I consider myself to be a fairly frugal shopper. I’m not an extreme couponer, but I do meal plan, make lists based only on what I need, search for coupons (using Target.com/coupons and Fresh & Easy’s weekly emails). For awhile, I tried shopping every other week, and while I loved having an extra day in the weekend that I didn’t have to go out, and I did save money overall, I hated the food options I had left when it got down to the second half of week two. Also, planning meals for 14 days seemed like such an arduous task vs. 7 days. So, I went back to weekly shopping.
Lately however, I’ve noticed my grocery spending has significantly increased. I’m not really doing anything differently (other than shopping weekly again vs. biweekly) but our overall grocery spending has reached about $120 a week for our small family. (My husband, myself and a picky-eats-like-a-bird 5-year-old). Furthermore, though we aren’t actually vegetarians, we go pretty easy on meat consumption, eating meat with dinner usually only twice a week or so. (Other nights we have dishes with tofu or cheese or other sources of protein). Not eating meat daily keeps costs down as well.
I buy organic foods when the price isn’t a ton more than the conventional price, and I regularly buy store brands over brand name, save for a few items (I like Dawn dish soap, Windex cleaner and Cherry Coke Zero as an occasional treat).
For awhile, I was shopping for certain things in bulk, at Costco (and I do have a current Costco membership, though I’ve never purchased more than a few items at a time there — I typically can run in and carry what I need — the cashiers always look at me like I’m very strange when I arrive to check out without a cart filled to the brim). I would buy toilet paper, chicken breasts, paper towels, bread, sometimes cheese and yogurt there, and often lettuce and peppers for the good prices. But, I struggle with coughing up the lump some of cash it takes up front to buy in bulk, and my kitchen storage is tight (I have no pantry, and limited cabinet space).
So, I ask you dear readers, are you winning the grocery game? Is $120 crazy high for a family of three to spend on a week’s worth of groceries? (Keep in mind, this does include things like deoderant, lotion, soap, cleaning products, cotton balls, dog food, etc. — not just meal ingredients alone, AND we eat almost all meals at home or from home food — we bring lunches to work, etc.) What’s your weekly budget like, if I may ask? And, do you feel like you’re getting the most for your money? And, furthermore, what’s your best advice? Should I shop at Costco and fork out the initial chunk of change for the long term savings? I’d love your insight, friends!
[featured images via growthenergy and geopolitical monitor]
I spend close to that for my large family (7 at home now). BUT, I shop at Winco, and I refuse to buy meat over $3 per pound. I do a ton of bulk shopping (as in the non-packaged rice, beans, pasta, etc. in the bin area at Winco), which saves a lot.
But with the sudden increase in gas? Grocery skyrockets.
I didn’t realize you could buy rice and pasta in bulk like that at Winco, cool tip! I like Winco’s large selection and prices (though their produce is kind of meh at times) but I feel like there’s ALWAYS some creepy man staring as though my clothes are see through or something, and three families who’s kids insist on screaming throughout the store. I know I sound like a judgmental jerk right now though — is there a time of day/day of the week that’s slow there, that a working person could take advantage of?
Like we talked about earlier, our average expenses are about $60 a week and that’s with two adults, children 5,4, 5 months. Just good budgeting and great deals. We even cloth diaper.
I’m still in awe Pedro. What stores are you guys shopping for the most part? Cloth diapers have come a long way since we were babies, if I were going to have more children, I would totally consider it!
I usually spend a little under $90/wk for my husband and I, including special supplements. My husband is very much a meat eater and cannot fathom a vegatarian dinner, so I focus mostly on cheaper cuts of meat made delicious in the crockpot, out of time as much as frugality. I usually plan our meals and shop on Sundays and prep as much as I can in the way of veggies. I always pack my lunch (and sometimes dinner) the night before, depending on my class schedule that week. I learned long ago that you have to eat right in order to make it from 8am to 10pm with an intact brain =)
Since we moved close to a Winco, I wholeheartedly agree with Traci about the bulk bins. I go to Simonian Farms and the Fresno State market for the majority of produce. I for one cannot shop at Costco because of the amazing deals that are so impractical for a two person family. Four pounds of fresh spinach is not a good investment when only one person eats vegetables in your house, plus I found that I bought way more needless junk when I went there. I make a lot of my own cleaning products (you’d be amazed at what vinegar, baking soda, and Dawn can do) which saves me quite a bit because I sadly very much love new cleaning products.
Ah yes, my friend, your friend, all of our friend — the crock pot. Sent straight from heaven I think! I totally understand what you mean about Costco not always being the best way to go for a small family, though I think splitting with another couple could make it worth it, if you had similar enough tastes?
Your description of how and what you eat/buy seems very similar to ours!
We avg about $100/wk for our family of 5. We eat meat once a week and my lunch at home the next day almost always consists of leftovers from the night before. I shop at Costco but also can’t afford to buy entire cart fulls of goodies there so our staple buys are almost exactly what you listed 
Sometimes I’ll find other things I’d like to have but know we can’t finish them ourselves so I’ll buy and split with my mom, which when it works out is pretty awesome!
$100 for 5 is pretty impressive Jimaie — mad props to you!
Where are you shopping besides Costco usually? I know you guys eat a lot of unprocessed stuff like we do. (Food Inc got to me!!! 
)
I pull out $200 a week for our family of 5 so to me $120 a week for 3 sounds fine. I don’t buy any processed foods though, which saves us money, but it is quickly eat up by the fact that I only buy red meat from Whole Foods and we eat meat every day. I think my husband would divorce me if I tried to feed him a meatless meal more than once a month. Everything else I get from Trader Joes, Fresh and Easy, Costco and the Farmer’s Market (although not much as I have my own veggie garden). That $200 also covers our paper and cleaning products, although I too make my face wash, laundry soap, bug spray, ect… We avoid eating anything that has genetically modified ingredients which can also cost a bit more, but my kids are worth it
You are one that I consider royalty in the court of budget stretching, so the fact that you say my spending sounds fine is actually pretty encouraging! We don’t eat much in the way of processed foods either (with the exception of a few dressings/condiments and um, Cheezits, we always have Cheezits). I love shopping the farmer’s markets too. Since I started working downtown, I go on my lunches frequently, though the upcoming winter crops don’t excite me as much as summer stone fruits and berries, I must admit. Can I ask what your face wash recipe is?
Sure, but brace yourself, I feel you will be shocked when I tell you that I wash my face with olive oil, but it honestly is the best face wash I have ever use. My skin has never looked better and I’ve been using it for almost a year now. Plus it’s so economical that I would have a hard time calculating the batch price. It’s probably between .30-.50 cents per batch and I make a new batch every 2 months or so. Much better that the $13 per month I was paying for Aveeno. Anyways, here’s the recipe:
- 2 tsp. water
- 2 TBS. glycerin (Whole Foods $3.50)
- 2 tsp. liquid soap (I use an organic body wash)
- 1 TBS. Avocado oil (Whole Foods $4.00)
- 1/2 Cup olive oil ( I use 100% pure California EVOO)
Shake mixture vigorously. You may also need to shake the bottle before each use as the mixture can sometimes seperate slightly. I first wet my face with washcloth ran under hot water (I don’t use eye makeup remover so I need to soften up my masscara and eye liner to remove it). I rub in about a quarter sized amount of facewash, then wash it off a washcloth and hot water. The washcloth helps to remove any excess oil, but I’ve also used this facewash without a washcloth and it was still fine. I began making this for myself after reading some research data that showed that soap makers remove all the moisture retaining properties from their soaps then sell them back to you in their moisturizers. This recipe is my personal variation, but the base recipe has actually been being used for hundreds of years. Cheers, Jenna.
Wow — this sounds great! I think I’m going to give it a whirl! I need to make a Whole Foods trip soon anyway. Thanks for sharing!
We mostly shop at Target, Wal-Mart and Costco. I would say we spend about $150-200 a week on groceries and supplies… some weeks are a little more than other ex. when we go to Costco. We save Costco for TP, paper towels, chicken breast, diapers, diet Pepsi and dog food (once a month). Bread, cheese, milk, eggs and veggies we get at Wal-mart or Target if there are sales. Our menu at home is kind of boring- we don’t really eat meat… mostly grilled chicken haha. Pasta or rice is another staple at the house! I buy store brand too… I’m not really picky except for eggs and the kids’ juice. I think you’re doing a great job on $120/week… I feel like we spend more because those Tuesday/Thursdays the kids are in school we treat ourselves to “us” time by having lunch out. For the most part we bring lunch to work also, and that helps a lot with keeping costs down. I feel we get a decent amount of food for how much we spend… The tip I got from you a long time ago was to make a list and not deviate! (as much as possible haha!!) That helps out a lot too!
The list rule is a huge help, I agree! That Tues/Thurs lunch deal sounds pretty nice
We usually end up getting take out Friday nights (nothing too fancy, more like “fast casual” — think Chipotle or Habit Burger, pizza, etc.) and Brandon and I both work downtown, so we try to go to lunch together one day a week when possible. (The other days I take a 30 min. lunch to get home sooner.) Is the Wal Mart in your area tolerable? Or have you just found a key, non-crowded time to go? Ours seem so bad whenever I go 
Last time I was there, this guy was near us seemingly constantly, down each aisle, talking loudly on his phone, dropping the “f-bomb” in ear shot of my kiddo over and over again. Blerg.