Budget of a family of 5

[Mabuisakura]

I currently live in a 5 person household (4 Adults/1 BF baby) What should be the budget in our house. Now my dad he eats for two people lol. I have been shopping @ discount stores but I wanna try to get my bill lower. For the past few months I have been spending between 220 and 300 a month. Any Ideas woud be great! +

[JanH]

Is that amount for groceries? Sounds like you are doing good with 4 adults. We usually spend about 200 for two adults for food. I'm sure we could do better, but it works right now for us.

[MairGrif]

Wow, we spend probably 500 for three adults and 5 cats. I'd love to get it lower, and we are working on it. It doesn't help that while I budget and plan, DBF is more of the buy-when-needed kind, and likes a lot of meat. It also might be our area.

Marianne

[cschin4]

Eat at home as much as possible. Plan meals to cut down on grazing on junk food, etc. Eat alot of pasta, cut down on the amount of meat served. Buy frozen bagged veggies which are cheap instead of fresh. Don't "overbuy" either. If you aren't really can to use it up, then you are just throwing away money even if something is cheaper or on sale.

[pjmama]

Sheesh! I can spend $200 in groceries just for ME some months! Of course, I buy tons of organic/whole wheat products and TONS of fresh produce, and that has a lot to do with it... Just keep scouring the pages for sales and buy staples in bulk. That usually helps cut costs a bit...

[PrincessPerky]

We have 5, twoA 3kids..and we spend about 500 on groceries gas and 'toiletries'

[sarah]

200 to 300 for a family is very very good. I am working on getting my food/household bill under 300 for just me.

[kealina]

i don't think that's too bad for a family of 5 depending on where you live although it could probably be cut down... my DH and i spend between 100-200 (usually 120-150) for the two of us living in a high COL area and trying to eat healthy... most of that cost is boneless skinless chicken and whatever produce happens to be on sale or available at our local flea market or grocery store... local flea markets can be great if you have them... also, if you have access to a newspaper you can watch the ads and buy the loss leaders... check out a food co-op in your area maybe?... do you know any family or friends with a costco or Sams membership who might not mind taking you to get some stuff in bulk... also, bread thrift stores are great for bread, bagels, crackers, chips, and lots of other things... hmm.... that's all i can think of right now... good luck getting it down... i know food is one of our larger expenses along with gas...

[genmed]

A 5 person household between 220 and 300 -- wow! I am just trying to get a 2 person household down to that low or better. (Slowly, but surely getting there)

[cschin4]

I find it very difficult to get a handle on our actual grocery spending. We are always picking up milk, bread, etc. And, do include toiletries, eating out, etc. I really don't know what we spend (sad to say on a frugal message board!) but we just never figured it out. We aren't in debt so we just haven't worried too much about it. Saving receipts doesn't seem to work with DH who does most of the grocery shopping. And, I just don't want to put groceries on debit or cc card either. Any suggestions on tracking this expense?

[PrincessPerky]

Originally Posted by cschin4

I find it very difficult to get a handle on our actual grocery spending. We are always picking up milk, bread, etc. And, do include toiletries, eating out, etc. I really don't know what we spend (sad to say on a frugal message board!) but we just never figured it out. We aren't in debt so we just haven't worried too much about it. Saving receipts doesn't seem to work with DH who does most of the grocery shopping. And, I just don't want to put groceries on debit or cc card either. Any suggestions on tracking this expense?

Some Misc. ideas:
1. Shop less often, easy to save a reciept if you only have one or two..we go once a week.

2. use an envelope of cash..if you empty it, refil with a set amount, that way you're are not telling DH he has a budget just that you want to know when say 1 or 2 hundred is gone. (per week?)

3. If you don't care, don't.....just because we do doesn't mean you have to....

[cschin4]

We tried the cash thing. But, DH would either forget to take out the money or we just use it other things. I suppose we could just discipline ourselves and check it out. But, we really do try to make good purchases already and we are aware of what we are buying. But, I think it is an area that is harder to grasp and many probably grossly underestimate how much it really takes to feed a family. Yes, we could live on Ramen noodles, but I don't really want to.

[marjorie]

Another possibility if you shop at only 1 store is to buy gift cards for a set amount monthly. Some have said it's helped them. Might be worth a try.

[Tree0164]

We spend about $400 a month on food-that includes health and beauty stuff. I get a lot that stuff pretty much free with coupons or deals from the drug stores.

I try to budget $20 a person per week-we are a family of 5.

Be a smart shopper, stocking up when there are deals and not being a brand snob. I don't buy a lot of convenience food.

[threebeansalad]

But, we really do try to make good purchases already and we are aware of what we are buying. But, I think it is an area that is harder to grasp and many probably grossly underestimate how much it really takes to feed a family. Yes, we could live on Ramen noodles, but I don't really want to.

I concur. Plus, eating isn't just a simple matter of food -- it involves health, culture, traditions, etc.

If you really want to know what you spend on food, I suggest tracking Quicken or another software program. You can buy them very inexpensively on eBay.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Use your CC to track all grocery purchases. I save the reciept until I get home and input it immediately.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Originally Posted by threebeansalad

eating isn't just a simple matter of food -- it involves health, culture, traditions, etc.

I am glad you mention this. It is so important. But it goes both ways. Because of those factors we cannot expect everyone to eat as we do, yet we can look to people of other health, culture, and traditions for new ideas. Sometimes other people know some really cool stuff that would work for us, too.

I do think the original poster (The post is nearly a year old) was doing a good job, but if she was wanting to do better, I hope she found some ways.

(Threebeansalad, every time I read your name I want some Three Bean Salad! See how easily influenced I am, foodwise? )

[threebeansalad]

(Threebeansalad, every time I read your name I want some Three Bean Salad! See how easily influenced I am, foodwise? )
Reply With Quote

Then I'm glad my name is threebeansalad rather than FritoDorito! I am big proponent of the gentle legume!

[mom-from-missouri]

What does that total include-maybe I missed that part. Is this ONLY food or is this total including cleaning supplies, OTC, personal products & paper products????
If so, you can possibly lower it.
Our only regular paper product is TP--we use cloth napkins, and rags--so no paper towels, paper plates......
I do a lot of cleaning with vinegar, lemon juice, salt and bleach--thats cheaper than windex, comet, air freshners..
Personal products and hair care products I now try to get at the dollar store or walgreen. I match up the coupons, rebates and sales and stock up. Right now I have over 20 shampoos and conditioners in the basement that I got for free-they were on sale for 75 each and I had 75 cent off coupons.
Use an Aldi when you can-they will save you a lot also

[Nikki Sixx]

How do you people do it? We are a family of 2 adults and 2 teenagers. We eat healthy we all are very active with sports and the gym...so we watch what we eat. On average we spend at least 1100 per month at the grocery store and I consider that doing good.