When Andrew and I were in college and it was just the two of us, we spent $200/month on food and that was back in the days before my endocrine disorder diagnosis and we were eating a lot of processed foods. Now that I actually cook and make many of the things we eat from scratch, I struggle with not being able to keep my grocery bill to that level.
While grocery prices have gone up, I do wonder if it is possible to still eat well and spend less. I have had a lot of people say that we are already on a very small food budget but I recently ran into a number of bloggers who, for various reasons, were eating on a budget of $1 per person/day. In case you struggle with math that is only $21/week for a family of 3! Here is the thing though, the bloggers that I linked to are vegan, another blogger was a vegetarian. It seems like if you want to live on a budget THAT small you need to be vegetarian and in my opinion, being a vegetarian is no way to live a healthy life (no offense to the vegetarians out there). Other people with families are doing it for $50 dollars a week, which I think would be more doable for our family, but I still wonder what things we would have to give up.
So, here is my challenge (you can remain anonymous). Tell me: How much do you spend on groceries per month for your family? With that amount, how well do you feel you are eating? How little do you think you could spend? What sacrifices would that require you to make? I would love to get some ideas of what others are doing so even if you eat totally different than my family, tell me how you eat. Are you a family that eats out a lot, cooks most meals from scratch etc.?
14 comments:
For our family of 6 our monthly grocery budget is $400. But that includes cleaning supplies, diapers, tissues, garbage bags, anything that can be bought at Walmart, Weis, etc...
I think we eat great. And I think I could reduce it, but it is at a good comfortable yet keeps me from getting carried away at Costco level.
Do you buy things in bulk, like from Azure standard? That's the only thing I can think of besides no organics/free range etc. We spend a lot too since we don't eat processed food, have allergy restrictions and some things I won't compromise on like the dirty dozen. It's sad that real food costs so much more. I've seen the vegans able to eat on a foodstamp budget too, which is great for them, but that doesn't work for us. We feel horrible without animal protein. I don't know if it's doable for you, but I decided I was ok with spending more (within limits) since we are able to. $400 is a good month for us :) I can't wait to get eggs back so we don't have to spend so much on meat for the girls!
when i was a newlywed i fed sean, myself, my sister in law , father in law and my baby boy on 50$ a week. it was awesome - i used coupons and sales and i even went to many discount stores... everyone was impressed with me :)
and then I started eating healthier so our billed climbed to about $100 a week. eventually Sean and I no longer had to cook for my in laws so we were back down to cooking for 3 for a while. Eli couldn't eat dairy so we had to use supplements for that... up went our grocery bill. then Eli got older to where he was eating like a 4 yr old instead of a 2 yr old (HUGE difference!) and up went the grocery billl. then we started included organics.. up went the bill... then we had Eva... then I found out we were celiac... then I found out I was allergic to soy... then we started eating more organics b/c I was worried about Eva and Ven's sensitivities... then we found out Eli was also celiac... then I went on the Elimination Diet (and still am) for Ven....
other factors: Eli and myself are allergic to fructose so neither of us can have fruit or raw veggies.
I will tell you in all honesty what our grocery bill is monthly just so you can get an idea. (rarely do I tell people b/c I think they would be horrified). it's 350$ a week. (that includes supplements, and things like dishwashing detergents/soaps/shampoos) and sometimes I have spend more b/c it just doesn't cut it.
I cook EVERYTHING from scratch (including our bread). We eat a lot of rice, potatoes and rice noodles to stretch things. we very RARELY go out to eat and if we do it's usually a snack like french fries to hold us til we get home for real food. we don't drink soda - only water or tea.... occasionally juice. we buy in bulk from various places. and I always hunt for deals online. if there is a bargain to be had, I will find it!
I've held a lot of guilt over spending all this money on food. I see the grocery budget and my heart drops. all that money we could be using to put in the bank and save for our own home! a van that works well! or adopt another child... etc. So I asked God to give me a desire and ability to learn how to cook everything from scratch so I knew I could be using our money to the very best of my ability - and he answered my prayer. I now have a desire and knowledge of making gf/sf/df foods all from scratch! (this is amazing for me b/c I used to loathe cooking!)
This is the hand God has given me. I have a family full of allergies and special food needs. It felt SO good and I was so proud back when I only spent 50% a week! I was a bargain queen and I loved how good it made me feel. but now I'm forced to feel good for other reasons and sit back and let God provide. I no longer have control like I wanted over our bill - but i am forced to trust God to provide the money we need for our insane diet.
I say all that to say this -most people put more worth into their home than into their food. you aren't where you live, or what you wear... but you are what you eat. Happily use what money you can in your family to eat the healthiest you can. every family is different. right now you're a young family so you can eat cheaper... but as you grow it will change and that's ok. be guilt free over it! If you're not meeting your budget for more than a month in a row that means your budget is too small. (btdt!)
I think you are doing amazingly well! I know you like to eat healthier and eat meat (me too!) so that is going to make your budget reflect that. I think you should be really really proud of yourself, honestly!! you're an amazing mama and you inspire me to keep looking for better deals.
I've never been great about budgeting, and we've always overspent on food. We do cook mainly from scratch (well, I'd say about 3/4 from scratch, 1/4 using some processed foods, for example my ds will only eat the oatmeal in the packets, or I'll sometimes buy a jar of spaghetti sauce to put in a recipe). I'm trying to work on getting us to eat even more whole foods, but it's a process. We tend to eat out more than we should (and that's with only eating out maybe 2-3 times a month; it's still too much).
My goal right now is to spend $75/month per person. We have four in our family, so that would be about $300, and that would include things like toilet paper. I think right now it's generally around $400+. I'm not sure how food storage fits into that or whether it's realistic to include the food storage in the $300.
Right now we really don't eat organic, and we don't have any special diet issues. Our flour is plain old whole wheat. Part of the not eating organic is lack of access to the right kinds of stores, farmers markets, etc. We live in a small town, minimum of 45 minutes away from any of those places.
I'm doing things like grinding my own wheat to make my own bread, pancake mix, etc. I'll be growing my own garden this year, and it will be hopefully as organic as possible. We bottled our own applesauce last year, but I don't think we saved any money. At least it tastes better! I've stopped buying things like cold cereal. This is huge for me because I could live on cold cereal! I want to introduce more "from scratch" hot cereals, but my ds will only eat oatmeal out of the packet and is very picky about brands.
I feel like we've come a long way in our eating, but still have a ways to go. I think for the way we eat right this minute, we could be saving more money. I think I would have a very hard time going under $75/week for our family. I know people do it, but I can't imagine how!
P.S. I should also mention that I'm a sucker for baking or cooking fancy dishes for holidays and ward parties that usually involve expensive ingredients. That kills my grocery budget every time, since there seems to be a special occasion every few weeks!
I have been trying to stay around 200 a month, but I do have a separate food storage budget ($30). Though I do find it hard to stay in that sometimes. We don't eat out that much (1-2 times a month, if that). I do make dinners from scratch most of the time. Lunches are either from a box/can or leftovers.
Our weekly budget is around $60/week for food. It used to be $40, but then I got pregnant and I'm hungry ALL THE TIME, so we buy more snacks. I know lots of people who use coupons, but I don't- mostly because food you get with coupons is food that I don't want my family to eat.
Our eating out budget is different: $40/month. That's enough for eating out 2 times in a month.
I was thinking further one this post and I thought of a few things I didn't add....
Partially to compensate for our high grocery bill AND because I find it healthiest we have cut back on some norms that people use.
firstly (I think I mentioned this) our grocery bill includes supplements (Eva and Ven are on a lot b/c of their health problems - and these are top priority but they are expensive without a doubt) and soap, shampoos and so forth. It also includes diapers which I have to buy right now are in the midst of fixing some cloth diaper rash issue that occurred.(though I generally use cloth)
secondly we don't use toilet paper - we use cloth wipes for the whole family. this grosses some people out, but it's far cleaner and hygienic than a dry paper wipe-down. ('nuf said! hah) we do have TP for guests however! :) I wouldn't make guests use our cloth wipes!
we don't buy any cleaners aside from laundry detergent (I haven't made my own yet) and dish soap. I use vinegar and water for every other thing.
we don't eat premade snacks regularly. (no tasty cakes etc) sans an occasional treat. we like dried fruit. I make 90% of our cookies and treats.
b/c of an allergy we only use honey in baking. ZERO sugar. it's far more expensive!!! but I feel 100 times better so it's worth ever little sticky ounce to me! :) but i can't deny it costs us a lot more.
we don't see regular docs for well baby visits and such things - we eat extremely well and see a AK chiro. our health is a priority to us. and i personally find such things as well baby visits a frivolous expense and waste of time for our family. I save the money for the stuff i feel really works for us.
we own ONE car outright. we share it. if Sean is using it I stay home and vice versa. usually we combine our errands and run them as a family. it's an old car and my dad often helps us work on it or barters with us ect.
we only rent - don't own. to some this is a waste of money - but to use and our circumstances is has saved us a LOT of money. (every family will be different in this area)
We do not buy anything we can't pay for outright - sans emergency stuff. which is rare. very rare.
we walk instead of drive whenever possible.
Sean works from home so it saves a lot in gas compared to most people.
I hang dry whatever/whenever I can.
we freecycle, thrift store and yard sale shop for 95% of our clothing. it is rare to buy something new. some things are handmedowns -whenever i can find them.
i'm sure there are other things I can't even think of right now. but my point is in our home food is a huge priority so we are willing to cut in other areas. this works well for US. it may not for others... it would depend. everyone will have their own little things that naturally save money that other don't have available. (like my father being able to help us out with car trouble for example. this saves us A LOT of money). and everyone will have things they can't live with our or just plain don't want to.
I really like this topic! it gets me thinking :)
I used to feed 3 (then 4) of us for $200/mo plus WIC (that was in Utah). Now in AK with a family of 5 I think I spend about $3-350 + WIC.
In terms of food quality...that's varied, but I have always had a minimum of processed foods (I usually have a few pkgs of ramen or macaroni or something in the cupboard, but it's like 2 per month). That's about half organic and/or local (I'm working on increasing that). I frequent the farmers market in the summer when it's open.
My Hubby and I try to have dinner out once a month, but otherwise eating out is almost unheard of. Oh, and that's not part of our food budget either--that's the date budget. Eating out costs a lot :p
As for how little I could get by on, well, if I switched to less healthy things (stopped getting organic/local/whole grain etc), never had treats of any kind, and just bought the cheapest versions of everything, I might save $20-40/mo. I really don't get many extras.
Sacrifices I am willing to make? Fewer treats so that I can have local meat & produce (up here especially that makes a huge difference to buy in-state, because if it's not in state then it was shipped at LEAST 3000 miles!)
I'm actually working on some blog posts about how we eat, and what I feel are the most important aspects to healthy eating and good food. I am not willing to sacrifice good flavor in the name of 'health,' and I am not willing to sacrifice healthy whole (local/organic/seasonal/fresh) foods for the sake of price. I'm working on keeping up with my cooking blog better too--especially since my oldest son has asked to start packing lunches for school, I'm working on some 'portable' recipes for him.
Do I win a prize for longest freakin comment ever?
:D
I'm able to feed our family of 4 for usually between $250 and $300 a month (not including infant formula). I know I could do better, but at the same time, I also feel like we eat pretty well. I make most things from scratch, and we rarely eat out. I like to fish around for new recipes that call for common, low-cost ingredients, so we eat a variety of different things while I'm simultaneously experimenting with my menus and costs. I don't buy organic foods, but I do make the majority of Caleb's baby food myself. I plan my menus and shop based on what's on sale at the local grocery stores and I stock up when certain items we use frequently when they are on sale. The amount we spend seems like a lot to me, but even so, it takes an awful lot of work to keep it at that level. NYC food prices are sky high, and if I wasn't organized and willing to shop around, we could so easily be spending twice this.
Here is an annonymous comment from "D":
How much do you spend on groceries per month for your family?
Our budget (for 2 adults and a 13-month-old) is $200 per month on groceries and $40-50 on eating out. We stay within it more often than not. We also receive WIC benefits for our baby, which includes $6 worth of produce, 4 gallons whole milk, 1 doz. eggs, 2 boxes cereal, 1 gallon juice, 1 jar peanut butter, and 2 whole-grain items (like bread or tortillas).
With that amount, how well do you feel you are eating?
We don't cook much gourmet, but we eat well and are definitely not going hungry.
How little do you think you could spend?
We could probably cut back a little if we had to. Also if we had a chest freezer I think we could do a better job of stocking up when there's a sale on items that need refrigeration, like meat. And our daughter needs extra calories for health reasons, so there isn't really room to cut back much there.
What sacrifices would that require you to make?
We'd probably have to have fewer meals that include meat and eat smaller portions so we could turn each meal into the next day's lunch. (We usually plan to do that but then forget.)
I would love to get some ideas of what others are doing so even if you eat totally different than my family, tell me how you eat. Are you a family that eats out a lot, cooks most meals from scratch etc.?
We rarely eat out (maybe once or twice a month), and most of our meals are usually a combination of scratch + premade items. For example, we'll buy uncooked tortillas from Sam's Club but have homemade refried beans. Or store-bought noodles and homemade spaghetti sauce.
We eat mostly from scratch too. It saves a lot. Having a wheat grinder and big mixer makes a difference. I would rather my kids come home and eat a homemade cookie than a cheap lot of chips or crackers. It is worth the extra money. It does seem that produce is what kills you because you usually can't coupon for that. Anyway, I recently joined a food co-op called www.bountifulbaskets.org where for $15 per week, I go to a designated pick up spot and get an entire laundry basket full of fruits and vegetables. This week it was a head of Romaine, 15 or so roma tomatoes, Kale, a bunch of asparagus, a bunch of cauliflower, and green onions. The fruit was a pineapple, a cantaloupe, a bag of small apples, a basket of strawberries, and 6 tangeloes. It is different every week. I never know what I am going to get, but it is a fun challenge to use it up by the next Saturday. We are totally eating better. A lot more stir-fries and salads and other concotions. I think this one is only in the West, but maybe there is something like it in the East?? We eat a lot of produce, so it is saving me a bundle!
Hey Carrie,
We spend $250-$300 a month. We eat well, mostly homemade. We eat out probably 3x/month. I make all of Parker's baby food, except his whole milk yogurt. Most of Parker's food is organic and probably cost about $30/month. We buy a lot of cereal (BRETT!!!) and a decent amount of snacks for Brett's lunch since he never knows when or if he gets a break to eat. Also, Brett is allergic to a lot of raw fruits and veggies. So its hard to pack those in his lunch. I do make him cooked fruits and veggies every night at dinner :) I also freeze half of whatever I make for dinner when it is something that will reheat well. Then we always have go-to meals when the day is crazy.
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