Anonymous wrote:do you have a deep freeze? buy some whole organic chickens from the farm and separate yourself.

Not good advice for a budget! Farm chickens are 4-5 pounds, usually $4/pound at the cheapest. And that's pastured, not certified organic. You're better off looking for family value packs at Whole Foods and breaking them up and freezing.

Agree with PPs about beans and rice, there are lots of variations and they are inexpensive and nutritious. Buy dried and in bulk, cook the beans in your crockpot overnight (just be careful about soaking and rinsing certain kinds, I think kidney beans are what you need to keep an eye on). Buying organic produce in season is the way to go, all kinds of greens and squash are affordable right now. I would (personally) minimize the dairy if I could, or try to get it only for your kids and not eat much yourself. Whole grain oats, with a little maple syrup, raisins, and sliced apples are a good breakfast, with a couple of sausage links or eggs. We don't need as much meat as most of us eat, so shifting to legumes and grains should be fine for most people.

I have a family of 3 and a food bill of under $100 per week, without particularly trying. I do shop at Aldi quite a bit. I almost always buy organic milk though.

You'll be fine.

Anonymous wrote:Find something else to cut. $125 per week is already too low for a family of three. Invest in yourself and your kids, don't cut food bill.

LOL! too low...

Most people way over buy and have cabinets over flowing with food they don't need and likely won't finish.

I am a single mom with one 8 yr old. I spend $50 a week on groceries - sometimes a bit more - sometimes a bit less. At least half goes to Whole Foods.

Coupons double

Anonymous wrote:I am a single mom with 2 dc's (10 and 7) and currently spend about $125/week on food but want to save more money and get budget down to $75. I prefer organic dairy, meat and veggies/fruit. I bake alot and don't buy many packaged snacks. Any suggestions on how I can reduce my weekly food bill?

Lol organic. Good luck... Next you'll be asking for a washer and dryer

Drop the organic, meal plan and shop exclusively at aldi, supplemented with dry good staples bought online (brown rice, quinoa). The more stores you go in, the more you'll spend.

Definitely doable. I was just at Whole Foods and organic apples are on sale for $5/ 5lb. bag. Frozen broccoli 2.49 for 1 lb bag. Bell and Evans chicken tenders are bogo, at 6.99 box. Last week ground beef was 4.99/lb.

At Costco, a 4- 5 lb. package of organic chicken breasts is about $22.

Aldi has pineapples for 1.49 this week and organic bananas for 1.49 for approx. 3lb. bunch.

Throw in some rice or pasta and you can eat well on this amount.

I totally understand the desire for organic, but remember it is far healthier to eat non-organic produce than no produce at all. Also frozen vegetable can have more nutrients than fresh (because they are frozen as soon as picked, whereas the fresh produce might have been traveling for quite some time before it reaches you.

^^^Sorry, I meant FROZEN fruits and vegetables might be a way for you to stay organic for less money.

Not the OP, but I see the recommendation for bean and rice dishes all the time as low-priced options, and I just have to ask -- how do you all deal with the gas? I'm not joking. I am impossible to be around if I have a dish that is mostly beans. Is it just me?

To the OP: fruits and vegetables might be a way for you to stay organic, but get something cheaper. Also, there's a yearly investment in membership fess but maybe joining Costco would be worth it for you (perhaps you can split the membership with a friend?)

Trader Joes!! Saved our financial lives.

I buy coupons on ebay for items that I use regularly. For example, we use a lot of almond milk. I can buy a dozen 55 cent coupons for $1. It really can add up for items you buy in bulk and saves time and money since I don't buy the paper and even if I did, would take forever to accumulate a dozen coupons for the same item.

Anonymous wrote:Though it's not the ideal time of year now, consider a small garden. You can do some stuff now even if you have an enclosed patio.

+1 There are also mini greenhouses you can buy nd keep on a porch or other small outdoor space. Even if you wait til spring, now is the time to read up on the how-tos. Since I think you said you are in the city, you might want to get a copy of The Container Gardening Bible. It helped me tremendously.
One thing that helped save money for our family was to readjust our expectations for portion size. Meat was the majority of the plate - we are now following FDA guidelines more closely and smaller meat portions has helped reduce our budget. Frozen vegetables are also a lifesaver

Every 1-2 months, Giant runs specials on Barilla pasta, 10/$10.00 with the bonus card.

When that happens, I usually stock up as pasta keeps and give you a lot of bang for the buck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't sound like a good idea to save on food considering your budget is already as low as 75 and you have kids who desperately need sufficient nutrition. Can you squeeze out some money elsewhere?

Agree

If she cuts out organic she will be fine.