typical family of four

[rasczak]

I find us spending approx $600-700 a month on groceries and about 200 in gas every month. i tried costco, but even though we buy in bulk it never seems to last. just seems that the food is more expensive there regardless of bulk or non bulk.

suggestions?

**edit**

girls ages 3 and 4 months they both eat like birds

wife eats like a bird

me eats like a pig

I like the foodsaver idea but we barely have any room in our freezer. think i might have to go get a freezer as well.

I also like the making pizza from scratch. (my oldest loves pineapples on pizza.)

Thanks for the suggestions and keep em coming!

 

[torpid]

Assuming you are buying meat and cheese and dairy and not eating ramen noodles every day, that doesn't sound TOO far off.

 

[Slew Foot]

Yeah, you figure 100-150 per person/month for food is about where you should be. Unless youre buying fruity organic crap and stuff.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: jpbelauskas
I find us spending approx $600-700 a month on groceries and about 200 in gas every month. i tried costco, but even though we buy in bulk it never seems to last. just seems that the food is more expensive there regardless of bulk or non bulk.

suggestions?

amex true earnings + executive membership = 3% back on purchases. get a business card and you get 5% off on gas too.

based on your spending approx 320 to spend at the end of the year, most if you bundle other purchases at costco

 

[vi edit]

Way too many factors to take into account.

How old are the kids? Two teenagers will eat exponentially more than a 3 year old and a 5 year old.

How big of eaters are everyone? Is everyone pretty lean or is a gluttenous family?

How much stuff do you make from scratch vs. premade? You can make muffins, bread, and pizza for dirt cheap if you make them from scratch.

How much meat & seafood do you eat? That stuff adds quick depending on diets/eating habits.

All I know is that as a family of 2 right now, my groceries bills have gone up almost 15% in the last year. Prices are just getting retarded for a lot of things.

 

[OutHouse]

i got a family of 5 (me, wife and 3 kids ages 15, 12 and 9) and we spend about 900 a month on food and gas. we just did our monthly costco run yesterday and it was just under 600 bucks.
our foodsaver vacuume sealer got a work out yesterday 😀

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: Citrix
i got a family of 5 (me, wife and 3 kids ages 15, 12 and 9) and we spend about 900 a month on food and gas. we just did our monthly costco run yesterday and it was just under 600 bucks.
our foodsaver vacuume sealer got a work out yesterday 😀

those boneless short ribs + the foodsaver = GODLY

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: Citrix
i got a family of 5 (me, wife and 3 kids ages 15, 12 and 9) and we spend about 900 a month on food and gas. we just did our monthly costco run yesterday and it was just under 600 bucks.
our foodsaver vacuume sealer got a work out yesterday 😀

:laugh:

Man that thing is a must have when buying bulk meats.

I just got 6 pounds of ground beef and a ton of boneless, skinless chicken breast yesterday from Sams and sealed them up in 2 people serving sizes.

 

[DrPizza]

shot in the dark: about $800 per month for gas and food. That includes little things like school lunches (which adds up to about $80 a month)

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: lokiju

Originally posted by: Citrix
i got a family of 5 (me, wife and 3 kids ages 15, 12 and 9) and we spend about 900 a month on food and gas. we just did our monthly costco run yesterday and it was just under 600 bucks.
our foodsaver vacuume sealer got a work out yesterday 😀

:laugh:

Man that thing is a must have when buying bulk meats.

I just got 6 pounds of ground beef and a ton of boneless, skinless chicken breast yesterday from Sams and sealed them up in 2 people serving sizes.

That's not bulk.

Going in for a 1/2 a cow with somebody for about 300 pounds of meat is bulk.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: lokiju

Originally posted by: Citrix
i got a family of 5 (me, wife and 3 kids ages 15, 12 and 9) and we spend about 900 a month on food and gas. we just did our monthly costco run yesterday and it was just under 600 bucks.
our foodsaver vacuume sealer got a work out yesterday 😀

:laugh:

Man that thing is a must have when buying bulk meats.

I just got 6 pounds of ground beef and a ton of boneless, skinless chicken breast yesterday from Sams and sealed them up in 2 people serving sizes.

i used to do that, but the 5lbs bags of tyson boneless skinless chicken boobs are now individually packaged now. they just started doing that about 6 months ago.

 

[fallenangel99]

wow. feels good to be 26, single, no kids, saving $$$ 🙂

but. cant wait for kids!

 

[Tiamat]

I go through 200$ of groceries per month, so your figures make sense. The only way to save money is to stockpile non-perishables when they hit a nice sale. If you are buying a lot of "convenience" items like individually wrapped snacks, those add up very quickly in terms of expenses.

I have found that a good sale at the local grocery store is better value than buying bulk from Costco or BJs.

Lol Citrix, you just wanted to say BOOB.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
I have found that a good sale at the local grocery store is better value than buying bulk from Costco or BJs.

Going further, shopping smart is better than anything. Using a combination of credit cards with cash back, buying in bulk, and buying sale items in quantity can save a considerable amount of money.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: Tiamat
I have found that a good sale at the local grocery store is better value than buying bulk from Costco or BJs.

Going further, shopping smart is better than anything. Using a combination of credit cards with cash back, buying in bulk, and buying sale items in quantity can save a considerable amount of money.

Plus using coupons for products you'd otherwise buy. With coupons we can drop $10 off a $100 tab. And that's just for things we'd have bought otherwise.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
I go through 200$ of groceries per month, so your figures make sense. The only way to save money is to stockpile non-perishables when they hit a nice sale. If you are buying a lot of "convenience" items like individually wrapped snacks, those add up very quickly in terms of expenses.

I have found that a good sale at the local grocery store is better value than buying bulk from Costco or BJs.

Lol Citrix, you just wanted to say BOOB.

I look like a moron sometimes, but when things like soups and frozen vegetables go on sale, I buy absolutely absurd amounts of them.

A few weeks back I bought probably 4 months worth of those frozen 'steamer' vegetable packs - they were on sale for like $.70 each - less than half price. I musta had 60 of em.

 

[torpid]

If you are a hippie, then shopping at Trader Joe's will save you hundreds of dollars per month over shopping at Whole Foods. Plus the stuff you get will taste a zillion times better.

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: lokiju

Originally posted by: Citrix
i got a family of 5 (me, wife and 3 kids ages 15, 12 and 9) and we spend about 900 a month on food and gas. we just did our monthly costco run yesterday and it was just under 600 bucks.
our foodsaver vacuume sealer got a work out yesterday 😀

:laugh:

Man that thing is a must have when buying bulk meats.

I just got 6 pounds of ground beef and a ton of boneless, skinless chicken breast yesterday from Sams and sealed them up in 2 people serving sizes.

i used to do that, but the 5lbs bags of tyson boneless skinless chicken boobs are now individually packaged now. they just started doing that about 6 months ago.

I was using Costco last year and the Chicken was sealed to two a pack, which was nice.

But since I moved a few months ago Sams is the only thing near me and they don't have it 🙁

 

[Mr Pickles]

Please dont post until your sig is smaller thanks.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: Tiamat
I go through 200$ of groceries per month, so your figures make sense. The only way to save money is to stockpile non-perishables when they hit a nice sale. If you are buying a lot of "convenience" items like individually wrapped snacks, those add up very quickly in terms of expenses.

I have found that a good sale at the local grocery store is better value than buying bulk from Costco or BJs.

Lol Citrix, you just wanted to say BOOB.

I look like a moron sometimes, but when things like soups and frozen vegetables go on sale, I buy absolutely absurd amounts of them.

A few weeks back I bought probably 4 months worth of those frozen 'steamer' vegetable packs - they were on sale for like $.70 each - less than half price. I musta had 60 of em.

Yup. Many people have an aversion to buying anything in quantity. If you have the space for it, you might as well. There's nothing wrong with buying 300 rolls of toilet paper (ok, you WILL get a few odd looks) when you are paying half of the normal cost and your family will go through it in six months. The only reason I don't buy in bulk right now is that I simply have no space to store anything (and I really mean no space-small apartment with zero storage).