Family Eating on a budget????

Big packs of meat, break them down yourself (I like the 10lb. bags of chicken leg quarters that go on sale once a month or so -- whole pork tenderloins and cheaper beef roasts are another option if you're willing to cut them into smaller roasts, chops, and steaks yourself). Frozen veggies instead of fresh (except for what's in season and on sale). Bulk grains, rices, and legumes. Eggs until you think you might birth a chicken yourself. The one thing I wouldn't skimp on is bread, if you guys use it a lot. Completely whole-grain, corn syrup-free stuff is pricey but it makes a huge health difference. Anytime you have a little extra cash, invest in some tasty spices and sauces -- you'd be surprised how different even the same old things taste and feel when you vary the seasoning.

Don't worry too much about diversity. As long as you guys are eating decent protein, plenty of vegetables, and a little fat, it doesn't really matter if you have the same lunch every day or rotate between the same three dinners all the time.

Watch the sales fliers. If you don't get them in the mail, most stores provide you with the ability to sign up on their websites to have the flier, or a link to it, emailed to you ever week. This also tends to put you in the running for any other promotions they may have.

Buy in bulk. Going back to the flier thing, at least around here, they tend to put the bulk packages on sale more than the ones that only have 1-2 pounds. Either way, you're getting the better deal by buying a bunch and splitting them up yourself.

Plan your meals so there's no waste. If you're making a big batch of chili, either plan to have the leftover for dinner in the next week or two or just wait a couple of days and repurpose that chili to make sloppy joes. When I make meat sauce for spaghetti, it's usually enough for 3 servings and since there's only me and Hubs, that's 1 serving leftover. I usually freeze that last serving and then repurpose it a week or so later for another pasta and sauce dinner by adding a can of diced tomatoes and meatballs.

For veg (and even some fruits), if you're worried about them going bad before they are eaten up, buy frozen instead. They last forever and you can sometimes buy in bulk too. I get a huge bag of broccoli florets at WalMart every couple weeks.

P.S. Check your prices. Most shelf labeling provides you with a "per unit" price which backs up the reason to buy in bulk (cheaper per unit). However sometimes they don't so make sure you have a calculator handy (or cell phone since most have a calculator app) and figure it out yourself. I did this while buying sandwich baggies last week. You'd think the box that has 240 bags would be cheaper per unit than the one that has 120 bags. However, the 120 bag was actually a deal because you usually only get 100 bags at that price. It wasn't a huge savings but those little things do add up over time.

www.5dollardinners.com

As another poster mentioned, plan your meals based on the weekly fliers and buy in a way that reduces waste. Meat can be bought in bulk when on sale and frozen, so that is easy. Rice and beans can be bought on sale dry and are extremely cost effective. Veggies can be bought when on sale, prepped, blanched, and flash frozen for incredibly easy dinners.

Really it just takes a bit of planning and prep, but eating "healthy" can be incredibly cheap.

This is a bit of a more long term plan but even if you have a small yard you should get into container gardening, you can grow plenty of veggies and fresh herbs in pots. Its a little bit more work to keep them watered but is well worth it. The kids will love it and for the price of a few seeds you can have fresh, organic veg through the summer :-)

This is a bit of a more long term plan but even if you have a small yard you should get into container gardening, you can grow plenty of veggies and fresh herbs in pots. Its a little bit more work to keep them watered but is well worth it. The kids will love it and for the price of a few seeds you can have fresh, organic veg through the summer :-)

This. If you have a window in your kitchen, you can have a small fresh herb garden.

People have already mentioned bulk purchases/coupons/sales etc. For me, this meant investing in a chest freezer.
You mention you make bread. For me, I invested in canning gear (pressure cooker).

I was AMAZED how much money I could save by making things from scratch and canning them.

Currently, I spend about 1.5 days cooking for a 3 month supply (freezer, canner) using bulk purchases (e.g. wheat kernels from the Internet) of:

Chili ( I save $350/yr vs a meaty can of chili from the store)
Spaghetti sauce
Boston Baked Beans
Refried Beans
Belgium Waffles
Cinnamon Rolls
Wheat Bread
Chicken soup
French Onion soup

It's fun. I get to control the quality and quantity of the ingredients, AND I am saving money.

Key to the above....bulk purchases, chest freezer (solar panel driven) and pressure cooker/canner. These allowed me to cut out many of the "middlemen": food processors, distributors, advertisers etc.

Good luck!

Canning is a great recommendation. I do mostly water bath canning as I havent bought a pressure canner yet, but it can be a good way to bond with your family if you get an assembly line going.

In my experience a lot of Hispanic based supermarkets (if you have any in your area) have things like 20lb bags of rice, cans of beans or dried beans, potatoes, canned or frozen veggies, and meats (especially meats in large quantities) for super cheap.

Yeah, I buy my veggies and dry goods from Cardenas.

In my experience a lot of Hispanic based supermarkets (if you have any in your area) have things like 20lb bags of rice, cans of beans or dried beans, potatoes, canned or frozen veggies, and meats (especially meats in large quantities) for super cheap.

^ Agreed. You save a bundle avoiding top end grocery stores and instead shopping around at specialty markets. I've gotten some amazing deals at the smaller meat markets and places like Aldi.

My wife and I feed 10 kids, so everything we buy HAS to be economical. We really don't have any other choice but to buy in bulk, but one thing we've tried is whenever we go to the store, be it Sam's or whatever, we try to stock up on some items, mostly things that last a while. For example, 50 lbs of rice will last a long time, even in our family. Large cans of tomatoes, flour, sugar, beans, etc. Over time we can build up some basics and help cut back on the hit we take at the store. Hope this helps.

get a crock pot/slow cooker if you don't already have one. They are wonderful if you work full time and allows you to pick up ultra cheap cuts of meat and cook them so they melt. They also allow you to make the meat for more than one meal. I frequently get a chuck roast of 3-4 lbs. and the first dinner is pot roast and then the second may be turned into pot pie or shredded beef tacos, burritos or enchiladas. or a whole chicken is chicken and noodles or rice and I save some of the chicken meat for chicken salad cups the next day AND save the chicken carcass to boil down for stock for either another chicken soup OR use it as stock in a vegetable soup like Butternut Squash.

Agree dried beans are easy and very cheap.

Stock up on frozen veg when they are on sale. They are as good as fresh as long as there is no added salt, sugar or sauce.
Frozen fruit is also cheap.

agree learning to can fresh fruits and veg is very economical especially if you can swing a garden in the summer or hit the farmer's market for uber cheap super fresh produce - I use water bath method in giant soup pot. Also blanching and freezing is another winner in my book and I LOVE pulling out asparagus or strawberries in the dead of winter when you're getting sick of potatoes and squash.