Whats normal to spend on food each week?

[KKB]

We are a family of 2 adults and 5 kids. I've never done the coupon thing because its seems like brands we don't eat. Do you just switch brands when the coupons come out?

Don't bother w/ the coupon.

I use store brands A LOT. Very little brand loyalty here. I almost only use a coupon when I catch the item on sale & it is an item/brand we use regularly (Crest sensitive toothpaste, Prilosec, Charmin--DH's vice, etc.)

I am thinking of the coupons I used today...we needed yogurt & Yoplait 4 packs were cheaper than the store brand...had a coupon.That's how I typically use them. Alternately, had a coupon for ziploc bags, found store brand on sale much cheaper, went w/ those.

I use a lot of Target only coupons.

I shop mostly at Hyvee grocery, SuperTarget & Walgreens. I love Hyvee's produce, store brands & they have a few items we use that SuperTarget doesn't carry. Walgreens is 2 blocks from our house & we can pick up milk/bread/beer--I think that saves us $ not to stop at the grocery store each time...too easy to pick up other stuff.

 

[mistysue]

If I were asked back in November, I would say we are usually less than $50/week. We used a lot of lentils and TVP instead of meat (both purchased in bulk, so incredibly cheap) We also made pizza, eggs, tacos, pasta and cereal a lot. Plus I buy whatever produce has the best deal.

We are going through quite an adjustment right now because DS has developed allergies to dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, walnuts and shrimp. Say good bye to almost all processed food. Now instead of cheese on sale, his cheese is $6 for 6 oz. and the manufacturer doesn't do coupons. Haven't found ANY bread products he can eat yet, so we have to make our own everything. A lot of ingredients we are using to substitute for flavors we can't even get locally, so I've been going to the grocery store and the only food I can buy there is either produce or unbreaded meat. We've easily spent over $1000 on food in the past month, but we are also having to buy some things in larger quantities so as time passes it will even out, but I think we are probably about tripling our food expense in the long run. I have a stack of allergy cookbooks we are working through.

 

[DisneyWalle]

Our family of 3 (2 adults and 1-11 yr old boy) weekly budget including all paper products, personal hygiene, cleaning products and groceries average $70. I use coupons, monitor sales at 5 different grocery stores and make most of my cleaning products (dishwasher soap, laundry soap and general cleaning solution).

We eat out only about once a week with an average $18 bill.

We are going to be raising sheep this spring to fill our freezer for the winter and will be planting our garden in the next couple of months to help offset produce cost.

 

[mjbaby]

We are going through quite an adjustment right now because DS has developed allergies to dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, walnuts and shrimp. Say good bye to almost all processed food.

Take heart - it gets easier. If you do a search on this board for allergies you'll find several recent threads (including one that I started when my family went down this journey) with excellent suggestions on reducing food bills when allergies/sensitivities are in play. At my house we're wheat, soy, beef, and dairy (and ought to include eggs in that, but the effects aren't as bad so I'm in denial about that one).

My food budget is nearly back down to pre-allergy levels, but it took a good amount of trial and error. A lot will depend upon the level of issue and how long it can take to get something back into rotation (if at all). After nearly 18 months I can put beef on the menu once every couple of months but still can't have any soy, while wheat lies somewhere in between. You'll get there!

Oh, and I meant to include this: check mambosprouts.com for coupons, as well as the Seeking Truth Daily website for manufacturers who have signups, facebooks offers and printable coupons. Money Saving Mom also has a weekly roundup of "whole foods" coupons. I've found that there's a broad overlap between "natural foods" and those that my family can eat. I regularly find coupons for produce, dairy substitutes (although not soy-free margarine, sadly), pasta, baking supplies, chips and crackers and other snacks, broths and soups, and so on. It IS possible to coupon for whole and natural items - in my area, at least.

Another edit: depending upon the natural of your son's sensitivities, you may find that he can tolerate goat or sheep's cheese. My husband does o.k. with sheep's cheeses, although my daughter can do goat cheese. For some reason, cow's milk yogurt works for both of them. My theory is that it's the fermentation that makes the difference, but I don't even play a doctor on TV, so don't take my word for it! It's that trial and error thing again...

 

[lady9]

I spend $120 a week including paper products, toiletries, and cleaning products. We are a family of 4 including a teenage son eating machine. We also feed my parents dinner (who have health issues and I like to make sure they have a healthy dinner) most nights. That being said, this does not include a side of beef (organic) we get each year that is about $750 and my mom does buy some chicken and pork for us when she sees it on sale, probably spends about $25 a month on that. So factoring in all that and assuming my math is correct, we spend on average, $140 a week for 4 adults, DS 15 and DD 10.

The key for us is shopping sales, coupons for products I truly use, store brands, and cooking from scratch. I try to keep filling snacks for DS in the house like homemade pepperoni rolls, muffins, fixings for nachos, etc.

 

[KATIESMOMMY]

Our budget is $200 every pay period. (2 wks) From that I have to buy all groceries, paper products, diapers&wipes and gas for my running and to take the kids to school. That also includes eating out, and my 'I want or need' fund. Coupons, shopping in bulk, and using Aldis are the ONLY way I make it. Our biggest expense was meat. I have found a butcher, an hour away, where they sell in bulk and I can get a months worth of meat, bacon, chicken and fish for $175 which makes it a lot easier to make it.

 

[tasha99]

For DS13 and I, it's about $100 per week. I aim for $75, but it's not always realistic, even though we eat legume meals a couple times a week.

I try to keep a stocked pantry so I can just buy sale items. We don't eat very many processed foods (but some), and if something is easy to freeze, I make extra. For example, I made a ton of refried beans a few weeks ago. The extras are neatly frozen in one meal packages (can't stand the canned refried beans).

I'm going halibut fishing and planning to get my quota of salmon this year (like 4 halibut and 30 salmon for the two of us!) Hoping I can trade some of that for ground moose with someone so I can quit having to buy so much meat. There are a lot of farms in my area of Alaska, and I plan to garden and pick enough to freeze from the commerical u-pick farms to lower my grocery bill next year. To me $50 per person per week is seeming high, but food is more expensive here than in the lower 48 (though cheaper than many places in alaska).

 

[ccgirl]

Please come to Boston and show me how to do this. There is no way on earth that I could ever come close to $75/week for my 5. Even with coupons. I shop in 4 stores to get the best price. We also rarely dine out and there are few snacks in my house. I am close to $300/week on groceries and some nights my son has dinner at work provided by my mother.That doesn't include my husbands lunches. I just can't seem to get him to bring lunch. My biggest splurge is organic milk and a few organic produce items. So OP, no $300 is not way over the top for groceries.

Does Peapod deliver to you? That's who I use and I posted earlier that I spend $125 every two weeks. I have them come every two weeks and I only purchase sale items. I have an extra fridge/freezer in the basement as well as a large pantry. My DH used to do that (not bring lunch) - now I make him use his own spending money for that. Really stinks when there's a Patriots game and there is no money left for beer. He learned really quickly to pack his own lunch. Even if it's a can of soup.