I think you're doing well! I spend $300-$350 per month for a family of three, including all toiletries and personal needs. My budget went up when DH started taking two OTC meds, and the local discount grocery closed, and food prices went up. I'm excited to pick up some veggie plants at Lowe's this week so I can get my garden going -- that should bring some balance and save money. There are other things I do aside from using coupons and the like (since our coupons in the paper totally suck and I don't have car availability to go running around matching coupons to loss leaders like I used to)...
-- I use 1/4 - 1/3 the recommended amount of laundry detergent (works just as well)
-- mix 1 bottle cheap hair conditioner with a gallon of white vinegar for fabric softener
-- if I use fabric softener sheets, I cut the sheets into 1/4ths
-- I use less meat per meal than recipe recommends
-- buy meat when discounted and throw in the freezer (or use that day)
-- use inexpensive hair shampoo as handsoap for bathroom (I use suave; DH doesn't notice the difference and he's the picky one!)
They're little things but they do help quite a bit when added together.

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~~Amanda~~ Mommy to Elijah (3), TTC #2

You and I think alike, Annie's Mom. I think $350/month is great, if you're someone who likes to "cook a little fancy."

If I could feed my familly on 350$ per month, I would be very, very, VERY happy .

Maybe I could but I'm not there yet. I agree with what others said about the baby steps. That's what I'm trying to do. Still I'm hoping to lower our grocery budget from 750$/month to 600$/month. I know prices are different here in Canada so I don't identify when people say they can feed famillies for 200$/month. Once I reach 600$/month, I will try to lower this amount again, and so on until we reach a level that feels confortable for our familly. It seems to me like you found a confortable place for you. Congrats.

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MARIE --- MOTHER OF TWO ANGELS (MOST OF THE TIME )

I agree. Our groceries are very expensive here. I use to spend $750 a month. I now have it down to $450-$500 most months and that is buying almost no liquids (pop, juice, water), eating meat only twice a week, and eating many frugal meals. I have trouble relating to the $200 a month amounts too. Have you seen this lady? JANE4girls $800 Annual Budget For A Family of 4
Her budget for her family of 4 is $800 for the whole year!

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Well our "walmart" budget is $125 a week. That covers groceries, toiletries, medical, cleaning supplies, and anything else I need from there. To me that is not bad. We eat meat with every meal and we eat at home almost every night. We eat out maybe once a week. I do make a menu and only get what is on my menu plus a couple of extra items. I price match when I can. I don't clip coupons anymore. I wasn't using enough of them to jusitfy buying the newspaper. I have been trying to get my budget down to $100 a week, but so far no luck. I did quit buying bottled water and paper plates and Making a menu has made a huge difference for me We still occassionally buying soda and of course my DH has to have his beer. :-) You just have to find a system that works best for you and set a realistic budget that you want to get down to. Do it in stages.

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SAHM to a beautiful 3 year old princess!
Wife of 5 years to a great husband!

I feel the same way sometimes, but I'm just doing the best I can. Our budget for food, toiletries, cleaning and laundry supplies, infant supplies, diapers (1 in and one in Good Nites), gas for the car, all extras, etc. is $200 a week. Some weeks I've spent $70 on gas alone, especially when DS has several medical appointments. Usually, I spend about $130 a week for all groceries/household items. But, this week I ended up spending $55 over our budget because the baby had multiple medical appointments and we needed diapers. I'm out of the free diapers from CVS LOL! We live in a high cost of living area and we like to eat. We've taken some money from our income tax return and are planning to buy a freezer with it so we'll be able to stock up on some bulk items that way.