We are consistently between $150-250 per month. We are a family of 4 (2 adults, one 6-year old and one toddler).
It used to be between $150-200, but we started shopping the health food store for more items. (toothpaste, soaps, shampoo/conditioner, and various foods)
This includes EVERYTHING we buy from the store. Toilet paper, laundry soap, paper towels (one roll lasts 2 months as we use cloth towels, but I use paper for my cast iron oil) and misc items from Wal-mart or Meijers...I almost never leave without hitting the clearance racks for off-season clothes or other items, so those are included too.
Our story is a little different though. We have a 10-acre farm. We raise our own beef, pork, and chicken. We also have our own eggs year-round and goat's milk for about 1/2 the year. DH takes one fishing trip per year where he stocks our freezer with panfish that lasts us all year. His trip costs less than $500 but I just consider it free fish, because he would pay that if he went on a non-fishing trip and then we wouldn't have the fish. If that makes sense. The $500 is an expense we'll always have, but the fish is a great advantage.
DH does hunt, but didn't last year as our freezers were full. He plans to hunt this year so we can make venison jerky.
Our beef and pork are free for us. We raise a pig and a side of beef for DH's parents and brother, so they pay for ours. They buy the animals, then pay for the feed...THEN pay for our butchering costs. We just take care of the animals.
The chickens we do pay ourselves. Last year we raised 50 chickens and they averaged 10 pounds EACH when ready for the freezer! We tallied the costs...price of the chick, price of the feed, and price of butchering... it came to $6-$7 per bird total cost. That sounds high, but these chickens were HUGE (not to mention organic and hormone-free). I easily got 3-4 meals out of each one. They were like little turkeys. LOL
The goats give about 1/2 gallon of milk per day...we never drink it all and we always feed excess to the cat (or pigs or chickens). We sometimes use the excess to raise baby goats. The goats cost about $20 per month to feed, depending on the season. More in the winter when they can't forage, a lot less (almost free) in the summer when they forage in the woods of their pasture all day.
We raise a very large garden each year. I'd say we spend between $100-$150 for our veggie plants, potato and onion starts, seeds and misc. If our garden doesn't do well, we buy locally and stockpile enough to freeze and can our foods. We spend about $20-30 per year on canning/freezing supplies (I think). We just have to replenish the lids, as we already have the jars and rims for canning. We also buy freezer bags. We freeze and can EVERYTHING and the tomatoes last us all year...we are still working on making everything else last. We are putting in a root cellar this year
We go and pick local fruits in season. Apples, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, raspberries, etc. We pick and then freeze or can or dehydrate. The apples keep a long time just sitting in our basement, so we save them fresh too.
As for shopping...I stockpile when there are sales or coupons.
I buy the cheapest/generic brand with a few exceptions. We do buy Doritos, Oreos, Cheerios, Ritz, Tombstone and Nesquick consistently (I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them). I buy these with coupons and it's only about 3 or 4 times PER YEAR. They just last us a long time because we don't eat them often. DD takes Doritos in her lunch everyday, but it's only like 5 chips per day. LOL
I cook almost everything from scratch. Breads, desserts, and snack items are often homemade.
I keep Tombstone frozen pizzas in the freezer for the days when I can't cook. I buy them in bulk during sales and with coupons. It's worth having them when it saves a pizza being delivered or eating out. Polish sausage and hot dogs are another fall-back meal for us. I buy them with coupons or sales too.
We ONLY eat out once or twice per month. Usually once, and sometimes not even that. I do take DD to McDonald's for a playdate once a week, but we just get apples or a parfait. We eat before we go.
DH takes his lunch almost everyday. DD takes her lunch and refuses to eat school lunches. Neither can take leftovers as there is no way to warm them.
Youngest DD and I eat leftovers for lunch, and we usually have a leftover night once a week or so. If we don't eat the leftovers in a day or two, I freeze them in lunch-size portions and eat them at a later date. Very little gets thrown out, and it goes to the dogs, cat, chickens, or pigs if it does go.
I buy very little single-portion size items. I make yogurt and pudding homemade, or buy the tubs of organic yogurt if we aren't milking. I make pudding homemade with powdered milk. Fruit snacks are about the only thing that we buy regularly that are individually wrapped.
We eat a lot of dairy, even when we aren't milking. When we buy milk we go through a gallon and a half of milk each week. When we are milking, we use way more than that, just because it's here.
I plan a weekly menu and plan the following weeks menu by the weekly sales ad. I don't have to buy any meat usually, other than deli meats for lunches. I try to get these on sale or with a coupon, but DH and DD are picky on them, so it's hard. I did buy corned beef on sale a few weeks ago.
Cheese is a big favorite and I hope to start making my own this next year. I only buy blocks of cheese on sale or with a coupon and I shred it when needed. We freeze it and thaw as needed.
I make my own "Cream of..." soups per the Hillbilly Housewife recipes. I love Hillbilly Housewife.
I do buy a lot of organics now...we love cheddar sesame stix and yogurt raisins. We just buy them once or twice per month and eat for snacks or they go in DD's school lunch.
DH and I just tapped a few maple trees to try and make our own maple syrup. I'm sure it won't be cost-effective this year, but in the years to come it will be. We spent $40 for supplies that we can re-use every year.
I'd love to get honey bees, but DH is allergic. We are still talking about it though. LOL
We try to do things that will benefit us in the future, as well as right now. We hope to put in a few fruit trees and bushes this year.
I could go on and on about food storage. Sorry
My gourds made the front page of the paper!!
We are a family of 3 (two adults, one 3 year old) and I spend about $350 or so per month (including all food, cleaning, hygiene, medications, cat stuff). I used to do so much better (like $100-$125 or more cheaper), but food prices went up, DH got a new job where I have to pack his lunch everyday (at his old job, he was fed lunch everyday), DH takes OTC meds daily and DS is eating so much more now! (as is the cat!) Not to mention the discount grocery that I used to buy almost all my groceries from closed down a few months ago. I've been trying to go to Aldi's, but it's a 25 minute drive (as opposed to the 5 minute drive the other grocery was) and we only have one car.. makes it more difficult for me to shop, especially when I am having to cart DS around with me every time I get groceries.
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