I just started with my $250 budget, but I haven't had much trouble yet. I've been going to Super Walmart because it is cheaper, but I also shop at Smith's (a Kroger store).
I stock up on items when they are on sale, such as canned goods. I don't have to pay 85 cents for a can of beans because I bought a bunch at 44 cents when they were on sale. I keep a full pantry. I add sale items that go in my pantry to my list when I look at the sale flyer, and plan my menu around fresh items that are on sale. I make a lot of my own baby food (although I don't think that saves much, other than applesauce and bananas) and feed her what we are eating as often as possible.
I buy meat in bulk packages to get a cheaper per pound. We don't eat meat at every meal. 1 chicken breast will feed us both, plus lunch the next day, same with ground beef, I never use 1 whole pound.
I buy generics, and ALWAYS buy toiletries, diapers and wipes with coupons. PG Brandsaver
I bake my own treats - soft pretzels, muffins instead of cereal bars, cookies, etc. Junk food and snacks are not on the approved spending list!
I also steal canned food from my MIL's food storage room.

I shop similarly to Swishina...stock up on things like beans, whole grain pasta and rices when they are on sale and make a lot of the foods we eat like muffins, etc and buy meat in bullk and stretch it by dividing it up into less than one pound bags and freeze. The bulk of what I buy weekly is fresh dairy and produce, plus a few pantry items and reduced meats depending on what I have.

We spend about $320/month, which is a little over $100 for each of us, this includes store brand diapers, toilet paper, any emergency toiletry or cleaning product and laundry detergent from Trader Joe's. I've tried to spend less, but I can't give up our fresh groceries, health is a priority to us.

For the rest of our toiletries/cleaning products, I make a Target trip every other month and spend about $50, I get everything we need for two months and it keeps me from going there on a regular basis (I love love love Target and could easily find something to buy there everyday).

We buy pet food every few months from Costco, costs about $25 for dog and cats and lasts for months.

I just keep things super simple, there are many things other people buy that I avoid, junk food and snacks are also not part of our budget. We've learned to live with less and I think we're better for it.

Our budget is $50/week for a family of 4 (dd - 5 & ds - almost 3) with an extra $50/month added in to help cover the big costs (mainly diapers). That works out to $62.50/person. We're on our 3rd week of this budget and have been doing quite well. The first thing I did was to start planning my menu around sale items instead of buying around my menu. I go through all our sale fliers on a weekly basis and then shop at the store(s) with the best sales. Sometimes it is worthwhile to drive to another store. I only go into the store with cash because I can't spend more than what's in my pocket and I only take the amount from our budget. I plan out my list with the actual prices so I know exactly how much will be spent and I don't buy anything that's not on my list (with a few rare exceptions).

We're in the country so there's not a lot of choices but I tend to shop at Mike Deans (local chain) or Giant Tiger (national chain). They both have excellent prices. Mike Dean's always has the best prices on milk and bread. I also buy generic brands and try to not buy anything that's not on sale. We don't buy junk food (anymore) and try to keep some fresh fruit in the house. Since frozen vegetables contain almost the same amount of nutrients as fresh, we tend to stick with the frozen veggies. This year we'll be growing our own produce so hopefully we'll be able to get our weekly budget down even more by canning & freezing our own veggies! I'm really excited about that!

We spend roughly $250 a month for 3 of us, but I would average it at 2.5 people because DD is only 1. Per person that's $100. We are spending too much because that doesn't include items like diapers and TP, only food. This spending freeze should really help me get this under control.

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January was the first month I tracked it (TYVM, FTJ!!!) and we spent $384.05 for DH and I. This was cutting back. We have a DD who is just starting on solids, but I have her food on a separate budget line. This also does NOT include eating out. Or diapers.

So, to answer your Q, $200 PP, but it will go up as we continue to eat down some of our stock and need to replenish.

Looking at some of these previous posts, our total is way, way high.

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How in the world does this work? I'm not criticizing... I'm just amazed!
My DH can, and will, polish off two chicken breasts by himself. How do you get four meals out of ONE???

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I think we would average somewhere between $75-$100 per month per person. That is including diapers for my 4mo old, and my 18mo. old, formula, toiletries, etc.
I am starting to stock up when things go on sale (thanks to MS), and I also shop in bulk as much as i can. I like to shop at costco, but you have to watch out, bec. not everything there is a good deal! I would really like to start doing a monthly menu planner, or even weekly and organize them with the sales (I think it's complicated though... or maybe I make it complicated... )

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Well, my husband doesn't eat as much as a lot of yours do, I'm sure But I don't just serve him a chicken breast. Say I cook a BBQ chicken breast and shred it to serve on a BBQ salad with beans, corn and other filling things. Or, cook one in spaghetti sauce and shred and serve with pasta. We try to eat more beans and grains than meat.

There are 2 adults and 1 baby. We used to spend around $600 a month, but my daughter uses less diapers and she is now off formula! Yeah...so I would say about $500 a month. I spend $200 every 2 weeks, then $50 on the off weeks (dairy, veggies, fruits, sales on meats and other things that I can't pass up). This does include everything from toiletries to diapers and wipes. Diapers and wipes alone are about $60 a month (Cosco). I would bet, including the diapers, I spend about $100 a month on all non-food items (TP, PT, Dish Soap, cleaners, etc. So I would say we probably spend $40 on food for each, my husband and I. Then probably $20 on the baby. I know that sounds like alot, but I feed her gerber graduates and all of those snackie things. I know they ad up...but I love them and I feel good about feeding her: carrot wagon wheels, sweet potato puffs, and tomato crunchies! It's a great way to get her veggies while she snacks! I'm not giving that stuff up (plus you can usually always find them on sale somewhere and now you can find some of that stuff at store brand!)

I live in Pa and I think my budget is reasonable because we don't eat out much at all. When we do, it's takeout..maybe once a week tops! So I figured that it's ok to buy ingredients to make really good things at home!

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Bekah
Co-founder and CEO of the NOVITZKE FAMILY INC.

For a family of 4, I was spending $500-600/month...and throwing out a lot of spoiled and wasted food each week. I am sooo glad to say that we haven't wasted one item from the fridge in 3 or 4 weeks! My Jan grocery bill was only $355 and I am going for $300 this month. Yes, I buy diapers and wipes as well on that...we are lucky that dh brings home laundry detergent from work...they are samples and given out for free. I haven't bought laundry supplies in over a year! I do buy tp and other paper products at Sam's as well as meat products on week days before noon..they are reduced then... and we have cut out a LOT of packaged snack foods...I am making my cookies from scratch and baking muffins and other breads to satisfy my picky little eaters! We have a crock-pot soup dinner once a week often w/ beans and rice as the mainstay. It makes a lot and lasts through a few days of leftovers for lunches. No-one is complaining yet!

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Candy