Those families who spend $400 or less on groceries

[spacemountainmom]

For many years I did most of my shopping a Super Wal-Mart since the prices were so much better. Gas prices did me in. I was spending so much on gas for the 26 mile round trip to SW that it negated the grocery savings.

We finally got a Super Target near enough to us to justify shopping there. I use my Target Check card to save the extra 5%. I spend anywhere from $90-$125 a week depending on our menu or what's on sale. We are a family of four.

 

[North of Mouse]

Yes it certainly does vary by location. We spend $250/week for family of 4. Often, it is above that, but just as much it is in the $220-230 range as well.

These past few posts mentioned boneless chicken breast on sale for $1.89 and $1.99. Haven't seen prices like that since the 1990's.

Someone on another thread mentioned peanut butter on sale for $2.89 I think. I just happened to look at peanut butter in the ad, on sale for $4.99!

We shop at Walmart. Like I said in the other thread with the peanut butter, the grocery store has pasta on sale for 10 for $10 and people always talk about stocking up when they have $0.50 or $0.75 coupons on pasta. I don't see coupons like that. We get no coupons in the mail, it's not worth spending $2.00 for a paper because the coupons we could use would be no more than $1.00, and the coupon sites all have the same stuff over and over and over again. We tried the coupon thing. I spent hours and hours and hours looking for coupons. We used them grocery shopping. The following week, I punched out on the clock at 3:05 instead of 3:00. Made that 5 minutes of overtime probably 3 times what I spent hours and hours on coupons.

Here's a catch, we spend $250/week and we grow our own beef. Actually it's my father-in-laws, so we don't pay anything for beef. Granted we don't eat a lot of steaks and roasts (don't get many roasts and the steaks pile up, think I have 30 or so t-bones in the freezer) but do eat a lot of ground beef with spaghetti, hamburgers on the grill, and such.

We probably eat chicken twice a week. We don't buy the $4.99/lb. chicken breast (same as the $1.89 and $1.99 others mentioned or we would eat that.) We get the no hormone and no anti-bacterial additive chicken (not actually organic.) I think it is $5.99/lb at Walmart. It is so much tender and tastier than that rubbery stuff they sell for $4.99. If we could get the rubber chicken for $1.99, then we might change for the budget and get that.

Tried coupons on cereal. Always on sale 4 for $10. Sounds great! Add the coupon which what we always get isn't $0.50 to double but $1 off 2. That means can't double on the up to $0.99 rule at the store. The kicker is the cereal boxes on sale are the 10 oz boxes, with coupons would be 40 oz for $8. The 24 oz boxes are $4.39. I can get 48 oz of cereal for $8.78. That makes the "on sale with coupon" cereal costing $0.20 per ounce and the regular price cereal $0.18 per ounce. A no brainer there, the coupons get shredded up for the compost pile.

I have 2 grocery stores where I would shop at. I have compared the sale ads when we were trying to use coupons and the sale prices were always still about a $1 more than Walmart's regular price. Not only that, but many of the stuff we buy, we buy the generic brand, which is always cheaper than the name brand stuff with a coupon.


I see someone mentioned their budget is $80 per week and that includes diapers and formula? I can't see how this is remotely possible. I remember diapers costing us $30/week and formula about $40/week. That would leave $10 per week to eat on and all toiletries? Come on!

May I ask where you live? Boneless chicken breasts in this area is $1.99 lb. (or less) at one store or another every week or so.
Also, I save a bundle on coupons - much cheaper to buy name brand everything than store brand. We have 3 major stores that double every week (two to .75, the other to .50) Also, every few weeks one also has triple couponing or super doubles (up to 1.99).
And peanut butter for $4.99? Reg. 16-18oz. size jar? We get lots of good sales on that plus coupons - my buy price is no more than 1.50, usually $1.00.
Also, every week there are good meat sales here - varies with different cuts. We have lots of competition here so that makes things cheaper. Like this week at Kroger, $1.99gal. milk. Most of the sales on that is $2.75 - $3.00 though.
I don't buy a lot of processed foods, or quick to prepare boxes,etc. Cooking from scratch is so much cheaper and healthier too.
I spend about $50 wk. on groceries now with just dh & I. When children were home, it was more like $80 - $100.
I am a "numbers" person and very conservative, but we still eat very well. I cook large quantities still (some things, not) and freeze extra portions.

 

[SnowWhite607]

We are a family of 3 with 2 cats. We spend about $100 - $125 per week on groceries and this includes cat stuff (food, littler) as well as toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning products, toiletries, etc.

Meals this week:

artichoke chicken, squash from the garden, garlis bread
asparagus and chicken pasta, salad
taco salad
spaghetti
eggplant parmesan, pasta, garlic bread
pork chops, mixed veggies, salad

Usually dessert is fruit or a yogurt parfait with fruit. Breakfast is cereal or oatmeal, fruit salad or cinnamon rolls 1x a week. Lunch is pasta salad, sandwiches, chicken salad, soup, wraps.

We are both teachers so we are home all summer and eat 3 meals a day at home usually.

I shop at Walmart and price match with 2 other grocery store in the area and use coupons.

 

[cornflake]

The biggest $ saver I can think of from what you're saying is to cut out meat as much as possible.

I'm not a particular TJ's fan either, there are a few things I like, and their chevre, for whatever reason, is bizarrely cheap, but their produce is terrible and mostly non-organic.

I do organic when possible for anything I'm eating the skin or whole thing of (apples, berries, broccoli, etc.) and some things that I've noticed make a real, noticible difference in taste or quality (have an organic carrot, you'll never go back to those tasteless, sad pale things).

So I'm with you there - and it can be more expensive, but you can get stuff like beans, grains, rice, pasta, flours, etc., cheap, so you can spend a little more on the produce and cut some of the meat and lower your bills, I'd wager.

 

[littlebit0863]

I'm the one who said $80 a week including diapers & formula. For diapers & formula we buy Comforts for Baby from Kroger. To me they are softer and better than even Huggies. A large pack of diapers is $17, I believe it's 200 or somewhere close, and lasts us the whole month. If we have to supplement, we will buy a small pack which is about $7, and is a "just til the end of the week amount."

Formula is our most expensive buy, and I have been trying to figure out how to save on it. What I mostly buy is Comforts for Baby at $24 for a big can, which lasts us 2 weeks. So that's $48 a month.

Pull ups are $8 a small pack, and last us a month, since ds is almost potty trained.

Kroger has deal with the Kroger Plus Card, if you buy 4 CFB products you get a $5 coupon for you next purchase. That's a large pack of wipes. And the 4 products don't have to be purchased at once. My mom babysits my baby and my sister's baby, and we take turns purchasing wipes. For my house I will use about a pack a month, for my mom's it's the same.

So I spend about $80, or 1/4 of my grocery budget on diapers, wipes, & formula.

 

[littlebit0863]

Oh, I also wanted to add that it does depend on where you shop, and I shop at a few places. Kroger I buy baby products and bread, because Mrs. Bairds wheat bread is always buy 1 get 1 free, that's 50 cents a loaf. For other groceries, I normally shop at a local store called Joe Vs, it's an HEB discount store. It's so cheap, but not a great selection. Pasta is normally 75 cents a pack, beans are about 80 cents a bag, rice I think is $1.00, canned tomatoes are 33 cents (3 for $1), Cereal ranges about $1.25, toothpaste (Colgate) is 80 cents, etc. Great prices but it's mostly HEB brand stuff. They do take coupons for their name brand things. For my veggie "meat" products, Target has the best selection & prices, plus I use my red check card for 5 % off each time. I don't spend my day running around from store to store, but I do buy certain things on certain days, and I do stock up.

 

[DawnM]

We do about 90% of our grocery shopping at Costco.

Lots of fresh fruit and veggies
Frozen chicken breasts
Frozen Pot Stickers
Frozen fruit for smoothies
Milk
half and half
Kirkland whole bean coffee
Salmon fresh
California rolls
Ground Turkey
Basmatti rice
Bread
Naan
PB
Jelly
Turkey lunch meat
Black bean tortilla chips
Mango Salsa
Regular Salsa
Potatoes
Sharp Cheddar Cheese
eggs
Pancake mix
Pancake syrup

Condiments I buy as needed but don't need them often!

 

[Happyjen27]

All organic explains it!! I took that stance on meat, we don't drink milk. For veggies I grow a garden, and buy a share in the CSA farm box. Mostly we stick to just the meat and eggs and buy regular everything else.

So, to get your grocery bill down, you can try the white board like I explained earlier. I could menu plan until the end of time, but until I set a goal and held myself to that goal, I would have gotten no where.

So, pick a goal. Maybe this month, it's spending $800 on groceries, and post it somewhere prominent, like a white board, or on a piece of paper on your fridge, or wherever. Make it visible to whoever might be shopping, because my DH would do one "budget buster" trip a month and buy 8 bags of stuff I couldn't even make one meal out of. Whenever you buy groceries, subtract that amount from your $800 and when you're out, you're out. (altho, to be honest, I will buy fruits/veg when we're out of money. We're not broke, just trying to gain control)

This has forced me to be creative and cook from my pantry. Some awesome meals have come out of that. And some icky ones too. I think setting a goal, in whatever amount makes sense for you will be your key to success.

Let me know how you do!!

 

[hsmamato2]

Oh my.... 4 or 500 per week for 4?
well, we spend around 80-130 per week depending on the week we eat barbecue chicken, taco /fajita nights, various soups,asian stir fry- in summer my DH likes bratwurst on the grill w/ sauerkraut- ummm...we eat sandwiches at lunch,always have a full bowl of fruit on the counter,have veggies nightly with dinner,some veg. are frozen and then cooked,some are fresh,made into salad,etc- we eat a lot of rice with meals (brown jasmine rice bought at a local asian market)
a 10 lb. bag of potatoes costs 3.99 at Aldi,and that goes into various meals all week long....we eat whatever fresh fruit is on special that week- and generally eat grass fed free range ground beef only
toiletries are usually a category by themselves gotten at CVS on sale and using coupons as needed
one kid is GF so I get his bread T Trader Joe's....
my budget for the whole month is around $500.00 for 4 people including toiletries....without even trying,it's do-able...

 

[budafam]

We're a family of 4 and I budget $140 every 2 weeks for groceries so $280 total for a month. This includes EVERYTHING... paper products, dog food, eating out, etc.

I might have to up that once our garden runs out seeing as though prices are going up again but I always shop the sales, use coupons... we make a trip to Sam's Club once every 3 months or so which usually uses up the full 2 week budget in one trip but that stocks us up for awhile. For eating out, we always go with a coupon, during a promo, use a gift certificate (they have a radio show every Saturday morning where they sell $10 gift certificates for $6 or less). I also do secret shopping which entitles us to a lot of free meals where they even pay me to go.

As for a weekly menu.... we usually have a movie night (which is the most expensive) and then things like spaghetti, meatloaf, kabobs, spring rolls, you name it, I have probably made it.

 

[MrsPete]

We spend around $80/week at the grocery store for 2 adults, 2 teens . . . that does include paper products and cleaning supplies. . . but we don't buy everything at the grocery store, which is the most expensive place to buy food. We buy beef twice a year from a co-op, we buy 12-pack sodas from the gas station, we buy fresh veggies from the farmer's market, and we have other spots to buy this-and-that. We buy in quantity when things are on sale, and we don't have a great deal of processed food. All in all, averaging over the whole year, we spend about $120 per week on food.

What we've had over the last week or so . . .

Breakfasts:Steel-cut oatmeal -- I cook it in a big batch, divide it into individual jars for the fridge
Pancakes and sausage -- again, cooked a big batch, re-warmed later
Eggs
Cereal -- a last resort both taste-wise and cost-wise; cereal is a poor value

Lunches:
Leftovers, especially the tacos -- I always prepare a large quantity
Sandwiches, especially fresh tomato sandwiches
Salads

Dinners:
BBQ pork cooked in crock pot, corn-on-cob, mac-and-cheese
Tacos
Ribs -- that was for July 4th, found excellent price of $5-6/rack of ribs -- served with fries, baked beans
Asian shrimp with ramen & mushrooms -- when purchased BOGOF in big bags, shrimp are cheap
Papa John's pizza -- half price with discount code on Sunday afternoon
Ham and cheese biscuits w/ vegetable soup that I'd cooked some time back and frozen
Pinto beans (cooked in crock pot) and corn bread
Lasagna roll-ups, salad

 

[pumpkinpatchquilter]

Wow - this has been an interesting thread - thanks for sharing everyone! I feel a lot better about what we spend per week after reading...probably on average $100-$130 for a family of 5 (three cats and a dog too). We are a family on one income as I stay home so I am always trying to be thrifty. Usually I shop at Walmart/Aldi's/Marc's (in NE Ohio) and try to get meat on sale. We eat pretty much like everyone else here, raviolis, lasagna, hamburgers, pasta, chicken...basic American food. I usually make a trip to the Dollar Store and get alot of the kids snacks there for the week and a lot of cleaning products are less there. Hahaha, I am ALWAYS complaining that I wish we had more to spend on groceries...Husband would be thrilled to read this thread. Lol*

I should add - my kids won't touch canned processed foods. The only thing remotely of that nature that we eat is ramen noodles once in a while. but pretty much everything else I make from scratch.

 

[Marionnette]

This is for those families who spend $400 or less (or even $500!) a week on groceries (including toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap).

Would you mind posting what a typical week's menus are? I have a family of four and we spend way more than that. I am looking to cut our budget down to about $800 a month.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Yes! Thank you! I meant a week. We spend $800 a month and I shop at our local King and sometimes Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.


We eat Organic and I try not to buy too many processed foods. We eat meat 5/7 days as well! And don't eat out often either! I am not including any take out in the $800. We will order Indian or sushi once a month, from a separate budget category

Thank you!

There's your answer right there!

Sorry, but if you want to eat "cheap", you have to compromise on a lot of things. Fresh, organic, range-free, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free foods cost more and the people who choose to eat that way are making the decision to put their long-term health ahead of their pocketbook. There's nothing wrong with that but if you want to cut the food budget down, you will probably need to forgo many of the organics that you value.

You might be able to cut the costs a bit by grabbing the sales booklets that Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have at their checkout counters. Check Living Rich with Coupons for deals at those two stores. Hover over the "Find My Store" icon and then click on the link for your stores.

Good luck! It won't be easy to reduce your costs but you might be able to shave $15-$20 per week off of your bill by using the coupon match ups.

 

[pumpkinpatchquilter]

Is there any reason the original poster can't garden or get to a farmer's market rather than buying at Whole Foods? A lot of locally grown produce IS organic, and doesn't cost much more. Same goes with meat...even if you live in the city you could dive a couple times a year to a rural area to buy your meat (half cow, whole pig, chickens) and freeze it. For what you pay now for half of your groceries for the month, you could buy yourself half of a cow and eat for the rest of the year! lol* A lot of families go in on meat together around here to keep the cost down and ensure fresher meat.

 

[Marionnette]

Is there any reason the original poster can't garden or get to a farmer's market rather than buying at Whole Foods? A lot of locally grown produce IS organic, and doesn't cost much more. Same goes with meat...even if you live in the city you could dive a couple times a year to a rural area to buy your meat (half cow, whole pig, chickens) and freeze it. For what you pay now for half of your groceries for the month, you could buy yourself half of a cow and eat for the rest of the year! lol* A lot of families go in on meat together around here to keep the cost down and ensure fresher meat.

One of the reasons that Certified Organic foods are expensive is because of the procedure that is necessary in order to obtain that certification. Just because a farmer does not use pesticides to grow his produce, that does not make it organic. There are a lot of farms that could not qualify as "organic" because of the residual pesticides in the soil.

I've tried the "half a steer" purchase before. I didn't care for the large amount of ground beef and chunked pieces that I got for my money. There was a lot of waste. And since it was frozen, it was no fresher than the meat that I can purchase from the farmer's market each week, purchasing exactly the cuts that I prefer and know that my family will eat.

 

[Keepee]

I actually did a series on my blog on how to trim fat in your food budget- it's a 4 part series with a variety of things- some we don't do ourselves, but I put them out there for others.

It's located here: (http://keepinmesane.blogspot.com/2012/02/can-you-really-part-iv.html) that's the 4th part, which contains links to the first three.

Here are a couple of the ideas directly from the blog. Nothing revolutionary maybe, but if even one tip helps you save- that's good! :

Make Your Own: This goes for a ton of things. Rather than buying a $10 cake at Walmart, buy a box of cake mix and icing and just make your own. It's much cheaper and frankly, it's going to taste way better. You can also make your own yogurt, bread, etc. It all depends on how much time you have and how much effort you want to put in to it. Some people just do not have time to go out and make their own cheese. Some people (like me) don't want to make our own cheese.

Needs before Wants: There is a fun southern saying- "Put your wants in one hand and poop in the other- see which one fills up faster." Gross, but it makes sense. Wants aren't Needs and the sooner everyone figures that out, the more you save money. Just because I want to buy a $8 package of beef jerky does not mean that goes on the grocery list every single trip. What do you actually need to buy? How much money can you save by practicing just a little self control? It's probably more than you think.

Learn about Expiration Dates and Use by Dates: Don't forget- there is a difference in "Best By" dates and "Expiration" dates. Properly stored, food can last beyond the expiration date even. I love the website www.stilltasty.com. It helps me judge how long things can be safely used. I have some salad dressing in my stockpile that's best by date was in November 2011. However, it's been unopened and stored in a dark, cool, dry place. It can be safely used pretty much until November 2012. Once I open it, I plan on using it very quickly (as a marinade for chicken I'll toss in the freezer, etc). If there is any doubt, throw it out! You don't want a hospital bill trying to save a $2.00 bottle of dressing. However, if an open bottle of dressing is three days past the expiration date, you're pretty safe as long as you've kept it in the fridge, closed.

Frugal Menus: We'd all love to eat expensive, fancy meals every night. I know I would! However, being frugal with your menus can allow you to stretch your budget farther than you'd think. Hot Dogs are a cheap meal. Grilled cheese sandwiches and a bowl of soup can really hit the spot, even if it isn't fancy. Homemade waffles with eggs and bacon- it's an IHOP worthy meal for a fraction of the price. Check out the thousands of cheap meal websites out there to get great ideas on eating inexpensively. Even if you replace one meal a week with a good old fasioned "el cheapo" meal, you're saving money.
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I love threads like this! It's so fun and interesting to hear how folks save.

 

[rdominy]

We spend about $250 a MONTH on groceries. It does help that I hunt so we never have to buy beef, we just sub deer. Even if I didn't hunt though I couldn't imagine spending more then $350.

 

[tinkmom2]

I spend usually around $100 a week on groceries. This week I spent $79 for a family of 4. I use coupons (usually about $10-15 each visit), I don't buy name brands, and we still eat fantastically. Our store doesn't have a weekly flyer but I used to sit down on Sundays and plan our meals when our old store flyer would come out. This store I shop at now has amazingly low prices. I've been shopping there for a while so I know what aisles to go down. I hit their clearance right when I get in the store. I scored a huge 3lb bag of mushrooms, green peppers, and pears, all this week for 79cents/each. This week I also scored 20 packs of diet Pepsi for $5.00 a piece. I also make everything from scratch.

Most grocery stores will have their meat on clearance on Mondays because it's left over from the weekend.

I also buy things such as rice, beans, and some grains in bulk. You can save a good amount there.

Here is my food blog. http://tinkmomfoodie-foodobsession.blogspot.com/
You can see what I make. Also check out the eat at home blog here on the Dis.
Some examples of what we are eating this week are:

Arroz con pollo on Sunday
French onion soup and steak sandies
catfish and baked potato
spegehtti and oven meatballs
beef enchilladas and rice

 

[Pmctn]

We spend about $250 a MONTH on groceries. It does help that I hunt so we never have to buy beef, we just sub deer. Even if I didn't hunt though I couldn't imagine spending more then $350.

This. I do our shopping & I can't remember the last time I bought beef at the grocery store. Having 12 deer in the freezer is a tremendous help. We have 11 weeks until the season opens. Almost time to stock up again.

 

[Keepee]

This. I do our shopping & I can't remember the last time I bought beef at the grocery store. Having 12 deer in the freezer is a tremendous help. We have 11 weeks until the season opens. Almost time to stock up again.

Yup! I know my dad LOVES to hunt, so when he gets as much meat as he needs, I offer to pay processing if he'll shoot one for me. He gets to keep hunting without worrying about having TOO much meat and I get delicious deer for cheaper than processed-pink-slime beef .