Budgeting for Groceries

I go through coupons for hours then I get all that I need and then we get other things if we have room in our budget we and I add it all up on my phone I always round up even it’s it’s ex: $2.10 I say it’s $3. I try to keep our budget from $300-$350 for a months worth of food. But we also go on the first Saturday of each month because we get military discount so that helps. But with spending the day couponing and that discount which is 10% we save about $300. Couponing really helps in my opinion.

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I make up a dinner menu for the month and purchase 95% of our groceries in one go. The other 5% is for fresh fruit and bread in the middle of the month. We use mostly frozen veggies or I freeze my own. We are a vegan household and spend about 180 a month for two adults and I am exclusively breastfeeding twins so I eat a ton more than is usual for me 😅

I usually shop once every 4-6 weeks, and spend around £350. Sounds a lot, but that's £70 a week, for a family of four (£2.50p per day, per person). I always shop at Aldi. I recently made a conscious decision not to buy takeaways, or joy ride in my car with the kids to kill time, and saved myself a small fortune. I plan most meals, and the house is always fully stocked with fresh, frozen, tinned, jarred and snack foods, along with tonnes of cleaning supplies and toiletries. We have a lot of extras (probably things we don't need), but I very rarely throw any food out, and leftovers are included in the next day's meal. Lists do help - I always make lists so's not to buy things I don't need, but hidden gems always find their way into my trolley.

Hats off to you mama’s that can budget for groceries 👏🤦‍♀️ I attempt it and fail every time

I shop at Aldi and have gotten our budget down to $120 a month for our little fam of three eating every meal at home! The key for us is planning out every single meal and trying to use the same items in multiple meals!

I go to ALDI! They are super cheap and the store brands actually taste good. Plus they have organic and local produce a lot of the time. I get twice as much food for the same price as Kroger, Wal-Mart etc. Just remember to bring your own bags!

Since everyone makes a different amount it’s best to go by percentages. Mytotalmoneymakeover.com has tons of great tools to help with budgets. Giving 10-15% Housing 25–35% Utilities 5–10% Food 10–15% Transportation 10–15% Health 5–10% Insurance 10–25% Personal 10-15% Recreation 5-10% Saving 10-15%

I always think of something my dad always said and when I’m shopping it rings in my ears the words SELF DENIAL, if you don’t need it don’t buy it so now when I go shopping in Aldi (because you save a fortune and it’s just as good) I always rite a list and think of meals for the week only usually spend £50-£60 and I get a full trolly x

I meal plan. I try and stay 150$ and under for two weeks worth of groceries- it’s two adults, three year old and a 1 year old. I also use Ibotta to get cash back .. this last grocery trip I did online pickup at Walmart. Pretty easy

I have a family of three, I spend about 150 on meats, fresh veggies & fruits a month from our local fresh market. But most of our meals are free!

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How?

Wow!

try to use coupons too! they really help

We use YNAB (you need a budget) to plan where our money is going each month and then we stick to it. If we overspend on, say, takeaway then we have to take it out of another section. Our net worth has doubled over the 18months weve been doing it properly, which is a task given the area we live in. I also find online shopping really great for cutting spending. You can search by price per unit, and see all products at a glance. It also means I’m not impulse buying 🙄

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We use YNAB too can’t imagine going back to not budgeting. We started with Dave Ramsey first and ate debt free because of it ❤️.

Who is Dave Ramsey?

I'm a coupon lady and flyer shopper. I shop sales and clearance. I stock up when what we eat is on sale; I bought ten packages of bacon last weekend for 2.99 each! I make sure I shop where I get points to go towards money off of gas.. buying stuff that will expire within a day or two makes it super cheap because I just freeze it!

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I like to coupon as well but it gets tough bc idk the normal prices for stuff..that and i suck at math. My bf is.excellent at math yet doesnt want to help/dont care shrugs lol.

I create a meal plan based off sales and use meijer and Kroger apps to load coupons. I usually save a minimum of $15 in coupons alone. If there’s no good sales I go based off what my cheaper and wholesome options are.

Would be nice to have some tips on saving and budgeting especially with a baby x

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https://www.everydollar.com/blog/how-to-win-with-money-in-7-easy-baby-steps

Thank you

I am a frugal person in general so I don't worry too much about strict budgets, but I make a list throughout the week as we run low on things or think of meals we would like to eat and mostly stick to the list. We keep ground beef and chicken on hand and shop sales for other meats. We aim to spend $300 or less/ month on groceries and household items for my husband and I (1 nursing baby).

150 for 2 weeks I keep it all low by planning meals and snacks and using a few coupons and rebate apps

I have a household budget spreadsheet I use. It helps me know how much I got to spend on groceries each week.

Download coupon apps best bet and whatever you save by discount see what miscellaneous objects you can afford

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What apps you use

I just started clipping coupons and it’s working out nicely.

Strict list, take out the cash we budget and never use more than we took out. If we go over, we put something back. Also, meal plan!!

I use Plan to Eat to meal plan. It makes the list for you and it’s an absolute game changer. I check what I have in my pantry and try to build meal plans around that and then I order off Clicklist. It has cut our grocery bill in half because it gets rid of impulse buys

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Is it an app

We don’t budget. We buy what we want.

I sit down and write our list. I always get our everyday essentials that I know we’ll eat, then I plan what I’m going to make that week and add that to list. It helps if you know which store has the sales. I usually make dinner for two days , so I don’t have to cook so much and it saves money. I spend 50 bucks a week for a family of three .

We try not to spend more than £85 a week on groceries for a family of 3

Our budget is around $75 a week. It’s difficult and I wish we could spend more but also we are always able to get exactly what we need! We’re also very lucky because the church my husband works for receives donations from Whole Foods daily and so we get a huge box of groceries from there once a week! With a ravenous toddler this is a huge blessing.

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Eeek, that’s a tough one. I try to make a weekly menu first and use what I already have.... “first in, first out”. Crockpot meals are cool too. I make a lot at once and freeze the leftovers. But yeah sometimes I’m like fuck it, and buy whatever I feel like. There’s a lot of stuff out there that’s new or improved so I can be sucker to try that.

Send me some crockpot ideas

I find planning my family meals makes it a lot easier to stay on budget because I buy less random stuff. I don’t shop around, I mostly shop at Walmart as they price match flyers (you can use flyer apps) and anyway it’s usually cheaper. I try to stick to a list but I usually end up getting a few things not on my list but I’m careful to keep it to only a few.

I’m on a debt free journey, so we budget everything. I write a list and we TRY stick to only that. It’s hard sometimes, but I’m not spending $800- $1,500 a month on food anymore. 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️ and this is for 2 1/2 of us.

Before we go grocery shopping, we check what we already have then make a list of what we need for two weeks. We try to buy things in bulk which last longer. I usually try to find sales in flyers for things we don’t buy in bulk and either get the sale item or price match. We also have a budget as well so sometimes while we’re shopping, we don’t get EVERYTHING on the list. Just what we need on a daily basis like breakfast foods and dinner foods. We usually spend the most money on meat cause it can be frozen and last really long.

No strict budget. Family of 4. For us it's about need not want. We purchase meats that will make 2 meals. We get fresh veggies not can. Its all about seperating into meal plans.

I make a list of ideas for the week for lunches and dinners. from there I make a shopping list. I try to incorporate meals with the same meats and freeze extras. I also make large dinners that can be reheated and eaten the next day for lunch or dinner, and some so large that whole portions can be frozen for a quick meal at a later date. like chili or soups. I always get the largest packages of meat I can and spread one package into multiple meal ideas.

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also I constantly check what is going on sale and plan meals around that also

We just plan and Go!

I meal plan that week. I look at what we got and then look at what's on sales. Our family budget is $300 a month for a family of 4.

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Meal plan, buy what's on season and on sale. Make dinners that will make 2 nights of dinner. We have minimal process food, and eat fruit and veggies as snacks..

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Also couponing

we have a 60 budget a week. I make a list of good yet budget friendly meals i want to make and make a list of everything I’d need to make those meals.

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Would you mind sending me some of your meals?

Whatever grocery stores you go to often download their apps for digital coupons and to see the weekly ads. Try to shop produce in season it’s cheaper. If you buy in bulk for example strawberries freeze them so they don’t go bad but if you have the room to store extra food buy stuff in season and then freeze to use in later months when the prices have risen. Some stores offer free pick up, this really helps keep on budget because you are adding your items to the cart online also it’s easier for price comparing, and it’s saves you time! I like to budget for a week instead of the whole month it makes things easier! I try to stay under $65 per week, it’s my husband and I, our 4 year old son and 5 cats.

Try to stick to a budget list. I basically sqeek when I walk( I’m a tight wade) when it comes to money. I normally write down the price of each item. I use a note book and write my grocery balance $ and then I subtract each price from the balance. And after the shopping is done before going to checkout. I look to see the total price of in order to know how much to pay. Then will also know how much I’d is left in the bank.

I wish I knew how to coupon for diapers and stuff because I have a 1 year old and a newborn and this is really hard right now financially

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Can you use cloth diapers

I think a good way is to go to walmart.com and do pick up because you can actually just go grocery shopping online and then go pick up the groceries

We stick to a budget of $200 per month for three. We only buy what meat is on sale but we buy it and freeze it in meal size increments so that we have plenty of options. We also do meat free meals twice or three times a week. I don’t like to do a ton of coupon cutting or popping into loads of shops so we just stick to sales and meal planning. If we go under budget we use that money to put back for times when we want or need to spend a little more. It works great for us.

We budget $60 a week for me and hubby. (still exclusively breastfeeding my son)

I’m so confused when i hear peoples grocery budgets and wanna know what y’all eat. I try so hard and i literally don’t know how to spend like under $400-450/month on groceries for just me lol 😩

Around £500 a month for 6 of us Me and my partner Our pregnant 20 year old Our 15 year old son Our 1 year old Our 8 week old daughter

We try to plan meals out ahead of time and stick to the list when shopping.. we don’t have a super strict budget but we try to keep it at about $100 a week. Something that has helped for us in budgeting is we go to a meat market twice a year and buy ground beef and chicken breast in bulk.. so let’s say we spend an extra $120 in just meat at the meat market.. but that $120 will be enough meat for 40-50 meals.. so with not having to buy meat weekly it cuts our regular weekly grocery budget down tremendously

I go bulk grocery shopping at Costco once a month and then all the fresh products I need a every week I’ll stop by Publix. My Costco run is about $400-$500 month and the the regular store is about $150 month. We have a family of 4 with a baby in the way.

Two adults, 1 toddler, and 3 month old gets BM. We go grocery shopping every 2 weeks and it's usually $150-$165 every two weeks.

@Lacey All I do now is pick up. I stick to my budget, instead of going down the isles picking up stuff that aren’t fixed in my budget. I don’t overspend that way.

@Christine I am the same Lol I am single mother of 9 children I Love to Eat so do my children

I have to budget better I guess. It’s just me and my 3 boys and I spend around $600+ a month!! 😬. My youngest is disabled so I have to buy high in calorie and fat foods for him as well so that’s why I think I spend more