My house is my second home, I really live at the store. There really are some weeks that I am there every day. The upside is that sometimes it provides the excuse, or motivation, to get out of the house with the kids. My youngest is still home full time, so I never go alone, and sometimes with all three. Proves to be an adventure quite often.

Oh, your original question: We are probably in a similar spending pattern. Some things I have found to help: We get our milk delivered from a local dairy, which is hormone free. Coupons get clipped to the list. Although SuperTarget is very convenient, shopping several stores can save some bucks between all the weekly sales. A friend just told me one of her secrets - she makes a concious effort to ONLY buy something she knows she will cook that week. It cuts down on waste, keeps her fridge uncluttered, and really helps with the fresh aspect.

Jim
Boulder, CO
Dad to Cole, Luke & Trev

We spend about $60/wk. at Trader Joes and $40/wk. at Kroger for our family of four (one baby). Sometimes more, and sometimes less.

& make our own beer.

Just go to the liquor store, then it doesn't count as groceries.

Since the wife loves to shop, we both go to multiple groceries stores and buy pretty much just what's on sale. Then we use coupons, my wife's the Coupon Queen. Just yesterday she came home all proud about how she found such and such on sale for a buck, and they had a Dollar off coupon on them to boot, so they were free. So proud of herself, & my lucky night!
When you have the kids with don't forget to go to the bakery first and ask for a cookie, they're always free for kids (around here anyways). Then you likely won't have to open stuff in the store and have it mostly eaten before you get in line to pay for it. All adds up to more beer money too!

I buy as much seasonal/local as possible. I think the trick it to have plenty of staples (rice, beans, bread, etc.) as possible on hands at all times. That's what the bulk stores are good for.

Whenever we have my daughter, that jump by about $25 for all the things she likes. But me, the wife, and the boy get by quite comfortably on $100 a week.

I've gotten us by on a lot less. My trick to keeping to budget, take the calculator on my cell phone, enter the amount I'm looking to spend, and then subtract each item I intend to purchase rounded off to the nearest quarter. Easier to stay on budget if you're taking money away from how much you're looking to spend.

-Will
gamingwithbaby.com | all your diapers are belong to us
my flickr

Is nasty disgusting, offensive, and I think it gives you herpes.

I bought it once because it was 2.00 cheaper than the Glaceau vitamin water case, and the Zero-cal flavouring just made me want to drink regular old tap water.

I'm hooked on Glaceau Vitamin water, but at $1-1.60/bottle I just have to do tap water now except for after dinner.

Thoughts about fatherhood, philosophy, fencing, and hockey abound at http://shawn-burns.livejournal.com/

1 Dinner out per week
1-2 breakfasts out (on the weekends)
My lunch out 2-3 times per week

Thoughts about fatherhood, philosophy, fencing, and hockey abound at http://shawn-burns.livejournal.com/

If you have a close TJ, your are really lucky guys!! I'm missing them.

I usually go 2 times per week in a house of 3 heads.
On weekend we spend around $130 in "just for this week" shopping (this is not a joke)
Once per month, Costco for bulky items and fish (I found it cheaper and good quality).

About going out, well every weekend my stove gets a pause at least for one lunch, but we cut down movies (now we use Netflix). My wife buys her lunch at work.
I try to make a week plan and I try to buy only the things I would need during the week, but most of the time I decided what to cook just 10 minutes before I start to cook. So looking in the cabinets and cook whatever I found there, thats why there are always extra stuff there.

I'm really shock to read that a family of 4 do shopping of $130, I need to start planing our meals!!! (Help Please)

======================
Congratatio pro erudio et auxilium
Itux

That is awesome. We have been trying to do the same type of thing. We haven't been quite as successful as you guys, but we have made some gains. Keep up the great work.

And, to the rest of you, it may only look like 10 or 20 dollars a week, but sometimes it is more and it really starts to add up after a couple of weeks.

Here is the easiest way to start:
1. Stop eating out. No matter how hard this seems.
2. Shop the circulars, including drugstores, for your most expensive items.

LATER...
3. After you get into the habit of 1 and 2, start shopping the circulars for the rest of your items (if stores are far apart, you may need to consider gas),
4. Check previous threads on this site about coupons, etc. There are some great websites out there to help. Don't be so loyal to your "usual" brands. But, don't let the coupons suck you into buying something that you normally wouldn't need or something for which there is a cheaper alternative.
5. Start planning one or two meals ahead of time, and only buy what you need. Increase the number of meals as you go along.
6. Invest in a small chest freezer for the garage or your utility room. They are not that expensive, and you can "pay it off" over the course of a few weeks of grocery savings. Check Sears, Costco, your local appliance dent store and Craigslist for cheap ones.

Good Luck!

I might be a chef but I'm still a dad.
1.I write my menus to use the freshest ingredients.
2. Write a menu that is going to last two weeks from the 1st to the 15th then write a menu to last from the 15th to the 31st. Use them for two months and then change. You already know what your having. Be vague with your menu like
SUN pancakes, bacon and syrup with oj
Tuna salad on rye, LTO and low fat veggiechips
Chicken grilled, rice and broccoli
Mon Cheerios ( store brand ) 1% milk , 1/4 of a qt of the large yogurt
Turkey and swiss with reduced cal. mayo, LTO and 1/2 a melon
Steak with mashed pots. and mixed veg
Blah blah blah

3.If you look at the menu you can still use the coupons and the flyer
4.Store branded item are cheaper in price not flavor.
5.You didn't specify what kind of chicken or steak or tuna. Use sale items.
6. if you have the room use 10 for 10bucks deals
7. buy fish on Tuesdays. It's the freshest during the week. ( build a repore with the fish a meat dudes or dudets )
8.Bulk shopping is encouraged in this menu system.
9. your wife and kids will already know what they are eating tonight
10. Every 2 months write new menus and put stars near the items you liked in the previous menu and recycle them.
11. after the first year you'll have many items and just redo the whole year.
12. you can cook some items 1/2 to 3/4 and freeze them for future use.

Hope I helped

Chef Kev

Hey your Dogmais stuck in my peanut butter

CiaAlumn92,
That's exactly what we need, I'll admit I'm not the best or very creative at planning a variety of meals, plus with working part-time, it's just difficult to find the time.

Would you mind sharing your menus, passing them along or posting in a topic?

Also, BackpackingDad, where can the Living Cookbook software be found?

Thanks much,
Joe

who will get there first?

jphillip?
chefkev?

could be any of you... so start commenting!

It will definitely be Chef Kev. He comments on his own posts and being off point never stands in his way. In all fairness though, at least half of his posts make sense. ;}

To all who read this entry JP., Mike (owner), MileHi, Dayv, Gaming with Baby. Backpak, Squarrel, megafun , New no 2, Randy , 1965 and all the regulars here are some of the most dedicated FATHERS I know and in my eyes should be treated with respect and SOME kindness. Post well and post hard Gents.. Love to all
Chef Kev
EDIT!; props to TICKTOCK. the man is out of his mind and I like that quality in a person!
NaNu Nanu

I really thought I was spending too much on food, and then I found out the USDA has some ideas on what you should be spending. Now, since it's the government, I'm sure it is totally accurate, 100% useful, and possibly an offense to deviate from it.
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodCost-Home.htm

At least it told me I was in the ball park. I use Microsoft Money to track expenses, and I track everything that I buy at the grocery store as "Groceries", except for booze. That includes toilet paper, diapers, and charcoal, so not entirely accurate. During the holidays, with lots of family, I've hit $800 in a month, but usually it's a lot less.

As for booze: I track that seperately because it adds up when I always have a few beers, and the wife always has a glass of wine. Since I'm on the East Coast, I've taken to buying a lot of Yeungling -- it's more like real beer than Bud but costs about the same. One of the stores will usually run a special on green-bottle beer (Heinie/Beck's/etc) once a month, and then I usually splurge on some Sam when a new seasonal rolls out. I always shoot for less than $1 per bottle before taxes. Costco can have some really crazy good deals on beer and wine, too.

We live one mile from our grocery store. I am there at least twice a week for a total of about $75-$100. But we are also about 2 miles from Costco. So we use that place like a grocery store, too. All of our milk, eggs, cheese, bread and meat comes from Costco. Lot of fruit, too. Plus most of the cleaning supplies and household stuff. And the prescriptions and beer.

Now I am trying to remember what it is that we DO buy at the grocery store .

Mike S
Austin TX