$400 monthly grocery budget for family of 4?

[monica9]

Hi. I am looking for some advice, support and expertise on how to get my grocery bill at or under $400 per month for my family.
What we mainly buy:
vegetables, fruits, yogurt, milk (half gallon per week is enough), chicken, fish, deli turkey & cheese, mozzarella log, blocks of hard cheese, eggs, chicken nuggets, olives, frozen veg, bread, tortilla chips, potato chips. Those are our staples that we buy most of the time.

Grocery stores near me:
Stop and Shop, Shop Rite, Aldi, Costco, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods
stop and shop I go to usually has produce that is a little dented on a rack for dirt cheap but sometimes not a good enough variety so I don't rely on that cart but do use it often.
Background:
Me, DH, DD (12), DD (3 who constantly eats)
We used to spend close to $1000 when I only purchased organic foods.
Now I budget $800 and not buying anything organic except milk and certain meats and produce.
I feel like I only spend about $200 per week at the most but sometimes I go to multiple stores different days of the week or won't go for over a week so I am bad at figuring out how much I've spent. Also the fact that I might buy cleaning supplies or special food for a party, etc.
I'm really really really trying to get my bill down to $100 per week.

Hope this is enough info and any advice is much appreciated!

 

[hsmamato2]

Online ordering. This way you only buy exactly your list. In this pandemic,I discovered it,plus curbside pickup. I love it. Also,any processed foods,while they seem cheap,(like chips and nuggets) go fast b/c they're not nutritious. I'd focus on nutritious basics only. Make everything else from scratch as needed.
$100 is really low in Stop&Shop territory. I use Local Walmart curbside pickup for basics myself.
I'd also forgo deli sliced turkey,that's $$$ -My Aldi sells a great small sliced ham that we use for various meals plus sandwiches as needed.
Don't buy single use yogurts.buy a 32 oz plain yogurt,use as needed (you can add your own jam or honey to sweeten.

 

[monica9]

Online ordering. This way you only buy exactly your list. In this pandemic,I discovered it,plus curbside pickup. I love it. Also,any processed foods,while they seem cheap,(like chips and nuggets) go fast b/c they're not nutritious. I'd focus on nutritious basics only. Make everything else from scratch as needed.
$100 is really low in Stop&Shop territory. I use Local Walmart curbside pickup for basics myself.
I'd also forgo deli sliced turkey,that's $$$ -My Aldi sells a great small sliced ham that we use for various meals plus sandwiches as needed.
Don't buy single use yogurts.buy a 32 oz plain yogurt,use as needed (you can add your own jam or honey to sweeten.

Thanks for the help. Yea, the single serve yogurts are expensive. We buy large containers. The only junk food we get are tortilla chips and maybe one bag of cape cod potato chips. It's to keep our sanity at night since we eat healthy 90 % of the time.
The ordering online is such a good idea! Thanks

 

[trenty]

Meal plan based on what is on sale - it helped reduce my grocery budget - but not as low as you want to get it to.

 

[FQLover]

Since you mentioned that you are bad at figuring out how much you have spent, why don't you try logging your purchases for a month or two? I have done this for years, and I separate the categories into Groceries (meaning food and beverages), Household (meaning toiletries, cleaning supplies, printer supplies and the like). I also have a separate Pet category.

I just put the date, the total $ amount and the store I shopped at. It does give you info on habitual spending--like how often you go, where you go, how much you spend. I think that this is useful info to help you reduce in some categories if you want to after you look it all over.

 

[monica9]

Since you mentioned that you are bad at figuring out how much you have spent, why don't you try logging your purchases for a month or two? I have done this for years, and I separate the categories into Groceries (meaning food and beverages), Household (meaning toiletries, cleaning supplies, printer supplies and the like). I also have a separate Pet category.

I just put the date, the total $ amount and the store I shopped at. It does give you info on habitual spending--like how often you go, where you go, how much you spend. I think that this is useful info to help you reduce in some categories if you want to after you look it all over.

So would you just sit down with the receipt and calculate it and jot it down? Is there an app? Think I should just do a month of my normal and jot down and then figure out how much I spend and where I can save?

 

[punkin]

I couldn't do $400 on a regular basis. Yesterday DH and I went shopping. We spent about $250, there are only 2 of us and the food might last 1 week. Now, if I were really cutting corners, I could possibly do a month or so for 2 people for $400, but eventually I would splurge on something!

I will offer advice on chicken nuggets. Make your own. It's cheaper, tastier, and more nutritious. I cut and pound chicken breasts, coat them with egg and seasoned (I season them) breadcrumbs and fry (I don't deep fry, just in the pan, but you can do whatever you prefer). To save more money, use stale bread for breadcrumbs. You can do the same thing with dark meat.

Also, I never bought chicken parts when on a budget. Always a whole chicken on sale. If you take off breast meat that's 1 meal. Leg meat is another meal. Pasta, rice and beans and salad are your friends. Save the bones and wings for stock. Meal number 3. So now one chicken (I assume cost of around $10 just got you 3 meals for 4. None of these calculations will work if you're feeding teenaged boys, but it's fine for normal appetites.

 

[monica9]

I couldn't do $400 on a regular basis. Yesterday DH and I went shopping. We spent about $250, there are only 2 of us and the food might last 1 week. Now, if I were really cutting corners, I could possibly do a month or so for 2 people for $400, but eventually I would splurge on something!

I will offer advice on chicken nuggets. Make your own. It's cheaper, tastier, and more nutritious. I cut and pound chicken breasts, coat them with egg and seasoned (I season them) breadcrumbs and fry (I don't deep fry, just in the pan, but you can do whatever you prefer). To save more money, use stale bread for breadcrumbs. You can do the same thing with dark meat.

Also, I never bought chicken parts when on a budget. Always a whole chicken on sale. If you take off breast meat that's 1 meal. Leg meat is another meal. Pasta, rice and beans and salad are your friends. Save the bones and wings for stock. Meal number 3. So now one chicken (I assume cost of around $10 just got you 3 meals for 4. None of these calculations will work if you're feeding teenaged boys, but it's fine for normal appetites.

Yea, I heard about just getting a whole chicken and portioning it out into meals.
Chicken Nuggets. I've tried that, beleive me. I even tried using my vitamix and pureeing raw chicken and then molding it into shapes and breading. That was the only way my older daughter would eat it if it were homemade. She is super picky but also underweight so we need to hide protein into her meals. The vitamix method tastes like fast food chicken nuggets but I just don't have time to do that on a regular basis. But now that I think of it, maybe when I have a couple hours I can make a crap ton of them and freeze them.
I usedto only buy organic chicken nuggets for about 10 years and it's just too expensive. The past couple of years I've started to buy other one's as long as they have more simple ingredients. It's tough because I am very health conscious but also don't have a ton of time to prep stuff like this.
Now I'm wondering if I should up the bar and start at $600 per month and make my way down to $500 if I can.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Hi. I am looking for some advice, support and expertise on how to get my grocery bill at or under $400 per month for my family.
What we mainly buy:
vegetables, fruits, yogurt, milk (half gallon per week is enough), chicken, fish, deli turkey & cheese, mozzarella log, blocks of hard cheese, eggs, chicken nuggets, olives, frozen veg, bread, tortilla chips, potato chips. Those are our staples that we buy most of the time.

Grocery stores near me:
Stop and Shop, Shop Rite, Aldi, Costco, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods
stop and shop I go to usually has produce that is a little dented on a rack for dirt cheap but sometimes not a good enough variety so I don't rely on that cart but do use it often.
Background:
Me, DH, DD (12), DD (3 who constantly eats)
We used to spend close to $1000 when I only purchased organic foods.
Now I budget $800 and not buying anything organic except milk and certain meats and produce.
I feel like I only spend about $200 per week at the most but sometimes I go to multiple stores different days of the week or won't go for over a week so I am bad at figuring out how much I've spent. Also the fact that I might buy cleaning supplies or special food for a party, etc.
I'm really really really trying to get my bill down to $100 per week.

Hope this is enough info and any advice is much appreciated!

I think $400/month might be too optimistic, but to get your number down...

Deli stuff has to go. If you want deli, you'll want to do it yourself in your budget. Especially for turkey. You usually save 1/2 the price per pound. But this is a PITA. So, it's money vs time.

Fish is also pricey. If you are eating it, and you should, you'll want to go for the whole fish, and figure out ways to use everything and extend "just the filet" cut...and you'll want to buy the "loss leader of the week." Hmart, which I don't see on your list, is the only place I can afford to buy fish and eat it a lot, and I buy the whole thing, they prep it, I make stock out of the non-filet stuff to use for grits (same meal as filets) and soup (2nd meal) and serve the filets.

Fruits and veg - if you're hitting lots of places, you're probably sticking to the loss leaders, so no help there. Same for the dairy and "staples" b/c Aldi has good dairy prices.

Is there a reason you need to get to $400? $800 seems like a good budget for what you want to and are eating. And what you're eating seems to be a well-balanced diet that doesn't involve too much work for you...

If I were you, I'd shoot for $700, and see if that's doable, and if it starts becoming too much work going from store to store...

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

You mention Costco is near you, do you shop them? I do Costco about once a month and Meijer weekly for our grocery shopping. I get a majority of our meat/chicken/fish as Costco. They also sell fresh mozzarella "rolls" which is about half the price of Meijers. Have huge blocks of cheese, etc. Check out Costco if you haven't already. I think you might just be able to go in and check them out without a membership (but can't buy) so you could compare pricing.

I think in the long run between running around to alot of different stores you might be spending more money, more options for impulse buying. Plus all the time wasted.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Breaking it down your budget is about $3.57 per person per day. So a little over $1.19 per meal per person. That seems very unrealistic over the long term especially for adults and growing children trying to eat healthy.

Good luck- I like Aldi for budget shopping!

 

[starry_solo]

I don't think you can do it for $400/month unless all you're eating is pasta and ramen.

What do you like to eat? Buy what is on sale and plan your meals around that.

 

[DLgal]

There is no way to get it down that low for a family of 4 with growing children and maintain adequate nutrition and variety. That's unrealistic with the price of food these days.

 

[SaintsManiac]

You mention Costco is near you, do you shop them? I do Costco about once a month and Meijer weekly for our grocery shopping. I get a majority of our meat/chicken/fish as Costco. They also sell fresh mozzarella "rolls" which is about half the price of Meijers. Have huge blocks of cheese, etc. Check out Costco if you haven't already. I think you might just be able to go in and check them out without a membership (but can't buy) so you could compare pricing.

I think in the long run between running around to alot of different stores you might be spending more money, more options for impulse buying. Plus all the time wasted.

This is what I do, too. I do Walmart pick up orders In between to curb impulse buys. I’ll hit Target every couple of months for certain things if I can’t find them online.

OP I just signed up for Misfits Market based on rave reviews from my friends. $22 for 10-13 lbs of fruits and veggies. Very interested to see what we get! There are larger boxes at a higher price.

 

[luv2sewtjr]

We are also a family of four: 1 adult and 3 teens. My budget fluctuates between $600 and $800 per month. Twice a year I go down to about $400: around the holidays and right before vacation. We eat down the freezer and I use the savings elsewhere. I’m pretty much a scratch cook, but at $100 a week, I’m not adding anything to my pantry or freezer.

I also only shop one store because I don’t live near many options and I’m a single mom (time vs money). In the early days of being at home, I was going every two weeks, but that was really tough, so now it’s more like every 10 days. I plan around the sales and I also go early in the morning in hopes of catching marked down meat. I also know the sales cycles of my store and have some things that I will buy even though they’re more expensive. Frozen shrimp goes on sale about 6 times a year and I’ll grab it then. This summer, whole beef tenderloins went on sale for $6.99 a lb three different times! That has never happened. I bought one each time and cut it into steaks and we have lots more steak dinners in our future. Even before Covid, we didn’t go out to eat, just the occasional takeout. So I don’t have a problem buying good things and having variety.

Good luck! The food budget is often low hanging fruit when it comes to managing money, but really spend some time with it before setting a number.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

We shop at aldi and most weeks my bill is about 100- 125 for a family of 4.. just for food
Every 6-8 weeks buy all cleaners and paper products at Sam's and I probably spend 150-200
I also go to a farmers market stand for my fruits about 25 a week. Dollar tree for household supplies.(ziplock, foil, tooth paste,kids shampoo)
So yes I only spend in the 100 range but that's because I only buy food.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

The cost of food/grocery shopping has increased since the pandemic. I heard 20% increase in the cost of meat on the news the other day. will go back down? Who knows. My grocery bill more than doubled weekly. We're a family of 3. 2-3 meals everyday. Daughter is doing virtual school on line since March and husband works from home now. I shop Kroger, Publix and occasionally go to Walmart and Costco. I shop the sales. If peanut butter is BOGO or a really good sale, I buy it regardless if needed at the time because at some point I will need it. That goes for just about everything, except fresh fresh and vegetables. When meat is on sale, buy in bulk and freeze in individual portions. I shop Costco only for toilet paper, paper towels, aluminum foil, garbage bags and dish liquid. I buy that in bulk and lasts months.

 

[robinb]

I also think that $400 per month is too small for a family of 4. I would suggest that you look into flipp.com and see if they cover your area. It provides online copies of the ads that used to come in the paper. It will allow you to sit at home and browse the ads and "clip" them and then take your list with you via their phone app. It really helps with meal planning and pantry building because you can see all the "loss leaders" at all the grocery stores in one place.

 

[tvguy]

Meal plan based on what is on sale - it helped reduce my grocery budget - but not as low as you want to get it to.

Exactly. Our shopping list is staples like milk and flour, etc. Our meals are based on what is on sale on the meat and produce counters.

 

[Pixie Dusted Dee]

As the daughter of a farmer I will say "organic" and "free range" is a rip off.

Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are quite pricey places to do major shopping.

Meat is generally cheaper at a local market vs a chain grocery store but admittedly we don't often go to the market because we're already in the grocery store and tend to only buy meat we will be making dishes with for that week since we are a family that doesn't plan meals too far in advance.
We will tend to base our meals for the week on what meat is on sale. Hamburg on sale this week? We will for sure be eating things like tacos, sloppy Joe bake, and hamburgers.

Walmart tends to be much cheaper than my local chain grocery store for cheese, cereal, snack foods, bread, canned goods, frozen fruit/veggies, cans of soda etc.

Aldi is great for produce and bread.