Grocery/Misc. Budget

[tryingtosaveadime]

I am curious - if anyone wants to share - how many are in your family and how much you budget each month for everything outside of the your monthly bills? I guess this would include groceries, dining out, entertainment, clothes, haircuts, anything extra you can think of.

[momcents]

With careful planning, I am able to feed a family of 7 plus pets (bearded dragon, turtle, toad, dog, two parakeets and two fish) on $125 a week. This involves shopping at the warehouse club, watching the ads and coupons. On "bare budget" weeks I shop at Aldi's and we'll have breakfast foods for one dinner.

The "extraneous" fund runs about $250 a month: haircuts, dog grooming, oil changes, clothing (though I do pretty good on the clearance rack) and we shop off season for gifts and clothing needed in the next three months. We have a separate fund for things like car repairs or major expenses (dental visits or contact lens purchases). We spend $125 per each child's birthday and they can plan activities in that for however many friends they'd like.

[disneysteve]

Welcome. I see this is your first post. Let me suggest that your question won't really provide useful info. How much people spend in each category will vary widely based on family size, age of kids, location, and, most importantly, income. If I earn 100K, have one kid, and spend $300/month dining out, that probably doesn't tell you anything useful if you earn 50K and have 4 kids.

If you are trying to tune up your budget, the best thing to do is to post it here. Give as much detail as you can regarding income and expenses, debts, goals, etc. Lots of folks here will be happy to help you out.