Feeding a Family for $300 a month? Newsletter 4-22
Good Morning!
Many of you have already checked out the great deals at the Mother's Day Sale, but if you haven't, you'll want to do it today! If you have wanted to order any of our print books, now is the time to do it! Everything is 25% off PLUS $2 shipping PLUS $119 in FREE e-books! This is one of our best deals ever. Check it out before the postage rates go up! Learn more here...
Today I'm sharing my tips on how I spend $300 a month on groceries for our family of 5. That price may be going up another $50 in the next few months just because staples like eggs and lettuce are going up, but that's still not bad for 5 of us.
Saving on your grocery bill doesn't have to be hard. It doesn't even have to take a lot of time. Not all these tips will work in all parts of the country, but use what you can to make the most of what you have in your area. By the way all these tips and recipes, over 1200 in all, are in Dining On A Dime.
Have a great day and don't forget to check out the blog.
Tawra
Feeding a Family for $300 a month?
By Tawra Kellam
www.LivingOnADime.com
I do something that most people think they can't do today. I feed my family of 5 for $300 a month. Most people say that's an impossible feat, but what boggles minds even more is that I do it without using coupons.
How do I do it? First, I use what I have. If I don't have milk in the house, I don't make a special trip to the store for it. The kids won't die from malnutrition if they miss drinking milk for a day or two. If I'm out of bread, I'll make some cornbread or muffins. If I'm out of fresh veggies, I will use canned or frozen instead. Stop going to the store for one or two things. I shop for food 2-3 times a month and that's it. You'd be amazed how much this saves on the cost of gas.
Shopping the clearance sections, I regularly find milk on clearance for $1.20 a gallon. My store marks the milk down a few days before the "sell by" date. The great part is that milk stays fresh for 1 week after it's opened. I generally only buy the milk when it's marked down and I buy enough to last until the next time I find a great deal on it. I throw several in the freezer and then I don't have to make a special trip for milk (or pay the premium price). Just thaw, shake and serve.
Purchase meat only on sale or on clearance. Again, butchers mark down their meat a day or two before the "sell by" date. Generally, meat is good for 3-4 days after the "sell by" date in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.
I never buy meat unless it's on sale for $1.99 or less a pound. If it's not on sale, we don't eat it. (Even so, we never have a shortage of meat in our house.) You can get some great unadvertised deals just by watching the meat counter's clearance items. I found 5 lb. rolls of hamburger for $2.95 each just the other day. Of course, I stocked up and will have enough hamburger to last the next 6 months.
I can get "soup bones" with enough meat on them to make a great vegetable stew for under $2.00 for the entire family! Add some rolls and you have a complete meal for 5 for less than $3.00. When chicken is on sale for $1.66 per pound, I stock up. I do this with all my meats. This way we can always have a variety of meats."
***
Editor's note: You can get lots more recipes and tips that can really help you cut your spending in the Dining On A Dime cookbook. Check out the Living On A Dime Mother's Day Sale, where you can get all kinds of resources like these to help you save on your grocery bill and other home expenses! Read about it here!
***
Another important tip: Ask. Most people are intimidated by asking, but I regularly ask when things will go on sale or be marked down. By asking, I've found out that bananas, milk and meat are marked down each morning. I try to shop in the mornings to get the best deals. When we lived in Texas, the stores marked things down in the evening, so we made it a point to go shopping in the evening. Adjust your shopping times to find the best deals.
Serve your family proper portions of food. Most parents give their kids way too much milk, juice and soda. My kids get soda on special occasions only. They eat milk with their cereal. For snacks, they eat a piece of string cheese, fruit or one or two cookies. The kids don't sip on milk or juice all day long. They drink water and are just fine with it.
As a general rule, I try to give them one vegetable and one fruit for lunch and dinner and then a piece of fruit with cookies or cheese as a snack. This way, they get their "five a day" in very easily. Stop letting kids just "graze" on chips and other snack food all day. My kids get one small "bowl" of chips (1/2 cup to 1 cup depending on the size of the chips) a day and that's it.
So what do we eat? Here are some of our menus:
Slow cooked roast, brown gravy, onions, carrots, potatoes, buttermilk muffins and a fruit plate
(The next day, the leftovers from the roast are used as barbecue beef along with potato salad, green beans and strawberries or grapes.)
Pizza (homemade), tossed salad and fruit
Maple glazed chicken, scalloped potatoes, glazed carrots, applesauce and dinner rolls
Sloppy Joes, cucumbers and tomatoes
Tacos, refried beans, green beans, sliced apples and tortilla chips w/ honey
With savvy shopping, you to can cut your grocery bill even when prices are going up!
Many of you have already checked out the great deals at the Mother's Day Sale, but if you haven't, you'll want to do it today! If you have wanted to order any of our print books, now is the time to do it! Everything is 25% off PLUS $2 shipping PLUS $119 in FREE e-books! This is one of our best deals ever. Check it out before the postage rates go up! Learn more here...
Today I'm sharing my tips on how I spend $300 a month on groceries for our family of 5. That price may be going up another $50 in the next few months just because staples like eggs and lettuce are going up, but that's still not bad for 5 of us.
Saving on your grocery bill doesn't have to be hard. It doesn't even have to take a lot of time. Not all these tips will work in all parts of the country, but use what you can to make the most of what you have in your area. By the way all these tips and recipes, over 1200 in all, are in Dining On A Dime.
Have a great day and don't forget to check out the blog.
Tawra
Feeding a Family for $300 a month?
By Tawra Kellam
www.LivingOnADime.com
I do something that most people think they can't do today. I feed my family of 5 for $300 a month. Most people say that's an impossible feat, but what boggles minds even more is that I do it without using coupons.
How do I do it? First, I use what I have. If I don't have milk in the house, I don't make a special trip to the store for it. The kids won't die from malnutrition if they miss drinking milk for a day or two. If I'm out of bread, I'll make some cornbread or muffins. If I'm out of fresh veggies, I will use canned or frozen instead. Stop going to the store for one or two things. I shop for food 2-3 times a month and that's it. You'd be amazed how much this saves on the cost of gas.
Shopping the clearance sections, I regularly find milk on clearance for $1.20 a gallon. My store marks the milk down a few days before the "sell by" date. The great part is that milk stays fresh for 1 week after it's opened. I generally only buy the milk when it's marked down and I buy enough to last until the next time I find a great deal on it. I throw several in the freezer and then I don't have to make a special trip for milk (or pay the premium price). Just thaw, shake and serve.
Purchase meat only on sale or on clearance. Again, butchers mark down their meat a day or two before the "sell by" date. Generally, meat is good for 3-4 days after the "sell by" date in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.
I never buy meat unless it's on sale for $1.99 or less a pound. If it's not on sale, we don't eat it. (Even so, we never have a shortage of meat in our house.) You can get some great unadvertised deals just by watching the meat counter's clearance items. I found 5 lb. rolls of hamburger for $2.95 each just the other day. Of course, I stocked up and will have enough hamburger to last the next 6 months.
I can get "soup bones" with enough meat on them to make a great vegetable stew for under $2.00 for the entire family! Add some rolls and you have a complete meal for 5 for less than $3.00. When chicken is on sale for $1.66 per pound, I stock up. I do this with all my meats. This way we can always have a variety of meats."
***
Editor's note: You can get lots more recipes and tips that can really help you cut your spending in the Dining On A Dime cookbook. Check out the Living On A Dime Mother's Day Sale, where you can get all kinds of resources like these to help you save on your grocery bill and other home expenses! Read about it here!
***
Another important tip: Ask. Most people are intimidated by asking, but I regularly ask when things will go on sale or be marked down. By asking, I've found out that bananas, milk and meat are marked down each morning. I try to shop in the mornings to get the best deals. When we lived in Texas, the stores marked things down in the evening, so we made it a point to go shopping in the evening. Adjust your shopping times to find the best deals.
Serve your family proper portions of food. Most parents give their kids way too much milk, juice and soda. My kids get soda on special occasions only. They eat milk with their cereal. For snacks, they eat a piece of string cheese, fruit or one or two cookies. The kids don't sip on milk or juice all day long. They drink water and are just fine with it.
As a general rule, I try to give them one vegetable and one fruit for lunch and dinner and then a piece of fruit with cookies or cheese as a snack. This way, they get their "five a day" in very easily. Stop letting kids just "graze" on chips and other snack food all day. My kids get one small "bowl" of chips (1/2 cup to 1 cup depending on the size of the chips) a day and that's it.
So what do we eat? Here are some of our menus:
Slow cooked roast, brown gravy, onions, carrots, potatoes, buttermilk muffins and a fruit plate
(The next day, the leftovers from the roast are used as barbecue beef along with potato salad, green beans and strawberries or grapes.)
Pizza (homemade), tossed salad and fruit
Maple glazed chicken, scalloped potatoes, glazed carrots, applesauce and dinner rolls
Sloppy Joes, cucumbers and tomatoes
Tacos, refried beans, green beans, sliced apples and tortilla chips w/ honey
With savvy shopping, you to can cut your grocery bill even when prices are going up!
posted by Tawra Jean at 1:54 PM
9 Comments:
Hi Tawra,
Love your newsletter! Do you have any tips on how to save on your grocery bill when someone in your family has food allergy's and there are only certain foods they can eat? With food prices soaring it is so hard to make your grocery dollar stetch
Thanks
Don't forget Angel Food Ministries - we reduced our food bill significantly by participating in this program. A friend of mine stated that she has saved 200-300 dollars a month by using the program because she is not just running to the store everytime she turns around.
Can you give more suggestions about getting milk "marked down". I asked once about some milk that was just being taken off the shelf and they said they could not sell it for liability reasons.
Our stores here do mark milk down.
Even if you can't get it marked down in your area, try to buy it on sale if possible.
If you can't buy it on sale then be sure to use only the amount of milk you really need.
Most families can get by with 1 gallon a week.
I know one family who had mom, dad and and 18 month old a and they went though 1 gallon A DAY!( $100 a month in milk at the time!)
That's just crazy. Don't let you kids just sip on milk all day long. After 3 servings it's just waster calories.
Tawra
Love your blog and newsletter. I spoke with the guy who was stocking the grocery store, and he said that in California milk could not be marked down when close to the pull date. He said he had moved from Arizona and he did mark milk down there.
in our area, i think it depends on the store you go to ... my friend shops at one store and every so often she will get her milk marked down and then she buys a couple of gallons and freezes them.. i shop at another store (well bc i really dont like the other store, i have gotten too many things that were bad there) and they do not do this...
i guess it just boils down to just asking and seeing what the manager will do ...
i have also taken your advice and will only buy what i think we should have...
sometimes i do not buy milk at all... i love a little bit of milk to drink every so often but i will not buy 2 gallons a week anymore... now its only about a qt or 1/2 gallon a week and that is it... milk is too high here ...
and there was a time i was buying soy milk for dh (dr said he had to have it) and after a while i was watering it down bc i couldnt afford to buy special milk for him and then milk for the rest of the family and no one else likes soy milk in the house... so now everyone gets 1 kind of milk and we all have to share...
my dh also has been drinking iced coffee instead of hot coffee... and with the coffee i have been stretching it farther and farther... bc of the prices... sometimes it looks like colored water... but oh well... its either coffee flavored water or just plain water... i hate to be this way but we have to conserve and save as much as we can bc well, prices are just crazy (as everyone well knows)...
thanks for all you, mike and jill to help all of us... i greatly appreciate it... :D
Love that you show how you can eat well on $300.00 a month. I cook for only three, so I spend quite a bit less.
Today, I read a blog on frugal living that started, "Say you 'just' spend $800.00 a month on groceries"! I didn't read any further!
What an incredible blessing a freezer is. When we moved, our stand-alone freezer didn't survive the journey and my food bill has suffered ever since. We are keeping our eyes on Freecycle, though, and praying for one to come up soon!
Love your tips. And I usually spend about that much for a family of 3 and could do better but sometimes it's hard with a toddler and being pregnant to make a lot of things from scratch. I think it's good to share all your tips to help people!
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