Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Budgeting

I need some input from anyone willing to share. How much do you spend on groceries every month? I feel like all of our money goes to food, and I don't know if that is normal or if I should be concerned. For a family of 3 (and a baby) what is a good grocery budget? What do you spend? What do you buy? I don't think I'm willing to eat junk just to save money. I want to eat healthy, which is fresh produce and quality meats. Please share your story with me. Thanks

4 comments:

Gini (Hallquist) Young said...

Girl, you know me...we budget in cash for $250 a month...we have the same number in our family. Keep in mind that sometimes this includes diapers. I just about only shop at aldi. I don't do organic cause I can't afford it, but I dont buy junk either. In fact, I cook just about every night. sometimes I do buy a little less good for you for the sake of money. Like plain white bread is just far cheaper than any of the others at aldi 69 cents or so a loaf. Aldi is my biggest "non" secret. the other is menu planning and sweep the pantry "games" we play. If you're really serious, lets chat about this. Sooo my specialty.

Shelby said...

We probably spend around $300 to $350 a month, but the reason we're a little higher than Gini probably is because we have to buy some "specialty" items for Stone because of all his food allergies and that also includes diapers, as he's not potty trained yet. However, it keeps getting less and less each week as Kevin has been diligent about doing the "grocery game" which Gini can talk to you more about. It really has saved us a lot of money. We also shop at a Lowes Food store here (sort of similar to Aldi, but a lot more choices) and Wal-mart. Only rarely do we shop anywhere else. We watch the ads for sales and use coupons any chance we get. Like this week, Lowes Foods has triple coupons, and we also happen to need toilet paper and paper towels, so we are going to take advantage of that and stock pile a little. We are also cooking in a lot more (as compared to what we used to do) and really try to stick to our budget. But yeah, talk to Gini some more.. she's the guru of saving on food budget!!!!

W and Js mommy said...

one name comes to mind and that is GINI YOUNG! NEver before have I met anyone that is that thrifty! We do the same...Aldi and Walmart! I do buy big and in bulk at Sam's when I can! Diapers will kill ya...good luck! I am huge menu planner and that is very important to me...I think that saves us from impulse buying and not making a million trips out to stores every week!

The Rickards Family said...

For the three of us, we spend anywhere from $350-400 - a little more than the others, but that includes our monthly trip to Costco (usually about $200) and then another $200 during the month at Kroger/Publix, etc. (but always with coupons!!!)

Hope this helps!

Ryan