Is It Possible To Spent Only $181 in Groceries a Month For a Family of 2?

[joditurner85]

Hi everyone! My name is Jodi and I am new to this website and fairly new to couponing. I also am a single mother of a 2 year old girl. I was just wondering if it's possible for a mother and toddler to live off of $181 worth of food per month? My problem is every time I go to the grocery store I spend somewhere between $70-$90 per week. Sure I get a lot of food and toiletries but I seem to always be broke at the end of the week. :sad: I already have basic couponing skills, so any advanced techniques and tricks would greatly be appreciated. :thanks7:
Jodi

[kval07]

Hi Jodi,

Welcome to HCW! It IS possible for you to make it on $181 or less per month. I know this because I do shopping for myself, my fiancee, and my sister who lives with us. We do it all for less than $150 a month for the three of us.

The trick is to pair coupons with rock bottom sale prices. Drug stores such as CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid are great at helping you get health and beauty items for cheap or even free. When you can get something for free/cheap, you stock up on it to last you until the next great sale. I haven't bought toilet paper in months!

Read everything you can get your hands on here. Start studying forums for the stores you will shop at and learn all about them. Once you get the hang of it, you will NEVER pay full price for anything again!

PM me with any questions you may have and I'd be happy to help!

[Lori63]

I spend $250 (usually less) for 4 people and 1 cat.
Welcome to HCW!

[MrsPinecone]

Sure it is. I spent about $1200 total for all of 2008. That's for a family of 3 + 2 cats.

[anastaciaknits]

Hubby & I are around $110/month, and let me tell you, we eat like pigs! I don't have much of a stockpile of food right now, so I'm hoping once I get a better stockpile, that will go down. Right now, I'm still paying too much for certain things 'cause I run out.

[kahayes]

Oh you can so do this. . .it will take you a little bit to figure it all out-but with the help of this site and the great couponers out here-you will do it in no time. Good luck and welcome.

[Shannon T]

There is 3 of us. My husband, 4 yr old son & myself. I use to spend about $100+ a week. Now I spend about $45 a wk. I have a nice supply stockpile of toiletries & cleaning supplies. So all my wkly $ is going to food and starting up my food/ freezer stockpile. I have been couponing for 4 months. So you should have no problems with $181 worth of groceries a month. You need to shop @ Walgreens & CVS to start getting RR's & ECBs. And use those as monopoly $ as I call it. Use those only to buy other items that produce ECB or RR's. So you are paying pennies out of pocket for many items. You will accumulate a nice stockpile doing this.:biggrin:
You can find out more about RR's and ECB's on the forums for Walgreens and CVS.

[darmomof2]

i spend about $50 a week for 4 people and they are both in diapers

[csdickerson531]

We have 5 people and no pets. Only one kid in diapers, and no formula/baby food. We spend $150 per month, including diapers, toiletries, paper goods, etc. Our children are still quite small, though (5, 3, and 1.5), so they aren't eating us out of house and home...yet!

[Serenacoleman2004]

Yes, it is very possible....actually I have a family of four and we spend maybe....$40 a month on groceries.

[SilverRose]

Yes its possible. I buy all of my shampoo, soap and deodarant at Rite aid and only if it is free after coupon and scr. Once you find a good drug store program and get comfortable with it you can save loads of money on those items and more. Also finding a grocery store that doubles and pairing coupons with sales saves you tons of money as well.

[Ggbwg]

Yes, i do beleive it is possible. It will take time in the beginning before you can really start saving. Once you have accumalted some items it get's easier. It is frustrating in the beginning but don't give up. You can do this :BigHand:

I wish i could spend that much for 1 month but i live where there are no double coupons. I also have a family of 4 and a dog. I suggest you see if you have any stores that double coupons. If i had a Krogers i would be set :giggle2: For my family we spend $75-$90 a week.

Your in the right place and your off to a good start. Just study up the forrums and ask questions is what i suggest. Good Luck to you!

[slippies46]

Hi everyone! My name is Jodi and I am new to this website and fairly new to couponing. I also am a single mother of a 2 year old girl. I was just wondering if it's possible for a mother and toddler to live off of $181 worth of food per month? My problem is every time I go to the grocery store I spend somewhere between $70-$90 per week. Sure I get a lot of food and toiletries but I seem to always be broke at the end of the week. :sad: I already have basic couponing skills, so any advanced techniques and tricks would greatly be appreciated. :thanks7:
Jodi

Jodi, welcome to the forum!

These guys here are great!!

To get you started,

1) Decide what drug store and grocery store you will be shopping at.
2) Let's say it's CVS and Shaw's. Hop on over to the these forums. Read a little bit about what people are doing and how they are doing it.
3) If your not sure what you should do for a first transaction, ask around. These forums are so great, you will have help in a matter of minutes, that's how wonderful they are.
4) While your 'reading around' these forums don't forget to check the 'getting started' or the 'basics forums'. There is a wealth of information in these threads, this will help you 'grow' beyond the basics.

Again welcome to the forum and feel free to ask any questions you may have.