Comments on: What is an Appropriate Food Budget?

By: Jill

Jill — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 00:06:55 +0000

Personally unless you have a super large family or something I really think a smaller freezer works best if for no other reason you don’t lose things as much in them and forget you have them.

By: barb~

barb~ — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 23:53:28 +0000

I also believe in buying an extra freezer-even a small one is a great advantage for long term savings. Today my grocery store had a 12 hr. sale. 16 oz. frozen veggies were 50 cents a bag. Chicken breasts were 77 cents a lb. Sherbet was 69 cents for a half gallon. With my small chest freezer I was able to stock up on these and other items today, and I smiled all the way home!
BTW-I bought a used freezer off of Craigslist this summer. I paid $50 for it and it’s like new. Freezers can be had for a bargain, too!

Barb~

By: Irene

Irene — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 05:30:55 +0000

Heather – that’s a good chart from the USDA… helps me compare my costs for a family of 4 to the national average.

By: Monica

Monica — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 01:32:52 +0000

I love your website. You all have some really great ideas. In this tough economy we can all NOW USE A LITTLE HELP to get thru this. I will definately pass this information on to my teenagers and use them. Thank you!! I will contribute as well. Thanks much. God Bless.

By: Jill

Jill — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:23:34 +0000

That is one thing everyone needs to keep in mind. The point isn’t so much how much you should spend for say a family of five but to try and get your spending pared down as much as you can for your own personal family. I always say there are so many variables involved for each family. You may have a family of 5 with 3 pre schoolers and living in a city compared to another family with 3 teenage boys and living in a small town where prices are sometimes higher. Now that being said that doesn’t mean you can use that as an excuse to keep spending like crazy and not trying.

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 23:11:50 +0000

The USDA puts out a monthly food cost sheet. Here is the link for that. The newest one is August 2010. Every family will be a little different, and grocery prices do vary depending on where you live, but it can at least give you a starting point with your budget. Hope this is helpful.

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/FoodPlans/2010/CostofFoodAug10.pdf

By: Jill

Jill — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:26:42 +0000

Great idea about the cheese packets Janice. Makes me sick because about a year ago I was given a bunch of cheese packets alone and was brain dead about what to do with them. Wish I had had your tip then but now I will know. Thanks.

By: janice

janice — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:15:14 +0000

Jill, I did order Dining on a Dime and am VERY pleased with it. It has become a “game” or I guess kind of a hobby to see how many things I can make on my own! My husband and I both have mild digestive issues and watch our salt intake so making things from scratch really helps control what is in our food! I use ricemilk or soymilk powder instead of dry nonfat milk with my baking mixes and they turn out great!
I learned a great tip about macaroni and cheese mixes: separate the cheese packets and store separately to use when making a cheese sauce and the macaroni shells work really well in pasta salads since they are small. I stock up on them when they are on sale. I keep the cheese sauce packets in a container in the freezer and just add some to a basic white sauce to make it “cheesy”. Tastes great!

By: Jill

Jill — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 20:12:01 +0000

Didn’t know if you have a copy of Dining on a Dime or not Janice but for any one who needs them we have recipes for lots and lots of homemade seasoning mixes, cake and cookies mixes, cleaning supplies, toiletries and many recipes which use simple basic ingredients besides what is on the web site.

By: janice

janice — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:26:15 +0000

I have some suggestions for lowering your food bill. First, decide on about two weeks worth of meals that you consistently enjoy. Serve those for the first two weeks of the month and then repeat for the last two weeks. Try to make meals that utilize similar ingredients. This will cut down on too much inventory that is not used often enough.
I also believe in cooking from scratch and I invested time on the computer researching items that can be made without a mix. For example, you can make your own cake mixes, seasoning mixes, gravy mixes, jello, etc….and this saves a TON of money!!! You will find that shopping for basic staples will allow you to make the most of these recipes.
Now until the end of the year is the time to stock up on baking/cooking ingredients as we are getting into the holiday season. Invest in cookbooks using 4-5 ingredients or search for those kind of recipes on the internet.
Always take a list with you shopping. I prefer to shop alone as my husband likes to add things as we go along.
I cannot stress enough the importance of having an emergency stockpile of basic ingredients/canned goods etc.. just in case of job layoffs or illness. It is very comforting to know that your family will get by for several weeks if something catastrophic happens. This stockpile also includes a good 6 month supply of pet food and of course BASIC cleaning supplies and toiletries.
Purchasing a good freezer helps with your inventory as you will want to stockpile food or items you have made ahead.
Continuing to check in daily with websites like Jill and Tawra’s keeps you up to speed and motivated. Good luck with your challenge on getting that food bill lower….you will see a big difference in coming months. As you purchase less prepared food and purchase baking/cooking/cleaning supplies in bulk and on sale your monthly food bill will continue to go down. It takes a good 6 months to see a major difference.