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Elizabeth
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Would anyone be willing to share how much per month you spend on food? Please include your family size...
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Cay Gibson
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7 people about $500-$650...and that doesn't include the eating out that we do. 
I hope in this thread people will include how to pinch pennies at the supermarket. I have gotten too loose with my shopping habits and will need to tighten the egg money strings if we strike.
I also discovered, during the hurricane evacuation, that I spend more on staples than on food. I mean, one cannot live without tiolet paper. 
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Elizabeth
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So, Cay, that number doesn't include staples at all?? Do you have a budget for staples too?
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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MacBeth
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About $800. 6 of us, but we live in NY. I can shop for less nearly anywhere else in the US... .
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: May 15 2006 at 11:12am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
| So, Cay, that number doesn't include staples at all?? Do you have a budget for staples too? |
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I should have clarified. That was my total grocery bill per month.
I would say I spend 1/2 of that on staples, 1/4 on food, 1/4 on meat.
I must admit, even though things are getting ridiculously out of control around here since the two hurricanes, it's still cheaper to live than anywhere else.
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Cay Gibson
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Kim F
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Let's clarify - is this food only? Do we count food supplements like the stuff from the health food store (prenatals, coconut oil, acidophilus?) Staples? Cleaning items?
I spend about $900/mo for the 10 of us though that includes all of the above - my regular groceries, laundry/dish/people soaps, paper products, and the hfs run since if we ingest it dh counts it as food. ; ) We never eat out or order in.
I read someplace that families generally spend 14% of their income on food. Here is another link:
Grocery Budgeting
Here is the US Statistical info from this link:
<<...in the U.S. the average family spent about $4,800 on food in 1997.
The number and age of your family members makes a difference, too. Singles reported spending $2,579 for food. A family of four spent $6,463. The statistics shows that a baby would add $1,010 to your food bill. A 15 to 17 year-old will add an additional $1,690 to the grocery tab.
>>
Doing the math here (that's a dangerous thing if its me doing it lol!) that means the average family of 4 is about $6500 and then add approx $1300 for each of the next 4 we have. So that is what? $7800/yr? For just food.
Here is another link that shows people who budget much more:food budget
My thought is this. Make a menu for a whole day and figure out how much the ingreds cost then multiply by 30. I just cant see making a meal for 10 people on less than ten bucks. That would be feeding them for a dollar a piece. Even Better Homes and Gardens cant do that. <g>
Kim
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Cay Gibson
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And...like I commented earlier...we do far too much eating out.
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Cay Gibson
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: May 15 2006 at 11:22am | IP Logged
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Kim F wrote:
| Let's clarify - is this food only? Do we count food supplements like the stuff from the health food store (prenatals, coconut oil, acidophilus?) Staples? Cleaning items? |
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Good point, Kim. Do we include eating out?
Kim F wrote:
| We never eat out or order in. |
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Really!  Did you hear my jaw hitting the floor.  No, I'm kidding. Let me backtrack. I do cook 4-5 days per week and dh is great about grilling or cooking on weekends. But sometimes the kids and I run out at lunchtime. Or we're headed to co-op or an activity and we eat out. And we all eat out as a family at least once per week. Feeding a family of 7 at a restaurant makes a good dent in the budget.
I'd love to hear your version of how to tame the savages in NEVER eating out, because, as of tomorrow, we might well have to sacrifice that treeat.
Does that need another thread, Elizabeth?
Kim F wrote:
| The number and age of your family members makes a difference, too. |
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Definitely! Remember, I have 3 teenagers now.
Kim F wrote:
| The statistics shows that a baby would add $1,010 to your food bill. A 15 to 17 year-old will add an additional $1,690 to the grocery tab. |
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No way possible! There is no way even my Annie (age 4) eats what the 13-18 eat. Not even close. 
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Cay Gibson
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Kim F
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| Posted: May 15 2006 at 11:23am | IP Logged
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one more from another site:
<<You probably can't spend less than the USDA says you need to stay alive and healthy. I randomly picked a site that had the Maximum Monthly Food Stamp Benefits by Family Size for 2000 (so, lower than what you'll need in 2002!), which says that a family of 4 needs $428. This, obviously, wouldn't include any meals in restaurants. (http://www.cbpp.org/3-23-99fs.htm) >>
If y'all are managing to spend less than this please share your secrets!
Kim
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Kim F
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<<I'd love to hear your version of how to tame the savages in NEVER eating out, >>
Being allergic helps a great deal in this dept. : p Seriously its no draw for me because I have to watch them eat then I have to go home and cook anyway. They save their money and buy themselves Happy Meals when we do our shopping day if they want. They usually "want" lol! I dont pay for restaurant food though.
Kim
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Elizabeth
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I think we just need to include as much as possible in the post. We can't leave out eating out if it happens often because it impacts the budget one way or another. Share typically eating habits, family size and certainly ages. Three teenagers are far different eaters than and infant and two toddlers. Also, please clarify if you are including paper products and cleaners and such. don't include medications. If you have a vitamin budget built in, note that. Statistical collection is not my forte...
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Bridget
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800.00 a month for 8 eaters. That includes pet food, paper products, cleaners.... everything from the grocery store. If there is a gift giving occasion, the gift has to come out of that budget too. We never eat out.
It sounds like a lot, but it never seems to go very far. If I can, I squeeze organic milk out of that. That's my splurge. 
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We spend $800-$1000/month for five kids and 2 adults. This does not include pork or beef.
We buy all organic milk. No canned vegetables-all frozen or fresh. Mostly organic. We buy better quality stuff. Instead of crackers for a snack, for example, I'd buy pre-made hummus and multi-grain pitas in the health food section at $2.99/each for a little tub. Sounds dumb for me not to make it myself, but I don't have time and its a quick snack.
I also buy organic chicken, organic salsa, organic spaghetti sauce ( @ $5/jar), the better tasting refried beans (not organic), organic 1/2&1/2 since pesticides are stored in fat (according to dh  ),real brown sugar (not colored white sugar), local honey, unbleached four & good quality wheat flour, frozen organic berries ($$!!), avacadoes (over $1 each).
Our junk food would usually be chocolate, Tombstone pizza, pre-made ravioli, ice cream, Dove ice cream bars, none of which are cheap.
We have decided, though its better for us to buy safer food, and save elsewhere. We rarely eat out.
Our in-laws live in Kansas and they think the prices in Nebraska are high for food.
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Kim F
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E and I were trying to figure out a menu for a day and what that would come to for our respective family sizes. Here is a typical days food for us. We have mom and dad, 3 teen boys who will eat right down to the woodwork I swear! The rest are 11, 9, 6, 4, and 1 (who is eating regular food and in diapers) and baby due 06.
I figure oatmeal would be about 50cents/day. The bananas to go in would add another $2. Then the milk to go on top another $1 or 2. The sweetner. Toast? Another $2. Jelly? Nut butter? We are already up to over $5 for breakfast.
Lunch - egg salad sands - $2.50 for the bread loaf (they will eat it ALL) $2 for the eggs. $1 for the mayo. $2 for carrots. drinks? (juice? Milk?)
snack - $1 popcorn $2 for apples
Dinner - roast beef, green beans, potatoes. $7 roast (at best) $2 potatoes, $2 beans. Butter - probably a stick all said and done (50cents). Dessert? Figure another $2. Drinks? That is $13 without drinks.
So assuming noone wants juice/milk after bfast or any other snacks that was about $30 which is about what my budget is. I figure to go cheaper we would need to eliminate something from this list. Like the meat and fruit. Noone here was keen on that. Plus that doesnt count vitamins, supplements. If you make all brown rice and beans you can stretch alot. But then you get mutiny because someone (usually dh!) wants to buy soda or chips or ice cream or wants to know where the chicken is or why he has beans in his taco shell ; )
Now some days we dont do a plain cut of meat at dinner. Most often we do a stir fry or stew instead. Then again some days we have more protein at breakfast or nuts for snack so it all comes out even. I make everything from scratch but am back to buying bread since they lost a part for the maker. We do whole grains for the rice etc. I tried cloth diapers but am just worn out with other chores right now. Figure that is about $6/wk. I just can't figure how to go cheaper though its a sore spot around here. We need to trim something.
Kim
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Our budget is $600 for 6 people, including staples and organic food. Of this, $100 is about right weekly. I shop at our local "foodie Disneyland" called Jungle Jim's, half of my groceries are organic (90% of fruits and veggies, a chicken a week, fish 2-3 times a week, other meats like beef and pork once or twice a week). I also shop every couple of weeks or so at Wild Oats. Trader Joe's if I feel like driving that far. $50 or so on special Asian food not available at regular stores, though a portion of that will get written off as business expenses (blogging about Asian food for b5media). We used to spend $25-150/month more on restaurant food, especially when we travel, but we've seriously cut down after finding out hubby's allergies. Even now when we travel I have a crockpot and a rice cooker that plugs into the battery of the car. I sometimes go over-budget esp. when things go on the sale at the organic buying club or when buying extra stuff like supplements which I don't buy regularly, just whenever the mood hits, or there's a sale, or when the kids start begging for them again, or when I feel I or hubby need them (allergy season, flu season, etc.). Otherwise $600 is a pretty good estimate of what we spend on food -- for 2 adults, plus a teenager, a 9-yo, a 7-yo and a 4-yo. No, this does not include things like Ziplocs or foil or detergent or shampoo -- those get bought depending on need or sales or just because hubby thought we need more:). What kills me is the cereal!!! We haven't found a recipe for granola we love so I usually buy Cascadian Farms, and then they like Barb's cereals and Peace, but they're SOOO expensive and they go so fast, we'd go through 2-3 cereal boxes a day if I didn't control cereal snacking.
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esperanza
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This includes dh , me, 20dd w/ 1 grands, 17dd, 15ds, 12dd, 9dd, 6ds, 4ds, and 2ds...mm 6 adults and 5 under 12 yrs.
I have a budget of 1400 a month for food , supplements, toiletries, paper products, cleaners, one in diapers ( my oldest pays for herself and two babies' personal toiletries and diapers)
I mainly shop at Costco, BJ's, Shoppers Food Warehouse, and make too many side trips at Giant or Food Lion when out as they are en route to home
We pick up carry out 0-2 times a week...not always for everyone, though. So many different schedules. My dh treats when we do a big carry out like Out Back twice a year or if we go out to celebrate.
My 17dd is a vegetarian and I purchase convenience foods to have on hand for her as dinner usually revolves around meat and she is struggling w/ getting protein. (meat makes her sick) Hoping to move towards organic meats...I need to get on top of a better budget for this ..less carry out.
My big convenience item is two cases of water bottles a week. I usually purchase one box of something at Costco's like Amy's Burritos or pizza.
My dh and the littles love individually packaged yogurt, meat, bread, cheese and fruit. I enjoy veggies, whole grains, cheeses, soups, ethnic and new recipes w/ my 2 oldest dds.
I am looking forward to more input on this thread as I do not do well with my food budget....I still give in too much to please the dc.
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Bridget
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My friend, Linda, spends about 4000.00 to feed her family of 17 children. The older ones are all boys and they eat a ton. Even the ones that have moved out love to be there for meals. They often have company and she loves to cook. They do not scimp on good food.
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Cay Gibson
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esperanza wrote:
| I still give in too much to please the dc. |
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That's the culprit of the whole over-spending issue. 
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Cay Gibson
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LisaD
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We are a family of 6 in So. CA. Our kids are 7, 5, 2.5 and 4 mo. I spend about $1100 a month on food, toiletries, paper products, cleaning supplies, supplements, disposable diapers, etc. I shop weekly at the local big chain supermarket and Trader Joe's. I shop monthly at Costco. I know that I could reduce our spending by 40% if I clipped coupons, shopped specials and bought meat at the lower-priced supermarket in town. I used to do that. If we could no longer afford to spend what we do, I would do it again. Right now, however, I would rather buy the organic dairy products and the grass-fed beef and free-range organic chicken. I also know I could be spending a lot more! A good friend who lives nearby and also has four children under 7 shops mainly at Whole Foods and spends almost twice what I do!
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Cay Gibson
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Bridget wrote:
| My friend, Linda, spends about 4000.00 to feed her family of 17 children. |
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For one month? Goodness! What does her husband do for a living? Call me blunt...that's me. Also very curious.
Bridget wrote:
| They often have company and she loves to cook. They do not scimp on good food. |
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We have company over often too but we do a pot of beans and sausage/ham or a big gumbo or jambalaya or grill pork steaks and chicken. Those things stretch easily and are enjoyed by all.
My dh does not care for the way I shop and I'm going to keep checking back here for ways to improve. He is adamant in me never skimping on food. He'd rather me buy food and do without the tiolet paper. Well, perhaps not quite. 
But, in evaluating in my head what the cost of eating out is doing to the food budget...we're looking at least $15-$20 everytime we go out--approx. twice (just me and the kids) each week and a family meal in a restaurant coming delicately to $60 bucks one per week. That's a cool extra $100 per week equalling $400 a month splurged in pleasure eating.
I've got to get a grip!!! 
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Cay Gibson
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Topic: food budget
