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amazing707

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Can I ask what your monthly food budget is? I know a lot has to do with where you live? I live in So Cal and spend 500-600 a month on a family of 4. My youngest has some food allergies but we don't do organic because I don't believe science shows any difference between organic vs. non-organic. We live in the Mojave desert so a full garden would be impossible but i grow a few things in potted soil.

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Hubby worked for Food Stamp Office for 20 years.  The max for a family of 1 is 160.00.  I try (and am very successful ) to limit our food budget to 300.00 for the 2 of us.  I check the grocery ads (we have 4 plus Wal-Mart within a 2 mile radius), use the store loss leaders and plan our meals to take advantage of

 .this.  I also cook double the amount we need and freeze so that I can avoid cooking every day.  Breakfast might consist of raisin toast and tea or cereal and milk or eggs, toast and morning beverage.  Lunch is a salad or a sandwich with a piece of fresh fruit.  Dinner is a protein, carb, fresh or frozen veggie or two and beverage.  We snack on fresh or frozen fruit and occasionally I will bake a dessert for that night and freeze the rest for later.  Beef prices are high in the New Orleans area so we eat a lot of pork (think economy cuts), chicken, and bean dishes.  We sometimes do "Breakfast for Supper".   I try to cook from scratch and avoid TTC  or cream of c--p soup.  We enjoy gumbo (recipes abound on the internet)and that can be made in large batches and frozen.  Homemade  split pea soup and a grilled cheese sandwich make a great lunch.  Pasta salad (with veggies) and grilled chicken make a good economy dinner.  It will help if you have a freezer to save some of your food money.  Stock up on frozen juices for the kiddies instead of carbonated flavored sugar water.  Portion control is an option to explore.  Ask  friends for their budget recipes and swap some of yours with them.  I hope this helps you a little.  I have other suggestions but don't want to bore you.  If interested, please let me know.

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FREE JINGERITES!!!  A fellow member is in need of our help.  Let's help her by posting some of your food budgeting tips.  We can all learn from one another.  Off the soap box.  Thank you.

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More than I care to admit, but usually in the $750-$1000/mo range, for the four of us. We are horrible at budgeting for groceries, not because we can't or don't know how to do it, but are just simply too lazy to do it.

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I'm in Canada so I'm not sure how much this would help, but I save quite a bit of money by using Walmart's price-matching policy. They've placed some restrictions on it now (a price must be local for them to match it), but I still save anywhere from $2-$10 or more every time. There aren't a lot of coupons available here (not like in the States) and we can't use more than one coupon for the same thing.

We tend to go to the store a lot because we only shop for a few days at a time, which is not the most frugal way to live, but it's the only way that works for us right now. I definitely second what @NewOrleansLady said about finding good, freezable meals that you can eat some of and freeze the rest. A lot of fresh produce can also be frozen, so for example right now green peppers are really cheap here and I've got about 12 cut in half and frozen. Setting aside one day every week or two to prep and cook freezer meals and lunches and things can also be really beneficial because when you do actually sit down to eat one of them it almost feels like someone else cooked it for you :) 

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The thread above is loaded with great ideas.  I recommend a crock pot.  Goodwill has them and if you get one without the instruction manual you can always go online to find out 

the instructions.  Hubby bought me a bread maker from GW without instructions and a quick lookup got me instructions and recipes for that model.  Zip lock bags take up less space in your freezer if you get all the air out and place them flat in the freezer.  Save your peanut butter jars and make taco seasoning, bar-b-q rub and seasoned salt  to use instead of the over priced ,preservative laden stuff in the stores.  It is so much cheaper and so easy.  There is a recipe for False Alarm Chili that is meat free and just yummy.  I use only green bell peppers and it cuts down the cost.  It freezes well and tastes like it is loaded with beef.  More to  come but have to get ready to host a sewing class.  Some of my younger neighbors want to learn how to sew to save a little on clothing expenses.  We may not have teaching degrees but all of us can teach someone, something.

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Second and third the crockpot, esp. from thrift stores! I'd suggest getting a bigger one (say, 5-qt. size), because recipes can double and freeze. (CPs work best when at least half-full.) Beans and legumes are definitely your buddies, and there are lots of ethnic dishes that use plenty of these plus veggies, with just a bit of meat for flavoring.

You mentioned allergies: comfy with mentioning which ones, in case someone has super recipes to share? Also, if you'll pardon the intrusion, any other special meal needs (like 'pork is out", or "we're watching sodium intake, so not too many canned goods")?

Here's a great site with lots of recipes---the siteholder is a certified nutritionist with a LOT of crock-pot and fast-fix meals (stove or oven); she also has some vegetarian and low-card options: www.savingdinner.com.

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3 hours ago, SnazzyNazzy said:

More than I care to admit, but usually in the $750-$1000/mo range, for the four of us. We are horrible at budgeting for groceries, not because we can't or don't know how to do it, but are just simply too lazy to do it.

US, too. There are two of us, and we probably spend $600+ a month. :embarrassed:

I only buy organic meat and dairy products. I'm less picky with fresh produce. I'm pretty fussy about food, in general, though. I have coupons sometimes, but I always forget about them. 

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I enjoy a blog called onehundreddollarsamonth.com -- lots of good recipes and gardening tips.  They are definitely financially comfortable and that does help (ironically) in saving on the food budget because she takes advantage of other benefits (like having a separate travel budget and meals on the road come from that so don't "count" toward the monthly goal, and also getting advantage points from other expenses such as when using a credit card.  But there is still plenty of good information there.  They are not vegetarian but plenty of her individual recipes are.

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we spend about $500/mo for 3 adults at a mid-range store in upstate NY.  if we budgeted better, we could keep it under 400, but we don't have the patience for couponing and chasing sales at 3 or 4 different chains.  before my cousin came to live with us, we spent about 100 every 2 weeks.  i hate shopping, so i made it last that long.  now Mr. CL and cousin go every Saturday; they enjoy it, so they tend to spend a little bit more.

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Hubby has celiac, so that blows the budget for 5 way out of proportion.  

 

I will also chime in with the cp, I bought one before Christmas and it is really awesome.  I also recommend freezing meals (cooked in double portions).

 

If you don't mind sharing: what food allergies? Those can kill your budget....

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Thanks for sharing about your husbands celiac  disease.  it prompted me to google it and learn something new.  I have an allergy to soy.  My kids learned very early how to check labels for foods containing soy, textured vegetable protein and  ,soybean oils.  Did you know that vegetable oil is almost always soy oil blended with other oils ?   We ask at restaurants what oil the food is fried in.  If the answer is vegetable oil then I avoid those dishes. Did you know that Crisco, yes the white shortening, is soy based?  What we learn about our food choices can make us healthier.  Has your hubby had a salad for breakfast?  Sounds kind of weird but if it keeps his celiac from acting up, then why not?

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On 5/11/2016 at 10:28 AM, NewOrleansLady said:

Hubby worked for Food Stamp Office for 20 years.  The max for a family of 1 is 160.00.  

I'm going through the application process right now, and I'm in California like @amazing707. If/when I get approved, I will get $200/mo for one person. As an aside, most of my local farmers' markets accept food stamps, and many of them participate in a dollar-matching program on the first $10 I spend, which has me pretty excited.

$600 for 4 people in CA sounds pretty reasonable to me--feeding four people for $75 a week is rather impressive, imo. I am in NorCal, however, and prices may be different (though I wouldn't think by much?)

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Hubby and I are both past 65 but don't qualify for SNAP benefits because of pensions and social security benefits.  Hubby has a degree in nutrition and food service and we rely on his education (dem dern book lerning folks) and my grandmother taught me  to get wholesome meals on the table.  Mom had a degree- MPH with a concentration in Epidemiology.  Mom hated to cook and gram and pawpaw had a restaurant at one time.so it was easy to learn from gram.  Hubby is #6 of 9 in his family.  Not fundie, just practicing Catholic.  His dad was a civil engineer with the Corp of Engineers and education was a high priority in his family.  It sort of comes natural to pick apart recipes and change ingredients to make them healthier or use what is available.  Is this TMI or do any of you find it interesting?

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I have a budget of $40/week (central NJ, just me).   I grow a few herbs (mint, basil, oregano) but not much.   As much as I would love to buy organic, it is not in the budget.

What helps me with it

Shopping at multiple stores (mostly Aldi and Wegman's)
Buying mostly frozen produce instead of fresh (my green smoothies are usually frozen everything but mint)
Rarely eating meat at home  If I do, it's ground meat and stretched with other things (beans, veggies, etc)
Cooking large portions that can feed a fundie family and freezing most.  
Buying staples like rice in the ethnic aisles (same type of rice is cheaper in a different section of the store)
When people want to give me a gift, I suggest coffee (which puts a dent in the grocery budget).  I'm also a huge fan of fall/winter seasonal coffees and found quite a few marked down after the season.  I stock up on these as you can't buy pumpkin spice this time of year.

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I am in Saskatchewan, Canada, and I spend WAY too much on food. For one person, I will spend 600$ a month, but I am a bulimic and have been bad lately. When I had to budget however, I could feed 4 people on 200$ a month. HOWEVER, set up for that, is more expensive - about 400$ for staples if you don't have them. 

Things to NEVER run out of if you want to live cheap:

  1. Flour
  2. White Sugar
  3. Brown Sugar
  4. Baking Soda
  5. Baking Powder
  6. Chocolate Chips
  7. Evaporated Milk
  8. Spices (the ones that come in plastic bags instead of containers are far less expensive and you can buy inexpensive spice jars from Dollarama)
  9. Condensed Milk
  10. Yeast (buy this in bulk - it seems sooooo expensive, but so worth it!) 

Bake your own bread. I have a good all purpose recipe that I use. It makes a large cookie sheet of dinner rolls, and then I usually make cinnamon buns out of the rest. 

As for groceries - I use some Duggar principles, but not many.

I buy staples and pantry items in bulk. I shop mainly at Costco, but sometimes Walmart or Superstore have lower prices when bulk items go on sale.

The PC Plus Program - by earning points, I saved about 20$ every 3 months on my groceries.

I also didn't eat pork for two years but started eating it again, because pork sausage, ground pork are inexpensive where I live.

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On 11/05/2016 at 9:28 AM, NewOrleansLady said:

Hubby worked for Food Stamp Office for 20 years.  The max for a family of 1 is 160.00.  

This changes according to COL (Cost of Living). The max for a one person family in 48 states + DC is $194. 

 

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I should have clarified this.  At the time of hubby's retirement 5 years ago, the max for one person was approx. 160.00.  I can still obtain all of our food stuffs for about 300.00 a month.  We eat well and are as healthy as 2 people in their mid-late 60's can be.

 

 

 

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57 minutes ago, devoe364 said:

I am in Saskatchewan, Canada, and I spend WAY too much on food. For one person, I will spend 600$ a month, but I am a bulimic and have been bad lately. When I had to budget however, I could feed 4 people on 200$ a month. HOWEVER, set up for that, is more expensive - about 400$ for staples if you don't have them. 

Things to NEVER run out of if you want to live cheap:

  1. Flour
  2. White Sugar
  3. Brown Sugar
  4. Baking Soda
  5. Baking Powder
  6. Chocolate Chips
  7. Evaporated Milk
  8. Spices (the ones that come in plastic bags instead of containers are far less expensive and you can buy inexpensive spice jars from Dollarama)
  9. Condensed Milk
  10. Yeast (buy this in bulk - it seems sooooo expensive, but so worth it!) 

Bake your own bread. I have a good all purpose recipe that I use. It makes a large cookie sheet of dinner rolls, and then I usually make cinnamon buns out of the rest. 

As for groceries - I use some Duggar principles, but not many.

I buy staples and pantry items in bulk. I shop mainly at Costco, but sometimes Walmart or Superstore have lower prices when bulk items go on sale.

The PC Plus Program - by earning points, I saved about 20$ every 3 months on my groceries.

I also didn't eat pork for two years but started eating it again, because pork sausage, ground pork are inexpensive where I live.

I never buy any of these things (other than #8) and we live pretty frugally when it comes to food. Also, WTF to the chocolate chips being a "never run out of." 

We buy frozen veggies, frozen chicken, and rice from costco. That is lunch, Monday through Friday. (I actually eat this a lot less frequently than the Mr, as I work in an office and frequently have lunch provided. 

Yogurt & frozen berries for breakfast. 

We always have taco shells on hand. I have no idea what our budget is but I think it's around $300 a month? It's hard to judge because we just buy more when we run out. 

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I may not buy chocolate chips but I try to never run out of tea.  In south Louisiana, iced sweet tea is King and my morning beverage is hot tea to get everything moving along.(KWIM)

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10 hours ago, NewOrleansLady said:

Thanks for sharing about your husbands celiac  disease.  it prompted me to google it and learn something new.  I have an allergy to soy.  My kids learned very early how to check labels for foods containing soy, textured vegetable protein and  ,soybean oils.  Did you know that vegetable oil is almost always soy oil blended with other oils ?   We ask at restaurants what oil the food is fried in.  If the answer is vegetable oil then I avoid those dishes. Did you know that Crisco, yes the white shortening, is soy based?  What we learn about our food choices can make us healthier.  Has your hubby had a salad for breakfast?  Sounds kind of weird but if it keeps his celiac from acting up, then why not?

He avoids getting close to any salad, so for breakfast it would be a big no-no. There is enough gluten-free cereal or bread you can eat! 

 

With soy in everything - yes, I knew that. We went to see a dietician when hubby was first diagnosed and she told us all kinds of things.  It's pretty disgusting what we eat!

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It's hard to estimate how much money I spend. I'm solo, and I will occasionally eat w/family & friends. I rarely go out to eat anymore, as it's too expensive to do that on a regular basis (I do so from time to time, though). I'm vegetarian (bordering on vegan), so it's been an education with learning to read product labels & figure out what I can eat (plus w/checking salt levels, too, which is completely mind-blowing).

I'm really, really bad with planning meals & usually "wing it". I've got to seriously get out of this & back into planning, as winging it isn't a healthy habit and can be super $$$.

I used to go all batshit crazy w/using my credit card to buy tons of stuff (not always what I needed @ the time), but I'm starting to get out of that habit too. Maybe this whole couponing thing is worth trying.

 

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On 5/13/2016 at 8:17 AM, halcionne said:

I'm going through the application process right now, and I'm in California like @amazing707. If/when I get approved, I will get $200/mo for one person. As an aside, most of my local farmers' markets accept food stamps, and many of them participate in a dollar-matching program on the first $10 I spend, which has me pretty excited.

$600 for 4 people in CA sounds pretty reasonable to me--feeding four people for $75 a week is rather impressive, imo. I am in NorCal, however, and prices may be different (though I wouldn't think by much?)

My base budget for 7 people, including some non grocery items, is about $200/week. I live in the SF Bay Area and we're dealing with food allergies. 3 adults, 2 teenagers and 2 kids. I save money by shopping sales, at Grocery Outlet and ethnic markets.

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I'm in SoCal, and my budget is $50-60/wk (including wine) for 2 adults and our feline headship. I shop at multiple stores, and rarely ever venture into the big box supermarkets. The key to getting more bang for the buck is to shop around the perimeter of stores. Also, my best kept secret is to shop in ethnic stores. The staples (rice, masa, tea, spices, beans, grains, etc) are so much cheaper. I get the bulk of my produce from the stores which cater to the Hispanic community, like Northgate and Numero Uno. Granted, this produce isn't free of blemishes or highly glossed. I buy seafood from Asian markets with working counters of live and fresh seafood, cleaned to order. 99 Ranch & H-Mart carry a wide variety of produce not commonly found in western supermarkets. The 99cent store is hit or miss, but some weeks I find butter lettuce which is pricey at supermarkets. Their ripe fruit is perfect for jam and smoothies.

@amazing707 Check out the ethnic markets in your hood. 

I don't use coupons. I make most of my condiments besides hot sauce, sambal, miso, and curry paste.

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