How much do you spend on food, etc?

[rickisbroke]

I tried it once. All I have to say is BLECH!

[AngelinaCatHub]

One thing that I've learned is to not worry about being brand loyal and to shop sales. I buy very little that I don't have a coupon for or isn't on sale.

Have you been informed on Angelfoodministries.com ? Great food at a great price and no conditions. They are in kits but you may purchase as many as you wish. 'Hub

[rickisbroke]

One thing that I've learned is to not worry about being brand loyal and to shop sales. I buy very little that I don't have a coupon for or isn't on sale.

[RedLight]

Any thoughts or ideas or true stories about how someone turned their partner around to the idea of staying within a budget would be greatly appreciated.

For us it was the opposite. I handled, if you wanna call it that, all the finances and my DW didn't really want any part in it. However, once I sat her down and showed her how bad this really was, she is on board 110%. We have a 3 year old and a 4 week old. My wife has become one of those crazy coupon ladies. She just got 20 bottles of shampoo and conditioner for $3. Yes, $3. If you know how to work the system, sometimes they pay you to take their merchandise. Our grocery, household supplies, and paper products budget is set at $160 a month. Usually, we are a little under that. And, the crazy thing is, it is all name brand stuff.

[bk4sky]

id say around 300-350 a month

[Cali]

The total amount for groceries this month is 1200$.

[goingout]

Sorry for such a long, complaining post. Any thoughts or ideas or true stories about how someone turned their partner around to the idea of staying within a budget would be greatly appreciated.

Is he involved in creating the budget? Can you get him to sit down with you and help you do it? Perhaps this might get him the see the reality of the situation.

We had a huge fight a while back ending with him actually looking at the budget, which seemed to have helped his attitude. I hope it lasts. Before that it was like I was just being mean to him or something. He just didn't seem to get it.

[laurannm]

We are a family of 5 in MA...myself, DH, 6-year old son and 3-year old twin girls. We are up to about $1200 a month (includes paper goods, hygiene products, etc.). Does not include diapers\wipes for the girls. Our grocery bill has gone up about $200 - $300\month over the past several months.

[lillaimof2kids]

We're a family of 4=myself, dh, dd 15yrs, ds 12yrs. I just upped my groc. budget to $125/week. Every year we buy 1/3 cow with our tax return. With packaging and everything it comes to $2.99/lb. We make a trip to Sam's Club 2-3 times each year. Here lately it's the vegetables and dairy that seem to be going thru the roof. After our BK7 is complete in Aug. we're hoping to be able to build a greenhouse to grow our vegetables all winter...then I could also grow my flowers for my flowerbeds which would save me a fortune!

[Cali]

I don't go cheap with detergent for my HE front loader.

Anyone have any ideas on the cheapest yet still decent quality laundry detergent for the HE front load machines?

[Cali]

I spend 1000-1200 a month on groceries for a family of 4.

[BigJohn]

In our city, a grocery chain owns several chains of grocery stores. They own the chain of the most expensive stores in the area but they also own the chain of the cheapest stores in the area. I can buy the same bananas at their cheap stores which would cost me about twice as much at their expensive stores.
Every other day, I buy some meat. What is on sale is what I buy. Generally pork or chicken for about $.79 to $1.29 a pound. I generally pay for a package between $2.00 to $4.00 and it last the two of us for 2 days.
The milk is generally $2.79.
I get their icecream (the kind that comes on a stick). They have varieties I really like such as mango ice cream with real pieces of mangos.

I also buy food from an ethnic market. The owner gives us a good break on prices and we are able to buy some things we can not buy anywhere else. Our favorite is pickled pig; I know, not everybody's favorite.

[FLBK7]

Don't know a cure for the rust problem...... thats a hard one. Maybe somebody else has some thoughts on it.....

If it's rust stains on clothes, just rub table salt and lemon juice on the rust stain (on the heavy side), and let it sit in bright sunlight for a couple hours. Then launder normally. It's worked like magic for me every time.

[rickisbroke]

I am a single guy, live in a house by myself, and I have one dog. When I was still living on credit, I spent whatever I wanted on groceries. I would use coupons and shop sales, but didn't have a budgeted amount weekly. I could easily spend $100 a week, which would include cleaning supplies, etc. Sometimes $20-$50 of that would be alchohol, though. I do enjoy cooking and would buy gourmet and premium ingredients. The worst thing is spices! If I wanted to try a recipe and it called for a spice I didn't have, I would pay the $6 to get it and use maybe once. Some of this was from my mindset of, "Well, I can't afford to go on vacation or have any other fun...I might as well eat good!" I was also guilty of buying bags of salad and not eating them or other produce and throwing it out, letting yogurt expire, having one sandwich out of a loaf of bread before it got moldy, etc.
Now, I am trying to keep it at $80 or under, including a 12 pack or case of beer (beer is a staple), dog food or treats, cleaning and household supplies, and toiletries. I am trying to take better advantage of sales and use coupons where I can. I don't buy more than I can eat before it will expire, and I try to make meals that I don't mind having leftovers of.
We have Meijer here and I love it. It doesn't feel as dumpy to me as other discount chains, and they have name brand, high quality foods. Most of their store brand stuff is pretty good...I get a bummer once in a while, though. They usually have some killer deals, too.

[jenopher]

Lol, the only way my husband understands the grocery budget is when the bank account says $0.00 left. He's not quite that bad, but will seriously keep making a beer run if he thinks we have extra. We each get 50.00 a month to spend on whatever extra we want and I swear his all goes to beer. I won't put it in the official grocery budget, but he can spend his 50 on whatever. I'm sure he thinks my 50.00 goes to silly girly stuff he couldn't care less about either. We spend about 200-250 a week for 4, (2 adults and 2 kids ages 11 and 13) That includes toiletries and cleaning stuff too. I could do better and stay at 200 I think , we just started this budget thing and will file soon. I really never have had a budget and it's kind of hard. I should've had one all along, but it's never too late right?

Anyone have any ideas on the cheapest yet still decent quality laundry detergent for the HE front load machines?