S/O $150k a year- low food budget- how??

amother

↑ Gardenia ↓

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 10:37 am

amother Lilac wrote:

Because many posters are saying that cold cereal is ok but yogurt is not. I'm not sure I understand the logic... yogurt is typically eaten in my house with some form of starch, its obviously not a full meal.

People are using the example of the small containers of yogurt as snacks which are typically nit eaten as part of a balanced meal.

If you are serving a fruit yogurt as part of a breakfast or as dessert for lunch, you are essentially limiting the quantity that would be served as eaten.

However as a snack it would generally be eaten in its own and could be eaten in larger quantities just as an ice cream bar would and it isn’t any different nutritionally substantially than nice cream but is marketed as a such.

amother

↑ Raspberry ↓

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 10:42 am

amother Gardenia wrote:

I love how this thread somehow became all about yogurt.

As I mentioned, we have gotten WIC benefits from time to time, and were entitled to large containers of fat-free or low-fat sweetened yogurt. My husband would sometimes take large amounts as a midnight snack and I pointed out how it's basically ice cream. The advantage of the prepackaged little yogurts is that they are easier to limit. And they're a treat my kids pack in their lunches.

↑ joker ↓

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 11:27 am

amother Topaz wrote:

Okay, so.... here's my opinion.

I don't buy yogurt because I think its too expensive. BH I CAN afford to have buy it if I was craving yogurt, but I don't buy in general, even though I like it, because it's too expensive.

What that means is, either I can buy yogurt, soda, takeout, energy drinks, fish.... OR I can try to save money so when my expenses grow IYH, I will have the money to marry off my kids, which if don't budget carefully, I'm not sure how that would ever be possible.

Just because I'm not on programs doesn't mean I can afford yogurt.

Ok maybe we need to specify costs.....yogurts run from .75 to 1.90 depending on choice chy etc
2$$ is wow!!!!

↑ joker

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 11:30 am

Op I'm with you and I think that's very normal from having discussed finances with friends. I find ur biggest savings will come from buying off brand stuff. After that your adding up pennies or severely limiting your families food choices. I don't see a practical way to get bills below 2k a month

amother

↑ Lilac ↓

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 1:31 pm

amother Raspberry wrote:

And people eat ice cream all the time as a midnight snack... just saying. It's ok to eat even ice cream sometimes too.

amother

Winterberry ↓

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 1:40 pm

amother OP wrote:

I’m shocked that I was the only one to point out that $1k a month on food for a family of 6 is very low.

Or is it?

I live in the tri-state area and according to my bank I spent $2,800 on food alone for my family of 4. That’s $700 a week. A few years ago I was doing $400/500 a week with the same family size but this was pre-inflation.

We rarely eat out or buy takeout. I did do a lot of food shopping for YT this month. We moved to a new city which kosher food is significantly more expensive as it’s limited here. Obviously, I buy from regular supermarkets as often as I can though- though food went up there as well!

Twice as month I go to a large grocery in a city an hour away from me, they have the best prices so I try to stock up as much as I can. I spend around $400/500 each time.

My kids take 4 snacks a day to school. BH they get school lunch.

Dinner costs about $20 a night, usually chicken or chop meat. Then there’s Shabbos each week, the occasional parties of BBQs, and meals we host… it all adds up very quickly.

Am I doing something wrong? Or is my food budget normal?

Family of 10- $650/week on groceries.
You are a family of 4, I can't imagine how that could be.

amother

↑ Raspberry ↓

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 2:33 pm

amother Lilac wrote:

And people eat ice cream all the time as a midnight snack... just saying. It's ok to eat even ice cream sometimes too.

I know. But thinking yogurt is healthy and eating way more than most people would take of ice cream, and on a regular basis, is what I was referring to.

Amarante

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 4:08 pm

amother Raspberry wrote:

I know. But thinking yogurt is healthy and eating way more than most people would take of ice cream, and on a regular basis, is what I was referring to.

That is really the issue.

A lot of foods are marketed as "healthy" but they really are just the equivalent of candy or ice cream.

Most granola or granola bars are like that.

There is nothing wrong with a serving of ice cream or yogurt but it really is in the category of cookies, ice cream, pudding or equivalent.

amother

↑ Myrtle

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 4:41 pm

amother OP wrote:

I live in the tri-state area and according to my bank I spent $2,800 on food alone for my family of 4. That’s $700 a week. A few years ago I was doing $400/500 a week with the same family size but this was pre-inflation.

OP, I just want to address this point.

You have until now been shopping with the assumption that food costs whatever it costs, and making your shopping list based on what you want.

Those who have tighter grocery budgets factor the cost into their food choices. They will check what is on sale and make a meal around that instead of planning their menu before checking the sales.

They will look for cheaper alternatives if food prices go up. For example, they might try the $5/loaf gefilte fish even if they're used to the $9/loaf. They might decide to bake their own challah instead of buying. They might buy apples instead of peaches.

Of course you can't buy the same shopping list for the same price as you could years ago. But if you wanted to, you could adjust your buying habits to fit into the same budget.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 6:05 pm

amother Winterberry wrote:

Family of 10- $650/week on groceries.
You are a family of 4, I can't imagine how that could be.

I’m not sure myself. That’s why I opened this thread.

This week so far-
$40 in kosher supermarket on chicken and few other stuff
$110 Trader Joe’s
$45 Aldi’s

It’s only Tuesday… I will check in again at the end of the week.

amother

↑ OP

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 6:07 pm

amother Myrtle wrote:

I always buy the cheapest item or off brand item one, unless it’s a health item.

amother

↑ DarkMagenta ↓

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 6:29 pm

amother OP wrote:

People who spend less (than you) on groceries don’t go to 3 supermarkets in 2 days. I personally do 1 -2 shops in a 7 day period.

amother

↑ Chartreuse

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 6:34 pm

amother DarkMagenta wrote:

People who spend less (than you) on groceries don’t go to 3 supermarkets in 2 days. I personally do 1 -2 shops in a 7 day period.

Yup. I go to the store on sunday and thursday.

amother

↑ Lilac ↓

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 7:27 pm

amother DarkMagenta wrote:

People who spend less (than you) on groceries don’t go to 3 supermarkets in 2 days. I personally do 1 -2 shops in a 7 day period.

I don't agree. My most frugal friend goes to a few different stores and buys the best deals in each. For example, Aldis for produce, snacks etc, another store for meat and chicken, another store for kosher groceries such as milk.

amother

↑ Winterberry

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 7:43 pm

The more you go into the store, the more there is a chance that you'll spend.
I always shop online for groceries. Online there is little chance that I'll buy extra. Grocery stores are set up in a way to make you buy.
I went into the store last Thursday to shop in person because I had some extra time, and I ended up buying so many things I wouldn't have bought had I stopped online. In store there are also more specials that aren't listed on the app/website. Things I don't need but it's $5 and a treat for the kids, so why not.

I shop sun or mon and then again wed/thurs, about $250-350 each time.
Sometimes I can get away with one shopping a week on Tuesdays.

amother

↑ DarkMagenta

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 8:10 pm

amother Lilac wrote:

Yes but does she go to each every week? (Most people stock up on sale meat and chicken and freeze. They don’t buy every week)

amother

↑ Lilac

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 8:15 pm

amother DarkMagenta wrote:

Yes but does she go to each every week? (Most people stock up on sale meat and chicken and freeze. They don’t buy every week)

Yes, every week. They have sales on different items every week.

amother

↑ Emerald

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 8:17 pm

I agree that going to the grocery store many times a week can lead to overspending. Sometimes I go to 2-3 stores in a week, but then that's it. I don't buy anything else the rest of the week. I do all my shopping in one day of possible. As soon as I stopped going more than once a week, my expenses automatically dropped.

Also, sticking to a very strict shopping list also helps.

amother

↑ Gardenia

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 9:58 pm

There are certainly ways to cut down a bit on a bill.

Ads typically come out on Wednesday and are valid through the next Tuesday. Unless you have all the time in the world, you see which store has the best sales on items that you actually use. And within reason you can stock up.

You go to a store with a strict shopping list - and you don't go to a store when you are hungry either.

Stores are set up to entice you to buy impulsively. That is why staples like milk are at the back of the store. The stuff that is sold at the end of the aisles is often what they want to move and not necessarily the best priced items.

amother

↑ Raspberry

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 11:34 pm

amother Emerald wrote:

I find that sending my husband with a list helps us the most!