Grocery Budget

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Today we got half a baby cow for $700, processed and very clean, all wrapped and frozen. It filled our upright freezer to the top and packed our inside freezer on 3 shelves. Last November we paid a processing fee of $100 and got a whole deer free. You cannot get more organic than that. Lean meat fed well without any antibiotics or filthy contamination.

Add bulk shop pantry and paper items, canned goods. In the summer we stock up on farm vegetables and fruit. We will need another upright freezer so I can freeze bread and cooked food we cook on the weekends.

We spend less for a year or more of food than what some of you spend in a month.

Just curious, do you work? My MIL also did home made bread for the family and other earth mother stuff, but she never worked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today we got half a baby cow for $700, processed and very clean, all wrapped and frozen. It filled our upright freezer to the top and packed our inside freezer on 3 shelves. Last November we paid a processing fee of $100 and got a whole deer free. You cannot get more organic than that. Lean meat fed well without any antibiotics or filthy contamination.

Add bulk shop pantry and paper items, canned goods. In the summer we stock up on farm vegetables and fruit. We will need another upright freezer so I can freeze bread and cooked food we cook on the weekends.

We spend less for a year or more of food than what some of you spend in a month.

Just curious, do you work? My MIL also did home made bread for the family and other earth mother stuff, but she never worked.

NP, but I make home made sandwich bread (not for the sake of being frugal though) once every 5 or so days. I also work. However, I freeze dough and do the final rise when it draws. I make a sourdough culture that I have going for months as a time. I make my dough and portion it out individually a few times a year. I do the same with pizza dough and Al's have tons and tons of homemade frozen broth for soup bases.

[Anonymous]

My weekly budget right now is $500. DH overseas, DS in college so it is just teen DD and I most of the time. But, that includes all toiletries and cleaning supplies as needed. I often go and see DS on the weekend for his college sports and give him between $100 and 150(from the 500) and I will pay for a nice dinner and for gas for his car when there. Often that $500 includes 100 for DD's math tutor if she is having one on Sunday. They were regular but now on and off. That includes money I give dd for the week too and gas for her car, and movies and gas for my car, we pay cash for gas and everything. That includes copay for prescription meds when we need refills. Hence I have no idea how much really goes on actual food. I shop at Wegmans, Aldi and Costco. Even at H-mart, so I am not at expensive stores either. DD and I love good fish and veggies, so if I just went to HT, that would add up really fast. Clearly I don't need 500 per week just for groceries, but with other expenses mentioned I try to stick with 500 per week for all the weekly expenses. I am utterly confused to hear that a family of four spends 100-120 per week and that they considered that crazy too much!

[Anonymous]

Family of 3 and my budget is $150/week. We use to go over it by like $30 shopping at Safeway’s. I’ve started shopping st both Aldi and Shoppers and I’ve been under budget each week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today we got half a baby cow for $700, processed and very clean, all wrapped and frozen. It filled our upright freezer to the top and packed our inside freezer on 3 shelves. Last November we paid a processing fee of $100 and got a whole deer free. You cannot get more organic than that. Lean meat fed well without any antibiotics or filthy contamination.

Add bulk shop pantry and paper items, canned goods. In the summer we stock up on farm vegetables and fruit. We will need another upright freezer so I can freeze bread and cooked food we cook on the weekends.

We spend less for a year or more of food than what some of you spend in a month.

Just curious, do you work? My MIL also did home made bread for the family and other earth mother stuff, but she never worked.

NP, but I make home made sandwich bread (not for the sake of being frugal though) once every 5 or so days. I also work. However, I freeze dough and do the final rise when it draws. I make a sourdough culture that I have going for months as a time. I make my dough and portion it out individually a few times a year. I do the same with pizza dough and Al's have tons and tons of homemade frozen broth for soup bases.

Wow. Some of you ladies are super women. I am genuinely impressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My weekly budget right now is $500. DH overseas, DS in college so it is just teen DD and I most of the time. But, that includes all toiletries and cleaning supplies as needed. I often go and see DS on the weekend for his college sports and give him between $100 and 150(from the 500) and I will pay for a nice dinner and for gas for his car when there. Often that $500 includes 100 for DD's math tutor if she is having one on Sunday. They were regular but now on and off. That includes money I give dd for the week too and gas for her car, and movies and gas for my car, we pay cash for gas and everything. That includes copay for prescription meds when we need refills. Hence I have no idea how much really goes on actual food. I shop at Wegmans, Aldi and Costco. Even at H-mart, so I am not at expensive stores either. DD and I love good fish and veggies, so if I just went to HT, that would add up really fast. Clearly I don't need 500 per week just for groceries, but with other expenses mentioned I try to stick with 500 per week for all the weekly expenses. I am utterly confused to hear that a family of four spends 100-120 per week and that they considered that crazy too much!

Few weeks ago we decided to take out some cash and see how long it will last us. We took out $700 and it lasted us a little less than two weeks. That included everything without gas.

[Anonymous]

Why would a family of four need more than one pound of beef for dinner with one pack of pasta? Even if there are two male teens? Also, why are my teens hungry when each had drumstick and a half, and a half I say! for dinner with some rice and carrots! The gall of these kids! Plus, what's wrong with lightly fried canned tuna? I bought a fancy baguette for them to spread it on? And DH has the gall to order pizza an hour after dinner! How am I to stick to my budget of $40 per week?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My weekly budget right now is $500. DH overseas, DS in college so it is just teen DD and I most of the time. But, that includes all toiletries and cleaning supplies as needed. I often go and see DS on the weekend for his college sports and give him between $100 and 150(from the 500) and I will pay for a nice dinner and for gas for his car when there. Often that $500 includes 100 for DD's math tutor if she is having one on Sunday. They were regular but now on and off. That includes money I give dd for the week too and gas for her car, and movies and gas for my car, we pay cash for gas and everything. That includes copay for prescription meds when we need refills. Hence I have no idea how much really goes on actual food. I shop at Wegmans, Aldi and Costco. Even at H-mart, so I am not at expensive stores either. DD and I love good fish and veggies, so if I just went to HT, that would add up really fast. Clearly I don't need 500 per week just for groceries, but with other expenses mentioned I try to stick with 500 per week for all the weekly expenses. I am utterly confused to hear that a family of four spends 100-120 per week and that they considered that crazy too much!

Few weeks ago we decided to take out some cash and see how long it will last us. We took out $700 and it lasted us a little less than two weeks. That included everything without gas.

Did you like using just cash? If I am running low on cash, then that's it, I don't use more unless there is a medical emergency, just cook with essentials I have at home. That might mean tacos for dinner as opposed to some fancy salmon dish. I really like not having constant CC or debit card charges. While I admit it sounds a lot, I find I spend less this way than charging things all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 3. Our grocery budget is 400/ month but we rarely spend that much. We also budget 100 for eating out each month. Meal planning is key. We eat well and don't waste as much food as we would without being very intentional with our purchases.

Wow! Can you tell me an average week of dinners?

Sure, we usually do a potato and meat roast one night, a pasta dish night, rice and veggies stir fry night, a pizza night (homemade), veggie enchiladas or quesadillas night, I also usually make a hearty soup once a week (like a lentil or chowder), all of these leave leftovers for lunches. Pretty simple stuff. Generally serve dinner with greens and carrot sticks, etc Definitely not a lot of meat. Breakfasts are cereal/granola, Greek yogurt, fruit during the week, pancakes or eggs/bacon on the weekend

Your menu is similar to mine except I spend $200/wk on groceries.
Potatoes & meat: $35
Pasta dish $12 + $5 veggie(lets say Carbonara: pasta $3, bacon $5, onion $2, frozen peas $2. Eggs I already have)
Rice & veggies stir fry $10
Homemade pizza $25 (mozzarella $7, canned pizza sauce $4, pepperoni $5, basil $3, two doughs $6)
Quesadilla $8 + veggies $5
Homemade Soup $15
Total: $95 for dinners for the week.
And I spend another $100 for pantry items, breakfast/lunch and snack items, milk, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spend about $350 per week for family of 4. Spend a lot on groceries for high quality protein / organic fruits vegetables. Almost never do take out, don’t go out to eat during the week, usually once on weekends. Includes lunches - cook extra and take for lunches. Spend virtually nothing extra on lunch.

To answer OPs question about whether an actual budget or just how much we spend - this is not a budget just how much we have spent on average so far year to date (we don’t budget per se but track spending very closely). While it may not seem like it based on the weekly spending amount we are pretty thoughtful about how/where we spend - go to multiple grocery stores each week - Whole Foods for a few things we prioritize then cheaper grocery store for more routine things like rice, oatmeal, condiments, baking supplies, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Today we got half a baby cow for $700, processed and very clean, all wrapped and frozen. It filled our upright freezer to the top and packed our inside freezer on 3 shelves. Last November we paid a processing fee of $100 and got a whole deer free. You cannot get more organic than that. Lean meat fed well without any antibiotics or filthy contamination.

Add bulk shop pantry and paper items, canned goods. In the summer we stock up on farm vegetables and fruit. We will need another upright freezer so I can freeze bread and cooked food we cook on the weekends.

We spend less for a year or more of food than what some of you spend in a month.

I am sort of wondering how a deer from the tri state area is guaranteed to be free from contamination. Never heard of a ranch of organic deer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My weekly budget right now is $500. DH overseas, DS in college so it is just teen DD and I most of the time. But, that includes all toiletries and cleaning supplies as needed. I often go and see DS on the weekend for his college sports and give him between $100 and 150(from the 500) and I will pay for a nice dinner and for gas for his car when there. Often that $500 includes 100 for DD's math tutor if she is having one on Sunday. They were regular but now on and off. That includes money I give dd for the week too and gas for her car, and movies and gas for my car, we pay cash for gas and everything. That includes copay for prescription meds when we need refills. Hence I have no idea how much really goes on actual food. I shop at Wegmans, Aldi and Costco. Even at H-mart, so I am not at expensive stores either. DD and I love good fish and veggies, so if I just went to HT, that would add up really fast. Clearly I don't need 500 per week just for groceries, but with other expenses mentioned I try to stick with 500 per week for all the weekly expenses. I am utterly confused to hear that a family of four spends 100-120 per week and that they considered that crazy too much!

Few weeks ago we decided to take out some cash and see how long it will last us. We took out $700 and it lasted us a little less than two weeks. That included everything without gas.

Did you like using just cash? If I am running low on cash, then that's it, I don't use more unless there is a medical emergency, just cook with essentials I have at home. That might mean tacos for dinner as opposed to some fancy salmon dish. I really like not having constant CC or debit card charges. While I admit it sounds a lot, I find I spend less this way than charging things all the time.

Actually I did. 10 years ago I was still in school and DH was making 50k and we were so broke. We had $400 budget for food per month and made it work. Now we make much much more money and honestly can’t control ourselves. While $400 per month in 2019 is a little bit harsh I think I need to go back to restrictions and take out cash and stick to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 3. Our grocery budget is 400/ month but we rarely spend that much. We also budget 100 for eating out each month. Meal planning is key. We eat well and don't waste as much food as we would without being very intentional with our purchases.

Wow! Can you tell me an average week of dinners?

Sure, we usually do a potato and meat roast one night, a pasta dish night, rice and veggies stir fry night, a pizza night (homemade), veggie enchiladas or quesadillas night, I also usually make a hearty soup once a week (like a lentil or chowder), all of these leave leftovers for lunches. Pretty simple stuff. Generally serve dinner with greens and carrot sticks, etc Definitely not a lot of meat. Breakfasts are cereal/granola, Greek yogurt, fruit during the week, pancakes or eggs/bacon on the weekend

Your menu is similar to mine except I spend $200/wk on groceries.
Potatoes & meat: $35
Pasta dish $12 + $5 veggie(lets say Carbonara: pasta $3, bacon $5, onion $2, frozen peas $2. Eggs I already have)
Rice & veggies stir fry $10
Homemade pizza $25 (mozzarella $7, canned pizza sauce $4, pepperoni $5, basil $3, two doughs $6)
Quesadilla $8 + veggies $5
Homemade Soup $15
Total: $95 for dinners for the week.
And I spend another $100 for pantry items, breakfast/lunch and snack items, milk, etc.

I'm not sure how much I spent, but I made three homemade pizzas over the weekend. Made the dough in the bread machine, hard to calc. Mozzarellas & parmesan, half eggplant on one pizza, chicken on one, spinach from a big bag on one. Tomato sauce from Aldi, simmered down on stove w spices and garlic (I know I spent under $1 on that can). So the point is, even on something like 'homemade pizza', costs can vary quite widely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would a family of four need more than one pound of beef for dinner with one pack of pasta? Even if there are two male teens? Also, why are my teens hungry when each had drumstick and a half, and a half I say! for dinner with some rice and carrots! The gall of these kids! Plus, what's wrong with lightly fried canned tuna? I bought a fancy baguette for them to spread it on? And DH has the gall to order pizza an hour after dinner! How am I to stick to my budget of $40 per week?

TRIGGERED

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 3. Our grocery budget is 400/ month but we rarely spend that much. We also budget 100 for eating out each month. Meal planning is key. We eat well and don't waste as much food as we would without being very intentional with our purchases.

Wow! Can you tell me an average week of dinners?

Sure, we usually do a potato and meat roast one night, a pasta dish night, rice and veggies stir fry night, a pizza night (homemade), veggie enchiladas or quesadillas night, I also usually make a hearty soup once a week (like a lentil or chowder), all of these leave leftovers for lunches. Pretty simple stuff. Generally serve dinner with greens and carrot sticks, etc Definitely not a lot of meat. Breakfasts are cereal/granola, Greek yogurt, fruit during the week, pancakes or eggs/bacon on the weekend

Your menu is similar to mine except I spend $200/wk on groceries.
Potatoes & meat: $35
Pasta dish $12 + $5 veggie(lets say Carbonara: pasta $3, bacon $5, onion $2, frozen peas $2. Eggs I already have)
Rice & veggies stir fry $10
Homemade pizza $25 (mozzarella $7, canned pizza sauce $4, pepperoni $5, basil $3, two doughs $6)
Quesadilla $8 + veggies $5
Homemade Soup $15
Total: $95 for dinners for the week.
And I spend another $100 for pantry items, breakfast/lunch and snack items, milk, etc.

You can spend 200/week if you want to, I am not judging. I just reported on an average menu for us on our budget of 100/week (we generally spend about 90). It's not a competition, I was just providing an example.