Spreading the joys of frugality

[nodmicks]

Way to go! Your doing really well!

[frugal is fun]

wow that's a lot! For two people our budget is roughly $50. That includes food, cleaning supplies, and stockpile items. Sometimes I go over to 60 some weeks I do well and it's at 40. But never 250! eek!

This is me too. some weeks $40, some weeks $50 for me and my 7yr old son. This includes non food items like toilet paper, paper towels, soap, etc. I shop weekly at Aldi's and Walmart once a month for the non food items that I can't get at Aldi's.

the extent of us eating out is ordering a pizza maybe once a month and a stop at McDonalds once a month.

I just picked up the new Weight Watchers cook book so I'm excited to start making some new stuff.

[peanut]

You're doing really well!

We are on a restricted diet here on specialty foods, so it is expensive at the moment. I hope that will change eventually. There are 2 adults here...on an organic, gluten free, sugar free, dairy free diet. I am trying to make a go of it on $400/mth. Bear in mind Canadian food prices are higher to begin with. Still, used to be I could feed us and the girls on that amount!

[MomToTwoBoys]

We spend about $175 a week right now for two adults and two kids. Meat and dairy and wheat prices get us really bad, but I try to hunt for deals as much as possible.

Right now, we're spending about $20 per week on a stockpile and it's showing slightly. I have enough green tea and herbal tea to last me three months and I got them for $1 a box. I try to set up meals so that we're buying meat and having a pound or two left over, which goes into the stockpile. What kills us is the fact that three out of four of us takes lunches with them (and I'm sure I'll be in that club, too, once school starts up) and I buy at least 3 loaves of bread per week.

I did discover the joy of soup before the main course this week, though. I think I'm going to keep plugging away at that and serving one bowl before the main course. I found the most delicious baked potato soup recipe and everyone eats it, so we're golden. The bacon and cheese are what nets the biggest cost (the half and half is about $1.79 per 500ml - bacon on sale is about $3 and cheese is $3.50). So I think if I can cut the servings of the main course in half and serve the soup, we'll be okay for cutting back down below $175 per week.

That $175 includes H&B, household cleaning goods and non-food products.

[Frufru]

The first of the year was the start for our family to really work on ways to save and getting our debt down. As a family of 6, grocery shopping is a challenge. We have completely cut out eat outs, but yall knew that. We also decided we would cut the cost of eating in. Keeping in mind that 3 of our 4 kids are 12 and up, our grocery budget is only $100 per week. I am working to get it down to $350 a month but I know that will take time. Recently at work and with some church friends grocery budgets have been talked about and folks, I wish you could see their faces when I tell them what we spend! It really makes people think for sure. I even have reciepts on hand to show that we buy plenty of food! I just love sharing the joy of being frugal with others!

This is very impressive. We are a family of 5 and rarely eat out (6 times per year or less) but I still struggle to reduce my weekly grocery bill.

[heartofmine]

For a month I'm spending between $400.00 and $450.00 for a family of 4 adults (son is 24 and daughter is 25), 8 cats + some wild ones that live in the woods that I feed, and 1 big old lug of a dog. That total includes the dog and cat food, toilet paper, paper towels (don't use very many of those) and diabetic needs for dh like Splenda, Sweet and Low etc. I don't buy a lot of breakfast foods as everyone leaves at different times. I keep cereal (buy the 2 pound bags at $2.99 a bag at a local store) and granola bars so everyone can grab something quick. I only cook breakfast if all 4 are home. I cook breakfast for supper sometimes. Dh and ds eat lunch out but it comes out of their own pocket. They use coupons to save on eat out foods...bogo frees etc. Dd right now is working as a sub until she gets a teaching job and she just eats at school...$2.00 a day isn't bad...and again comes out of her pocket. Me I eat leftovers. We all 4 have supper at home at night and I cook from scratch.

We use to eat out every Sunday after church for lunch but no longer. That only happens for a birthday now. I prepare ahead of time with something in the crock pot or fix the meat before I leave so all I have to do is fix sides. I usually have some of those done up too like slaw, potato salad and a dessert. On dh's day off if he and I are out and about we might stop and pick up something for lunch but if its just the 2 of us and drinking water it doesn't cost much.

My son has a good job too so he does give me money to help with the budget. Dd will as soon as she gets a teaching job. It helps a lot that ds is adding to the budget since dh's hours and commissions have dropped. This year he made $2000.00 less and its going to be worse for 2012.