Budgeting for groceries

[Homesteadmom]

I don't know what your dollars per day will work out to, but here in Oregon the food stamp program allots $3 per person per day. From what I understand, that is not enough to make a decent diet if your only food resource is the grocery store.

Food stamps were designed to "help" feed your family not entirely feed them for the month. That is why they do not give huge amt's to people usually.

Sandra have you considered getting a second refrigerator or a bigger one? That would make getting 4 gals of milk feasable in one shopping trip, along with extra "fresh" fruit.

 

[Big Daddy]

We have a 2nd fridge. With 7 people it's a must for milk. I advise you to get a new or slightly used one. We have an old one that still uses R-12 refrigerant. It s very inefficient. We got it on free cell. The guy even delivered it. Turns out that it costs 75.00 to get rid of. We're going to get a new fridge to save electricity. This ones costing about 20 a month and doesn't work too well.

 

[Homesteadmom]

We have a 2nd fridge. With 7 people it's a must for milk. I advise you to get a new or slightly used one. We have an old one that still uses R-12 refrigerant. It s very inefficient. We got it on free cell. The guy even delivered it. Turns out that it costs 75.00 to get rid of. We're going to get a new fridge to save electricity. This ones costing about 20 a month and doesn't work too well.

Use it to make a root cellar with. Find the thread about old freezer, new use for the directions!1

 

[FarmerChick]

Big Daddy
unplug it and use it for storage of feed, anything

OR take it to a metal recycle station....one that buys scrap metal....they will PAY you for it! go get some money!!!! I take scrap metal all the time to the scrapyard and believe me, the money is nice!

 

[greenrootsmama]

Hi, I'm new around here and this thread caught my eye. Forgive me but I didn't read all of the posts. I thought I would throw out what we do and maybe you can derive some ideas from that

When we first began paying attention to our groceries it was in an effort to eat healthier. So we started buying as much organic food as we could find at our local grocer. Our grocery bill doubled. Then we started learning about processed foods, HFCS, nitrates, nitrites, food dye, etc. and began to filter those things out of our home. We were still spending a LOT on organic milk, organic meat, and organic veggies. Eventually my sweetie lost his job and we could no longer afford all of the organics. Then we discovered a wonderful little thing called a farmer's market. We live in PA so they're all over the place here. We found out that all of the meat and produce sold there is all natural - no chemicals, no hormones or steroids and so on. Then best thing was that the food we bought at the farmer's market was priced about the same as the non-organic food at the grocery store. Then we found a store called Aldi for nearly everything else. We are paid every two weeks so we do our shopping every two weeks. Before we head out to do the shopping we sit down and make a list of about 12 dinners. This serves two purposes: first, we know exactly what we are going to buy at the st.ore and second, we don't find ourselves at 4:00 staring into the fridge trying to figure out what to make for dinner. The reason we only pick out 12 dinners is because there are some nights that we feel lazy so we'll have leftovers or make something super easy like pancakes. LOL. We also limit our meat consumption to three times a week. Also, we combine some meals. For instance, I'll make chili one night, the next night I'll make meatloaf and the third night I'll boil some noodles and grate some cheese for home-made chili mac. I also like to cook a whole roaster chicken and then we can use the leftover meat in wraps or enchiladas.

We also have a problem with fruit and milk so we have to pick it up throughout the week. Some of the ways we've tried to limit these expenses are to consume less milk. I'm not sure if it's a topic of debate on this board or not (if so, I'm sorry) but I don't feel that cow's milk is very healthy for people anyway so we limit it and the kids only drink it in their cereal and I use it for cooking sometimes. As far as the fruit goes, we buy a lot of dried fruit to eat when we run out of fresh fruit: raisins, apricots, apples, etc.

Our family consists of two adults and four kids (soon to be five) and I budget about $250 for groceries every two weeks. This includes the intermittent trips to buy a couple gallons of milk and/or fruit.

I hope this helps some! We're still working on ways to improve the way we eat and the way we spend money so I know how you feel. Good luck

 

[me&thegals]

, greenrootsmama! You sound like you have a lot to offer! And congratulations on soon-to-be 7th family member You have good ideas. So glad you are a farmer market customer! There are several farmer's market sellers on this site. Also glad you have an Aldi's by you. We do, too, and it's pretty amazing some of the good deals and great foods that pop up in that store. I'm impressed with your food bill for a family of 6. Will you be gardening, too?

 

[dacjohns]

green

and everyone else.

Read the lables. Aldi has some good buys but they also have a lot of junk. For instance, mandarin oranges at Aldi have added sugar. We get our mandarin oranges at Krogers, no added sugar.

 

[Wifezilla]

I'm not sure if it's a topic of debate on this board or not (if so, I'm sorry) but I don't feel that cow's milk is very healthy for people anyway so we limit it and the kids only drink it in their cereal

Well, there is some heated discussion about carbohydrates, and I would rate the cereal as far unhealthier than the milk...but that's just me. Well, me and freemotion

 

[greenrootsmama]

me&thegals: I would love, love, love to have a garden and that was the plan for this spring but it seems fate had a different idea. Our landlord filed bankruptcy on this property and now it's going to be auctioned off in April. We have decided that this is the time to make our break and get out of this freezing winter land. I'm sick of having to park at the bottom of the driveway because it's too icy to get the car up. So we're off to Arizona where my family all reside. I can't wait to have chickens again... I really miss my girls

dacjohns: You are so right about reading labels. I think it takes me three times longer to shop than it does most people because I'm a fanatical label-reader. LOL. We have another mom and pop store here that sells similar items and I buy my mandarin oranges there because they are canned in pear juice instead of syrup (ick). Most of the stuff I buy at Aldi is pasta, rice, beans, crackers, flour, sugar and canned veggies. Obviously we prefer fresh veggies and fruit but we only shop every two weeks so we usually run out of fresh food before we get out on our next shopping trip. We do a lot of dried fruit and in the absence of fresh veggies we do canned or frozen.

Wifezilla: Uh oh, you caught me - confession time: cereal is my weakness. I don't particularly care for it myself but it's something the kids can get for themselves and I don't have to drag my lazy butt out of bed. LOL. I'm selective about the cereal I do buy, however, making sure that there are no added colors or HFCS. Once this baby comes and I get my energy back then we can get back to healthier breakfast routines but for now convenience wins out. LOL.

 

[dacjohns]

You might be able to find the mandarin oranges packed in mandarin orange juice. Ours is Krogers store brand. Smiths is the same as Krogers. I don't know if you have either store where you live.

I know what you mean about taking a long time to shop. We are starting to speed up as we learn what the different stores have. Then they go and change what they stock and you have to learn all over again.

Finding salt free or low sodium veggies is also a challenge.