I feed 5 people on $130 per week.

[cbmeeks]

Not too bad. That also includes shampoo, cleaning supplies, etc.

Now, to be fair, sometimes I have to go over $130. Like when I have to buy baby pull-ups and baby wipes in the same week ($25 - $30 extra).

This doesn't count school lunches.

I know people that spend $200+ per week to feed 3 people.

How do I do it?

Planning.

Every Saturday, my wife and I sit down with a piece of paper and plan each meal. Write down the ingredients, along with other misc items we need and buy that. Only the stuff on the list.

Most of the time, I stay between $130 - $140 per week.

Once, I spent $95 for the entire week because we had some ingredients already.

I buy bulk meat (lean meat too) and freeze it.

Anyone have similar food stories/tips?

Thanks

cbmeeks

[greedy4chips]

Not sure where you live, but $130 here would feed us (5) for almost 2 weeks. We don't have diapers, wipes, etc to buy anymore so that really helps.

We buy bulk meats when they are on sale and freeze them. I shop the local ads and we stock up on any items that are sale like Prego spaghetti sauce was $1.25 on sale (most of the time it is $1.69 on sale, $1.99 reg price), so we bought 10. The only items that aren't a stock up item is dairy products and eggs that I can think of offhand because they cannot be frozen IMHO.

We can spend well over $100 this week but next week is only a few sale items and milk with perhaps a couple other necessities.

[cbmeeks]

That's cool. I live in SE TN and that $130 usually includes 10-$20 worth of non-food too. Walmart has spaghetti sauce for $1.00 here. :-P

seriously, we tried the coupon thing but even with coupons you have to shop many different stores for that to work on a regular basis. None of them can undercut Wally World and we have SOOO little time that we can't stop in 5 different stores per week.

I agree on the bulk savings!!

Oh, I forgot to mention that we try to buy super-lean foods which usually cost more. I could probably cut that down even more if we ate 70/30 beef, etc.

[getforfree]

We spend about $50/week on groceries.

Now I am trying to reduce it down to $45 because my dd doesn't need that much diapers any more, she needs only when she is sleeping, but mostly it's dry after day nap, so she needs on average 1.3 diapers a day.

For most non-food I do rebates, so that is free. We harly ever use napkins, but we do use tp, a lot.

I just look for the good deals, and than cook from what I have.

[cbmeeks]

wow, that is impressive.

What kind of meals do you eat?

[getforfree]

We eat normal meals. Soups, rice, potates( mushed, baked, fried, all kinds), pasta, salads, meatballs, chicken. Lots of fruits and veggies. Desserts, eather homebaked of from $1 store.

In my small gargen I grow green onions and beats, after a couple years of trying to grow 10-15 kinds of veggies there, I figured, that whats grows the best there with minimum work. My garged is only about 30 sq ft.

I pack Dh's lunch every day. Usually it's a dinner leftovers + a fruit or 2, bottle of milk (I have a glass bottle from snapple that I reuse), thermos with tea, small dessert like a cookie or a piece of cake. If there was not enough leftovers, I will cook a few eggs, some for him, the rest kids will eat in the morning or for snacks. I work nights, so I just take a snack with me.

We try not to waste any food and we eat lots of soups, that's what I think, saves us the most. We try to eat a soup with every meal at home. Like we would have a bowl of soup each, than pasta with meatballs, than coffe or tea with dessert. When I want to cook something and I don't have an ingredient or 2 I see if I can substitute it or go without.

When I see a good deal on something, I buy a lot. Then when I cook, I look what I have and make up a meal from it. When I buy meat, I package it in smaller packages, about 1 lb each, that's enough to make 1 meal out of it. I also separate bone pieces and wrap it separatly for the soups. Chicken, I buy 10 lb frozen package when it's on sale for about 4.99, thaw it and cut it in smaller pieces and wrap separatly.

I use coupons, but not that much. I only keep the coupons for things that have rebate this month, and things I normally buy anyways. The rest of coupons I sell on ebay. I use a coupons when the items are on sale. Like I had coupons for ketchup b1g1, I got a few 24 oz bottles for 49c each, even cheaper than a tomato souce would be, and the ketchup is more condensed. When I had 20% of coupon from BigLots, I stockpiled on stuff like pasta ( was less than 25c/lb), cookies, canned food, laundry detergen and tp. Hopefully it will last me untill the next 20% event.

I have lots of food stockpiled, so even if we run out of budged, I don't have to buy anything except for milk and fruits for a while. I make salad with each meal and/or slice a pickle or 2. I noticed, that having lots of variety on the table helps us eat less meat, and veggies are usually cheaper.

We drink juice, delluted in half. I buy it frozen, mostly the apple juice, because it's the cheapest kind. I usually buy 12-oz can which makes 48 oz juice, I make about half a gallon instead, plus then we dellute it in half. I don't buy fruit coctail of punch, I buy 100% juice. Me and Dh try to dring water, and save the juice for kids.

[Vapors]

When I find meats and ingrediants that are on a good sale, I will buy enough for 4 or 5 meals. I then mix the ingrediants for each meal and bag and freeze. The night before i will take a meal out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw. We then cook it the next night for dinner.

This works well when you have to buy 6 pounds of chicken to get the good sale price.

[Lori63]

My bill is usually 75-100 for 4, unless my oldest (makes it 5) is home from college, then we go through tons more milk, bread, cereal.
You're doing well considering the cost of diapers, etc.

[cbmeeks]

Man, you guys really know how to save...I'm going to take some pointers. :-)

[sakigt]

I spend $250 a month on food for 2.

$100 a month at BJ's using my mom's membership to buy bulk veggies and meat

$150 a month for fresh veggies, pastas, rices, dairy, etc at the normal grocery store.

For as well as we eat, I think we do well.

[mom-from-missouri]

I feed 5 on a regular basis, sometimes 7 if the college ones are here, for around $250 a month.
I felt good before I remarried feeding 4 on 250 a month, but since I now am a SAHM, I can still do it for the same amount, as I have more time to bake and cook, and garden.
We have no diapers or wipes, but that wouldn't matter anyway, since my kids used cotten diapers and old washcloths for wipes.
That does not include shampoo or soap--but, I usually get that free anyway by using Walgreens sales with my coupon & rebates.

[Tree0164]

We spend about $450 a month on groceries for a family of 5. I use my pricebook and really see what is on sale. I stock up on meat and the discount meat (I am just throwing it in the freezer). I will also pick up the reduced produce-it last for a few days and supplement it with canned/frozen stuff. I do buy fresh bananas each week for produce as well as salad.

I also very big into menu planning as it helps me keep my cost down.

[LuxLiving]

I feed four adults on $150-165 A MONTH. Papergoods & personal supplies (shampoo, tp, trashbags etc.) come out to an average of $15-20 a month in another line item. Like 'getforfree' when I find a deal I stock it deep! Currently I am long on tuna, pickle relish, salad dressings and oats. I'm currently short on coffee & sugar.

Givens: Two young gentlemen who live here, one eats often at his work for the evening meal and the other buys his own lunch supplies. I shop at scratchn'dents & aldi's or save-a-lot w/a menu plan & list. I don't as a habit use coupons, rebates or go to the bread store. I am a SAHM and there are two of us here for lunch everyday where we usually eat leftovers for lunch. I do bake some, but not a lot.

[Saving in So Cal]

I was hovering around $75 a week for 3 (including sundries), but have recently creeped up to around $85. Like most of you, I buy in bulk and I only use coupons sparingly. (I was an avid coupon user, but found I was buying a lot of unnecessary things.) Because of some family health issues, I have started buying leaner meats, lower fat dairy items, and whole grain breads and cereals. I have also been buying more varied fruits and vegetables. These things seem to cost a bit more, but I haven't yet exhausted all savings avenues either (i.e., shopping at farms stands, making from scratch, etc.)

Also, as I am a working mom, I do sometimes buy convenience items to expedite dinner preparations. I am experimenting with a Once a Month type cooking strategy that I am hoping will help bring things back down to $75 a week. (Basically, if beef is cheap this week, I'll buy several pounds, make it into meals on the weekend, and freeze the meals for later reheating. I'll do the same thing when chicken is on sale, etc.)

[QueenOphelia]

I applaud you all!

I am single and it is difficult to avoid eating out with other single friends who are loathe to cook. The summer is especially hard as I tend to go out more.

When i do cook it's chili/stew/chicken. I try and freeze what I can but I usually end up eating the same meal a fews in one week.....which I don't really enjoy doing.