S/O grocery budgets

jnadoreshn · October 2013

What's yours?

What are your tricks for staying on/under budget?

Amberley18 · October 2013

It used to be $250/month but that is no longer feasible. We are lucky if we are under $450 anymore.

I try to buy organic free range meats and organic produce which really eat up a big chunk of the budget. I do try to buy in bulk when i can. For instance with chicken, when it is on sale we will get 12-15 lbs. we trim it, portion bag it and freeze it. It quickly thaws in some water when we are ready to use it.

I do price compare and dabble with coupons but generally find that coupons are mostly for processed foods. I occasionally splurge, like those Oreos in the pantry, but try to make even our treats fresh.

I also CD and BF for 9 months which both help the overall budget tremendously.

Baby food and formula are expensive!! I definitely shop around for both and thankfully have found some great clearance deals recently that I stocked up on both. I also freshly make most all the foods S eats at home and freeze them. It is just easier to have the prepared stuff for daycare and when we are out and about.

AshleyMatt1215 · October 2013

I try to stay around $80 for a 2 week shopping trip, but it's probably closer to $100 when you consider extra trips.

I don't really coupon, at our grocery store many of the store brands are just as good if not better than the national brand. I make a list and stick to it. If I see something at a really good price I'll buy 2 or 3 of it. I buy in bulk when possible, but we have a small freezer so it doesn't work for everything.

My mom helps us a ton, too. She has a huge freezer and will give us meat. Plus, she lives in farm country and will get us some produce every now and again. She also visits once a week and either insists on taking us to dinner or bringing us dinner. She's amazing and saves us a ton.

When LO comes I'll be making all of their baby food and breastfeeding for as long as possible. Once we have to go on formula I'll use coupons for that and we have a Sam's Club membership. That membership will also be used for diapers if Target brand fails me. In my hometown there's a surplus store that sells diapers and all sorts of items super cheap, but it's an hour away.

tdmd09 · October 2013

We usually spend $100 a week, not including formula which we get monthly at Sam's Club. We meal plan which helps us stick to our list and our budget. We split up who cooks, and I do wish that we would meal plan a bit better so that we don't waste ingredients (like plan for two meals that use celery when we each only need a little bit, for example).

amccul20 · October 2013

I budget $200 a month, but if I go a little over I'm not super hard on myself.

but we do split a cow with the IL's once or twice a year so that budget doesn't include any beef.

I HAVE to only use cash in order to stay on budget. I have several envelopes and I put the cash i'll need for each task in that envelope on the 1st of the month.

pistolpackinmomma · October 2013

Right now I just buy for me so $50/week is typically the upper end of what I spend. I feed DS bits if what I eat and insurance pays for formula. I'm not sure what DH spends out on the road...I probably don't want to know.

brij2006 · October 2013

I try to stick with $300/month. This includes any toiletries, stuff for oil changes, etc. So it isn't just groceries themselves.

We also do 1/4 of a cow once a year, and 1 pig once a year. So that runs us close to $1,000 total. We put money aside $100 each month so we have enough saved up to pay for those 2 items.

sparklingdiamond · October 2013

I think I need some better grocery store tips! We usually end up spending $100-125 a week. But we are trying to follow a clean eating plan and follow recipes from Emeals. Living with my mom has cut our bill down to like $60-$80 a month.

bridget0117 · October 2013

We spend around $200 a month on groceries (just at the grocery store). And I take a trip to sams club maybe twice a month and stock up on bottled water and pepsi. That usually runs me around $40 a month.

I don't stick to a budget that's just what we typically spend. Sometimes we spend less a month on groceries because we eat out, A LOT

wiggyslilsis · October 2013

For the month of September we spent $400 which includes our necessities like diapers and shampoo and stuff. I meal planned and it made a huge difference because here we are halfway through October and we have only spent $70 because we still have plenty of food left from last month!

One thing I think that helps is going to the grocery store less. We live rural so town is 25 minutes away. I can't/don't just run to the store for just a couple things.

ream02 · October 2013

Mostly DH does the shopping for grocery's and I do the household necessities (TP, body wash, toothpaste, etc) and until I had all this m/s he did most of the dinner meals too planning ahead. He typically cooks with the same flavors and staples so we are always stocked on those types of items. We also buy meat in bulk when it is on sale and portion and freeze pack it so we always have a steady supply of beef, pork & poultry. We cook a lot from scratch instead of processed/boxed/canned stuff. We buy diapers at Costco unless they are on sale somewhere else. I don't CD, although I wish I had the stomach for it. I also BF DS until he was 14 months. He has a dairy protein allergy so he has to have Almond milk because he didn't tolerate the soy either. That can be a little pricey so when it's on sale we purchase a couple extra since it has about a month fridge life.

sgautschi · October 2013

I budget $300/month. We do our big shopping trips every two weeks and are usually under $150 each time, which makes up for the smaller shopping trips in between.

We go to a lower cost grocery store for everything except for meat. That helps keep the cost down.

Kaiene · October 2013

Our budget is $365 a month. This includes toiletries and cleaning supplies.

I meal plan and take stock of what we have and what we need to use up when planning. I will also consult store ads to see what meat is on sale. A couple of stores near me run BOGO sales on meat frequently.

We only buy some products organic and I shop around for those. We buy store brand for just about everything, unless the national brand is cheaper. I get some of the basics at a discount grocery store.

I make things like pancakes and waffles from scratch instead of buying mixes. I also do most of our baked goods from scratch. I've also started using beef and chicken base to make my own broth instead of buying it.

In addition, I plan at least one vegetarian meal and one breakfast meal weekly.

We buy in bulk when possible and freeze. I typically use shredded or cubed meat in recipes because it helps us stretch it further. I also try to plan a big batch of something (chili, stew, etc) that we can get lots of leftovers out of. We eat leftovers for lunch daily. DH takes advantage of free lunches at work when he can.

I plan our fresh fruit purchases around sales. I try to limit pre cut produce, since that's usually more expensive, but it is worth it in some cases. If I have to buy a lot of something I will use it in a couple of recipes during the week so it doesn't go to waste.

I think it is important to know and compare your prices, and to do the math on deals to make sure it is a good deal.

KatieKim0815 · October 2013

I spend about $500 a month for a family of 4.

Meal planning to me is the best way to save. I don't coupon too much because coupons generally only go towards junkier things which I don't buy. I try to buy things on sale!

S/O grocery budgets

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