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re: Family budget question re: groceries/food/consumables
Posted on 7/2/14 at 10:26 am to poochie
Posted on 7/2/14 at 10:26 am to poochie
Family of four (me, wife, kids aged 6 and 3).
We budget $600/month for grocery food (this also includes the kids lunches at school, whether they bring their lunch or they buy their lunch), $100/month for household consumables (toilet paper, soap, toothpaste, cleaning supplies, that sort of thing), and $600/month for enterainment. If we eat out, that comes out of the entertainment budget.
We try to do two big grocery trips a month, usually to Sams, where we can buy things in bulk that don't go bad quickly. Cereal, snacks, pasta, etc. Once a week, we go to a local butcher shop where we buy most of our meats, cold cuts, etc. Then to the grocery store as needed. I try to read the ads for Breaux Mart, Rouses, and Winn Dixie, and shop the deals if it works out for us. Finally we try to hit the local farmers market for produce, which a lot of times, in-season, is cheaper than the grocery.
We try to meal plan two weeks at a time, which works better sometimes than others.
We've had some success with the crock pot meals thing, where you make like 10 meals at a time and freeze them. Here is an example.
Crock Pot Meals
As for the baby, I don't miss the days of paying for all that. If your baby takes formula, try to over time, switch them to a generic formula. Sams has a brand that is basically identical to Similac. Same for diapers - the Babies R Us brand we found to be outstanding for the cost. Also, a couple of times a year, they would put all their boxes on sale for $10 each, so we would buy 3-4 months worth of diapers, you just have to be careful about the sizes as baby grows.
Hope this helps.
We budget $600/month for grocery food (this also includes the kids lunches at school, whether they bring their lunch or they buy their lunch), $100/month for household consumables (toilet paper, soap, toothpaste, cleaning supplies, that sort of thing), and $600/month for enterainment. If we eat out, that comes out of the entertainment budget.
We try to do two big grocery trips a month, usually to Sams, where we can buy things in bulk that don't go bad quickly. Cereal, snacks, pasta, etc. Once a week, we go to a local butcher shop where we buy most of our meats, cold cuts, etc. Then to the grocery store as needed. I try to read the ads for Breaux Mart, Rouses, and Winn Dixie, and shop the deals if it works out for us. Finally we try to hit the local farmers market for produce, which a lot of times, in-season, is cheaper than the grocery.
We try to meal plan two weeks at a time, which works better sometimes than others.
We've had some success with the crock pot meals thing, where you make like 10 meals at a time and freeze them. Here is an example.
Crock Pot Meals
As for the baby, I don't miss the days of paying for all that. If your baby takes formula, try to over time, switch them to a generic formula. Sams has a brand that is basically identical to Similac. Same for diapers - the Babies R Us brand we found to be outstanding for the cost. Also, a couple of times a year, they would put all their boxes on sale for $10 each, so we would buy 3-4 months worth of diapers, you just have to be careful about the sizes as baby grows.
Hope this helps.
3
Posted on 7/2/14 at 10:33 am to LSUFanHouston
Also, the wife does that CVS Shopping game thing, where you combine coupons, CVS deals, extra bucks, etc to get some pretty insane cheap prices on stuff. Things like toilet paper, toothpaste, clothes detergent, etc.
It's not uncommon for her to do things like:
10 packs of 9 large rolls of toilet paper for 10 bucks
Enough clothes detergent for 120 loads for 3 bucks
Toothpaste basically free
She's one of these bargain shoppers, and game plans shopping for this stuff in a way that would make Nick Saban jealous. She likes to shop and find savings, thankfully she can apply that skill to cheap stuff and not just to Saks. =)
Also, since you have kids, something I am stoked about this year is we have a Xmas club account at our local CU, where we have been saving $50 a paycheck since last November. So, on Nov 1 of this year, we will get out $1200 back plus a bit of interest, which will be enough to not only pay for all our christmas shopping, but also our greetings cards, postage, and probably holiday meals as well! She has no problem doing Black Friday shopping, so we can get a lot of the presents cheap on that day.
It's not uncommon for her to do things like:
10 packs of 9 large rolls of toilet paper for 10 bucks
Enough clothes detergent for 120 loads for 3 bucks
Toothpaste basically free
She's one of these bargain shoppers, and game plans shopping for this stuff in a way that would make Nick Saban jealous. She likes to shop and find savings, thankfully she can apply that skill to cheap stuff and not just to Saks. =)
Also, since you have kids, something I am stoked about this year is we have a Xmas club account at our local CU, where we have been saving $50 a paycheck since last November. So, on Nov 1 of this year, we will get out $1200 back plus a bit of interest, which will be enough to not only pay for all our christmas shopping, but also our greetings cards, postage, and probably holiday meals as well! She has no problem doing Black Friday shopping, so we can get a lot of the presents cheap on that day.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 10:40 am to LSUFanHouston
SNAP (food stamps) allocates $1/meal, which equals $21/week per person. For a family of four, we're talking $336/mo. The $500/mo allocation is on the very low end, esp if you eat more expensive items (like breakfast cereal instead of oatmeal, or buy lots of processed/value added stuff).
Best way to trim your grocery budget is to buy less processed food. Forget the Poptarts, granola bars, cereal, and Little Debbies. Substitute beans and rice at least twice a week for a meat-centric meal. Learn to like lentils and chickpeas, and use meat sparingly as a treat or seasoning, rather than the focus of a meal.
My household of two probably spends $400/mo on groceries, exclusive of dining out and including packed lunches. I buy expensive cheese, higher quality dairy, farmer's market eggs, and other higher end stuff like chocolate. But I don't buy CAFO beef, cold cuts, boneless/skinless chicken or processed chicken stuff (nuggets, etc).
Planning is the best cost control in the kitchen. Make a vow to throw out nothing....get creative with the leftovers and trimmings. Most anything can be turned into a pasta toppping, burrito/taco filling, or mixed with rice. A few decent prepared sauces & salsas and a bit of good cheese are worth the upfront cost, as they make all the odds and ends palatable.
Best way to trim your grocery budget is to buy less processed food. Forget the Poptarts, granola bars, cereal, and Little Debbies. Substitute beans and rice at least twice a week for a meat-centric meal. Learn to like lentils and chickpeas, and use meat sparingly as a treat or seasoning, rather than the focus of a meal.
My household of two probably spends $400/mo on groceries, exclusive of dining out and including packed lunches. I buy expensive cheese, higher quality dairy, farmer's market eggs, and other higher end stuff like chocolate. But I don't buy CAFO beef, cold cuts, boneless/skinless chicken or processed chicken stuff (nuggets, etc).
Planning is the best cost control in the kitchen. Make a vow to throw out nothing....get creative with the leftovers and trimmings. Most anything can be turned into a pasta toppping, burrito/taco filling, or mixed with rice. A few decent prepared sauces & salsas and a bit of good cheese are worth the upfront cost, as they make all the odds and ends palatable.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 10:42 am to LSUFanHouston
quote:
We've had some success with the crock pot meals thing, where you make like 10 meals at a time and freeze them. Here is an example.
Crock Pot Meals
Do you pre-cook the meals and then freeze them or do you just put all the ingredients in a ziploc bag, put them in the freezer, defrost them when you're ready to cook them and then cook them in slow-cooker?
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