Moms on a budget… family of 4 how do you keep your weekly grocery budget low?… trying to figure out a new budget. Some things came up and we now don’t have the same income as before… is it possible to keep it at or under $100 a week? If so how?
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Find a discount grocery store near you. We shop at UGO all the time.
I shop at Aldi a lot, and will check out dollar tree. My 4 year old is autistic and will only eat certain name brand snacks/chips and they tend to have them a lot so I can stock up on them. Produce stores are typically cheaper than grocery stores for fruit/vegetables ets.
Another option is to get a membership for BJ’s or Sam’s club, they sometimes have coupons for $25 for the year. That is how I stock up on most of my sides and pasta
Buy things in bulk such as pasta, rice, dry beans and instant potatoes and keep them stocked. Shop the sales and end caps at places like Walmart. Do your primary shopping for fresh fruits and veggies at Aldi. Buy cheap cuts of protein and use a slow cooker or roast them low and slow… cook from scratch as much as possible and avoid pre-package food. You can cook spaghetti, chicken and rice, and sloppy Joe’s for about $2.50 a meal for a family of 4 with a well stocked pantry.
We have a grocery store that does pick 5 for 19.99 once a month they do 5 off it for meats. Chicken quarters instead of breasts or buying a whole chicken instead of already cut up helps as well. It really depends on what you eat though.
We don’t have a budget for groceries. It’s too difficult and food is too expensive. I make a list and try to stay within that list. We usually come out under 150 a week for a family of 5. 3 teens and 2 adults.
Sounds silly but I’ve been using tik-tok for new receipes to try. I would stick with crock pot meals or pastas for dinner. You could have left overs as well the next day for lunch. Sandwiches and fruit for lunch and eggs/waffles/cereal for dinner.
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Buy basics. Potatoes, onion, carrots, rice then shop your local stores for meats and plan meals around sales and deals. Dollar store dinner ideas will give u some cheap ideas as well
Don’t know where you’re located, but Aldi’s are awesome. Make a list of what you want to eat for the week and go there.
I personally stock up as best I can on sides so this way I only have to get meats. When I do food shopping I gets meats first, then whatever is left of my budget is when I stock up on sides.
When stuff is on special, buy extra.
Meal plan.
Freeze any leftovers that you possibly can.
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Learn to hunt. With me and my husband hunting, we always have meat and cuts our grocery bill by at least half. Next thing he wants to do is grow some things that we actually eat
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Food banks, coupons buy things that are in season look for coupons on the meat at store, pasta grilled cheese tomato soup rice and beans
Shop at the dollar store for some things, buy only items on sale, use store brand, prepare meals ahead of time, use coupons
Look into your local food pantry. I know it may be a popular opinion but it could help you greatly to stretch your budget. I know the one by me is looking to help more families and they do not verify income any more. Even if you go once a month or every other month you could end up with $100 worth of groceries from them.
Look into the coupon apps also like ibotta, fetch rewards, receipt hog and Shopkick are my favorites.
I use the monthly meal plans on momsavesmoney.net to meal plan dinners. The recipes are almost always big enough that we have left overs for lunches. I stock up on veggies and snacks when they are on sale. We average about $125 a week.
(This does not include my kiddos lunches though. They prefer school lunch. But I could do that for another $25 a week easy)
I’m a family of 6 and have found doing ‘pick up’ has saved a lot on our grocery bill. So easy to just throw stuff you don’t need in when you’re shopping in the store. Doing pick up, i only get what we need. I also make a monthly meal plan and shop every two weeks for the time frame. I buy family packs of meat and get 2 meals out of it. (Like tonight I did chicken, stuffing & gravy bake. Tomorrow I’ll use the leftover chicken for chicken noodle soup). Pork loin goes a long way for us too. I usually do pulled pork sandwiches or quesdillas one night & balsamic glazed pork the next. Shop sales! I tend to only buy hamburger when it is on sale & I’ll buy a bit to hold us over til next time. Sams club has also saved me a lot of money on the sides & kids snacks.
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It’s doable we are close to the same budget things I do differently I don’t buy cereal oatmeal quinia or brown rice for breakfast.if you make rice or quinia it will last in the fridge for a few days oatmeal can be done as overnight oats.i buy less expensive proteins eggs black beans etc.i usually buy 2 dozen eggs a week boil half.this can be a snack or deviled egg sandwhiches.black beans replace half the hamburger in alot of my recipes tacos spaghetti almost everything.i meal prep alot.bake 5lbs of sweet potatoes the kids can heat in the microwave.for snacks.i also don’t buy cookies or chips.we bake muffins brownies etc on sundays for the week.make a menu stick to it.break down what you’ll need for breakfast lunch dinner shop sales.reheat leftovers
I think it depends where you live. We are a family of 5 and we try and keep it around 325 a week… depends on sales. This week we were closer to 400-420. I find ordering online with a list helps keep me in budget.
You have to stick to a list, make crockpot meals double, and freeze half for another dinner for the next week. Something on sale you use, stock up and use coupon apps.
Cook meals you can stretch for at least 2 days. Pasta, chilli, soups, and stews.
coupons if can find what u use