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juststartn
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| Posted: July 26 2011 at 10:34am | IP Logged
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TxTrish wrote:
I love when this topic comes up.
My "household" budget is $900 every 2 weeks. So $1800 a month.
This is food, cleaning supplies, clothing, any little things we do for school/fun like skating or what have you. I also pay for school supplies, lessons, and any other what have you's that come up.
I buy in bulk (Sam's, local discount or salvage stores, the Amish drygoods store locally, Breadbecker's or whatever)cook from scratch and purchase meat by the side when possible. I shop at the farmers market and try to eat seasonally and local when we can. My family hunts and we eat a lot of venison most years. 
Does anyone else keep a well stocked pantry with lots of extra basics for any unforseen emergencies?
I use my household budget money for stocking up there, also. I have built my storage slowly this way. Just buying one extra here and there.
I did not grow a garden this year - OK I have never grown a garden, though I keep trying.
There is always next year.
In the meantime, I will see if I can't find a bargain locally at the farmers market or what I can find and try my hand at canning.
We are 4 adults, 3 children at home. Oh, and 4 dogs. They come out of my household budget too!
We rarely eat out.
I do the stocking up thing, too, Trish. I just lucked into a great sale on PB...18oz container for $1. Store brand, but really, its just as tasty as some name brand, and what I would have spent $8.74 on for the cheapest at Wally World, I was able to get for $6 at the local AWG supplied grocery store (locally owned and operated). Fortunately for me, I've got plenty of shelving available (had DH build me some, and short of the Second Coming, they aren't going anywhere, lol). Also cleaned out and organized my spare fridge and my freezers, hoping to take advantage on any of the lower price beef I expect to see coming down the pike pretty soon. Already had to get a rain check on some $2/# rump roasts. Cheapest I've seen those for some time was a hair over $2.50. Will be getting some of those on Friday, hopefully.
Rachel
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mommy4ever
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| Posted: Aug 09 2011 at 11:34am | IP Logged
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I'm in Canada, and in a fairly high cost of living area. There are 6 of us, ds17, dd14, dd12, dd7, dh and myself, plus 2 fulltime preschoolers in my care 5 days a week. I spend on average $100/wk on food. We might eat out once or twice a month. One would be $30 at a fast food the other about $70 at a 'family' restaurant...ugh. It's getting too pricey so I try to avoid it by keeping a few easy "convenience" type meals ready to go(as in heat and go, but I usually have made my own versions). I get minimal packaged items other than frozen veggies and occasional fries.
I cook from scratch using my grandma's recipes often, so it's cheap, but usually highly nutritious. She had to do it that way she had 17 kids :) I also picked up what is now my favorite cookbook, More-With-Less cookbook. It's from the 70's. Great book, worth finding at the library. But I am able to make so much more from so little! My leftovers for the week that don't get eaten, easily become a soup(in the NEW(it was new) $5 pressure cooker from a garage sale). Make some biscuits, grab lettuce from the garden for a really cheap and yummy supper. Even dh isn't complaining and he doesn't like soup... but hates seeing leftovers wasted.
I get all my hba items with coupons matched with sales. I have a great storage shelf of items I get for free or nearly free. So that does help save :) when I go over budget on groceries.
Dh and ds when working take leftovers so less bought processed foods for lunch. I use the http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Fi ve-Minutes-A-Day.aspx recipe to make most of our bread. I have the full cookbook. It is inexpensive to make, takes minimal hands on time.
My family doesn't eat beans(although I do :) ), we use meat at every supper, but I try to load them up on salad and a starch so they don't need quite as much meat.
I use a pantry principal. Buy only at rock bottom prices, and with a coupon as much as possible. When I do that, i can stock up. I have also started making some things myself. Jams, jellies, fruit sauces for pancakes. It doesn't take much or cost much to have a full year supply of those when you make them yourself. I got pasta sauce recently $1/can then I had a .50 coupon. Got 12. That should last us most of the year. I got Campbell soup, I use the mushroom and tomato as bases for other things for .09/can. i won't need those again for a long time. So that frees up money for other groceries. Mostly week to week I'm buying fresh stuff and a loss leader that I'd like. Iknow I'm waiting for peaches to go on sale to make a jam, I use that for a sweet and sour crock pot chicken. For $8 in peaches and $3 in sugar, $2 Certo, I'll have enough for the year. Compared to $4/little jar that is enough for 1 meal.
It's hard to compare. I know a family that uses $100/mo, with 3 kids. I know for her it is because there just isn't more to use.....She does forage for wild berries, gets freebies from others gardens and preserves/freezes them. She also helps at a farm and gets a few chickens or beef cuts.
But it really depends on where you are, the costs, if you have stores that double coupons(none of that here!), or stacks(no luck for real food here), and what you eat, or how minimal you are willing to eat. There is really no way to truly compare.
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leanne maree
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| Posted: Aug 09 2011 at 9:54pm | IP Logged
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I am also in Australia. NSW, Hunter Valley area.
We have only the 3 of us to feed now, so Our bill is Aus$450.00. Thats everything. Butcher included.
We may get takeaway twice a month. $30.
We do however, like to support Australian brands so it does take our bill a little higher. (a lot of our tradition Aussie products are now owned by overseas companies)
Leanne
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Leanne
Loving wife to Dermot and Adoring mother to Louise, Kristie, Kieran & Brid
http://leannemaree.blogspot.com/
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TracyFD
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| Posted: Aug 10 2011 at 3:48pm | IP Logged
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Wow, I am impressed! We obviously need to trim our budget even more. I am really trying to do this without giving up organic food or playing the coupon game.
My husband goes by Costco and Trader Joe's every other week on his way home from work. At Costco he gets organic pantry items, organic dairy, a few produce items, some frozen foods and paper products. At Trader Joe's he gets coffee beans, 32 oz yogurt, and wine. This usually comes to at least $400 a month.
Once a month I order $100 or so from Azure - Rudi's bread, nitrate free meats, personal care products, cleaning products and a few other things.
Once a year we buy grass-fed non-certified organic beef and Biblicaly butchered local organic whole chickens.
For the rest I go to Aldi first to see what I can get there, then to SuperTarget or other area grocery stores. This can be another $100 a week. If I think about it, I look for coupons online for items already on my list.
For the last few months we have come in around $800-900 and this is much less than it has been! I obviously need to figure out what else I can do. I make menus, frequently go meatless, rarely eat out, etc. Any ideas?
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Tracy
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Pinewood Castle
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Aug 10 2011 at 3:56pm | IP Logged
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Going meatless only helps if the other ingredients help your budget. Cheese costs as much as meat.. and other ingredients can be pricey as well.
I've found that at least some of the time I can get away with mixing the cheese into the beans for burritos.. much better portion control and really helps keep that cost down.
Other things like bread especially, you can make for way way less.. but it takes time.. and sometimes you have to trade time for money.  but if you have a mixer that can handle the kneading.. bread really takes very little concentrated time.. just time at home to keep it going.
As far as nitrate free lunchmeats.. have you tried just using your roasts or chicken and slicing that meat for sandwiches? Not as neat and pretty.. but can be pretty good and may cost a great deal less depending on the cost you're paying for the meats.
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TracyFD
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| Posted: Aug 10 2011 at 6:58pm | IP Logged
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Good point about the cheese! I have one bean hater but try to sneak them into quesadillas anyway!
When we buy lunch meat, it's usually the herbed turkey from Costco. I do use leftover chicken for sandwiches - lately we have been grilling a whole chicken on Saturday and chopping the leftovers for chicken-apple salad sandwiches for a Sunday picnic.
We really like Shelton's breakfast turkey sausage links for Sunday breakfast - that's an Azure purchase. I rarely buy any other meat from them due to the price.
I am definitely considering baking more bread this fall. I have a Kitchen Aid, it's just a matter of getting the ball rolling with everything else in the morning! The laundry, the baby, the kids' chores and school, the dinner plans, preschool, starting a fire in the winter months, etc. It's enough to make my brain pop before 9 am! 
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Tracy
Mom to 3 girly girls,
1 absent-minded professor, and one adorable toddling terrorist.
Pinewood Castle
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Aug 10 2011 at 7:10pm | IP Logged
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How old are your kids Tracy? Not meaning to brag.. but my oldest was able to handle making the bread with the kitchen aid well enough that at age 10 she won 3rd place in a contest at our little county fair.. against adults. And my dh trained my oldest son at about age 8 to be able to chop kindling and start a fire.
Maybe instead of thinking of making bread as a start in the morning thing.. it could be something you could do starting it at lunch time and having it done before bed so you have it next morning.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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TracyFD
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| Posted: Aug 10 2011 at 8:35pm | IP Logged
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Now there's some "food" for thought! 
Thanks for the idea 
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Tracy
Mom to 3 girly girls,
1 absent-minded professor, and one adorable toddling terrorist.
Pinewood Castle
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juststartn
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| Posted: Aug 10 2011 at 9:35pm | IP Logged
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I like to use the 5 minute Artisan Bread recipe for loaf bread. I bought a Pullman loaf pan, and it makes great sandwich bread (as opposed to those little loaf pans which make a great smallish quick bread loaf, but are ridiculous for a family of any good size!).
And I've got my 11 yr old in charge of the bread making--she's been doing it for about a year now, too. Easy, only a few ingredients, it can rise while you are doing school, doesn't require 15 times of kneading, etc. REALLY easy.
Rachel
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Angel
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| Posted: Aug 11 2011 at 6:09pm | IP Logged
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TracyFD wrote:
Once a month I order $100 or so from Azure - Rudi's bread, nitrate free meats, personal care products, cleaning products and a few other things.
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This is somewhat off topic, but how do you like Azure, Tracy? I have heard conflicting things about them. Some people think they're great, but I have also heard about orders getting mixed up, stuff missing, etc.
More on topic, Milehimama is doing her Food Stamp Challengeagain, but this time with an emphasis on "real food".
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TracyFD
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| Posted: Aug 12 2011 at 9:38am | IP Logged
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Azure has a few weak points - their inventory is not reliable so I have learned not to expect everything to be in stock, especially seasonal or sale items. I think they could work on their website to make it easier to find specific items, especially allergen-free and gluten-free categories.
Another concern has been with produce. I find that if I order a whole case of something it is packed better. I have found a bag of tomatoes in a box on top of canned goods. A whole case of pears, for instance will be placed in the refrigerated section, but a few will be in a box with pantry items and spoiled by the time they arrive.
Other than that, I find this company a huge blessing - customer service is great, the organic-farmer truck drivers are wonderful and on time, and the prices are less than what we paid through United Foods. Some items are less at Costco (like Coleman hotdogs) so I had to do some price comparison before deciding what to get where. Overall I feel comfortable supporting this Christian-owned company. 
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Tracy
Mom to 3 girly girls,
1 absent-minded professor, and one adorable toddling terrorist.
Pinewood Castle
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Kathryn
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Yahoo had an article today about how the Duggars support their children and live debt-free. Here's what it said about groceries:
Buy in bulk. With 21 mouths to feed, the family spends a significant portion of its earnings on food. They do a monthly bulk-shopping run for essentials—such as the 48 boxes of cereal they consume a month. Still, the Duggar family grocery bill is a whopping $3,000 per month.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 18 2012 at 1:07pm | IP Logged
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Yes buying in bulk can definately help but it's tricky, bulk is not always cheapest, and where you live can make such a huge difference. I do really well by shopping more often and local with sales than spending the money to drive to further away stores for "bulk prices" (which are not always cheaper than the smaller packages btw, especially if you add in the cost of the fuel to get there) They're still spending monthly $143/person, I only spend $109/person.
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G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Barb.b
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| Posted: April 20 2012 at 8:02am | IP Logged
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Well, I you all had me go online to check last month and - about $640 for march for family of 3-4 (my college kiddo was home for one week in march). Actually, in March I wasn't consciously budgeting as I usually do. BUt by habit I usually by grocery store generic brands and buy sales. And in March I got away from coupons - so I need to get back to coupons and see if I do better.
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CrunchyMom
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TracyFD wrote:
Azure has a few weak points - their inventory is not reliable so I have learned not to expect everything to be in stock, especially seasonal or sale items. I think they could work on their website to make it easier to find specific items, especially allergen-free and gluten-free categories.
Another concern has been with produce. I find that if I order a whole case of something it is packed better. I have found a bag of tomatoes in a box on top of canned goods. A whole case of pears, for instance will be placed in the refrigerated section, but a few will be in a box with pantry items and spoiled by the time they arrive.
Other than that, I find this company a huge blessing - customer service is great, the organic-farmer truck drivers are wonderful and on time, and the prices are less than what we paid through United Foods. Some items are less at Costco (like Coleman hotdogs) so I had to do some price comparison before deciding what to get where. Overall I feel comfortable supporting this Christian-owned company.
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Did you know that Costco now carries Rudi's bread? At least ours has been for a few months now.
And our BJs carries Applegate products, too.
Not trying to discourage you from your source, I just know that sometimes I miss it when the bulk stores add new products that I would like to use because we often shop our list rather than browse.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Monthly food budget
