Ok, so I just read a BLOG POST about groceries, and it has me thinking? She spends $250 on groceries!! If you read her post, she said she didn't want processed foods, so it was difficult. Do you have tips for her?
I was in shock over the $250 grocery budget. IN MY DREAMS! We spend between $600-$800on Groceries, personal care items, and eating out. (Diapers, wipes, formula etc)
We always discuss this subject with our friends with kids, and I really think our budget is realistic. We feed 5 kids a lot of the time, and I buy fresh produce every week. (Even with Bountiful Baskets) I like to by bananas,and other fruit I didn't recieve, and I still buy some veggies) If I don't get Bountiful baskets, I budget for $25 a week on produce.
We eat one serving of fruit(at least)with breakfast always, and we also have a fruit and a veggie with lunch and dinner, and that is not an option to cut out. In her post, she states she heard to avoid Costco/Sams (Thats where I get a lot of my stuff) but I feel like it saves me so much money, because I freeze a lot of stuff, and I LOVE their milk.
Anyway, I was just curious of what everyone else does.
What is your budget, and do you buy a lot of processed foods?
If you watched last weeks "Secret Millionaire" you can clearly see, that people that have less money can't really eat very healthy. Fruit and vegetables aren't always cheap!
8 comments:
I was just having this convo with a friend of mine and eating healthy....stating that you can understand why some people who are less fortunate are some times heavier because they do not have the money to buy fresh produce, organic milk, and such and how it would be so great if these things were less expensive. We are on a very very low budget for food as well. I can only dream of spending 600- 800 dollars a month of groceries! I can only go to the store twice a month, if I am lucky......
$250!!! whatever. i don't even dare admit how much i spend on groceries even though i feel like i'm pretty "smart" with our budget. quality food is a huge priority for me. i suppose we sacrifice a great deal in other areas for a higher grocery budget. we could be spending that money somewhere else (or better yet, saving it). we rarely go out to eat. your budget is A LOT less than mine and we po'folk!
Did you get to watch that show TLC's show Extreme Couponing?? That's crazy! I try to buy lots of fruits and veggies for myself since I am still nursing..and I even make all Aubry's baby food, her nutrition is my #1 priority. Ryan does not eat as halthy (shh don't tell him I said that) But I do fall off the wagon myself!
I don't do a lot of cooking, so i'm not buying much at the grocery store. I do, however, buy fresh healthy things on a budget. I use www.grocerysmarts.com to see what store has what on sale. If you are looking to save money on produce - this is the best way to do it.
Here is the code for the site:
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I know how you feel. I want fresh food too. I started going to a store called Down to Earth in our town it is like a small Whole Foods there are some items that I get there that are reasonably priced. Costco also has been getting healthier items to choice from (nice to buy it there). But really I think it is difficult. I always want fresh veggies and fruit in our house. I make a protein shake with fruit and other healthy things added to it once a day and we juice carrots with apples and oranges for dinner every night we get all the stuff for them at Costco. We also do an envelop fund. Where we divided up gas, groceries, eating out, cleaning supplies, gifts,and wine. We put a certain amount in each and stick to it. We have done it since the first time we moved in together. Kevin's mom has always done. I don't know it that is what you are really interested in though.
We spend about that much on groceries too. Wow it seems like a lot but we rarely eat out and I love to cook. I also love to buy fresh fruit and veggies. And milk. We go through a TON of milk because we also love cereal, which is also expensive!
We spend about $600.00 on groceries and take out also, but I feel like we can do better. I'll let you know how that goes. I'm definately making it happen though cuz I'm quiting my job and we gotta safe money somewhere.
Okay, so to help keep the budget I use grocerysmarts.com to see what's on sale. They have a rating system for every item so you can tell if it's a good enough price to stock up on. They also pair things with coupons...some from circulars and some that you can print (they even give you the link!). So that does really help. I buy fruits & veggies in season as much as possible to keep our grocery bill down. Sunflower Market almost always has great prices on at least a few fruits/veggies each week even though most of their other stuff is expensive. Meat can be one of the most expensive things to buy so I try to stick to what's on sale and also go meatless for some meals as well. Making meals from scratch also helps with keeping costs down. We buy bread, milk & eggs from Sam's but have found that fruits/veggies are usually cheaper elsewhere. Obviously I'm not buying formula & diapers so that changes things quite a bit. I also can things from our garden & in the summer almost all our veggies come from our garden.
Grocery prices have gone up SO much in the last few years that it's really hard to keep to a smaller grocery budget. Good luck!
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