter to carry home. Milk has increased in price, so I give my kids small glasses (with all the refills they want) to avoid leftovers. Juice boxes are expensive; pour your own drinks at home and save the convenient little boxes for school lunches and on-the-go drinks. Let's not even discuss alcohol -- the cost is outrageous.

If you're using coupons, compare the price of the product to the store brand or made-from-scratch; unless your store doubles, the coupon items often cost more. Example: You can buy a box of name-brand Cheerios for $3 (and use a .50 coupon to bring it to 2.50), or you can buy a box of store-brand Cereal-Os for 1.25. Another example: You can buy Kraft Thousand Island dressing for 2.80 (and use a .40 coupon to bring it to 2.40), or you can spend five minutes making homemade Thousand Island for fifty cents.

If you have a bakery thrift store, check out the prices. There's one on my way home from work, and it takes literally only five minutes to get in and out of there. I can buy 3 loaves of bread for one dollar.

 

[jeancbpugh]

Wow, you all ARE thrifty! For a family of 4 I spend about $200/week at the grocery store (which includes paper products, etc.)

We almost never eat out.

 

[pygmymom]

I budget $350 a month for a family of five, including 3 DD's 12, 14 and 17. With the exception of the youngest, my girls don't eat that much, they like to graze. This includes all paper products, hygiene and shampoos. It does not include going out, or school lunches. The only time I exceed this budget is in the summer, when all three are home, and then not by much.

I live in a metro area and have four grocery stores, Walmart and Target within 4 miles. Every week, I go through the ads and make my route of the specials on things we use. One store has super low or free items with $20 purchase, so when that item is something I might use, I try to group my milk purchases to make that $20. I use a mental "price book" of target prices. Not only do I clip my coupons, I get my SIL's, too. Every week, I take some time to plan out menus for at least a week if not the next month. I tend to make the same 10 things, but they are meals my family enjoys. If I'm working or going to be away from home, I make up something they can put in the oven, to avoid the fast food dash, which is a trap I fell into when I was working FT. If I find an excellent deal on something, I have a large chest freezer. About a week ago, one of my stores had an unadvertised special--a 10 lb. chub of 93% lean hamburger for 16.90--or 1.69 a lb! I've cut down some of the meat in recipes and have taken advantage of the low carb scare and stocked up on some of the great cereal specials!

I've noticed an increase in grocery prices over the last 4 months, so this is more challenging. Good luck to everyone--you've got to be smart about educating your family to changes, otherwise you could face a revolt!

 

[shirleyb]

Some more tips.

I rarely buy sodas. I do buy Kool Aid, but I can get the unsweetened for 10 cents a pack and add my own sugar a lot cheaper than the presweetened.

Same with little pudding cups and jello cups. You pay A LOT for that convenience. Compare the cost of the instant with the cost of those and you'll see.

I do like to make a lot of stir fries, or rice and pasta dishes to stretch chicken breasts or ground beef. As everyone else has said, meat has gotten very expensive.

Our Aldi's is about 40-45 miles from here, so I don't shop there, even though I believe you can get groceries there for about 60% of what you'd pay at the grocery stores.

I do shop at Sav-A-Lot, which is not quite as cheap as Aldi's, but I would say I probably can get groceries for 75% of the cost of grocery stores.

I won't do the coupons, and running from store to store thing. I know a lot of people save a lot of money, but really, I just don't have the time.

Shirley

 

[tw1nsmom]

For those of you who do so well with coupons, do your stores have double or triple coupon days? Ours don't anymore, and I just don't seem to save much with coupons here (generic is ussually cheaper than name brand with coupon). I would love to use coupons more efficiently, so if you have any advice I'd be happy to hear it.

 

[punkin]

I used to live where they doubled coupons routinely and sometimes ran triple coupon specials. I was the coupon queen then. Here, they don't even double coupons so I find I don't save as much using coupons. I agree that meat is astronomical in price so we try to avoid using it much. I cook two meat dinners per week and that gives me enough leftovers for two stir fry (one with rice-one with noodles) dinners. I generally have one tuna casserole every two weeks and one day with salmon croquettes (canned salmon on sale $.99 and two cans feed a family of four). I also make a spaghetti day (meatless sauce I make myself) and occasionally a Jamaican peas and rice dish (with coconut milk-it's to die for). I also buy a lot of fish on sale.

In the supermarket I only buy loss leaders and ABSOLUTELY NO soda. I buy cereals only when they are on sale. I can't spend $4.00 for a small box. They keep pretty much forever so I stock up. Also for brekfast-Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Farina, Grits are all dirt cheap (don't get the instant-that's expensive and not as nutritious) and my kids love these with hone or maple syrup. They are also good for a dinner side dish with a little melted cheese.

We eat out once a week (as a family. My DH refuses to brown bag his lunch and eats out pretty much every day for lunch. I'm working on that-it's a budget buster.)

Those are my tips for what they'r worth. BTW when I was little, my grandmoher could stretch a chicken (that's ONE chicken) into feeding a family of 4 for 4 nights. Now that's frugal.

 

[ajksmom]

We are a family of 5 - 2A, 3K 21,17,& 3. Our budget for the month is $600. and that includes all HBA, paper, dog food, and diapers/wipes. I spend that at the grocery,wal-mart/target, and sam's. Both of the older boys make their lunches to bring to work.
My tips are:
Have a good size fridge, one that allows you to be able to pick up enough milk,produce,etc. until the following week.
Have a separate freezer. This allows me to stock up on sale items like frozen pizzas, coffee, meats, ice cream, etc.
Shop once a week. I used to go only twice a month but I find now that I go once a week I am able to stock up on sale items and I am not running to the convenience store to grab expensive last minute items. My only other stop is when our farmers markets are open.
Use coupons. My sister and I swap our coupons after we are done clipping for ourselves so that helps alot. Some libraries offer coupon swaps if you don't have anyone nearby to swap with. I also check coolsavings.com,etc. for other coupons.
"Save" your savings. Put them away in the bank or change jar. When you see them start to really add up it rewards you, kinda inspires you to try harder! If you can't afford to save them, earmark them to pay off a "luxury" item - cable or cell bill, or use it for eating out. Gives you a better reason to save.

I shop at Shaw's and they always offer double coupons. If a competitor has triple coupons they match the offer. Their receipts print up your savings at the bottom, and with sale items and coupons I am always able to shave at least 30% off our grocery bill. This past week I shaved 52% off of the 137.00 tab!
It is very rare when I am opening/eating something that wasn't bought on sale and/or with a coupon. All "extras" are ALWAYS bought on sale. We don't have snacks, cereals, ice cream or soda bought at full price.


Kristy

 

[meeshi]

We average $100/week for a family of 5, but only 4 eaters(Me, DH, DD16, DS14, DD12 is tube fed). This includes everything, toiletries, cleaning, pet food. We maybe eat out once a week at a local pizza place (oldest dd works there and we get a discount and it's less than $20).

The store I do most of my shopping at only doubles one like coupon up to .50 (sometimes they have triple coupons) but I stock up on b1g1 sales, often they have cereal buy 4 boxes get $6 off your order and I'll use coupons, I look for discounted meat in the meat dept. I can usually find $1-$3 off and I just stick them right in my freezer. We drink water, sometimes I'll buy drink mix and very rarely buy soda. (I do buy gatorade for DS for soccer practice and games). I also started shopping at Aldi's for certain items.

We rarely buy lunch out. DH is able to come home for lunch and will either eat leftovers or a tuna or lunchmeat sandwich.

Once school starts I'll be spending about $20/week on school lunches.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

Some of your budgets are great. I bring my lunch daily which consists of 2 yogurts, some grapes and carrots. Mine alone costs about $3 dollars a day. We spend almost $20.00 a week in cold cuts for the girls lunches.
I must re-evalute our spending habits!!