[booter]

We are a family of 5 and I'm struggling to keep my grocery bill down. This site is a HUGE help...but I'm still not able to cut it down. Our kids are little ones....7, 5, and 8 months...so I'm not feeding teenagers yet, thank goodness LOL. I try to keep my weekly bill under $125, but I haven't been able to do that for awhile now. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. UGH!

Just wondering how much everyone else spends.

[dawn.trt]

I usually spend around $75 per week although I've been spending a bit more now that we are home for the summer (I'm a teacher). We are a family of four. Our kids are 5 and 3.

[badgerstatemom]

We are also a family of 5 and also on a tight budget. We spend about $120-$150 every two weeks for groceries, however during the summer a little bit more. As of late, we have discovered a Bent and Dent shop about 20 minutes away for our home. The food is brand name and the prices are great. The food is fine just the cosmetics are not. For instance, last week I bought kellogs frosted mini wheats the price was $2.50, but also it was BOGO so we saved a bundle on cereal. A 40oz. box of Bisquick was $1.25, again the box a little bent, but contents were sealed in original wrapping. I first do my homework before I go to see if I can get a better deal. Here is a link to a directory of Discount and Salvage grocery stores. Anderson Country Market - Independent Discount & Salvage Grocery Store Directory

[feeko5]

WE are also a family of five, kids ages dd9,ds10 and dd14. Before couponing, we were at $130-$150.00 weekly. Now it's $65.00-$85.00. I go to Aldi's for the "needs" that aren't on sale anywhere.I'm in Michigan and my Meijer doubles up to .50 cents which helps tremendously!!!! Goodluck and stay on here, you will get it down

[pmr]

There are only two of us but I honestly can't tell you how much we spend for groceries per week or per month. I don't have the patience to try to figure it out. I totally shop for the stockpile and that is where almost all our meals come from most days. There are so many variables when you only buy things on sale and with coupons. It makes me crazy to try to figure out how much I have spent when I fugure in sales, coupons (and overages), Cats, RRs and instant savings 'when you buy' $xx. How do ou all keep track?

I also grocery shop for three of my clients so I am carrying around their receipts too. My desk is a sea of receipts! Whenever I try to keep track I get overwhelmed and anxious to move on to the next deal.

[chefsheela]

There are just two of us as well... with the occasional help to my parents and also my daughter and her boyfriend. But this is the first week that I've tried to stick to a budget. And I blew the budget first thing off because I found this great meat sale and spent almost all of it on meat!

But, on average we spend about $60 a week for "Consumables" (This includes groceries, toiletries, cleaners, charcoal, etc., it does NOT include dog and cat food or meds.) Some weeks I hardly have to go shopping while others are like this week and I spend it all in one place!

[i8wasabi]

I have a family of 6, 3 teenagers and I spend on average about $80 per week. the way that I have gotten it down so far is to stockpile on things when they are really cheap or even free. Like right now i have a ton of hotdogs, most are in my freezer, but i won't have to buy any for months. I got them for free or for pennies. When I find a really good deal I use a little of my "flexible" money to stock up and now I don't "have" to buy much except what we really need or what is on sale for a really good price. I also purchase several papers every week so I have lots of coupons( some have suggested that you buy a paper for every person in your family). I range from 4-6 papers depending on the coupons in them. I spend alot of my free time on coupons( I don't watch much tv. It takes time to start bringing it down. Many of us have been doing this for years and have quite a stockpile.

[Alexdur85]

We are just a family of 3 but we've got 7 other family members and one of them if not more is at our house for dinner almost every night..

We spend an average of 30-70 dollars a week. I added up my total for June and it was under $250!!!

I'm still learning the stockpile thing because well I have this fear of expiring foods.. One time I went through my mom's cubbards and threw away 2 black garbage bags of expired food..and I'm not talking a month expired I'm talking YEARS!!!! I just went there the other day and had a glass of milk.. It had expired June 16th!!!! Sorry..totally OT but yeah..

[Alexdur85]

Originally Posted by chefsheela

There are just two of us as well... with the occasional help to my parents and also my daughter and her boyfriend. But this is the first week that I've tried to stick to a budget. And I blew the budget first thing off because I found this great meat sale and spent almost all of it on meat!

But, on average we spend about $60 a week for "Consumables" (This includes groceries, toiletries, cleaners, charcoal, etc., it does NOT include dog and cat food or meds.) Some weeks I hardly have to go shopping while others are like this week and I spend it all in one place!

.. you save it all in the end right? Now you won't have to buy meat so you can take the amount that you might have purchased it at and subtract it off your "budget amounts" next time..

[Alexdur85]

Op-- I think you should look at the types of stuff you buy if it's mostly produce and meats try to eat what's in season and on sale. If you shop at a costco or other wholesale place you can buy in bulk there. For meat I always look at the clearance section. The stuff expires THAT DAY or the day after but if you freeze it or use it that day you are fine. Don't forget that the freezer is your friend!! And you can freeze just about anything without it affecting the taste.

Also, if you are noticing that you are buying alot of prepackaged items those usually have a long shelf life (at least up to a year on most). When there is a sale get as many coupons as possible and head out and stock up! What I figure is if it's free or cheap and we don't eat it all by the time it expires I can give it to family/friends or the foodbanks.

HTH

[meltown]

family of 4 currently at $40-$45 a week.

[chefsheela]

Originally Posted by Alexdur85

.. you save it all in the end right? Now you won't have to buy meat so you can take the amount that you might have purchased it at and subtract it off your "budget amounts" next time..

Oh, yeah. Mostly at this point I'm just shopping sales and great coupon deals anyway. I've got quite a bit of a stockpile going, my freezer is full, my pantry is full, and my garden is full! So, if we had too, we could probably go the rest of summer without going to the store. But what fun would that be? Right! LOL!

[wish2Bdebtfree]

I have problems getting our weekly bill down because of a dh who takes off to the grocery store and buys what he 'needs'. He is a very narrow-minded/brand-specific eater and unfortunately the stuff he eats regularly never goes on sale. It turns into an argument most times when I tell him I'll get what he needs. He also makes comments about not buying more meat until we use up what is in the freezer. He does not understand the rule of stocking up when on sale. He gets mad when he sees how much stuff I have stocked in the cupboard, saying there is too much food, we don't need all that etc. etc. He'd rather wait until he needs something and pay full price. He doesn't care how much I'm saving, just sees that we have too much stuff. I have been trying to cut back on our monthly bill for a year now. I have brought it down some but nowhere near what some of you pay. There's only 3 of us (ds 14 yr.) and I am trying to keep it under $100/wk. for everything including HBA.

Sorry, didn't mean to vent but it does get frustrating.

[gltkar]

It's just two of us humans and DH and I eat out/carryout 4-5 times a week... we probably spend $100 a week on average on "food"- but that includes whatever I get at Walmart which may be shampoo and toilet paper too. We spend too much on food that is for sure. These #'s are just estimates. We do use restaurant coupons and order 'specials" and almost always have leftovers which we reheat for another meal that week. I do pack a lunch for me and DH 5/x a week. I am sure our "eat out" amount is at least twice our grocery store/fix at home amount. I should keep a better account of amount we spend on food...

[McEngle]

I was wondering, do you have an extra freezer for stockpiling? If you don't, I really advise you to get one. We found ours at home depot for $129 (scratched floor model), and it has saved us thousands in money but even more in time and energy. It is so nice to be able to plan a week to a months woirth of food without having to hit the grocery store for odds and ends because that is what kills the food budget. I love being able to buy meat when it is on sale without having to worry about using it right away. With an 8 month old, you can also make the baby food, freeze it and thaw when you need it and it is so much more economical and wholesome. check out wholesome baby food dot com for recipes

[booter]

Thanks so much for all of the tips and for responding.

I spent $163 the other day at Safeway and I went through my receipt...well, $60 of it was on produce....and sometimes I grab produce not even realizing....like I got asparagus, well the asparagus was 6 bucks. :o I didn't even pay attention. So, I'm going to go shopping today and pay very close attention to getting the fruits/veggies that are on sale. I'm also going to try and hit the farmers market this week. I'm hoping if this is what is mainly bringing my grocery bill up, then I can cut it out by doing the farmers market.

[genosgirl]

you might also want to check your area for a produce coop. We have one in our area and for 15 bucks we get a huge box of produce. It lasts over a week for our family of 4 and we eat a ton of fruits and veggies. Utah and Arizona have bountifulbaskets.org not sure where you are.

[flamejd]

Originally Posted by wish2Bdebtfree

I have problems getting our weekly bill down because of a dh who takes off to the grocery store and buys what he 'needs'. He is a very narrow-minded/brand-specific eater and unfortunately the stuff he eats regularly never goes on sale. It turns into an argument most times when I tell him I'll get what he needs. He also makes comments about not buying more meat until we use up what is in the freezer. He does not understand the rule of stocking up when on sale. He gets mad when he sees how much stuff I have stocked in the cupboard, saying there is too much food, we don't need all that etc. etc. He'd rather wait until he needs something and pay full price. He doesn't care how much I'm saving, just sees that we have too much stuff. I have been trying to cut back on our monthly bill for a year now. I have brought it down some but nowhere near what some of you pay. There's only 3 of us (ds 14 yr.) and I am trying to keep it under $100/wk. for everything including HBA.

Sorry, didn't mean to vent but it does get frustrating.

Wait a minute... I didnt know my boyfriend had a twin. That sounds EXACTLY like him. On top of that it's a huge issue for him to even drop me off at the grocery store. Oh yeah and it's MY money I'm paying with and I'm not even working... yeah I know, I'm stupid.

[Pilothillcoupons]

wow I thought we did real good I saved about $4500 last year on coupons and this year have already saved almost $3000. But I still spend about $90 a week. Mostly meat and produce. My husband does not like chicken and must have meat with meal. I have got him to eat a few chicken dishes if it does not taste like chicken hahah. there is just the 2 of us but I do help my son and local food bank. I try hard but we have company a lot. I have a garden too. My congrats to all of you, you are doing great!!!!

[simisaver]

I have a family of five, 15 DS 12 DD 8 DS, I spend about $80 a week. I do this by the stock pile method. I spend about $35 a week on needs milk, bread, produce or things we are out of. I use the rest to stock pile. Once you get the whole of the family on board for this type of shopping, it really becomes easy.

[meltown]

how did your shopping go booter?

[qpon queen]

I participate in the veggie co=op during the summer months like genosgirl , and on average I try to keep my weekly grocery bill to $50-75. This is for a family of 4, me, DH, DS5, DS2. Or, if I do need to spend more, I try to save at least $50/week in coupons alone before adding in the store savings.

[wish2Bdebtfree]

Originally Posted by simisaver

Once you get the whole of the family on board for this type of shopping, it really becomes easy.

Ah, but therein lies the problem----getting the whole family on board. You are lucky you have a dh who is on board and not one who sabotages your efforts like mine!

I do find that if I stay on top of keeping his usual foods stocked then he'll make fewer trips to the grocery store and the grocery budget does not suffer as much.

I am also keeping some 'leeway' in the weekly budget, ie keeping the amt. I spend lower so that when I add in what he's spent I will still come in under budget. So far so good for this week.

[momto3boyz]

I have been couponing for about 10 months. We are a family of 5, with two teens and a young one. We used to buy whatever we wanted, whenever and my bill was about $1600 a month. I kept records and did all the accounting. Our goal is $500 per month. After couponing for a few months, I see that some months we are higher and some we are lower. I wait for the triples and stock up. I like Bloom(for triples), SFW and Safeway (loved the Living Well sales). I have enough dish detergent for a year, enough pasta to last 6 months. Frozen veggies are a cheap alternative when cooking with pasta. I bought loads of whole chicken when it was on sale at Bloom for .59 per lb and put it in the freezer. The rest of the meats I get at BJs. This summer, we are growing tomatoes, potatoes, green peppers, zucchini, summer squash, peas ... in our garden and we live close to DC! I even have herbs in containers on my deck. I am hoping that we can freeze these (in the .25/box Hefty One Zips from Food Lion!). My next step will be to cut our expenses down to $300/month. I am still learning how to use CATs to cut down expenses.

[ria]

I am in MD too. Family of 5 and they are always eating! I manage to stay around 100 wk with everything, mostly food since we have big stockpiles of HBA but not as much stockppiled on the food. I just started couponing in March and DH is amazed at the stuff I get. He loves the stockpiles and I keep them neat. He has learned not to be brand snobbish but when he needs something, I get it, just get the store brand or walmart brand. I would say my grocery bill has cut 40-50% since couponing began and it is really noticeable in the savings!
My big problem is that I can not pass up a deal, I have to learn that it will come around again and there are always more deals to be had.