S/O Finances $1000 a month for food?

amother

↑ Cherry ↓

Today at 8:33 am

cupcake123 wrote:

For breakfast we usually have eggs or pancakes (that I make) or cereal or oatmeal all relatively cheap
Lunch is Sandwiches and applesauce and cheese or similar...
I eat grilled cheese or avacado
My husband will often eat supper leftovers
Supper is chicken , shnitzel , meatballs ... we rarely have milchigs.
Shabbos:
Fri night we eat salad soup and meat
Shabb day cholent
I make my own challah dips and I bake a TON. My kids take my muffins, cookies...for snack daily. I'm very picky about snacks lol. I usually don't spend more then 30 cents each. I'm anyway picky about the unhealthy factor so mostly buy potatoe chips, pretzels....

I live in Lakewood here there are a lot of good sales on chicken and meats I find kosher west pretty consistent. 6.99 for chicken and for shabb meat I consistently find 9.99/10.99
Ground beef can be as low as 3.99

Can you please post a PSA when you see chopped meat at 3.99!

amother

Pewter

Today at 8:35 am

I think ages of children makes all the difference
I have 2 kids, a toddler and baby. My baby nurses and my toddler eats lunch and snacks at morah. Breakfast she eats yogurt, cheese or cereal which are all covered by wic

Someone with 2 kids ages 13 and 15 or even 8 and 10 will be spending so so much more on groceries for same family size as me

Location also makes a huge difference
I live in lakewood where I can get ground beef for around $4 a pound and chicken cutlets for under $6 pound if I buy family packs in the right stores
I use 1lb per supper, so my suppers are all under $10. I make 3 fleishig suppers a week, other nights we eat leftovers/pasta/eggs

I think we spend on average $600 on groceries a month. I'll check later and come back. I'm curios how accurate I am. I'd say we save about $100/month because of wic.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 8:40 am

amother Pewter wrote:

Right, ages does make a difference. I use three pounds per supper, sometimes four if everyone's home, so I guess that's why my food bill is higher. I've never seen those prices for ground beef and chicken cutlets, and I live in Lakewood as well.

Anyway, a lot of good ideas on this thread, I'm going try them out and hopefully my food bill we be lower (it's not going under $1000 because my kids are older and we often have guests for Shabbos, but definitely lower than it is now).

amother

Offwhite ↓

Today at 8:45 am

I have six kids between the ages of 6 and 17, they all eat all three meals at/from home besides my 8 year old who eats school lunch (which we pay a lot for!) We often have company for shabbos meals. I shop frugally, only meat on shabbos… Try to stock up on sales, go to Bingo for proteins when I can… I do much of my own baking including challah cake cookies muffins. My grocery bill including paper goods is about $1000 a week! I do have two teenage girls that make açaí bowls and fancy salads and the like often which does put a drain on the expenses, but is cheaper than buying ready made. I live in Lakewood. Produce from Aldi. A lot from NPGS or GG sales…Can someone help me out?

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 8:50 am

amother Offwhite wrote:

I'm in exactly the same boat! Trying to understand what I'm doing wrong. I don't bake, I was hoping maybe that was the magical solution, don't tell me its not!!!!

amother

↑ Cherry ↓

Today at 8:55 am

amother Petunia wrote:

Btw, when most frum people list an amount they spend on groceries I think they’re included anhthing they bought at the grocery store even if it’s not actual food. Disposables, candles, cleaning spray, sometimes paper towels, etc.

Question:

How do nonfrum people evaluate?

Doesnt everyone pretty much buy those things where they buy food?

So lets rename this "grocery"

What makes it a annoying for me to evaluate are the clothes, electronics, other stuff that are hard to exclude from my target/Walmart/ costco bill making it hard for me to determine "grocery".

And then of course I end up buting some food from amazon.

Either way feeding my family of 2 post sem girls + teenage boys + a bunch more mediums and littles keH costs $$$$$$$$$$$.

And im not even including the mandatory lunch and snack fee my schools charge. Thats mentally part of tuition.

amother

Dill ↓

Today at 9:00 am

amother Offwhite wrote:

Get produce and frozen fruit from aldi. Acai packets are expensive try to use cheaper frozen fruits. Freeze fresh bananas it's cheap. For the salads buy wtvr cheap veggies you can find. Canned goods like Chickpeas are also inexpensive. Buy chicken/meat at bingo on sale.

amother

↑ DarkYellow

Today at 9:00 am

amother OP wrote:

I'm in exactly the same boat! Trying to understand what I'm doing wrong. I don't bake, I was hoping maybe that was the magical solution, don't tell me its not!!!!

I posted upthread how I do it with 5 kids ranging from baby to teenager. I put a lot of detail but here are quick tips:
Order online, don’t walk into the store
Bake
Don’t buy prepared foods
Snack bags are only for school, stock up on sale
Nutmeg has amazing meat and chicken specials
OU products, household items, produce - order from WalMart or Target, or go to Aldi or Trafer Joes if you have time

↑ cupcake123

Today at 9:03 am

amother OP wrote:

Yes sounds like you have a bigger and older family so makes sense. About pricing where do you shop? Evergreen is also very good for Chicken and meats.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 9:06 am

cupcake123 wrote:

Yes sounds like you have a bigger and older family so makes sense. About pricing where do you shop? Evergreen is also very good for Chicken and meats.

Evergreen and GG, sometimes Shloimys. I don't see those prices at Evergreen, but I haven't been there lately, have prices gone down?

Which store is cheaper?

amother

Currant

Today at 9:06 am

I spend about $1200 a month in Lakewood. Kids eat school lunch, and one mesivta boy who eats supper most nights in yeshiva so that's not included in that total, but stuff like shampoo and toilet paper is.
We buy in bulk from moadim lsimcha, use walmart for a lot, bake challah, cookies, cake, pretty much never buy from bakery or take out. A lot of vegetables as well. Meat only on YT and a drop of something cheap in the cholent.

amother

↑ Mimosa ↓

Today at 9:09 am

cupcake123 wrote:

Yes sounds like you have a bigger and older family so makes sense. About pricing where do you shop? Evergreen is also very good for Chicken and meats.

Do you work during the day? I do so I can’t shop at multiple stores. I shop GG on sale and stock up at kosher west when they have good chicken or meat sales.

My kids are also 10 and under, 3 kids, and I’m spending almost double what you are while trying to be budget conscious. I don’t understand it.

Maybe my kids eat more cheese and chicken than yours do?

amother

Poppy

Today at 9:10 am

I have a family of 7 in Lakewood, I try to keep it to $400 a week. Usually up to $450.

My kids are 8-19. And my kids eat. A lot. And I'd rather then eat nutritiously.
I was raised that my parents were looking to save money constantly. So supper was spaghetti with 2 meatballs. If we were hungry, we can have more spaghetti with the sauce. And 1 can of peas for the family.
Id rather not skimp on the protein and vegetables, though I look for sales and cheaper options.
We also have allergies which make some of the cheaper proteins not an option.

My teen boys eat supper in yeshiva and then come home and eat a full second supper.
Bain hazmanim is expensive because lunch can be 6 slices of bread, a whole can of tuna and 4 tomatoes just a 1 kid 1 day.

amother

Chocolate

Today at 9:10 am

We’re not a big family, one baby and we spend under 500 a month
Yes we eat fish, chicken, meat. Once a week is a cheaper dinner like rice and beans, pasta
Lots of sweet potato, potatos, rice, roasted veggies like peppers, mushrooms. Eggs or cereal for breakfast
We’re out most shabbos and yom tov so that plays a big factor
I make my own challah and pizza, and when we are home on shabbos I make mostly chicken instead of expensive meats
The only premade thing I buy is frozen fries and ready made pizza rounds/ dough
Husband has lunch at work
I buy everything including snacks from Trader Joe’s and Costco and only meat chicken and fish from Jewish stores, and things that need to be yashan
We don’t keep cholov yisroel

amother

↑ Offwhite

Today at 9:19 am

amother Dill wrote:

But I do most these things! Besides skimping on salads and frozen fruit. As I said it’s a huge part of my food budget but a number of my daughters’ friends are buying fancy $25 salads and sushi and boba teas and whatnot for lunch daily. If you have a teenage girl in Lakewood I’d imagine you’d get it. they spend time making themselves a nice breakfast and lunch but chickpeas and dozen bananas won’t cut it… Bingo is really far from me and I don’t get there often but when I do I try to stock up…

amother

↑ Mimosa

Today at 9:19 am

amother Chocolate wrote:

Your husband having lunch at work and you not being home for most Shabbos and yt is a huge reason why your bill is able to be so low.

amother

↑ Cherry

Today at 10:21 am

amother Offwhite wrote:

If you aren't checking your own lettuce you can save a ton there in a salad family.
When I buy bagged I spend $50 a week on (romaine) lettuce vs avg $8 on heads. So im highly motivated!!

Bonus, youre not constantly needing to run out for freash lettuce, forcing yourself to eat or throwing out wilted lettuce. And it tastes SO SO SO much better and fresher. My kids have become lettuce snobs and really dont like the package.

We check once a week and it stays crisp all week!

amother

↑ Dill

Today at 11:25 am

amother Offwhite wrote:

I didn't say only Chickpeas for salad. I said to add cheaper components to salad. Like Chickpeas is cheaper than hearts of palm. They can roast sweet potatoes...that's cheap. Carrots, cabbage, etc...all cheaper than Peppers and broccoli. Check your own lettuce. Same with the acai bowls...they can use more of the cheaper fruit rather than mostly acai and berries. Make your own granola.