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re: Family budget question re: groceries/food/consumables
Posted on 7/2/14 at 6:26 pm to FriscoKid
Posted on 7/2/14 at 6:26 pm to FriscoKid
quote:
The more times you go to the store the more impulse shite you buy.
If you're smart about it, then this may not always be the case. Our method of madness is to go big-boy grocery shopping twice a month which costs us about 450. Then we do maintenance shopping where we go get small ingredients for food. When we do our maintenance shopping, instead of grabbing a normal cart, we grab a handheld basket so we're limited to how much crap we get.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 6:55 pm to poochie
125 a week for groceries, household goods, lunch/eating out- family of 3.
I coupon, but most of yall already know that. I have 2 deep freezers full of wild game that we eat. The only thing I buy is chicken and occasionally pork/beef, only when it is on sale and I am getting low. I dont buy any ground meat. My parents make ground meat with deer/beef mixture and I "barter" with them coupon stockpile for ground meat.
Also, they grow veggies/fruit so I barter for that as well.
I coupon, but most of yall already know that. I have 2 deep freezers full of wild game that we eat. The only thing I buy is chicken and occasionally pork/beef, only when it is on sale and I am getting low. I dont buy any ground meat. My parents make ground meat with deer/beef mixture and I "barter" with them coupon stockpile for ground meat.
Also, they grow veggies/fruit so I barter for that as well.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 7:06 pm to poochie
Budget %
cutting food budget
food should be 5-15% of budget
cutting food budget
food should be 5-15% of budget
This post was edited on 7/2/14 at 7:08 pm
Posted on 7/2/14 at 7:24 pm to poochie
This is worth adding to the sticky list.
Posted on 7/3/14 at 7:33 am to SpicyStacy
Family of 3(with a 2yr old) and we spend ~650/month at walmart. That covers food, diapers, and household goods (paper products, shower stuff, etc..)
Posted on 7/3/14 at 7:50 am to hungryone
my wife and I spend about $500/month. usually shop at walmart or sams. we try to minimize the eat out situation but, usually 3 to 4 per month or once per week. fwiw kids aren't at home.
Posted on 7/3/14 at 4:39 pm to LSUFanHouston
quote:
So the ones that have lower cooking times, keep those when you won't be gone for that long.
Or you could put it in frozen
Posted on 11/5/14 at 8:39 am to poochie
Update:
So I started tracking this hard in July. I came up with a budget of $740/month
Grocery $75/wk, $300/mo
Dine out $40/wk, $160/mo + 1 or 2 "actual dine out" $100 total $260
Pharmacy $30
Consumable (Wal-Mart etc.) $150
Total $740
Through July-Oct we’re averaging $847.76/month.
Don’t have it broken down in the buckets I talked about above. I’ve pulled this number down for about an $1100 average from the months leading up to 7/14. I’ll take that $250/month. We’ve done some bulk cooking and freezing and just general cutting out eating out on week nights.
This number may be slightly high because I don’t break down trips to wal-mart into food or fun (which is pretty much everything non-food). If the trip is majority one or the other, that’s the bucket it falls into. Not itemizing receipts.
Successes: bringing lunch more/not eating out multiple times per week, more home cookin (easy meals w/ leftovers)
Areas for improvement: still could eat out a little less and more bulk cooking. Could probably get this number down another $50. All in all, I’m happy thus far.
So I started tracking this hard in July. I came up with a budget of $740/month
Grocery $75/wk, $300/mo
Dine out $40/wk, $160/mo + 1 or 2 "actual dine out" $100 total $260
Pharmacy $30
Consumable (Wal-Mart etc.) $150
Total $740
Through July-Oct we’re averaging $847.76/month.
Don’t have it broken down in the buckets I talked about above. I’ve pulled this number down for about an $1100 average from the months leading up to 7/14. I’ll take that $250/month. We’ve done some bulk cooking and freezing and just general cutting out eating out on week nights.
This number may be slightly high because I don’t break down trips to wal-mart into food or fun (which is pretty much everything non-food). If the trip is majority one or the other, that’s the bucket it falls into. Not itemizing receipts.
Successes: bringing lunch more/not eating out multiple times per week, more home cookin (easy meals w/ leftovers)
Areas for improvement: still could eat out a little less and more bulk cooking. Could probably get this number down another $50. All in all, I’m happy thus far.
Posted on 11/5/14 at 8:50 am to poochie
quote:
Successes: bringing lunch more/not eating out multiple times per week, more home cookin (easy meals w/ leftovers)
Good for you. This is the real money-saving sweet spot. You don't have to shop hard for sales, go crazy couponing, or eat beans & rice every day, as long as you control spending on lower-end prepared foods. The $5-$15 office lunches add up alarmingly fast, and the decently planned brown bag lunch is often better than the Subway/Quiznos/JimmyJohns alternative. (Though I forgot my lunch today so I'm violating my own cardinal rule.)
Posted on 11/5/14 at 8:57 am to poochie
If you have Peapod (or similar services) in your area, give it a look. We're saving a bunch with Peapod not because of sale prices, but because it allows for smarter shopping.
My wife reports that ordering our food online allows her to compare prices and look things up - to our advantage. By comparison, when you walk into the grocery store you're basically playing a road game on the marketers' home field. You don't have a chance.
Also, services like Peapod usually allow you to go pick the stuff up for a nominal fee, as opposed to paying a higher delivery fee + tip
My wife reports that ordering our food online allows her to compare prices and look things up - to our advantage. By comparison, when you walk into the grocery store you're basically playing a road game on the marketers' home field. You don't have a chance.
Also, services like Peapod usually allow you to go pick the stuff up for a nominal fee, as opposed to paying a higher delivery fee + tip
This post was edited on 11/5/14 at 8:58 am
Posted on 11/5/14 at 9:09 am to hungryone
It’s also just healthier in general!
We average a few vendor lunches each week so if I really want to eat out, I can get it for free. But I shouldn’t for my wallet and my waist line!
One thing I’m also bad about is not using meats that I freeze. I’ll freeze something and not pull it out until 2 years later. I need to get better with that.
We average a few vendor lunches each week so if I really want to eat out, I can get it for free. But I shouldn’t for my wallet and my waist line!
One thing I’m also bad about is not using meats that I freeze. I’ll freeze something and not pull it out until 2 years later. I need to get better with that.
Posted on 11/5/14 at 9:17 am to poochie
quote:
One thing I’m also bad about is not using meats that I freeze. I’ll freeze something and not pull it out until 2 years later. I need to get better with that.
I buy a half calf at a time, cut & wrapped for the freezer. I find it helpful to organize my chest freezer by date...oldest stuff on left, proceeding to newer stuff on far right. Makes it easy to determine what you should be cooking before it gets too old. Of course, everything gets dated when it goes in, in big block letters w/a sharpie.
Posted on 11/5/14 at 9:44 am to poochie
I live with SO and we are averaging about $500 a month. Even single I was averaging about that much and using what I cooked (leftover) and the freezer. I have learn to prep the food for the week helps and freeze at least 5 different meals (or have mostly ready in the freezer) for those nights that want to just pick up something due to the time. The crock pot (slow cooker) is a saver too.
Posted on 11/5/14 at 9:46 am to poochie
We're over a thousand. I showed that to my wife a few months ago and she about had a coronary. It's easy to spend $40-60 at Rouses a few times a week and never even notice it. She's started just keeping track of grocery expenses, which is probably half the battle right there - just being aware of what you're doing.
Posted on 11/5/14 at 9:56 am to Cold Cous Cous
Food is biggest 'random' in my monthly personal budget. I honestly do not have any idea what I spend on it but I budget $900 ($600 eating out, $300 groceries) for just me and the girlfriend.
I don't bring my lunch and we eat out a lot. I cover her bill 75% of the time so I am paying for two a good bit of the time. We rarely eat at very fancy places though.
I enjoy cooking but I do not like bringing my lunch to work...at least not yet. Time to go check Mint and see how much I spend on food each month...
ETA: I spent $140 for work lunches in October. I spent right at $600 for the entire month for food (including going out and groceries). That's reasonable for me.
I was spending $900-1000 when I traveled every week and ate out 98% of the time. But, I was reimbursed for all of those expenses...per diem is amazing.
I don't bring my lunch and we eat out a lot. I cover her bill 75% of the time so I am paying for two a good bit of the time. We rarely eat at very fancy places though.
I enjoy cooking but I do not like bringing my lunch to work...at least not yet. Time to go check Mint and see how much I spend on food each month...
ETA: I spent $140 for work lunches in October. I spent right at $600 for the entire month for food (including going out and groceries). That's reasonable for me.
I was spending $900-1000 when I traveled every week and ate out 98% of the time. But, I was reimbursed for all of those expenses...per diem is amazing.
This post was edited on 11/5/14 at 10:04 am
Posted on 11/5/14 at 10:17 am to lynxcat
5 Dollar Meals
5 Dollar meals and weekly grocery trips - stick to your list, store brand for most items is comparible to brand names - Family of 4 about $125/week just groceries last month.
5 Dollar meals and weekly grocery trips - stick to your list, store brand for most items is comparible to brand names - Family of 4 about $125/week just groceries last month.
Posted on 11/5/14 at 2:21 pm to poochie
We try to average $1200 a month on food/groceries/entertainment. Typically, we plan a week's worth of meals and shop for them on Tuesday. Weekends are almost always eating out or hosting parties. Sometimes we'll also go out during the week too, but are mostly frequenting happy hour specials. My wife is still young and in professional school, so a lot of our spending is due to hanging out with college kids (albeit older 20's/younger 30's "kids" they still want to go out all the time) and drinking quite often.
Hoping that our $1200 monthly budget for food/groceries/entertainment can be lowered to ~$1000 after she gets out of school.
Hoping that our $1200 monthly budget for food/groceries/entertainment can be lowered to ~$1000 after she gets out of school.
Posted on 11/5/14 at 2:35 pm to poochie
This thread would be much better if people would detail what they are buying and eating.
My wife and I have a toddler and a dog. I COULD get away with $500/month if I ate cheap frozen shite on sale all the time. I don't want to eat that way unless I absolutely have to, which I don't at this point.
But I would still like to save money on groceries.
So when I see some of you with a family of four claiming to spend only $600/month, I have to question what it is you're buying.
My wife and I have a toddler and a dog. I COULD get away with $500/month if I ate cheap frozen shite on sale all the time. I don't want to eat that way unless I absolutely have to, which I don't at this point.
But I would still like to save money on groceries.
So when I see some of you with a family of four claiming to spend only $600/month, I have to question what it is you're buying.
Posted on 11/5/14 at 3:31 pm to StringedInstruments
Here's my best estimate as to where my "food" money goes. Note: I do all the grocery shopping, wife does the Wal-Mart/pharmacy shopping typically.
Family of 4 with two young kids. I’m averaging $847/month on fast food, groceries, restaurant eating, minor pharmacy stuff, and trips to wal-mart for misc toiletries and diapers. Anything that falls into that description comes out of the "food" bucket"
Usually don’t eat breakfast but keep cereal on hand (bag cheerios).
We do pretty well about not eating out for lunch but let’s say $20/week. (subway, fast food, etc…)
Throw in picking up supper one or two nights a week $45 (local pizza joint/po boy’s…)
Wal-Mart/CVS monthly for stuff ~$150
Maybe eat out once nice per month $100.
That’s ~$510 leaving me with $330 for groceries.
Typical weekly grocery list looks typically like:
Box or two of oatmeal $5
2-3 gal water $3
Gal of milk $5
~$15 meat (pork chops, pork tenderloins, chicken thighs, etc…)
Veggies/fruit $10
Lunch meat and bread $15
Eggs $3
Baby food/toddler food $10
Other Mist…
Total ~$75
Atypical grocery store pickups…
6 pack of beer
Steaks
seafood
Wine
Liquor
Typical weekly meals:
Grilled meats/fish
Kabobs
Tacos
Spaghetti
Grits and eggs
Reheated gumbo/soup/chili
So:
Eating out approx 15x per month ~$360
Wal-Mart/CVS ~$150
Groceries: ~$75/wk x 4 = ~$300
$30 to random meals
~$840 monthly
Family of 4 with two young kids. I’m averaging $847/month on fast food, groceries, restaurant eating, minor pharmacy stuff, and trips to wal-mart for misc toiletries and diapers. Anything that falls into that description comes out of the "food" bucket"
Usually don’t eat breakfast but keep cereal on hand (bag cheerios).
We do pretty well about not eating out for lunch but let’s say $20/week. (subway, fast food, etc…)
Throw in picking up supper one or two nights a week $45 (local pizza joint/po boy’s…)
Wal-Mart/CVS monthly for stuff ~$150
Maybe eat out once nice per month $100.
That’s ~$510 leaving me with $330 for groceries.
Typical weekly grocery list looks typically like:
Box or two of oatmeal $5
2-3 gal water $3
Gal of milk $5
~$15 meat (pork chops, pork tenderloins, chicken thighs, etc…)
Veggies/fruit $10
Lunch meat and bread $15
Eggs $3
Baby food/toddler food $10
Other Mist…
Total ~$75
Atypical grocery store pickups…
6 pack of beer
Steaks
seafood
Wine
Liquor
Typical weekly meals:
Grilled meats/fish
Kabobs
Tacos
Spaghetti
Grits and eggs
Reheated gumbo/soup/chili
So:
Eating out approx 15x per month ~$360
Wal-Mart/CVS ~$150
Groceries: ~$75/wk x 4 = ~$300
$30 to random meals
~$840 monthly
Posted on 11/5/14 at 3:43 pm to StringedInstruments
Wife and I can't get below $900.
This is usually 500-550 on groceries and 350-400 eating out.
We cook mostly at home and it's typically fresh ingredients. We probably due 2-3 "large meals" (jambalaya, red beans, etc) a month.
I include wine, beer, and other expendables from Costco in those expenses too.
This is usually 500-550 on groceries and 350-400 eating out.
We cook mostly at home and it's typically fresh ingredients. We probably due 2-3 "large meals" (jambalaya, red beans, etc) a month.
I include wine, beer, and other expendables from Costco in those expenses too.
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