Grocery budget - NEED HELP

Options
2»

Replies

  • live2smyle
    live2smyle Posts: 592 Member
    Options
    This is what I did for many years and it worked for us. I put pen to paper and figured out what it cost us in rent, utilities, gas, insurance, cable, phone. Whatever regular bills you have. Then I thought about what it cost for clothing, car tags etc the things you dont always pay for. I then figured out what I wanted to save per month and what my "fun" amount was going to be. If you take your yearly expenses such as clothes and tags and divide that number by 12, you can then add that in your monthly expenses and not get side swiped when they come up.

    After totalling all your monthly bills, figure out what you have left. Thats what I spent on groceries :P Nothing more and nothing less. I would make an envelope for each bill, savings, grocery's & fun money. Then when my husband got paid I would get it all in cash and weekly put the money I needed in those envelopes. So at the end of the month I had enough for each thing :) Hope this helps and is not to confusing :/
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,167 Member
    Options
    Go to BJs if it's an option. Cheap food in quantities.
  • busub
    busub Posts: 58
    Options
    Eggs... cheap, and a good source of protein.

    Also, would you by chance be near any Asian groceries? If you are, produce there tends to be on the cheaper side and you might be able to find my favorite, purple sweet potato!

    At any rate, chinese greens are also really cheap (bok choy, sum choy, napa cabbage, pea vine, etc.) and go great in quick stir fry w/ a bit of garlic and sea salt. Add that to your eggs and you're set (got me through college myself). If you have the freezer room, buy your proteins (chicken breast, fish, lean steaks, etc.) in bulk when they go on sale and seal it nice and tight in a freezer bag.

    You may spend more on fresh produce and meats than if you bought processed stuff, but they'll go a lot farther.
  • busub
    busub Posts: 58
    Options
    BTW, the wife and I budget $75 a week for groceries, but usually spend about $50. Just gotta be a smart shopper. We have 3 groceries stores within 15 blocks of our house and yup, we hit all three after reading the ads to make sure we're getting things as cheaply as possible.
  • brittanyscherich
    brittanyscherich Posts: 355 Member
    Options
    As a couple ( and with a dog) we spend about $100-$150 every 2 weeks for groceries.
  • melodyg
    melodyg Posts: 1,423 Member
    Options
    I try to spend about $200 a month for our family of 3 (2 adults and a 5 year old). I haven't been doing so well at keeping up with the budget lately so I am not sure if I am doing that at the moment though! I stock up when meat is on sale and plan meals based on what meat I have in the freezer or what is on sale that week. I usually mostly fresh/frozen veggies as well and stock up on basics (flour, sugar, oatmeal,spices) at Aldi when I can. I do menu planning every week too, which helps save money and make sure we use what we have on hand.
  • ERapp01
    ERapp01 Posts: 32 Member
    Options
    buy what is on sale that should help
  • soysos
    soysos Posts: 187 Member
    Options
    a 3yr old, & 9month twins witht he babies eating store bought baby food..... next trip to the grocery store i will stock up and cook some batches of homemade food for the twins and freeze it.

    why bother, I don't blame you with the current price of baby food, but why not feed them off of your own plate.
  • nevergonnagiveup
    nevergonnagiveup Posts: 41
    Options
    Hey I know all about grocery budgets!!! We are a single income family of 5 (kids are 15 & 13-twins). I can buy groceries, including toiletries & cleaners, for $300-$400 a month for all of us. I have TONS of tips and ideas, way too many to just list here, so if you're interested message me.

    That is what I spend here in Oz for the same size family, but I am always willing to learn more tips! :bigsmile:
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
    Options
    I spend about $80 to $90 a week for 3 people. I know I could lower it down more if I start meal planning but it gets so overwhelming when I sit down to start it that I just go crazy. Plus we like to go by what we feel like eating that day. So I know it will need to be a plan we can swap days around.

    We use a lot of fresh produce and I shop around for the cheapest I can get. The only canned stuff I get is beans and tomatoes(for certain things). Shop the outer edges of the store those cheap boxed foods can pull you in with their low low price. Its just not worth it and ends up healthier. The only thing I go in the middle for is seasonings, vinegar, olive oil, HFCS free ketchup, mustard and tortillas which are by the freezer section where I get a stock of frozen veggies for days or times I just won't make it to the store. I've tried to learn to make tortillas but it didn't go well. Now I'm sticking more to corn tortillas as I'd like to cut out gluten.

Categories