Your monthly grocery bill and a celebration for me lol

[MomiTo2SwtGuys]

We usually spend around 500-600 a month. I don't budget for it. I really should though. We just go to the grocery store and pick up what we thing we would be good for that week or week and a half.

 

[Marionnette]

I think there have been threads here before when people have posted their budget, plus the meals they cook. Here are some past monthly grocery bills:

$267.62, $252.88, $260.74, $285.42, $268.87, $275.60

This is food only. I don't buy organic except eggs, and no one has food allergies.

We don't use much paper towels or napkins (we use cloth napkins but keep some paper on hand). I stock up on TP when on sale - same with pet food. I don't have a teenage boy but my DD is starting to eat a lot, LOL! I've noticed my bill creeping up as the kids get older, but that is normal.

There are no double coupons here, but I do manage to save about $150 per month using coupons. We don't eat out unless I have gift cards to cover the meal. I eat all meals at home, my DH packs a lunch and the kids eat the school lunch. I do pack my son a snack for school. We eat breakfast at home.

A sampling of what we're eating for dinner:

spaghetti
roast beef in the crock
BBQ beef sandwiches from roast leftovers
pizza
Tilapia
chicken & rice casserole
baked penne
Chicken parmesan
tacos

One night a week we have leftovers to clean out the fridge. We have salad practically every night, plus whatever veggies are on sale, and sometimes a starch. I also like to make casseroles because you can use less meat and add more veggies or pasta and no one is the wiser. We eat pretty healthy. I believe it's all about moderation and I'm not going to deny my kids some cookies now and then - just like I wouldn't take them to WDW and not let them have Mickey ice cream.

Like others, I do believe time = money, so I don't spend a ton of time clipping coupons - about an hour a week. Four hours per month divided by $150 is $37.50 per hour I am "making" - not bad.

This is all well and good but it really doesn't answer my question or help me understand how you manage to spend so little and yet be able to prepare those meals. And there is no mention of breakfast or snacks other than to point out that you don't deny them to your kids.

What I would love to see (if anyone has the time and is willing to share) is a grocery list for one week with all the prices. And then follow it with a menu for all the meals for that week that the shopping list covers.

Saying that you eat salad with every meal can mean different things. Is it iceberg lettuce with bottled dressing? Is it mixed field greens with kalamata olives, feta cheese and grape tomatoes in a homemade dressing? Or baby spinach with bacon, bleu cheese, candied pecans and pears with balsamic vinegar? See what I mean?

Again, I think it's great that there are some people who can manage to eat for so little each month. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around how you do it.

 

[LaDonna]

What I would love to see (if anyone has the time and is willing to share) is a grocery list for one week with all the prices. And then follow it with a menu for all the meals for that week that the shopping list covers.

Saying that you eat salad with every meal can mean different things. Is it iceberg lettuce with bottled dressing? Is it mixed field greens with kalamata olives, feta cheese and grape tomatoes in a homemade dressing? Or baby spinach with bacon, bleu cheese, candied pecans and pears with balsamic vinegar? See what I mean?

Again, I think it's great that there are some people who can manage to eat for so little each month. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around how you do it.

Well that I would not be able to do, whereas I think most avid couponers wouldn't, because we stockpile things when we find them at their cheapest, so I might buy 5 bottles of dressing one week, but not even have a salad or use it for a marinade until the following week or month!
And I normally would not have such a nice salad, I wish I love kalamta olives! You definately have to give the more pricier or gourmet type items to eat for chieaper. Our normal salads consist of regular iceberg, occasional romaine, w/ carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and if I find something else at a bargain to go in it I pick that up as well.

 

[marmalade]

Or baby spinach with bacon, bleu cheese, candied pecans and pears with balsamic vinegar?

Now that's my kind of salad!

 

[rnorwo1]

Well that I would not be able to do, whereas I think most avid couponers wouldn't, because we stockpile things when we find them at their cheapest, so I might buy 5 bottles of dressing one week, but not even have a salad or use it for a marinade until the following week or month!
And I normally would not have such a nice salad, I wish I love kalamta olives! You definately have to give the more pricier or gourmet type items to eat for chieaper. Our normal salads consist of regular iceberg, occasional romaine, w/ carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and if I find something else at a bargain to go in it I pick that up as well.

True, you have to average your costs out over months when you're stockpiling on sales. But if you could estimate what you've spent on a few meals, maybe just for a few days, that would be so helpful. For ex, for spaghetti you spent approximately "x" amount a pound for the meat, the pasta cost "x", you served frozen veggies with it, etc... to give us a reference point... including what you usually pay with coupons would even be helpful, as I just don't see how coupons can save me very much in my area. I do use them, but I do not save a ton with them.

There are so many reasons why people's grocery costs vary so much... some may limit what they buy to what they can get on sale or with coupons, and thus limit their variety or nutritional intake, others eat less healthy, others spend a ton of time gardening and making everything from scratch, others just live in less expensive areas. I feel like I am maximizing my cost saving efforts, and if trying to match your savings means that that I'll have to cut the health benefits or spend an additional 10 hours a week researching and cutting coupons, then I'll know that that just won't work for us... but if there's something you're doing that would work for our family, then I would LOVE to incorporate it and save more money!

 

[Marionnette]

Well that I would not be able to do, whereas I think most avid couponers wouldn't, because we stockpile things when we find them at their cheapest, so I might buy 5 bottles of dressing one week, but not even have a salad or use it for a marinade until the following week or month!
And I normally would not have such a nice salad, I wish I love kalamta olives! You definately have to give the more pricier or gourmet type items to eat for chieaper. Our normal salads consist of regular iceberg, occasional romaine, w/ carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and if I find something else at a bargain to go in it I pick that up as well.

I understand about the stockpiling. I have my own stockpile myself. But I also know my price points and what I paid for most things. There are 7 dozen eggs in my basement refrigerator that cost me $1/doz. Bags of baby carrots that were $1 apiece. 3-lb sacks of potatoes that were $1.99. Lemons that were 3/$1. Etc.

I know that in order to eat cheaper you have to compromise on some ingredients. Heaven knows that there are some things that are just not negotiable for my husband! So I doubt that I will ever be able to mimic what some of you are able to accomplish. But when I have a household half the size that some of you have and my grocery budget is nearly four times what you spend, there's got to be a disconnect somewhere...

...and I don't think that it's just the kalamata olives.

 

[LaDonna]

True, you have to average your costs out over months when you're stockpiling on sales. But if you could estimate what you've spent on a few meals, maybe just for a few days, that would be so helpful. For ex, for spaghetti you spent approximately "x" amount a pound for the meat, the pasta cost "x", you served frozen veggies with it, etc... to give us a reference point... including what you usually pay with coupons would even be helpful, as I just don't see how coupons can save me very much in my area. I do use them, but I do not save a ton with them.
QUOTE]

now that I can do, say like the other day when I made our tuna casserole

2 cans tuna $1 Sale no coupons
pasta free coupons mega even Krogers
can of cream of soup .50 coupon Publix
frozen peas free Target frozen food special promo
and I had in mayo, milk and either sourcream or what I used this time was Helluva' good dip(coupon Publix) which was also free, I don't know how youd factor in the 1/4 cup mayo and milk?
I also added about a cup of cheese which was around .50 cents(again a coupon that I may or may not have also used store coupon, honestly I stock up on so much cheese and freeze it,sometimes I pay a $1, sometimes $1.50,but I never go over that)
and we had ritz crackers with it(i was being lazy I usually make rolls) Ipaid lessthan a dollar for the box of crackers and we only used maybe 1 1/2 sleeves

so under $3 I even had leftovers today for my lunch

 

[LaDonna]

I understand about the stockpiling. I have my own stockpile myself. But I also know my price points and what I paid for most things. There are 7 dozen eggs in my basement refrigerator that cost me $1/doz. Bags of baby carrots that were $1 apiece. 3-lb sacks of potatoes that were $1.99. Lemons that were 3/$1. Etc.

I know that in order to eat cheaper you have to compromise on some ingredients. Heaven knows that there are some things that are just not negotiable for my husband! So I doubt that I will ever be able to mimic what some of you are able to accomplish. But when I have a household half the size that some of you have and my grocery budget is nearly four times what you spend, there's got to be a disconnect somewhere...

...and I don't think that it's just the kalamata olives.

I totally get where your saying

So I'll try and start showing what we eat and how much I can remember that we paid for it as in my above post......


another example:

kids had Frosted mini wheats which I never pay more than $1 a box for cereal
me and ds had oatmeal and added frozen blueberries, oatmeal was free after coupon and blueberries were organic frozen I purchased at Publix and if I remember correctly I paid around .65 cents for the bag, and of course we didn't use them all

for snacks today my ds had some fruity snacks(we actually very rarely purchase these) and a mini bag of smart pop jiffy popcorn) I had no snacks I just don't snack lol puts too much weight on my and negates my walking 3 miles every day)

 

[CandleontheWater]

Wow, I'm really impressed! We're a family of three (and one of those is a toddler) and I still spend about $500 a month on groceries, and we eat out one meal a week (usually on Saturday night).

I would also love to see a grocery list and meal plan of some of you who maximize your food budget, maybe I just choose to cook food with expensive ingredients? I do buy all organic dairy and meat, and try to buy as much organic produce as I can, so I know that increases my budget, but I'm not willing to compromise there.

I do coupon and this week between coupons and the store bonus card I saved $46.56, which I thought was super awesome! But then again I still ended up paying a total of $169.62, which is much higher than many of you managed. I could use a real tutorial on how to cook cheap food!

 

[LaDonna]

Wow, I'm really impressed! We're a family of three (and one of those is a toddler) and I still spend about $500 a month on groceries, and we eat out one meal a week (usually on Saturday night).

I would also love to see a grocery list and meal plan of some of you who maximize your food budget, maybe I just choose to cook food with expensive ingredients? I do buy all organic dairy and meat, and try to buy as much organic produce as I can, so I know that increases my budget, but I'm not willing to compromise there.

I do coupon and this week between coupons and the store bonus card I saved $46.56, which I thought was super awesome! But then again I still ended up paying a total of $169.62, which is much higher than many of you managed. I could use a real tutorial on how to cook cheap food!

Sounds like you are doing great for buying mostly organic

 

[Priorityonecb]

I will try for the last two nights. Preface by saying we eat a little meat, and a lot of sides/veggies/fruits. We are just not big meat eaters. No one in our family leaves the dinner table hungry! I don't cut back on food to save money really, it's just how our family eats. I also don't coupon because we don't get the paper.

Last night was taco's and fresh fruit.

1/2 pound hamburger 1.50
Box taco shells .75
Lettuce 1/4 head .25
Tomatoes-2 .50
Corn-1/2 a bag frozen .50
Cantelope- 1/2 of it .50
Grapes- .50
Total for dinner for three- 4.50

Tonights dinner, using the other half of the hamburger.One child will not eat meatloaf, so 1/2 pound is fine for two. She will eat all the sides, and probably a roll with turkey breast.
1/2 pound hamburger- 1.50
Condiments/bread crumbs/egg etc- average .50
Mashed potatoes 6 potatoes- .75
Green beans .75
Cantelope- other half .50
Sliced cucumber and carrots- .75
Total for dinner for three- $4.75

 

[ksl5f123]

This post made me smile because I am pretty sure it is almost exactly what we ate one day last week:

I too would love to see what they are buying and how they incorporate into their daily meals. The only way I could feed my family on $300/month would be quick cooking oats for breakfast, pb&j for lunch (on white bread) and meatless spaghetti for dinner. I can't imagine too much variety, and I could never feed my family like this.

I know we had oatmeal for breakfast, pb&j for lunch (although on wheat bread which is regularly about $1.75/loaf at our store and with apples $0.88/lb), and spaghetti for supper (DH is a pescatarian, so no meat, but I did add some steamed broccoli $0.89/lb frozen).

We eat oatmeal or cereal for breakfast (except on weekends when we have eggs and cinnamon rolls or biscuits). Fo lunch we have pb&j or vegetable soup and crackers or leftovers or yogurt and fruit etc. For supper, we have different kinds of pasta with various sauces and vegetables or burritos or beans and rice or chili or tuna cassarole etc. About twice a month we have salmon for supper. We spend about $350/month on groceries for our family of 5.

In the summer, we do have a garden, blueberry bushes, lots of strawberry plants, a cherry tree, and a peach tree. I would love to say that I can or freeze some fruit to use the rest of the year, but the truth is my kids eat it as fast as we pick it.

 

[worm761]

We average around $350 a month for five. We are me, Boyfriend, DS 15, DD1, and my father. This is for three meals a day plus snacks for all of us. I use coupons sometimes when the deals are really good but I don't usually use them to be honest. We make everything from scratch, don't eat out, and Boyfriend takes his lunch to work. I stay home with the kids and we homeschool. We are crazy shoppers though and grocery shopping is an event in my house. We load the truck up with two to three coolers and drive 45 mins to another town where the prices really are that much lower to justify the drive. I also shop at Sam's for the things that are just cheaper there.

 

[Priorityonecb]

I will say I spend $75-$100 a week in groceries/toiletries/paper goods/cat stuff for a family of essentially three. Sometimes more, sometimes less. This past week I only spend $48 to buy what we needed for the week. I just buy what we need/want and that is the typical average.

We do not have any teenage boys and we are all by nature light eaters. We tend to only eat twice a day. Brunch and dinner. We aren't big on snacks either, but I will make a nice dessert a couple times a week and if we do snack we want popcorn, crackers and cheese or raw veggies. At this point, I am only buying for three consistently. My oldest daughter is here very rarely for a meal.

 

[jm-mom]

I find grocery shopping to be very difficult. To buy food everyone will eat and not break the bank is difficult some weeks. I usually get the ads on Monday and figure out what's going to work with what we already have on hand and make a shopping list. Our family doesn't eat red meat so that helps cut down on costs. What's tough is when it's been awhile since chicken was on sale and we've run low on supply. Then I'm forced to pay full price if we want chicken that week. I would say I spend around $125 a week for groceries at the grocery store. I buy toiletries and some grocery items at Target so that's probably an an additional $50 per week. We also will eat out a couple of times a week, usually somewhere we have a coupon for like pizza or drive-thru when we are on the go. My family eats very little for breakfast and the kids eat in the cafeteria at school although we do pay for that. If I include lunch costs for that it's an additional $15 per week for school lunch. My husband takes leftovers the next day for lunch and I usually grab something simple from what's in the fridge at home. I read people's grocery totals and am baffled as to how they can do it for so little. I'm guessing they do their homework and know how to shop. Sadly, I'm just not that motivated. We buy pretty much the same foods month to month so I have an idea of what it will cost but we don't follow any sort of food budget.

 

[Bungle]

This is all well and good but it really doesn't answer my question or help me understand how you manage to spend so little and yet be able to prepare those meals. And there is no mention of breakfast or snacks other than to point out that you don't deny them to your kids.

What I would love to see (if anyone has the time and is willing to share) is a grocery list for one week with all the prices. And then follow it with a menu for all the meals for that week that the shopping list covers.

Saying that you eat salad with every meal can mean different things. Is it iceberg lettuce with bottled dressing? Is it mixed field greens with kalamata olives, feta cheese and grape tomatoes in a homemade dressing? Or baby spinach with bacon, bleu cheese, candied pecans and pears with balsamic vinegar? See what I mean?

Again, I think it's great that there are some people who can manage to eat for so little each month. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around how you do it.

When I go shopping this friday I would be more than happy to type up my menu and prices of what I bought. Really we cut our groceries out of necessity a few years ago when my husband was laid off for almost 6 months. After cutting stuff back when we had to it seemed odd to go back to what we were spending before.

Also I'm not sure if geography has anything to do with it, seems like people in the North and especially canadians pay more.

 

[LaDonna]

I'm not good at blogger and stuff like that, I tried it once but it just "looked" weird. Maybe I wasn't using the right blog site. I wonder what would be the best way of starting to write about "eating with coupons"
any suggestions

 

[bjgrazi]

I just got back from shopping I spent $104.16, I purchased milk (organic) egg, bread, pears, apples, grapes, bananas, peppers, tomato's, salad greens, cucumber, broccoli crowns (all above organic), chicken stock (pacific organic) tomato puree (muirs glenn) and dijon mustard and a chicken and pork chops and salmon for tonight.

On Saturday I stopped in the store and spent 16+ and I had gone shopping last Thursday and spent $89+. I will end up shopping again this Thursday.

Unfortunately my husband will never eat tuna hot with noodles with any kind of cream soup, I don't think my kids would either. I would, I love tuna casserole. Our salad greens greens are dark leafy no iceberg (no nutrition in it). I was able to find an online coupon for my eggs which was .25 off (egglands best).

No one has allergies in our family, but I read labels real careful, nothing with HFCS (there are other things also, but I cannot pronounce or spell them) in it and only whole grains.

I will say at the beginning of the new year, I read up on nutrition, cooking and such and changed the way we eat and I shop. The upside is I lost weight and my husband has lost a ton. I didn't need to lose, and it hasn't hurt him at all. We went through such a detox from it.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

.

 

[EvangelineG]

Another Canadian here, and this thread has pretty well blown my mind!

We have 2 adults, and 2 11yo boys in our household, and we eat almost all our meals in. Our sons have allergies, so we have to buy some specialty food. We also buy some of our fruit and veg organic, like apples. We don't eat a lot of meat, almost never the expensive cuts or seafood, and very, very rarely the nice cheeses, olives etc (usually just for holidays), but we do eat lots of fresh fruit and veg and whole grains, and very little packaged/processed food. I don't use many coupons (although am I ever inspired to start!), but I do try to hit sales as much as possible, and we spend $250-300 a week. I thought I had misread when I saw $250 a month! Wow.