Quite often, people who find out how much I spend on groceries ask me exactly how I do it. And I always say that I’ll write it all down and then send the information to them, but somehow, I never get around to it (thus the “hopefully!) in the title). I’m going to try to do a series of posts on my grocery shopping methodology over the course of this week (maybe longer if I have more to say than I think I do!)
A few disclaimers…there are doubtless people out there who manage to spend less than I do, but I’m pretty happy with the balance I’ve found between my desire to save money and my desire to eat healthful, fresh food (eating Ramen a lot is not one of my strategies).
Everyone’s needs are different, though…some people might be in dire straits and Ramen could be their best friend, while some people have more money to play with than I do and can afford to go 100% organic.
One other thing is that I understand that my way of going about things may not work for everyone. Not everyone has the same stores I do, not everyone has the same budget I do, and not everyone has the same amount of time as I do (full-time employed moms come to mind!).
This is just what works for me and my family…if it all helps you, great, if only a little bit of it helps you, great, and if none of it works for you, that’s ok too.
I try to spend somewhere around $80-$100 (although usually closer to $80) a week on groceries. This includes breakfast, lunch, dinner (7 days a week, since we rarely eat out), snacks, toiletries, and paper products, but does not include diapers for our youngest.
There are six of us here…my husband and myself, plus four children ages 8, 7, 4, and 2. I’m sure I won’t be able to spend this little as my children get older and start to eat larger quantities of food, but for now this works for us.
I’ll be posting my weekly dinner menus here so that you can see what kinds of things we eat on this budget, and if you ever want a recipe, just send me an email (I’m hoping to set one up for this blog later today) or leave me a comment.
momof4
Friday 21st of May 2010
I've been reading your blog backwards for a week or so now, and I kept looking at your grocery picks and wondering how on earth that little bit of food could feed 4 children. Now I see. I wasn't so frugal or self sufficient when my kids were that young, but now I have to be out of necessity. I have 4 growing boys who never stop eating. Even though we grow our garden, forage in the woods for wild edibles, and raise our own meat, we couldn't possibly survive on that little bit of food. I look forward to seeing how you'll incorporate larger appetites into your budget in years to come.
Ruth Burge
Tuesday 8th of July 2008
I'm reading and waiting for the next installment. :-)
Bethany
Tuesday 8th of July 2008
You are so frugal. It is great! You probably spend less for groceries on your whole family of 6 than I do on just me! I am so inspired and ready to learn more!