You can easily feed a family of four on that budget even with these prices, even if they are teens.
But you would need to know how to cook, properly cook and how to shop at Aldi.

how old are the kids?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1k is a decent budget for a family of 4. Why is this news?

It’s not that easy anymore. You’re not eating as well on that budget as you’d expect a middle class family to eat (lots of vegetables, meats, a variety of different foods). I could spend that maybe a year ago and we’d eat well, now it’s closer to $1800 a month.

This is true. I'd say on average a family of four could eat $500 in fish a month, $750 in fresh meat. Average that and you're looking at $600 for just quality meat.

Some families do exist on frozen food and processed meat which is cheaper. Maybe $250 a month.

Anonymous wrote:$1k is a decent budget for a family of 4. Why is this news?

It’s not that easy anymore. You’re not eating as well on that budget as you’d expect a middle class family to eat (lots of vegetables, meats, a variety of different foods). I could spend that maybe a year ago and we’d eat well, now it’s closer to $1800 a month.

Anonymous wrote:$1k is a decent budget for a family of 4. Why is this news?

4 people, 3 meals a day for 30 days, that’s less than $2.78 per meal. That’s a pretty small budget these days.

Don't go to restaurants. That's a decent budget for home cooking.

$1k is a decent budget for a family of 4. Why is this news?

^set foot, not food...

Rice, beans, salad, buying the fresh veggie that is on sale at Not Whole Foods this week. Clipping all the digital coupons before you set food in the grocery store. Sticking to your grocery list -- lots of self discipline every time you shop. Using leftovers in ways that make sense and maximize your food use. If you have grilled chicken on Sunday night, you use the leftover on Monday for Fajitas and on Tuesday for homemade enchiladas. You are always figuring out how to use last night's leftover in tonight's dinner. Oh, I have a big bowl of leftover black beans. How will I use these tonight?

With that budget you’d be fine especially if you stick to fresh less processed food, ie whole roast chicken vs boneless skinless chicken breast.

I have this cookbook!

Jellied salads absolutely need to die for good.
I don't know if I've ever had beef liver, but I like chicken livers lol.
The cake sounds pretty good, I'll leave everything else in the 40s haha.

Though $1000/mon is easy to feed a family on, and honestly probably better quality/variety of foods these days.

Anonymous wrote:$1K a month.. easy.

I think that's kind of the point. That food is a lot smaller portion of our budget these days, and that for a similar amount of money adjusted for inflation, we can eat a lot better.

There was an incredible amount of plain carbs in that menu, because carbs were cheaper than fresh stuff.

$1K a month.. easy.

Saw this video and really enjoyed it - the recipes are from The American Woman's Cookbook