I started posting my grocery shopping trips back in 2008. We were in debt, working to pay it off. Pregnant with our sixth child, I began to use coupons as a way to save money and reduce one of the most flexible items in our budget: our grocery spending.
While I no longer post weekly or even monthly grocery hauls, I still keep track of what I spend on food. It’s important to our financial goals that we stick to a budget, and so groceries is one area that I focus on.
My grocery shopping profile in 2019
- I’m feeding eight people, ages 56, 47, 21, 18, 16, 15, 12, and 10. Five of those people are males. They eat A LOT!
- I’m shooting for a budget of $1000 this year, though that might change depending on how a new #veggiesmost diet pans out, either way, trying to beat what the feds think it will cost. Per the most recent USDA food cost report it should cost our family $1371.80 to eat all meals at home under the “thrifty plan” for people of our demographics. These numbers are what food stamps are based on, so I guess you could say that we eat on LESS THAN A FOOD STAMP BUDGET.
- We live in Southern California where produce is cheap, but meat and dairy are not.
- I’m trying to feed us mostly unprocessed foods, with a few “healthier” convenience items thrown in and a junk food splurge* here and there. Currently we’re striving for half vegetables at lunch and dinner. (Yikes!)
- I work at home and teach four of our kids, so I don’t have as much time for fiddling in the kitchen as I would like.
- I no longer use coupons on a regular basis, though I do love the coupons that Ralphs offers.
- I have at least ten grocery stores within 5.5 miles of my house. It is easy (for better or for worse) to stop at several stores to get the best deals.
- We mostly eat at home. My husband and college age sons pack lunch and breakfast to work, but sometimes have lunch out. My husband and I enjoy a date once a week. FishPapa takes one child out to “breakfast with B” once a week. We get take-out for the family on average once a week. That adds up to about 156 individual meals prepped at home. That’s a lot!
- BEFORE YOU JUDGE ME FOR EXTRAVAGANCE, please read this post.
Grocery Spending in 2019
- January: $634
- February: $1147
- March: $1264
- April: $1090
- May: $1284
- June: 1035
