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Barb.b
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| Posted: Dec 04 2012 at 8:33pm | IP Logged
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Is it ok to talk grocery budgets? To start - include groceries, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene stuff and paper goods (tp and paper towels).
I have been just figuring what I have been spending (I am cheating a bit by NOT including Thanksgiving food buying  ). ANYWAY, this fall I have been averaging $165 per week (family of 3; 4 when ds home from college).
So, guess I am hoping to be reassured that this isn't to high. I think by what I read online it isn't to bad.
Anyone want to join in the budget discussion?
Barb
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 04 2012 at 11:11pm | IP Logged
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sorry Barb.. I'm still in denial  I really don't want to know how bad it's gotten. 
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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
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Angel
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| Posted: Dec 10 2012 at 8:42am | IP Logged
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Well... I'm not very good at keeping to a budget, but I'm trying to get better. It seems like every so often a kid hits a growth spurt and/or we run into a rough patch and I can't cook from scratch as much or we stop keeping an eye on the receipts and prices are going up and then our expenses just balloon. We're gluten-free and we eat "real food" as much as possible... grass-fed meat, hormone-free milk at least (I like to buy creamline when I can, which is actually cheaper than the organic stuff they sell at Kroger, but it's not raw or anything and it's still not cheap), and organic produce according to the Dirty Dozen/Clean 15. So our budget is larger than it would be if I could buy regular flour, etc.
I just had a thread in which I hope I didn't whine about keeping track of grocery expenses, but I'm worried it came off that way.  I think I have kind of figured out some numbers now, though... but we'll see how it works because December is such a wonky month food-wise.
To set my budget I looked at the USDA Cost of Food data. I know that some people have a problem with the numbers (and I definitely have a problem with the food they recommend people eat on each of their "plans"), but I was just using them as a guide. And it's helpful to me to be able to confirm that yes, prices *have* gone up! Instead of me just wondering why I'm spending more money. Anyway, I kind of settled on the "low cost" plan number, which (if I have done the math right) for our family is about $350/wk, or $1530/month. (We are 9 people with 6 boys, one of whom is a teenager, and I'm eating for two right now.) That's just food, though, not including any non-food items.
So far this month so good: we've spent about $490 of our $1535, including bulk purchases of GF pasta, coffee, sunbutter, and GF oats. That would be $245/wk for the beginning of December, but that number will go up a little because my dh is going to have to make a milk and egg run before the end of the week. I also haven't bought any meat because I made a bulk purchase in November... and we'll get a side of beef in January. Mostly, though, I think our numbers are down because my dh and I have really been trying to curb our impulse buys and I've been focusing on using what I have on hand.
I should also note that while my budget includes all the holiday baking supplies and most holiday food, it does not include the ham, which was pretty expensive. I think that sort of counts as "entertainment"... but we'll see how the rest of the month works out.
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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guitarnan
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Food prices have gone up so much recently! I shop at Costco and a military commissary and I have seen huge price jumps over the last few months at both places, enough so I now buy most of our meat at Costco instead of the commissary, where I used to buy it. I only have my little freezer (wish I had a garage freezer, but...) so I have to plan how I buy and use meat pretty carefully.
I also pay for my son's food (he lives with our friends and goes to college in Indianapolis) and I'm astounded by grocery prices there. He's convinced them to buy more items at Super Wal-mart (not my favorite places, but, hey, Doritos are Doritos!) but his food costs alone out there are almost as much as mine for the three of us here. Ouch.
We've cut back on "luxury" food (expensive cheese, etc.) and I rarely buy out of season fruit or vegetables anyway, because I cook very seasonally. (Dancing Daughter suggested I make a corn and bean salad for a potluck - and I said I couldn't because I only make that salad during the summer! )
I have not bought much for Christmas Eve/Day yet, but we always get a ham from Costco, so we'll see what they cost soon enough!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Angel
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guitarnan wrote:
I have not bought much for Christmas Eve/Day yet, but we always get a ham from Costco, so we'll see what they cost soon enough! |
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We got our ham from Whole Foods... it wasn't pastured, but certified humane, etc., etc. Wish I could have bought a pastured ham locally, but then again, we *tried* to buy a whole pig last winter in the expectation of having hams and what we got was moldy country ham slices.  So not using that butcher again... and kind of back to the drawing board when it comes to locating good pork.
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Angela
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Three Plus Two
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CrunchyMom
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Angel wrote:
guitarnan wrote:
I have not bought much for Christmas Eve/Day yet, but we always get a ham from Costco, so we'll see what they cost soon enough! |
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We got our ham from Whole Foods... it wasn't pastured, but certified humane, etc., etc. Wish I could have bought a pastured ham locally, but then again, we *tried* to buy a whole pig last winter in the expectation of having hams and what we got was moldy country ham slices. So not using that butcher again... and kind of back to the drawing board when it comes to locating good pork.
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Oh, yuck! I still can't believe your story! Does the butcher who does your cow also do pork? Our farmer uses the same butcher for both.
However, we like bacon, and did you know you can't get bacon AND a ham??? I felt so ignorant that I didn't realize they came from the same part of the pig. But, we enjoy bacon regularly, so we opted for that. Our farmer's customers almost always want bacon, so she never even keeps hams in the farm store.
We also have our filet from our cow left as a roast and have done that the past couple of Christmases, though, I have considered that once a year, a conventional ham might be okay either from Costco or Honey-baked ham down the road. It would certainly be easier.
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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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wifemommy
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Lindsay, Whoever told you that just sold you a line of...  The bacon comes from the lower rib stomach area and my 3 year can tell you the hams are the pigs butt.. well actually hips . We just got our pigs back loads of bacon 2 hams and lots of ham steaks. sausage etc. You are not ignorant but possibly taken advantage off . -Annie
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CrunchyMom
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wifemommy wrote:
Lindsay, Whoever told you that just sold you a line of... The bacon comes from the lower rib stomach area and my 3 year can tell you the hams are the pigs butt.. well actually hips . We just got our pigs back loads of bacon 2 hams and lots of ham steaks. sausage etc. You are not ignorant but possibly taken advantage off . -Annie
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Can you get a decent ham from only half a pig? Can you get roasts, too? We do get lots of chops, ground pork, sausage, and scrapple. It is very possible I misunderstood the first time I ordered and never bothered to change my order! We've always seemed to get the standard amount of meat in pounds. Perhaps it was because I wanted more sausage. Or perhaps it was something like "the butcher won't do both ham and bacon" it being a matter of labor rather than cuts???
I have to admit, I've always been rather frazzled everytime I have to give butchering instructions. Somehow there is always a kid crying in the back ground, and I just reply to the questions at random
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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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CrunchyMom
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Angel wrote:
To set my budget I looked at the USDA Cost of Food data. I know that some people have a problem with the numbers (and I definitely have a problem with the food they recommend people eat on each of their "plans"), but I was just using them as a guide. And it's helpful to me to be able to confirm that yes, prices *have* gone up! Instead of me just wondering why I'm spending more money. Anyway, I kind of settled on the "low cost" plan number, which (if I have done the math right) for our family is about $350/wk, or $1530/month. (We are 9 people with 6 boys, one of whom is a teenager, and I'm eating for two right now.) That's just food, though, not including any non-food items. |
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Those charts are really helpful. I finally got around to doing the math, and it is good to know our budget is in the ballpark.
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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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JodieLyn
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ok without doing too much thinking about it.. I manage to bring us in about 10% under what the worksheet says for "thrifty" (and yes that's after taking off the 10% it says for larger families) AND it includes cleaning supplies and paper products and personal items. 2 in diapers etc.
Family of 12 with kids from 1-16 (including a 14 yr old boy)I spend about $1345/month AVERAGED OUT over the whole year. I buy more and stock up more during higher income periods and spend less during low income periods. DH's income can fluxtuate a good deal. But while I buy real foods, we don't have any diet restrictions and I simply can't afford to stay with all the organic type of stuff.
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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
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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wifemommy
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You should have gotten a "large" 15-20lbs ham off half a pig. I always make mine 1/2 a ham and that is more then big enough for at least 12 people. I usually do 2 halves and then the rest in steaks. They are both a cured product and there is no reason not to do both if anything the bacon is more labor intensive. Roast and chops are from another area of the pig. Sausage and ground pork are basically all the extras ham is too valuable to make into sausage. Ask about the hang weight of your pig that will give you a good idea of what you should be getting weight wise I have to check the exact percentage. Are you truely getting half a pig or just an "equivalent" ? We raise our own so I have learned a lot lately. I do so understand what you mean about talking to the butcher and all the interuptions.  I need a sound proof room  Annie
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Angel
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CrunchyMom wrote:
Oh, yuck! I still can't believe your story! Does the butcher who does your cow also do pork? Our farmer uses the same butcher for both.
We also have our filet from our cow left as a roast and have done that the past couple of Christmases, though, I have considered that once a year, a conventional ham might be okay either from Costco or Honey-baked ham down the road. It would certainly be easier. |
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We did buy a cow last year that was butchered by the same butcher and we had some of the same problems. No mold, but bad customer service and some of the meat has a kind of a musty taste. To be honest, this is the *only* time I have ever run into a problem buying local meat. My mom and dad always split a cow with a guy my dad worked with, and they never had problems like these either. I guess technically you can scrape the mold off country ham, but... I don't think bacon is supposed to be moldy and smell like sweaty socks.
Anyway, the beef we're getting in January is from a different farmer using a different butcher. Slightly more expensive, but hopefully usable! This farmer does pork in the summertime, so hopefully we'll be able to buy a pig then. We've thought about raising our own, but... not sure if we'd have problems with the neighbors or not.
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Angela
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Angel
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JodieLyn wrote:
ok without doing too much thinking about it.. I manage to bring us in about 10% under what the worksheet says for "thrifty" (and yes that's after taking off the 10% it says for larger families) AND it includes cleaning supplies and paper products and personal items. 2 in diapers etc.
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Jodie, do you garden/ can at all or are you shopping at stores for everything?
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Angela
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Three Plus Two
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Barb.b
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Does anyone know if the USDA cost of food data includes paper products and cleaning supplies? It seem petty but - so far this month and November I am in the moderate category (not so bad I guess) - but if the data doesn't include paper products and cleaining stuff it would put me down a category!
Barb
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Angel
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Barb.b wrote:
Does anyone know if the USDA cost of food data includes paper products and cleaning supplies? It seem petty but - so far this month and November I am in the moderate category (not so bad I guess) - but if the data doesn't include paper products and cleaining stuff it would put me down a category!
Barb |
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No, it doesn't include paper products. The numbers are only food costs.
I struggle with whether or not to include non-food items in my grocery budget, since they usually end up on the same receipt. But it has been helpful to me to break them up this month just so I can see where I need to tighten up (food vs. non-food... or both. )
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Angela
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Three Plus Two
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wifemommy
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Angela Ham can have a mold on it depending on how it is cured mostly in a home cured situation. Bacon is smoke cured and should not have mold or smell like that!!! Hopefully the new butcher will be better. Ours vacumn seals it and if you have the option go with that the meat will last so much longer!!  Annie
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JodieLyn
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Angela, I was not able to garden this past year so no, that's not included. I do buy just about everything though we've also been given some things.. people cleaning out their freezer to put in new bulk amounts of meat and pulling out stuff that needs to be used, some will give it to us.
I have storage space so I do have freezer room and pantry storage so I work a pantry system and a great deal of what I buy is bought on sale.
For instance just this week I bought 20 ten pound bags of potatoes.. my garage keeps them cold and not frozen (as long as I keep them off the cement floor) and cardboard boxes keep them in the dark so that it's rather like storing in a coldish root cellar. But anyway.. between sale price and coupons I got them for about $1.07 a bag while the normal price is $1.99 a bag (or more). And now I'll have potatoes through the spring that are that sale price. I have a raincheck to get peanut butter for $2.09 each for 18 ounce jars (normally closer to $3) I'll be getting that after Christmas before it expires.
I buy bulk canned goods in the fall when they go on sale (I've watched, best sales of the year generally, though I noted this year that the apple juice I got is no longer the best deal and I'll drop it from that order). And when I can manage it I order bulk grains and have an electric wheat grinder.. though we have got away from using mostly whole wheat, need to work at doing that more again. Meats I try and buy either on a good sale (got good bacon for $2.99/lb not long ago) or when they're clearanced (got a beef 7 bone roast half off so around $1.70/lb.. huge.. clearanced the other week.. I've done 3 meals with it and still have more to use.. might freeze the cooked meat now to space out the use).
Seriously, my dh laughs when people tell him that it's too expensive to grocery shop in town, he knows they're not counting the cost of driving 260 miles round trip, or membership fees in that.. and anyway local sales beat lower regular prices out of town.
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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
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Barb.b
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Angel wrote:
Barb.b wrote:
Does anyone know if the USDA cost of food data includes paper products and cleaning supplies? It seem petty but - so far this month and November I am in the moderate category (not so bad I guess) - but if the data doesn't include paper products and cleaining stuff it would put me down a category!
Barb |
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No, it doesn't include paper products. The numbers are only food costs.
I struggle with whether or not to include non-food items in my grocery budget, since they usually end up on the same receipt. But it has been helpful to me to break them up this month just so I can see where I need to tighten up (food vs. non-food... or both. ) |
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OHHH - I might start separating paper and cleaning stuff out. . . cleaning stuff last awhile - but I buy tp and paper towel every week! Makes my grocery budget look better!
Barb
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mamaslearning
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I haven't looked at the chart yet, but we budget $165 a week for a family of 6 (kids are under 8, so not huge eaters yet) for food, household items, paper products, etc. It is a tight budget, and we have to limit meat purchases and use beans/rice and other protein sources. I've also learned how to turn one meat source into several meals (whole chickens, a bone-in ham, etc.). Snacks have become fruits, vegetables, bread and butter (no more chips or other snack foods unless we have a bit extra that week). I watch the sales and buy markdown products close to expiration dates, and recently got a deal on ground beef that will last a couple of months. My goal this year is to build up a 3 month supply of food with the goal of eventually going beyond that to help defray food costs. If we get a tax return this year, I'm hoping to use that for some upfront investment in a freezer and bulk meat for the year. I'm also planning a garden, plus I'll do some farmer's market shopping for vegetables and fruits to can this year (an Aunt has offered to lend me her pressure canning system this year).
I'll have to check out the link and see where I fall according to the government. Oh, and I live near Cincinnati, so prices here might be cheaper than coastal cities.
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Lara
DD 11, DS 8, DS 6, DS 4
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mamaslearning
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Angela, I don't think you were whining at all in the previous post!  Budgeting income, especially inconsistent income, is a pain at times!
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Lara
DD 11, DS 8, DS 6, DS 4
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: grocery budget
