Our budget for food is $200/mo (4 weeks) for a family of four.

All food, cleaning products, paper products, personal products, etc. for two adults and a nine-year old and one cat for no more than $500 a month. I am trying to get down to $400 a month.

I shop a discount grocery store for items that are discontinued, near sell-by date, overstocks, and items they negotiate for a good price. For example, 16 oz. salad bags with lettuce, shredded carrots, and shredded purple cabbage and 16 oz. coleslaw mix are $.99 all the time. I shop loss leaders and plan my weekly menus around what I already have + the loss leaders + plus whatever else we MUST have that week. I don't use many coupons, except the store coupons for loss leaders. My Grocery Outlet (the discount grocery store) pretty much negates my need to stockpile, because things are sold at discount (stockpiling) prices all the time.

We shop organic for dairy, meats, veggies, fruits, supplements, and frozen foods 99% of the time. So I feel your pain with how much more it costs. But to me the additional cost is worth the health benefits.

We shop at Henry's Marketplace a subsidiary of Wild Oats Marketplace and they have very reasonable prices for organic foods and supplements. We spend on average about $700 for groceries a month. That does not include diapers and formula and papergoods.

We are a family of four: 2 adults, a 2.5 year old and a 4.5 month old. So I would say that if you are buying diapers and formula that you are in the right spending range if you are buying mostly organic food like we are.

I think if I got better at using coupons I could save a little more. But I don't buy much more than what we really need...or maybe I do. In an effort to watch our grocery spending we do our shopping once a week together as a family. If I am putting something into the cart that DH thinks we don't need, he asks me about it and vice versa. But we usually buy roughly the same things each week with some add-ins for fun...gotta love those yummy fresh baked pies as they come out of the oven at the store.

Sandra

We Never Go under 500.00 a month for our family of 6 - thats with everything, Cleaning , Diapers Etc,

Some Months its 800.00 and Some months we stock up like Crazy ... so Its over 1000.00

I say it all depends on Finances and My Creativity. It is a little ridiculous - But the More stressed and Unorganized I am - the more we spend - then the next month OUr Grocery Bill goes way Down - Cause I am Prepared and I use up what we have on hand. Then there are the months when we Have More bills so Of course the Food Is of the least importance - Well the Expensive foods anyway

All in all I have No Budget -
Maybe I should Come up with a Yearly Budget

For our family of 5, including diapers, household stuff, and food, I can keep it less than $200 a month. I use coupons (but only if it makes it cheaper than the generic) on only things I would buy anyway. I look for markdowns on the meats and freeze them as soon as I get home. I buy a ton of generic! I buy our diapers at Big Lots for $6.00 (Tommy isn't allergic to generic)

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For a family of 4 (kids age 4 and 19 mos.) and a cat, we come in at under $200/mo. That includes diapers, pet supplies, personal products, etc as well as the food.

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Loving wife to Matthew 6/26/04
SAHM to Jacob Matthew 4/19/03 & Evelyn Grace 2/15/06
Baby #3 due 3/14/09

For right now, we are a family or two. We usually manage to stay at $50 a week (so some months $200, others $250) for 6 dinners, lunches, breakfasts, and toiletries. If there's an exceptional sale, I will go a little over the budget, but that's usually what I spend, and what I've alloted myself, after coupons. Usually coupons take off between $10-$20 a week.

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"And the state of his bathroom -- I'm not one to gossip, but there are things crusted on his sink that have not simply developed intelligent life but have in all probability by now evolved their own political systems." Cain describes Abel in in SANDMAN #70

I do believe that prices are higher in Alaska where I assume you must be. Most things have to be trucked in. Prices are much higher in both Alaska and Hawaii for groceries (and many other things as well.) You will be spending more than your contiguous 48 state counterparts.

family of 4 we spend $300.00-$400.00/Month.That includes everything.

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*Wife to Rick since (14 years)*
~Mom to 2 boys Dakota 13 & Ryan 9~
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~Month~Budget~Spent~
February~400.00~380.35(under 19.65)
March~400.00~419.65(over 19.65)
April~400.00~395.94(under 4.06)
May~400.00~391.53(under 8.47)
June~375.00~373.13(under 1.87)
July~375.00~365.62(under 9.38)
August~365.00~363.24(under 1.76)
September~355.00~292.74(under 62.26)
October~345.00~345.00(even)
November~350.00~352.81(over 2.81)
December~340.00

We're a family of 2 adults, 2 kids, 1 dog, and 2 cats. I've always thought a budget of $100/week would be sufficient, but I invariably spend $500+ each month. Why?! Because we're all big fresh fruit & veggie eaters, and I'd say almost 3/4 of my food budget goes to fresh fruits & vegetables, and we go through 4-6 gallons of milk a week (more in the winter, when Brian's home more). I've stopped shopping at Wal-Mart altogether, so I do the bulk of my shopping at Aldi and Kroger. You'd think being married to a hunter, and almost always having venison in the freezer, I wouldn't need to buy a lot of meat. And honestly, I don't really have to, but as much as I enjoy red meat, I also like to have chicken, fish, and/or pork from time to time. But having the venison does help the grocery bill....some. heehee

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~*~ Angie~*~
Wife to Brian
SAHM to Sarah & Andy 2/11/2000