How to Shop for a Family of 4 on a Budget

Larn how I manage to feed my family on a upkeep, a family unit of v of us for just $300 a month! Y'all tin can save money by lowering your nutrient expenses per month.

How to feed your family on a upkeep

It seems like anybody is itching to relieve money these days, and so what meliorate way to do so than to cut down on monthly food expenses? We all want to know how to salvage money on groceries, specially with families to feed. My family consists of myself, my husband (who should actually count for two people), my mother-in-law, MJ (5), and Baby Daughter (1). That'southward three eating adults instead of the normal ii, then I really take the challenge of stretching meals and making our budget work.

How to Feed a Family of 5 on a Upkeep

Past buying in bulk, trying store brands, using coupons, and some planning and preparation, I am able to feed my family unit on a budget for an entire calendar month using no more $300! Y'all might inquire, "is $300 a month enough for food?" With pre-planning and minor kids, the respond is YES. Here is our monthly sample shopping repast program:

1st week: The biggest shopping week for us. This is where I re-stock all of our meats, canned foods, eggs, bread, milk, juice, pantry staples, seasonings, fruits, vegetables, and other necessary items. I spend near $125 on this trip.

2nd week: This trip is usually a Walmart/Target trip and includes toiletries, snacks, newspaper towels, laundry items, cleaners, and annihilation else nosotros demand to maintain the household. I purchase enough here to final the whole month. I spend about $l-75 on this trip.

3rd week: A calorie-free re-stocking of grocery items we have run out of, such as fruits, veggies, or specifics I demand to cook with for the week. I spend almost $forty

4th week: Some other Walmart/Target trip, re-stocking odds and ends we may demand before it's time to exercise the adjacent mass shopping trip. I spend around $40.

Calculate your monthly grocery spending

I have friends that are single and calculated their monthly spending at $400-500 per month on food alone, FOR ONE PERSON. Yikes! It's wonderful to care for yourself to the more expensive means of living when you can beget it, only when you are on a tight family budget, you must compression pennies and exist a smart spender. Check out these ideas I have implemented in my weekly shopping trips to feed my family on a budget…

Buy Staples In Bulk – I buy all of our staple foods in bulk. When you lot do so, you salvage a pretty good amount rather than buying small amounts every week. A few examples:

• Y'all can buy 3 lbs of frozen craven breasts for about the same price you lot would buy ane lb of fresh chicken breast.
• Buy a big 10 lb. bag of potatoes instead of smaller bags or purchasing them singly. My local farmer's market has 10 lb. bags for only $i.99, whereas I would merely get virtually 3 large potatoes for the aforementioned cost if I bought them separately.
• Stocking up on rice is cheaper when yous buy it in bulk, plus it tin can be used for and then many great meals and is very filling.
• This also goes for miscellaneous items you need: buy diapers in bulk, toilet newspaper in bulk, paper towels, trash numberless, you name it.

Matching Coupons with Sales – Another style I feed my family on a upkeep is clipping and savingcoupons, you never know when an particular is going to be marked down! As always, if the matching store-brand particular is nonetheless cheaper than the brand name item with a coupon, I would buy the store brand. Take a await at the store's weekly ad and compare them with the coupons you currently take and that are available to print. You lot tin can end upwards saving over 50% past matching the manufacturer's coupon with sales and/or in-shop coupons. There are a few bully blogs that do this on a weekly basis to make our lives a tad easier. My favs:

• MoneySavingMom.com: Posts the greatest deals and coupons matchups for a variety of stores, including Walmart, Target, CVS, and more.
• ForTheMommas.com– Provides different scenarios on how to maximize your savings at various stores, such equally Kroger, Safeway, Kmart, Shop Rite, Geunardi'south, Meijer, Nutrient Lion, and more.
• PocketYourDollars.com– This site really makes a shopping listing for a bunch of popular food and drug stores across the country. Take advantage of the deals posted hither!

Note: The best places to print manufacturer's coupons online are Coupons.com, Hopster, Red Plum, Coupon Network, and Smartsource.

Shopping at Disbelieve Stores– Exercise not exist afraid to visit your local Food 4 Less, Dollar Tree, Save-A-Lot, and 99¢ stores, yous would be surprised at what yous tin find! Even the Target and Walmart Supercenters have better deals than your local expensive grocery store. I have seen multiple items at almost half of the toll they would be at the grocery giants. It actually makes a deviation.

Store Brand Items – Many of us are stuck on brand-name items. Remove yourself and have a peek at what the store make has to offering! They ofttimes have many of the staple items, snacks, toiletries, and beverages you may be looking for at only a fraction of the price of the more pop brand name items. Some of my favorite store brands are Safeway brand, Marketplace Pantry (Target), and Kroger brand (Kroger, Ralphs, Nutrient 4 Less).

Shopping in Flavor – This applies to generally fruits and vegetables. Attempt to stick to the items that are in season, they are much more than plentiful then they cost less. For case, buying peaches in the winter is almost e'er a fail, which is totally confronting my ways to feed my family on a budget. If they are available, they cost an arm and a leg, and usually terminate upward being super hard anyway!

More of our feeding family unit on a budget tips

Stop Buying The Unnecessary: Selecting Snacks and Sweets – Snacks and sweets are wonderful to have in the pantry, merely they are not e'er necessary. Be selective of what snacks y'all purchase and how much you are actually getting for what you pay. I know those cookies look delicious, but in reality, snacks are some of the priciest items to buy, don't exist agape to limit yourself. This is ane of the times that you should strategize, using the "Matching Coupons With Sales" and the "Store Make Items" sections above.

Plan for Left Overs, Left Overs, Left Overs!– I unremarkably melt about 3 times a week and I make certain to cook enough food for at least one nighttime of leftovers. It is much easier and cheaper to double your family dinner recipes and melt them one time than to have a new repast with different ingredients every night. Breakfast and luncheon are simple, but information technology is dinner that I have to programme out. Check out my weekly card scenario for next week…

Sample Weekly Menu Plan

Sample meal planning menu with basis turkey

This whole carte was planned with ground turkey in mind. I can buy a bunch in majority and apply it to all meals listed, the Chili, Tacos, and Spaghetti. You tin can do the same with chicken breast, pork chops, footing beef, or whatever you like. The only other ingredients I need are veggies, noodles, staff of life, and unproblematic odds and ends to complete the meal.

Note: Calculation garlic bread or a side salad to a repast is a nifty, inexpensive way to stretch your meal and fill up those tummies!

Rarely Swallow Out – My husband and I used to consume out all of the time! I must acknowledge, it was mostly me driving that habit. We take since drastically reduced our dining out nights, saving united states of america hundreds of dollars per calendar month! When we do eat out, I definitely brand sure that we have a coupon accessible. Calculate the number of times y'all consume out per month, how much could you save if you at least cut it in half?

When you practice consume out, save a package using Eating house.com. You can go $25 gift certificates to restaurants in your surface area for as low as $two! There are different promotions and codes available, GO HERE to run into the latest.

You can save money and feed your family on a budget!

I hope you are inspired by the mode I feed my family on a budget, if you are not already trying some of these steps to reduce your grocery pecker, I suggest you lot get started. The strategies I use to feed my family on a budget really make a divergence in my household. How large is your family and how much exercise you lot spend monthly on groceries, eating out, toiletries, and household necessities? Please leave a comment and share this commodity!

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