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We're looking to save money on food too!
Our goal is $60/week on food - it's two adults, but I'm breastfeeding. We also each get $20 of fun money a week, which is the only money we can spend if we eat out for lunch.
I REALLY need to get into the swing of couponing. I rarely use them, and it could save us a ton I think! I'm hoping the new wireless printer we got for Christmas will help in that department.
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@Arden: i grab quick lunch out occasionally, but nope, the grocery budget should cover it for us. we eat leftovers for lunch frequently, or things i can make in big batches and add to different things- like chili, stew, or baked chicken breasts. we freeze a lot of discounted meat (i look for things that were on sale and then have a markdown sticker for being close to their use by date) & can't always afford to buy organic/free range. this wk we used extracare bucks at CVS to buy milk, i bought 3 bags of turkey meatballs at trader joes, and the following at the regular grocery store (not a super healthy shop this wk)
deli roast beef & cheese
eggs
ice cream
garlic bread
sandwich rolls
frozen steam veggies
mac & cheese (annie's bigger box)
kidney & pinto beans (the big cans)
tomato sauce
pasta sauce
instant mashed potato pouch
ground beef
sirloin tips
2 whole chickens (they were buy 1, get 1)
bananas
peppers
green beans
onions
mushrooms
clementinesbreakfast is usually oatmeal, eggs, yogurt, granola bar, or cereal and fruit (we had all of those on hand already). lunch is a sandwich, dinner leftovers, soup, or chicken with some salad mix (we have on hand, it was buy 1, get 2 free last wk).
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We are averaging about $130 per week on groceries, which is way too much considering that we are only eating dinner at home during the week. I've been stocking up my desk with breakfast items, but there are still 2 days at least where I eat both breakfast and lunch out.
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Okay, I finally got the courage to look...
So far we've spent $504 this month. So I don't think I am going to make my goal of $550! It's been a little hard with me pregnant and breastfeeding and exercising - I'm SO HUNGRY. Also LO is starting to eat solids more.
I suppose that number does include diapers and toilet paper, as well as toiletries and cleaning supplies but we don't tend to buy the latter two every month.
We have been really good about not eating out though! And I've gotten better about not eating lunch out - we've only spent $43 so far this month on coffee shops/fastfood/restaurants.
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okay, so i blew the budget. i spent $70 today.... buuuttttttt i stocked up on a bunch of stuff that we'll freeze & use into next month because there were some great sales going on.
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We have spent $569.86 of our $590 budget and there are 7 days left in the month! Aaaaaah! So close!
A few impulse buys happened in January, and some overeating. We are running out of a few staples so we will probably end up slightly over budget in January, but still did well compared to December, November, etc. Some big stock up trips contributed to our total like @mrs.bird, so I'm hoping we see a bigger savings in February!
Also, totally have dropped the ball on my price book! Having so much trouble finding the time to sit down and do it!
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We still have only $11 left in our January grocery budget ladies and I'm going to try sooo hard to make it this last week!
We need dish soap, raisins, oatmeal, pineapple, kale and spinach! Do you think we can do it?! -
@cmomma17: you can do it!! we are under budget this month & still have some things like cereal, coffee, trail mix, etc that will probably last all of Feb too
makes me excited!
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Hi everyone, I'm late to this thread, but we're starting to budget our grocery costs. Our biggest obstacle is that the grocery store is walking distance from our place, and on the way home for me (subway is connected) and DH (he walks home and he cuts through the mall where the store is). We end up there almost every day to pick up bananas, apples, or other things that we end up needing more than once a week, but then buy more than what we went in for! We're focusing on weekly, rather than monthly costs and aiming for $150 a week. That might seem high based on most people's budgets, but we've gotta start somewhere and see where we end up! We don't have a big freezer or a basement to store lots of staples, so we can't get away with stockpiling. We're also in Canada, and I think food costs might be more here? Any Canadian bees who can weigh in on that? We've bought most of our groceries for the week and are left with $17 till next Friday.
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I just stumbled upon this website http://www.5dollardinners.com/ and thought I'd share. It's basically a blog with tons of budget friendly recipes plus printable coupons and money saving tips. I just spent a few minutes browsing the site and already have 3 yummy dinner ideas that I can't wait to try out!
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Ugh this is embarrassing. We are at $680 for the month, $130 over budget. Granted, I am eating way more than normal with being pregnant and breastfeeding and LO is just now switching to mainly solids. Plus we only spent $40 on eating out of the house.
I think our problem is DH volunteers to go to the store often. He is a good shopper but doesn't stick to my meal plan. Which I failed at mid month. I need to bring him in more. I have been updating him with how much we are spending and he was pretty shocked.
I think we can get through the rest of the month without grocery shopping for meals, but we are out of fruit and milk and LO is constipated so I want to pick him up some bran for muffins...
Maybe next month!!
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Is there a thread for Feb yet? After three months of going WAY over budget, I started a strict budget this past week. I'd love to participate in this thread next month!
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We have $6.14 left for the month. I actually think we did pretty good - a budget of $600 for the month for 3 adults (we have a boarder) and a preschooler. I gave birth to DD2 on 1/1 so things have been a little crazy, too. However we still have a lot of belt tightening to do, as a lot of other things in our budget went way over in the last months of pregnancy. Definitely going to follow the February thread.
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Just did my final grocery shopping for the month and I made it in, with just 83 cents to spare! My goal was $500 for the month (including groceries, household items, diapers, wipes). We purchase mainly organic meat, dairy, and produce, in addition to subscribing to a weekly CSA delivery of local, organic produce, so I wasn't sure we'd be able to make it under budget. Next month will be more difficult as I had lots of diapers stockpiled this month!
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@jhd: thanks for cheering me on!
@tinyperson: never too late!
welcome!@skipper2010: awesome!
@jedeve: don't be embarrassed! at least you're trying! I have WAY blown my budget too
@allison: I will make a Feb thread today!
Welcome!
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@cmomma17: I have to calculate our spending, I am afraid to do it, esp. once I include our dining out costs. Gah.
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@mrsmate: sounds like you did great!
@rubycali: $0.83! woot woot!
good job!@looch: *gulp* I'm about to do the same!
Link to February thread for those who are interested: http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/grocery-savings-february-2014?replies=1#post-1380659
Well ladies - my budget is BLOWN!
We spent $672.78 in January. There are only 4 days left in the month and I told DH we are not allowed to buy anything else - but I wouldn't put a trip to the store past him if we run out of something small like coffee creamer. My goal was $590, so we are $82.78 over budget! YIKES!
We were under budget by $11 the other day, but made the decision to go over by stocking up on some things. Oatmeal, raisins, dish soap at Costco for example and chicken at the grocery store which was on sale for $1.99/pound again. Our thinking was why spend $2 on the tiniest box of raisins this week and just buy them again next week, when we could buy the big box that is more economical over time?Our spending in January was huge due to lot's of this 'stocking up' (and our new Costco membership). I hope this means we will spend significantly less in February!!!
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Wow you guys... you guys are so great! I am TERRIFIED to add up how much we spend monthly. I'm going to estimate about $600/month but I know it's more.
But I'm going to follow this thread to get inspired and get ideas!
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Count me in on this goal for 2014.... I've been using coupons for the past few years but since coming off maternity leave and Fi starting daycare we've really needed to tighten our budget to $100 a week at the grocery store. Our grocery bill includes dog food, basic tolietries, and paper products. We meal plan and Fi is breastfed and cloth diapered. If we see my parents that week, my mom will often share me what she picks up at produce junction and other buys she finds like laundry detergent or bulk meats.
So far for January
Week 1 $121
Week 2 $62
Week 3 $86
Week 4 $112
Total $381 -
We tallied everything last night and so far we've spent 2854.32 SEK ($444.40). DH thought it would be closer to 4000 SEK, so he's happy. Recording everything is definitely helping us! But we bought a bunch of groceries right before NYE, so this month probably isn't a good representation. It'll probably be a few months before we know our actual expenses since we're leaving for vacation in Feb.
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