What is your weekly grocery budget?

[xquizit9]

I've been couponing for years. I just started focusing on stockpiling food and having a budget for food. So far my food stockpile includes mostly salad dressing, condiments, cereal or cakes and warm delights! lol

I have a family of 5, including me, DH, DS(14), DS(11) and my mother. I am not including my cleaning, pet, health and beauty items, just groceries. Do you think it's realistic to have a budget of $350 and be able to still have some snack/easy foods for the kids?

I've just started a garden so I'll have some produce but not just yet. We are pretty basic eaters, but DH and kids don't eat beans and of course they all feel like meat should be the main focus. Please help! I've never tried menu planning but I really need to get grocery budget in order and find ways to eat healthier for less.

So can we do it? Please help!

[2mnyteens]

I think that is a doable budget. We are a family of 5 (me, hubby, 2 daughter 22, daughter 23, grandson 2) and we spend about $300 a month. Good luck!

Julie

[Ggbwg]

It will vary by your area on how well the sales/coupons are. We spend $300-$400 a month. We are a family of 4 + dog. My area does not get double coupons either. I shop Bakers, Price match everything @ Walmart and i also shop Walgreens. Our budget includes: Diapers, cleaners, toilet items, HBA, Grocery, eating out, etc.

Good Luck to you!!!! You off to a good start !

[lakemom]

Having teenage sons, I think that would be a very difficult budget because those boys can eat!!! We budget $650 a month for me, dh, ds (20), dd (17), ds (14.5), ds (7) and dd (2.5). The 14yo boy out eats anyone else in the family...he eats about as much as any other 2 adults lol. I'd say try the $350 for a couple of months and see how it goes and then bump it up (or down) a bit at a time until it works. When it becomes "impossible" to keep everyone well fed and happy on the amount budgeted you know you've gone too low.

[sadlady12]

You can absolutely do it! You have the exact same household as I do, lol..same ages as my boys too.

We lived on 400/mo., including pet and hba, without coupons, for well over a year and ate well. Now, with the discovery of coupons, I'm doing that much better and spending less with more products.

The first thing I would suggest when stocking food is focusing on meat. It seems that is the primary focus around here too. Although we all enjoy having a nice big piece of meat on our plates, we don't do that as often now. I've had to trick them into not having as much meat but still feel full and satisfied.

Having a big freezer is a huge help and if you don't have one, I'd seriously consider investing in one. They will pay for themselves with what you can save on groceries when you have a stocked freezer. But even if you don't have the extra freezer space, there are things you can do to make the most of the space you do have. You've been couponing for years, so you probably know how to catch meat at it's lowest price. You may want think about new ways to pkg it for the freezer and for meal ideas. Ex. I know that chicken breasts will go on sale for 1.00/lb. When that sale comes around I'll get as many as I feel comfortable paying for. When I get home, I debone them (bones go into bag to make stock for soup or whatever)then I cut them into chunks, fajita meat, chicken bits. By doing this, I can stretch one package of breasts into 3 or 4 meals. I'll usually dedicate a whole pkg to chunks, and another to fajita meat, etc. The chunks can be added with rice and broccoli and cheese for a casserole. The fajita meat makes yummy fajitas. The chicken bits can be used to top a big salad one night for dinner. The smaller pkgs of zip-lock bags takes up less space in your freezer too. I do basically the same thing with chuck roast and sometimes with pork (boston butt) roast. I just bought 30 lbs of ground beef and made 48 hb patties and another 6 pkgs of meat to make tacos, spaghetti, sloppy joes, etc. I paid 45.00 @ 1.49/lb and will get 15 meals out of it. Chicken leg quarters get cut into legs and thighs and packaged separately. Some nights we'll have baked chicken thighs with a rice or pasta side and a veggie. Some nights we'll BBQ legs and have baked beans and potatoe salad.

I usually buy bacon pieces and cut them up even more for salad crumbles, for seasonings for vegetables, and we use them to season baked beans. There's not too much I don't bring in and immediately repackage somehow and usually cut up. When I catch lunchmeat on sale even, I'll grab an extra package or two and cut up pieces for omelettes. We all love breakfast food here but rarely cook breakfast, so usually at least once a month we have a big breakfast for dinner. My kids still love having pancakes for dinner, lol.

Fruits and Veggies... I get the BIG cans of pineapple and peach slices and drain the juice to make yummy ice cubes. I also pkg the fruit into serving size bags and throw them in the freezer as well. Frozen fruit is sooo yummy! Grapes and bananas freeze well too and makes for a wonderfully healthy snack! I try to catch frozen veggies with a sale and coupons now. I've just begun to stock my veggies and am loving what I can do with coupons!

Rice and pasta is something else I try to keep a good supply of. They are wonderful for stretching the meat out and creating meals with.

After you get stocked up on meat and have several of those meal plans in your head of what you're going to do with that meat, it gets a lot easier. Now I can wait for the sale to buy meat again and just focus on meal fillers, lol. I know we like spaghetti a lot around here so pasta and pasta sauce is good to stock up on. Tacos is another one we eat often, so I stock seasoning mix and refried beans and some shells, but not too many or they'll go stale. Chili dog night here is not a favorite of mine but we have it because it's a good cheap meal and with enough mac and cheese as a side dish, I can get through it, lol. With summer here and the sales on hot dogs, I stocked a bunch. The kids like them and with them home all day in summer, it makes for an easy lunch. Mac and cheese is something else we go through a lot of so I try to keep lots of that.

At first it was hard, the kids were not used to having all this food in the house and it was difficult to keep them from eating it all just because it was here but the new is wearing off now and it's not as bad. I still have to "hide" some things and only pull out one package at a time but I think that's normal for all kids, lol.

Give me a shout if you ever need any ideas on meal planning, I'm happy to help any way I can! Good Luck!

[Alyciah]

I've tried to budget 300 a month but it seems far too difficult. My problem is my husband is a diabetic, has off the charts high cholesterol, has high blood pressure and heart issues. AND I'm hypoglacemic, however u spell it lol. I guess we need to turn into rabbits. Anyhow, all the low carb diet or sugar free foods seem to cost twice as much. Not to mention my daughter won't eat the crap i have to buy for him, so i have to buy her her own food to eat. I don't even want to eat it lol. I'm new to this and still learning, but i'm sure i can get it down to 300. :shrug7:

[amys]

$350 is definitely doable!

Plan, plan, plan - figure your meals based on the sales - and figure a week at a time.

Get a simple calendar and write the meals in it for each month - start weekly, with a few known meals thrown in throughout the month using surplus. Make an ingredients list of everything you will need for the week - try to stock up on the "staples" whenever they are on sale - check your pantry against the ingredients and only buy what you don't have.

The first month, try to make meals using what you already have and only having to buy one or two items each meal. Use the weekly sales to stock up on meat and supplies for things you will definitely eat often.

I second the "invest in a freezer if you don't have a second one" big - huge - help!

[OsweetchildrenO]

I've tried to budget 300 a month but it seems far too difficult. My problem is my husband is a diabetic, has off the charts high cholesterol, has high blood pressure and heart issues. AND I'm hypoglacemic, however u spell it lol. I guess we need to turn into rabbits. Anyhow, all the low carb diet or sugar free foods seem to cost twice as much. Not to mention my daughter won't eat the crap i have to buy for him, so i have to buy her her own food to eat. I don't even want to eat it lol. I'm new to this and still learning, but i'm sure i can get it down to 300. :shrug7:

My Husband is one of those kid...picky eaters. If it's "too healthy" he doesn't want to eat it. Problem is ...he is very overwieght....naturally. His Doctor said he needs to lose a pound a week for the next two years. He is currently 23...and perfect healthy...but being 5'11" and 280lbs...the doctor says he will definitely develope problems.

My approach is this....I shop at Henry's Farmers Market. They have great produce...very very fresh. I spend $30 there about every 2 weeks. So I work at buying some fresh items. AND premaking things for him to eat. I make beans!....I get creative. You have to think how much preservatives, sugar and salt are in those premade meals. But if you buy the items fresh and make lunch the night before...it actually works out well.
Also...I have a major sweet tooth. There are so many alternative recipes out there...low carb and sugar - but you would have to actually make it yourself. It ends up being cheaper in the end anyway!

I am the research queen on that stuff. Plus Morning Star Garden Burgers were a hot item at Target not too long ago ...some BBQ sauce and he doesn't know the difference between that and an actual burger

[xquizit9]

Thanks everyone for your responses! We have a side by side in the kitchen and an fridge/freezser downstairs in the basement. But, I guess I'll have to starting looking for a freezer deal!! Not sure I can spare any money right now though. :( Thanks again!

[raesana]

Don't forget about rebates if you're in a NBPR state. We spend about $300/mo for 4 but it's gone down since my brother left. So, now that we're a family of 3, for June we spent $210. At least 25% of it will be sent back for rebates. We have lots of snacks... unfortunately. And meat is always the main focus. For veggies, we do the frozen kind mostly. We buy fresh if it's a really good sale although we always buy fresh fruits.

Our OOP is a little higher since we buy the meat and treats for rebates. We, like others, freeze what we can. We've already received $341 in cashed rebates not including any that are still pending. Also, our budget includes paper products and HBA. For the meat, my per pound bottom line is $1.99 for ground beef, $2.99 for steak, $.99 for chicken. I also asked my store when they usually do their markdowns and try to shop around that time.