According to the USDA, American families of 4 spend $800-$1200 a month on food. You know what I spend?
$400
And that’s not just on food.
That $400 budget includes food, cleaning supplies, paper supplies, personal care, and basically everything you would buy at Walmart.
And you guys? We eat well! We have steak, fresh fruits and vegetables, and we even eat organic as often as is reasonable.
So how do we do it?
We shop at Aldi:
Say what you want about Aldi, I’ve heard all of the excuses: “Their food has fillers,” “It’s low quality,” and “It’s low-class.” They’re bogus. Not only does Aldi maintain the highest quality standards and have 200% money-back guarantee, their prices are 40-60% cheaper than any other grocery store. You can read an in-depth discussion about Aldi here.
We meal plan:
Does meal planning sound like a hassle to anyone other than me? I mean, to think about sitting down with sale flyers, a calendar, and a freezer inventory and somehow put all of things together into meals that can be carried out in a timely manner sounds like torture. Also, I don’t have 3 hours to make that happen – and I”m guessing you don’t either. That’s why I use eMeals. Their selection of mor ethan 20 meal plans for everything from dietary restriction to 30-minute & slow cooker meals, there is something for everyone – and it’s super affordable! Each week eMeals delivers a meal plan, shopping list, and even prices of the items I’m buying so I know about how mucn I’m expecting. Up on the fridge goes the meal plan and we’re set for week. Not tempted yet? Get a FREE 2-week trial of eMeals and see if I’m wrong!
We eat our leftovers:
No one likes leftovers. And I get that. I don’t either! We (You & I) really have 2 options: either cook exactly enough for your family when you cook, or force yourself to eat leftovers. The Big Guy and I have resorted to a sort of “rewards” system because we hate eating leftover so much. For each week that we don’t let any leftovers go bad, we get ice cream. Moose tracks, specifically. I have also heard of families having challenges or contests to promote their kids eating leftovers, but do whatever works for you to not let that food go bad! If you want more information out how to not let leftovers go bad, check out this post: 4 Strategies to Never Let Leftovers Go Bad
We keep quick meals on hand:
Meals like Macaroni & Cheese, Grilled Sandwiches, and Tuna Salad are quick and easy to prepare – and they require additional to no heat! Sometimes, life is just too busy to stick to a meal plan, and it’s in these situations that we resort to quick meals. After all, it’s not worth losing precious sleep because you were preparing a gourmet meal for your family, is it?
We cook with a slow cooker:
Like the Quick Meals, sometimes life doesn’t let you take an hour in the kitchen to prepare a gourmet meal for you family. And sometimes you can see those kinds of days coming a mile away. So prepare, and use a slow-cooker meal on those days! I like to prep them the night before (sometimes I cook them at night while we’re sleeping and then pop them in the freezer) so they’re cooked and ready the minute we’re finally ready to eat. Sound familiar?
We Challenge Ourselves:
Sometimes, we find ourselves halfway through the month with nothing left in the budget to spend on food. We’ve had this happen after vacation, lake trips, and even on a random month where we just really bought a lot of food. When this happens, Stop. Take a Breath. Give Yourself Some Grace. Seriously, it happens to EVERYONE. Now that you’ve cut yourself some slack, make it a game! If you have kids, you can turn anything into a game! Challenge each child to make a meal on a different night, and have the parents be the “judge.” Whoever’s meal is best wins a special prize!
I stockpile:
Yes, I stockpile. No my basement doesn’t look like something out of Extreme Couponing. I coupon strategically for items that we use all the time, that have a long shelf life, when they’re at rock bottom prices. And this reaps rewards in spades. I don’t have to make midnight runs to the drugstore for medicines when someone gets ill. I never run out of diapers or formula. And we don’t need to buy shaving cream for at least 6 months. But you don’t necessarily have to coupon to stockpile. Just by spending and extra $5.00 during your weekly shopping list on items that are at rock-bottom prices and stashing them away for later, you budget will thank you!
I make my own cleaners:
Why would I buy a $4.00 of toilet cleaner, when I can make my own for $0.80? Why would I buy oven cleaner at $6.00 a bottle when I buy use baking soda for $0.45 a box? I wouldn’t – and you shouldn’t either! Homemade cleaners are very easy to make, inexpensive, and free of the harsh chemicals found in many mass produced cleaners. You can read more of my cleaner recipes here!
I stop at drugstores, too.
Drugstores, while they may seem more expensive than walmart or target on the surface, are actually significantly less expensive if you’re smart about shopping sales. My other site, Ten Minute Savings, lists the 5 best deals from CVS and Walgreens each week, so you can get in and out of the store quickly, save massive amounts of money, and only spend 10 Minutes doing so!
Are you an average american family?
Do you spend $800 – $1200 a month on food?
What about cleaners, makeup, paper towels, diapers, and medicines?
What could you do with $1,000 in savings each month by adopting these strategies?
*This post may contain affiliate links
You May Also Like:
Baby Costs – Month 1
4 Strategies to NEVER Let Leftovers Go Bad
The eMeals Experiment
Feed Your Family on $300 a Month – The Healthy Way! Part 1
$5 Meal Plan Review
How To Meal Plan When You Don’t Have Time (Or Hate It)
Thinking About A No Spend Month? Here’s Why We Won’t
How to Save $1,000’s with Meal Planning
I Saved 80% Making Baby Food!
The ONE THING That Saves Me $1,400 a Year + 2 Week Free Trial of eMeals!
I also cook a lot at home but haven’t gotten the hang of meal planning more than just working with whatever we have in the fridge. I’ll have to check out that free trial of eMeals. Do you know of other sites that help meal plan that are free or are most paid?
This are are tips that we practice at home and it works. It saves us money. We don’t spend about $300 to $350 and sometimes even lower. My advice to beginners is to not give up. Once you give these tips a chance and it becomes a habit.
Excellent advice! Perseverance is definitely the hardest, but once the habit is formed, you definitely see the results!
thanks for the tips will have to try meal planning more and freezer meals are supposed to help visiting from thrifty thursday have a great week
We do spend near the average. We are a family of 5, we do try and shop with a list and meal plan to help keep cost low. Since we make weekly trips to the store we try and not overbuy and create waste and cost.
Love this post. We spend a decent amount of money on food, and it’s such a waste. We are trying to lower this though!
We’re only a family of three, but we definitely don’t spend $800 a month!
Our biggest savings are probably because we get fed at the in-laws twice a week. Plus there’s usually leftover. I actually do like eating leftovers!
We include all the other consumables in our grocery budget like you do too. It just makes things easier.
You do great with a $400 budget. We usually spend between $1,000 – $1,200 a month for all expendables. Crazy, I know but we do eat leftovers;0) I actually like them! I am wondering if there is an equivalent to Aldi here as I keep hearing about them …
aldi’s counterpart is trader joes. Also great prices! They aren’t everywhere (le sigh, including where we are now and I miss them terribly :(. )
Yep, they’re actually owned by the same parent company. They have absolutely unbeatable prices on natural and organic food. So sad you don’t live near one!
This is seriously impressive! I’m definitely going to try some of these tips. And you’re right about the leftovers… no one wants to eat leftovers but sometimes you just have to do it. Love that you make your own cleaners, too! Baking soda is great for that. Cosmetics wise, I use organic oats (if you buy in bulk it’s super cheap, and I never need that much anyway) as a facial cleanser and coconut oil for make up remover. The coconut oil itself costs $6 but it lasts me such a long time, never goes bad, and has no icky chemicals in it!
These are great ideas! Wow – I do not spend that much on groceries. Right now we are on a pretty strict budget, but I must admit that I am struggling with finding meals on this budget that are actually continually desireable. I am craving restaurant food more and more… Isn’t it funny how we want what we don’t have. I need to work on my creativity, as you talked about! Thank you. Shared.
I buy almost all of my groceries at Aldi’s. I can’t find everything I like here, so I hit up the huge grocery stores after.
These are some really great tips. I have never made my own cleaners and I realize that this could be very cost effective. I live in Japan, but I am well aware of shopping at Walgreens and it is amazing how much money you can save in that store. What’s awesome is their awards program which if done correctly can equate to some free items.
Awesome advice, and we do under $500 for our family of six. My goal for next year is to get it down even more. It really can be done with a little forethought and planning.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Emeals.
Good to hear!
We do most of these. It’s always good to have reminders with new tips too! Right now we are stock piling. Our local grocery has many canned items on super better than normal sales right now. I am checking out your 10 min savings blog now. My problem is after living overseas in Asia for years, I still haven’t quite gotten back to remembering all the prices!!
I am coming over from The Frugalwoods and browsing around your website. Just wanted to point out that, clearly, how much you spend on food is also linked to where in the country you live and how many people there are in your family. I gather you have two adults and an infant. If, like me, you live just outside of Boston and have two teenage boys (who can easily go through a “regular” size box of cereal in a single day, each eat 4 english muffin/fried egg with Canadian bacon and cheese sandwiches for a weekend breakfast and THEN eat two bowls of cereal, consume 1/2 pound of pasta each in a single sitting, drink 3-4 gallons of milk a week between them , eat three bananas as a snack, and consume a whole extra meal before bed – just a few examples) you will have to spend more on food than if you live in a lower cost of living area with an infant or small kids. That said, I do well with my food costs, shop at Aldi, Costco and aim, fairly successfully, at Zero food waste. Looking forward to reading more!
Fantastic list! We are doing many of these as well. I’m always amazed at how much money so many people spend on groceries. It’s totally possible to eat well and not spend a ridiculous amount each month! :-)
For mothers-to-be out there, you can save a lot of money by breastfeeding instead of using formula for the first year of your baby’s life. When my kids were born 20+ years ago, the cost to formula-feed was about $1,200 a year (never used it, threw out the case we were given at the hospital). That doesn’t include the cost of bottles, nipples, a sterilizer, bottle brushes, medical bills for ear infections (my oldest got his first at 2 1/2, my youngest at 14), or dental bills for bottle rot (I see a lot of it around here). My costs for breastfeeding were $12.95 for “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding,” $30 a year for La Leche League membership, and somewhere around $75 each for 2 LLL local conventions I attended.
We are a family of 4. Mom, dad, 8 yr boy and 6 yr girl. We spend about $300 on food. Probably 90% of the meat goes into the freezer. Homemade dinners at least 6 days a week helps. Its more expensive if we went out one day a week. I can make a healthy, filling dinner for about 1.50 per person. I also use coupons every week and that helps to save about 25% every week. I know not everyone can do this. I do everything I can to keep it down since I am a stay at home mom, and we only have one income. Thank you for this article. :) Love reading your blog.
**if we went out MORE than one day a week. Sometimes this is at my MIL’s house, so we don’t have to contribute to that, by her request. ;)
A few things… Upon just beginning to read your blog on saving money buying groceries for under $400 a month I notice one of your first statements is you shop at Aldi. Well that’s all well and good, but what about those of us who do not have such a discount store near us. (not trying to be disrespectful at all). Any other suggestions?
Also, my free e-book doesn’t load. Kinda bummed about that, but will try again another day. Going to check out the rest of your site. :D
Donna
While I am totally on the Aldi bandwagon – LOVE THEM – I would also say that almost any large chain local and of course the national grocery store chains typically have websites devoted to getting the best deals at that store. Someone else does a lot of work looking at the stores sales – advertised and unadvertised – each week and providing links to coupons you can use. They’ll list in store specials, catalinas, etc. Everyone’s needs vary – and I know that often the things that coupons are available for are not healthier – I don’t use many coupons anymore for that reason – but I still look at those sites every week. You never know when you are going to get turned on to some amazing rock bottom deal on whatever – shampoo, refried beans, you just never know.
If I didn’t have Aldi anymore it would definitely make it harder. Another thought is to google and/or try asking around – where do people find the best deals? We found a local butcher shop (about 20 minutes away) that has GREAT prices if you buy 10lbs of an item at a time. So we make trips every 4-5 months or so and stock up the freezer. My weekly grocery trips are much lower in cost because I’m buying very little meat as a result.
Ultimately, the more you read and study the various coupon and store specific blogs the more tricks you add to your bag to trimming a little here, a little there, and even if you take it slow on implementing those changes, it all adds up!
((hugs)) to all who struggle with this topic! It can be very overwhelming!
I love shopping at Aldi! We also shop at Costco a lot, love their organic food selections! We can’t do eMeals because I have a lot of food allergies, but I have found that even the most basic meal planning helps avoid last minute eating out! We buy a lot of our meat in bulk from Zaycon as well, so we always have meat stockpiled and ready to use. Great tips, thanks for sharing at Women with Intention Wednesdays!
Meal planning, buying in bulk and Aldi save our budget each month! We also buy a quarter cow each year and that saves us so much money each year. I wish we could store a half of pig too so then we’d be saving even more!
Great tips! I don’t have kids yet, but my husband and I keep our grocery list very low compared to other friends we know. We implement a lot of the same tips you said here, and I find meal planning and eating everything you have at home already make the biggest difference.
Great tips! I’m a bit of a stockpiler too. It really does save money. Thanks for joining us for Thursday Favorite things blog hop.
Cheers,
Jennifer
http://awellstyledlife.com