Do You Have a Grocery Budget?
I received this email from reader, Anna:
“I was just thinking it would be very interesting to hear from others on what their grocery budget is and the size of the family and how easy it is to stick to it.”
I think this is an interesting topic to discuss. Why? Well, first I think it’s very important to hear others grocery budgets and how every single one will most likely differ– which is a good thing. We all lead different lives and should have a grocery budget that fits our lifestyle…. NOT someone else’s.
I think sometimes we see how low others grocery budgets are and want to somehow be in their shoes… but by thinking that way you will easily be setting yourself up for disappointment. Instead, be proud of yourself for every single dollar you’re able to save and be even prouder for trying to stick to a budget at all.
My hubby and I love the cash only approach to budgeting– meaning paying with cash as much as possible. We take out $75 every Sunday for groceries, personal care items, and anything else we made need during the week (excluding dining out, entertainment, and gas). This is the amount that works for us and I feel great about being able to stick to the $75 cash we take out every week. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve gone over budget on previous occasions. When this happens, though, we try and scrimp in other areas to get back on track.
Alright, so now it’s your turn…. do you have a weekly or monthly grocery budget? If so, please tell us about your budget and why it works for you. What items do you feel you spend too much on? What keeps you motivated to stick with a budget? Let us know!
I have a family of 4 one in diapers. I have $100 every two weeks for groceries, I do very well sticking to my budget with coupons, extra bucks and so many deals around town it is fairly easy. Thanks to all who have website we can go to and print coupons off of:)
We pay about $40 a week for groceries. I have a 2 1/2 and a 5 month old. We don’t have a grocery budget per say, but I definitely keep it under $40. Some weeks it’s only $25 or so that we spend.
We are a family of three- me, hubby and 3 year old. We have been through the Dave Ramsey plan and now facilitate the course ‘Financial Peace’ at our church. I would HIGHLY recommend Dave’s books (Total Money Makeover is great) if you are having probelms budgeting or paying down debt.
We work off of $65 a week for groceries, personal care items, pull-ups, etc. I was doing great, but was finding it difficult to stock up or take advantage of rebate deals. My husband suggested a fund set aside for just that. So with some tax rebate money- we set aside $200 for me to use strictly on rebate items, that way I don’t have to eat away at my weekly grocery money while I wait to get a rebate back in the mail. When the rebate money comes in- I simply put it back in the rebate fund to use all over again!
Great idea! I always have trouble with rebates, because even though you’ll get it back, it’s hard to part with the money for the 4-8 weeks or so before the rebate check comes. I like the idea of setting aside a small amount for that, and replenshing it with the rebate money as it comes in.
Although I am just starting my budgeting. I had done quite a few rebates in Feb/March I took the money I spent out of my budget, but when the rebate money comes in I am holding in a cash envelope to use toward my stockpiling and this does not come out of my budget. When I came upon a different site who also has a sweepstakes links, I started playing them. In the 2-3 months I have played I have won $35 cash, 3 jars of pace, and a box of granola bars. Great for the budget. I also won a $100 gift card which I used towards my 3 kids summer wardrobe. With great sales this $100 went a long way.
Family of 3 here (2 adults and a 3 year old) and I set aside 200 for 2 weeks which includes, groceries, personal care items, etc, gas, and misc. and that is it! It was hard at first but now it is so easy!
We spend $80-$100 a week for month for groceries for our family of six. It’s close to $100 when I stock up on good meat deals. We buy produce and dairy every week and then try to rebuild our stockpile for what is on sale that week. I am getting better thanks to Collin and all her great tips. 🙂
I am a WORKathome 😉 mom of 4 boys: 7,5,3,2. One in diapers and one in pullups at night. Our monthly budget for food, eating out, toiletries, small clothing or shoe purchases, etc. )basically everything but gas and prescriptions) is $350 a month. It is a lot of work to maintain this budget but more than possible. Several times we have gone under budget and we’ve used the leftovers for birthdays or holidays. I am humbled and amazed at the way God provides for our family. We usually only eat out about once per month and if there is an extenuating circumstance that causes us to spend more money, I have been able to find in our income or savings without going into debt–thankfully!
We have a family of 6 (2 adults and 4 kids.) We try to keep our weekly budget under $100 for our food and household stuff (this includes diapers and formula). We don’t include gas, or entertainment in that.
when I got married 5 years ago, we had a $50 a week budget. now 5 years and one child later, I am still at $50 a week. so learning how to cash in on deals & coupons has helped me be able to stay at this despite inflation and so many rising costs! my goal is to try to keep this as long as I can. I spend about $10 a week on produce (definitely the biggest chunk!) and about $15 every 2 weeks for meat. we definitely do a lot meatless meals!
One thing we do to lower our meat use is simply to ration less meat for each meal… say use a half pound of ground beef in your hamburger helper instead of a pound.
My hubby and I spend $200 every two weeks on groceries and toiletries (what is left is fun money). $220 for my gas a month and $50 for my hubby’s gas (he works 2 minutes away compared to my 40 min. drive). And then we use our $100 a week fun money for eating out and other stuff.
I wish I was as good as some of the other ladies but I try to prevent myself from going to the grocery store more than 2 times a month (that way I can’t overbuy), which means I miss out of some good deals or go with my hubby b/c he fills up the cart. It may seem like we are spending a lot but we are young with no kids and no debt (other than the normal payment for 1 car and our house). We use to always spend over in groceries and now we always have fun money (i.e. money left over).
We’re a family of four – two kids aged 12 and 15 (and they and their friends can EAT!). We’ve spent more than anyone I think! B.C. (before coupons) we spent around 800 dollars a month on groceries, personal items, basically everything you could get at a big grocery store. Now we spend essentially zero on personal items and on things like toilet paper and soap. We aren’t too picky about those. But we’re a little picky about food. We do a lot of organic veggies and fruits, happy-cow beef, free range chicken, that kind of stuff and my husband likes to cook all kinds of exotic new foreign recipes which requires unusual ingredients. But even so, with the coupons, we now spend around 300-400 a month on groceries. More than a fifty percent savings. Thanks Collin so much! What I love is that couponing can help no matter where you decide to cut and how much you’re willing to do.
I have a family of 5 – the kids are 14,12 and 11 (two are hungry boys!) before couponing I was spending around 1,000 a month and in the past 6 months I am spending around 650 a month but I can see myself getting better at this each week and my goal is to get it down to 500 a month within the next few months! Thanks for all your help!!
I have 3 kids (6, 4, and 1) and me and my husband. We spend around $450 for groceries, personal items, and going out to dinner. I almost always go to restaurants that have coupons or buy discounted gift certificates. Or we’ll go to lunch when the kids are in school, if he has the day off, and that saves a lot too.
I have a family of 5. 2 in diapers, 1 on formula and baby food. I just started trying to stick to a budget in March. My goal is 600.00 a month including all toiletries, diapers, food, formula etc. My first month I spent 638.00, which I thought was not too bad for the first time tracking, and still gives me something to shoot for. I just recently started couponing Jan/Feb so I am saving and stocking to help me reach this budget. Getting my 2 year old out of diapers would probably get me under budget for the month. Love the site, its my favorite of all!
First month is usually the most expensive in couponing because you have to start your stockpile. Ours was about the same amount of money, but we had double the amount of groceries to show for it, and then after that is was about half the amount we used to spend!! Stick with it and you will see that number drop in no time!!!
Our weekly grocery budget (includes personal items/toiletries) for a family of 6 (almost 7) is $80/ week. We do a cash system and usually dont use the full amount and save the extra for stocking up on meat etc. when a sale hits.
Not many people without budgets- I do not have a budget, I simply buy what we need. Some weeks I buy more than others, and some weeks I don’t have to go to the store. I am trying to get a small stock pile going right now- and I spent $100 last week (outside of milk- I will not need to go this coming week). Fuel for our vehicles is another story-
We have 3 adults and just recently set a budget. Have never followed one in the past and it’s been great! Check out my post at my blog.
Blessings,
Kris
I spend 18 to 25.00 a week for a family of 3. If I include eating out and gasoline it 80.00 a week. I try to get overages and only buy what is almost or nearly free and stock pile it.
I feel a little related to you.. We are just two, and we spend 20-25 per week. 🙂
We are 5 1/2 people and spend $600 month , Mom, Dad, Grandma 1 1/2 year old 4 year old and expecting another. 1 in diapers, 1 in training pants and we spend $100 alone on milk as it’s $3.65 a gallon here. This includes paper products, cat stuff, cleaning, toiletries etc. Also includes eating out, which is where we go over, if we do.
You are doing great with your budget. Congratulation!
We are two adults and I suppose I spend about $200/month on groceries after coupons. I kind of budget each paycheck – they are all the same but there is always something here and there that needs to be taken out. Next paycheck I know we have to spend $50 on a red light camera ticket so I spent a little more this payday than usual. Gas isn’t budgeted either, we have one car and just fill up or get 5/10/20/etc when we need it. I live less than 5 miles from at least 10 grocery stores and Walmart, KMart, Target and dollar stores so we don’t use much there – but DH has to drive an hour round trip to work every day. I know I can spend less on groceries, but I’ve only been doing this for a month – I need to grow my Q collection and stockpile things when they become free like I have been doing.
As far as entertainment, I’d say about $50/week. Animals are budgeted $20 a week but I never use that much (2 dogs, 2 hamsters, 5 chinchillas) so I just put it up for vet bills.
Wow, I feel like I live a life of excess after reading these comments. I generally spend about $150/wk on groceries for a family of 4. I buy a fair amount of organic and buy a lot of produce. I have actually slashed our grocery bill from over $200 and it works for us so I’m happy.
I’m glad to finally read about a budget that seems reasonable. The others I have read are pretty unbelievable. I am like you… $150/wk for groceries and personal care items!
$150 a week here too! 2 adults, 3 kids 🙂
Not a life of excess, everybody’s different! We live on about $60/week just on groceries for my family of 5. But I don’t have any kids in diapers, and we’re not eating super awesome stuff right now… I used to spend $200/week, but my husband’s job has been really tough (he’s self-employed) lately, so I’m just doing bare bones to try and stay afloat. AND, if you stockpile, that REALLY cuts out SO much spending, it’s really incredible how that one step really can save you.
Next year hubby is likely going to get a job that pays a pretty good salary (hallelujah!) and I’ll for sure be able to budget for more quality ingredients, more produce, etc… for which I am thankful. $150 a week for really good food is GOOD! You probably save at least $200 a month, which is significant.
You are not alone with the $150/wk on groceries as well for a family of 4. I have been feeling the same way. 😉
I’ve been using coupons now since the beginning of Feb so I’m hoping that will be able to go down some.
I’ve learned so much from all of this… I also feel like me and my DH have been extremely wasteful. $175K a year combined yet always seem to be struggling financially. 🙁
I think a lot of it is education. I also recommend thesimpledollar.com because he talks about how he makes mistakes and learns from them…it’s not enough just to *save* money, you have to learn how to spend money wisely.
Oh, I wish we had that much, the house would be all paid of. You can do way better.We make 54 K and we tithe 10% and the offerings on top of it, ie. missions it was more then 6K last year, so far we paid of 76 K on our house in 4 years, car and truck are paid of. We feed 7 people and two big dogs. I have been couponing for 12 years.
We really do not have any budget. I just buy what we need and only occasionally what we want. We have a garden, I freeze local fruits when in season, so I pay$.80 for a pound of strawberries not $2.50, I can everything, we are healthy food advocate family, so no junk in our house, I cook from scratch and we do not even have a microwave. I bake our bread.There are so many ways you can save.
We just got married, and we don’t have that much.. but we are learning to enjoy the little we have :), we make our needs our wants 🙂 .. We enjoy every thing we have.. It has been an amazing couple of months, saving, but still seeing miracles stretching our budget 🙂
Not everybody can have a garden and can and bake bread! That lifestyle, while wonderful, isn’t for everyone!
Don’t be hard on yourself, it depends on where you live. $175K in San Francisco or New York would make me struggle financially! 🙂 Don’t compare yourself to others, just try and cut expenses and really weed out the “needs” from the “wants”. Dave Ramsey says “control your money… don’t let your money control you!” I recommend any of his books for a great start and incredible motivator.
Good luck
I am able to feed a family of 5 on a budget of $20 pwk.On top of this I spend $30 on meat every 3mths at Sams Club. ( I bag into smaller portions and then freeze) We eat really well! Steak, chicken, Pork ,Fish lots of vegetables and fruit. I buy all of the BOGO at Publix and use coupons on top. Most weeks I am spending between $18-20 and saving $120+.
My husband and I both have $100 pmth spending money and that’s what I call our no questions asked money. I usually spend mine on deals at WAGS and CVS along with multiple trips to McDonalds for ice cream during the week for my 3 kids, (4,2,1)
Before I started couponing in July 09 I would easily spend $600 pmth on groceries. Thanks to Collin and Jenny at Southern Savers I am now debt free and have a huge stockpile of groceries and drug store goodies. I just need a bigger house to store everything!!!
You are my hero! I spend a bit more than most couponers out there because I’m in the process of losing weight and I just like to be healthy. I refuse to eat less produce and meat….it might save me money, but if I don’t, I’ll just gain the weight back. Way to go on your budget and healthy eating!
really $20 a week? im in complete awe right now… its only my husband, daughter and I and I easily spend $100 a week or more. I need to learn everyones secrets!!!! I do use coupons but I havent really started to stockpile too much because we live in a town house and I have no room anywhere for anything let alone more food!!! Im super impressed!!!!
You eat steak, pork and chicken on $30 every 3 months? Even at BJs or Costco I couldn’t possibly do that where we live. Your prices must be way lower than mine.
We have a family of 6, 1 in diapers, 2 in pull-ups at night, I am however in the process of making diapers especially for the bedwetters, (it has been a long process, meaning it is not going so well) I am trying to buy groceries, toiletries, diapers etc. on 300.00 a month. I just started couponing and have made many mistakes… But starting this month I want my hubby to give me 300.00 cash and I am making it my personal goal to stay under that so I have some left over at the end of the month… Thanks Collin I love your blog…
we are a family of 4. me,husband, and 2 boys six and three yrs. we spend about 80 dollars a week now that i coupon… a few months ago it was way over 200 a wk. thats food, toiletries, household and pet. we are so excited about the extra money. I love this site!! and great topic very interesting…
I am a single mom, and for my daughter and I I generally spent $150/month on groceries. I bought everything on sale, and stocked up when prices were low. Then I found out I had to be on a specific wheat free/dairy free diet because of a condition called Candida, and although I am eating much less, my grocery budget has at least doubled! But it is worth it for my health! I have to remind myself that everytime I look at one of my grocery store receipts!
Once upon a time our grocery budget was $300/mo for two people and we hardly ever stuck to it because it was extremely optimistic (more like $350).
Now:
Grocery Budget: $165/mo
Personal Care $30/mo
Entertainment (eating out/ movies/ etc): $40/mo
The grocery budget is still a little optimistic, but we have done a decent job of sticking to it and have never gone over $200 (and when I go over I skimp on some areas and this month I lowered our budget to $150 because we went $15 over last month due to good deals on things we will use this month).
One of the big reasons I am trying to stick to a budget is to be able to pay off our student loans whenever they come out of deferment as quickly as possible to avoid paying too much in interest. My goal is to save $100-200 each month (depending on how much we earn each month) to go into a money market account until we need to start paying back our loans.
Sorry, forgot to mention we are a family of 3 (one is 13 months).
My husband and I just started repaying our student loans and our payments are MUCH less than we originally thought they would be because of the new “income based repayment plan” (if they are federal student loans). Our payments were adjusted down according to our income AND my husband only has to pay his back for 10 years and the rest will be forgiven because he is a teacher. Just check all of your options before you start paying ahead like we did. Good luck!
We have had serious finacial setbacks and I am so happy for this website. I don’t think we could have made it so long without your help. I force myself to spend no more than 12.50 per week total on groceries and household items. My husband spends 30 per week on meats and sack lunch foods for our daughters. That’s 42.50 per week for 2 adults and 2 middle school girls. Sometimes less if there isn’t as much money coming in. Thank the Lord for free food with coupons!
Wow, thank the Lord is right! That’s amazing! Kudos to you (and to God)!
My husband and I try to stick to $60 a week for groceries – but thanks to your site we have been saving a lot more!! We are working to get out & live out of debt!!
Question for everyone…..Do most of you eat at home or go out to eat? We are a family of 4. 2 adults and 2 boys ages 5 and 1. I hate cooking and would prefer to go out to eat. I feel bad bc I know that it would save us money to eat at home but I work full time and so does my husband. I dont stick to a budget at all but would love some tips or pointers on how to do this. Thanks!!
we eat out sometimes but i try to get the coupons for places or go to free kid nights which really helps and of course the famous lemon water helpscut cost down 🙂 if i have no coupons or really pushed for time i use the dollar menus I have also found out pizza hut has three pounds of pasta on tuesday nights for ten dollars comes with bread sticks i add a sallad to it and its a quick meal
We used to eat out 3-4x week.. I know how it feels to work full time and not even feel like doing anything when you get home.. but we save SO much money by not eating out that much anymore… only my hubby and me.. but if we do we use Restaurant.com which can save you tons of money, and other coupons for places.. it also is way more healthy to cook.. It helps me to come up with a menu plan at the beginning of the week and do some of the prep work like on Sunday.. then you already have a plan so it’s not so hard to throw a meal together..
One option is to stock up on frozen food. My favorite is Schwan’s (if they deliver in your area). You can check out their site (schwans.com) and browse their products. I have been using them for years and love their products. You can buy complete meals or just individual items and they deliver it to your door. Also, for each product, they give the price per serving which is pretty handy. Their prices are descent but the convenience is wonderful!
You really need to consider the cost of living before you feel bad about your budget. We are a family of 4 living in upstate NY and we spend about $550 a month on groceries, paper products, personal items etc. None of the grocery stores in our area double or triple coupons (except on rare occasions when they send out a “special coupon”). We have 2 special diets (one low carb, one low gluten) and I am very careful with how I spend our money. It just doesn’t go as far as it would in other parts of the country. I have lived in the west and I have lived in the south and things just cost more here.
good point
I was just telling my husband this. I was feeling kind of bummed (while inspired at the same time) but we also live in Upstate NY. A lot of times I notice the prices that are listed on a lot of blogs for certain stores, and those prices are often double where I live (at the same store, ie WalMart).
thanks for bringing that point out!
YES! Great point. There is ONE store here that helps me keep our budget so low, if that store wasn’t here, my grocery budget would double probably.
We are a family of 3 – Mom and Dad and one almost 3 year old. Our combined grocery and toiletry budget is $240/month, which is about $60 a week. Diapers are a different budget category all together that we are trying to get rid of. I was recently able to drop our grocery budget $20, and am working this month to do it again. In the end, I would love to have a budget of $200 for groceries and toiletries. That is my goal – which I think would be phenomonal for SoCal. A year or so ago, I started making things from scratch, and that has saved us a ton of money. Many things take less time to make from scratch then it does to plan and execute the shopping trip to go buy them, especially with my active little girl.
My weekly budget for my hubby and two boys is around $100 a week for groceries/toiletries and personal care items. Both of my boys are in diapers and usually if we go over budget it’s because I have to buy diapers for both or somehow my hubby and I have both run out of personal care items in the same week.
Oh and I should include we only eat out twice per week (usually one lunch and one dinner and that is not included in the budget).
We are a family of 4 with 2 teen boys. We used to spend around $800 a month for groceries and eating out. Now after about 18 months that is down to $150 for everything including sack lunches for everyone. I challenged myself to stay under $100 for January and was able to do it, but it was a little bit too extreme for me right now. I am gradually reducing my budget by $10 a month.
I find our biggest challenge is that teen boys eat more than 3 meals a day! My kids are very sporty and eat a lot in the house and out. They love to eat out and feel deprived if they don’t have fast food at least a couple times a month. Fortunately for our budget, they both now have part-time jobs so I pay twice a month ( a total of $20 per month for them) and then they pay for themselves if they want to go more often. Often we have a house full of their friends, so I try to stockpile a lot of snacks and teen friendly meals ( frozen pizza etc.) when I can. We don’t eat a lot of meat and I think that helps to keep costs down.
I am amazed at how well so many of you do. I am impressed and motivated to do better b/c I know it’s possible!!
I used to have a goal of $400/month for groceries and could never make it! Now since couponing, I spend $60-80/week. That is for a family of 2 and includes all groceries (food) and toiletries. Gas and entertainment/all eating out are separate. For the month of February, we spent around $60/week and in March, we set a goal to start eating much healthier and spent $80/week. I hate to say it, but for me, eating healthier is more expensive. I need to work on that. We also receive around $100 in rebates each month, regularly. I love rebates!!!!! I don’t subtract those from my grocery bills. I am aiming for $50/week and have yet to make that goal but am working on it!
To those that spend $40/month on entertainment, that is awesome. We spend wayy more than that, I don’t budget that yet but am hoping to start soon b/c we really need to get that part on track.
We are a family of 5. (Dad, Mom, 5 yr old, 3 yr old and 5 mth old) I am in awe that most of you use so little for your groceries and such! I must be doing something wrong because we shoot to spend $100 per week, but it always ends up being more like $150. I have gotten some great deals on a few things, but not enough to keep from spending so much still! I just don’t see how you can get ut so low!
We are a family of 7 (9 if you count the 2 furry labs :-). There is my husband and I , 16 B, 14 G, 12 B, 10 G, and 2 B. I try to budget for $350 a month, which includes anything I would buy at Aldi’s, all grocery stores, all drugstores, target and walmart. Basically at food, toiletries, dog food, makeup and cleaning products. I struggle some months and blow my budget by $50 or so, and others months I do good. We try to eat fresh vegetables daily and fresh fruit, so in a month I can spend $100 alone on fruits and vegetables (and that’s shopping at Aldi’s for most), but I wouldn’t change it to save a little more. I feel if I have kids who will eat carrots and celery as a snack and actually like avocado’s and salads at dinner, then it is well worth the money! I wish I could get it down to $250, but for now I am doing pretty good – we were at $450 – $500 a year ago.
I have done better since starting couponing… Used to spend $290-$300 a week for my family of 8. I have 5 boys and 1 girl… ages 12 to 2 and me and my husband. Now I spend $250 a week or less …. I think I must be doing something wrong~ I try every week to do better… but I am happy for the savings that I do have.
This includes bday gifts, toiletries and 1 still in diapers. I don’t include gas in this and eating out. We eat out only 1 time per month…
Any suggestions on how to do better????
That is really well for such a big family!!! I come from a family of 8 and i’m pretty sure my mom spent more than that! But what has helped us it using all cash for everything, so when its gone at the end of the 2 wks, its gone.. Also having a budget for each catagory.. we break it up into: eating out, groceries, household/personal items, dog, car maintenance, gas, and personal money for my hubby and I to spend on whatever no questions asked… We use Dave Ramsey to help us learn how to get out of debt.. and stick with those catagories. Also I stock up on gifts for my fam and friends whenever things are on sale after a holiday or with coupons, then I don’t have to pay retail.. and also buying for holidays for the next year this year when its on sale.. those are some things that help us!
We are in NY. I spent about $100 a week on food alone for 2 adults and 1 toddler. Both of us work out of home. We have a nice stock pile. We also eat a lot of organic, rarely any processed. My sister who’s single and on an all organic diet, spends about $100 for herself. We do okay.
We have a cash only approach as well thanks to Dave Ramsey. 🙂 We budget 250 for 2 weeks but that includes any eating out, coffee stops, etc. All food purchases and baby needs. We are a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids 9,5,1).. I have become an avid coupon shopper and i also buy meats every 3-4 days with my meals preplanned so I dont go over my budget and buy things we dont need. I buy meats in the clearance section which just means you need to use them in the next couple of days. I can usually get meat at 30- 50% off for steak and ribs and the good stuff. I look around to see where the vegetables and everything else I need are on sale and do it in one day which saves on gas as well.
i have a family of 4… my hubby 2 kids and myself, with only 1 income. i dont have an actuall budget but if i had to put an amount on it i would say anywhere from 30 to 70 a week depending on the sales. some weeks alot less because i only buy milk, bread, and fruit. when i first met my husband he was a brand name snob. that quickly changed when i moved in, so i felt like we were saving a ton that way. and now that i coupon i really do save a ton!
We are vegetarian family of 4 and eat mostly organic foods. My budget for groceries, household items, anything we need from WalMart or Target is $250/month. This is down from $300/month since I started couponing. It is more difficult to find the coupons I need from the newspaper, so I am usually busy with printables and finding organic coupons on ebay. I then use the ebay coupons to really stock up on Newman’s organic pasta sauce, Amy’s foods, Annie’s foods, etc. I am actually enjoying the coupon hobby and have turned my mom (also has a vegetarian and organic diet) on to the coupon world! Thanks Collin for all your help!
Oops, I meant $250/week, so a whopping $1000 per month! Yikes, looks like we are way higher than most! Better go find more coupons!
Im right there with you. At about $1000 per month. I use coupons regularly and try and shop when there are good deals but no matter how much I try and save I just cant get it together. We eat out alot too though. I cant seem to get away from that either. I HATE cooking!!!!
If you have a whole foods, you can use coupons from their website and combine them with manufacturer coupons.. I never thought I would be able to shop there until I found that out!! Look at bargainbriana.com for whole foods deals every week!!! ALso if you check out different stores deals each week, you can find which store has the best deals on produce, that does save some too if you are willing to go to more than 1 store..
We are a family of 7: my husband, myself, 4 girls 14-7 and 1 boy 6. He says his stomach is always hungry. I stay within $100 a week for groceries. We eat 2 vegetarian meals a week. We home school and are home all the time and rarely eat out. The $100 includes food, and other things such as toiletries, cleaning supplies, medicines. I fluxuate between $90-125 when there are Catalina coupons available. Last year at this time I was spending $200! I have loved couponing and embarassed to say I get a little “high” when I get some good deals. Cereal for free is “cloud nine”!
We are a family of four (2 adults, a 6 yr old and an almost 3 yr old). This year I started limiting myself to a $50 per week budget for groceries, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and other household necessities! I was hesitant I could stick to it at first but its been quite easy! I currently have close to $200 extra cash I have carryforward from coming under budget several weeks. I will probably take a good chunk of this and move into savings! So pleased I started a budget! Its so much fun to see how far my thrifty ways get us. I also have to add that rebate money really helps my budget out, so whenever there is a rebate offer on something we use, I try to make it work (unless after rebate its not a good buy) because having that extra rebate money in your budget is a huge plus =)
we are family of five and my monthly spendings vary from $450 to $650. we eat organic meat/milk/fruits/eggs etc. we can’t really stock up too much either (no space). and this month, i bought $300 jewel giftcard so I’m at the top of my budget. but then for the next 3-4 months, i’ll be using my giftcard so my grocery bill will be lower. I actually prefer to look at 6 months average for this reason. I can trim more from my budget but if I can stay $500-$550/month that’s is realistic for our family and very doable.
Back in the day, before kids and when I was working, I could easily spend $500-$600 for groceries and sundries. Then I became a lightweight couponer for a few years, and my grocery budget was always between $300-$400 per month. A year ago I hit it hardcore, and now it’s $200 a month for my family of four! So I figure my couponing amounts to a part time job making $300 a month. Not bad for sitting on my butt at home! I’m considering raising my budget to $300 a month just so I can include absolutely everything – clothes and miscellaneous Walmart/Target goodies as well as all my drugstore runs. I don’t usually include all that because I spend so little and just use whatever cash I have laying around :-), but I think it would be good for me to keep better tabs on it. Then there’s my terrible drive thru habit which is probably another $100…that is my next goal. 🙂
We are a family of four (boys 10months and 4yrs) we have a budget of $150 per week. We usually stay under $120 on a normal week.
We are a family of 6–2 adults, 4 kids (9-2) and we supplement meals for my parents: Before stockpile shopping…$200-$250 a week for food and household supplies, diapers but no gas. After…$50-$100 and that includes it all plus now I can include clothing and toys for the kids in that number. My goal is to spend around $100 a week on ALL spending (except gas).
I have been couponing since the fall. It seems that now I spend about $65 per week for a family of four and my boys are 13 and 16. This week I spent $45. My cupboards are packed, my freezer and refrig is full and I sometime have to let deals go because I have no place to put it. I used to spend well over $100-$150 each week so I am saving so much.
I do give a lot to our local food pantry! I am taking 2 jugs of snuggle over this week.
A bit about us: We are a family of 4, including 2 hungry boys, 12 & 15. We are homeschooling, soymilk drinking, lacto-ovo vegetarians, and are just beginning our new lives on an acreage in the Midwest…most our friends and family call us “crunchy”. LOL 😉 We have hens who give us an abundance of unfertilized eggs, we eat organic when we can, and have plans laid out for about 1/2 acre of organic garden. Our younger son has autism, and is *very* particular about what he will eat and what he won’t. I have just begun couponing and stockpiling, and have *a lot* to learn. Our current monthly grocery budget is $900. We spend an additional $150 on personal care and household items each month…and it is killing us financially. We do not eat out unless we receive gift cards as gifts, our entertainment budget is non-existent, and I cut everyone’s hair to save money…but that $1050 a month has got to change. I am hoping to make big changes, in small steps. My first goal is to get to $800/month for all of it, then if I could get us to $600/month I would be overjoyed. Anything I can learn and implement to get us below that amount would be AMAZING! The totals you all shared tell me there is much I can learn by being here. 🙂 Thanks for this great site, Collin!