How to grocery budget for large family?

Question

We've recently combined households, 4 1/2 adults and 4 kids. We have a food budget of $300 a month.

Without a garden (since frost just killed everything) or farmer's market, what are some suggestions for healthy, filling, affordable meals?

I can get quite a bit of things in bulk thanks to Costco/SAMS kind of places, but I haven't actually been in one yet to know about their prices. I can get fresh things like potatos, rice, apples etc.. in huge 50lbs bags for a good price, but how do I store them so that they don't go bad?

Answer 1

Wow that is tough, First of all buy everything in bulk and cook everything from scratch as much as possible. I would use a lot of hamburger and chicken and try to keep a little of the grocery money back in case you find something on sale you can stock up. Find out what time your local grocery store sets out the reduced meats ( stuff that is almost out of date) you can get it at a good discount and still freeze it and it is fine. Also a lot of stores have a special place that they put all of the dented can stuff, usually at half price. Pasta,rice and potatoes are easy ways to fill kids up. Dried beans, pintos, lima's etc are good and good for you, cheap and easy to cook. As for Sam's, I would ask to go in and check out their prices before you pay for a membership. You can get some stuff cheaper but they usually only carry name brands and you can get it for less by buying store brands or dented cans at the regular grocery store.

Answer 2

Sam's and Costco can be great, but make sure that you're buying something that you will use fairly quickly- say within a month or so. Otherwise, you can blow your monthly budget pretty quickly.

And, know how much things cost. Sometimes you can find great deals at Costco or Sams, but not always. I find you can get great deals on dog food at Sam's - and some of the better brands.

Walmart is a great place to buy staple products, canned goods, frozen foods, dairy products, juice - basically anything that is packaged or canned or frozen. Also their bakery items are usually pretty good.

Things like cleaning supplies, paper products, etc...are also cheaper, most of the time.

Their produce tends to be cruddy though, so go to another store to buy your produce unless something really looks good at Walmart.

Also, if you are looking for specialty items or more expensive premium food products, you would be more likely to find it at another market, not at Walmart. (But I guess maybe you would avoid expensive things if you're on a budget.)

I find Walmart is usually cheaper for most food items, but let's face it. It's not the best atmosphere. If you want to save money, it's worth a trip every so often to stock up on the things that they are cheaper on.

Also, food coupons can be great. Just stop and think about whether you would really want this product if it weren't for the coupon. Because if you wouldnt otherwise use it, you're actually increasing the amount of money you're spending, not saving.

I think rice and beans are really tasty. It provides an excellent source of protein, so you don't have to eat much meat with it. You can just throw in a little sausage - if you really want meat, that is. You can make it taste really good when you use the right seasonings. Throw together a green salad or some other vegetable, and maybe some bread if you like, and you've got a m eal. Also, you can m ake it with dried beans, and that is very economical. If you're in a hurry, you can make it with canned beans, though. Just jazz it up with the seasoning.

You can toss some chick peas in a salad, and they will provide some protein. Actually, any sort of beans provide protein. They're just especially good with rice if you need a source of protein.

You can make virtually any Mexican dish and substitute refried beans for meat or chicken. Do you like taco salad? (I know it's not really Mexican food, but I like it.)

Chicken and dumplings are a pretty economical meal. Some people use bizquick to make the dumplings, and some people just toss in the dough from a can of biscuits. I think you just cut em into smaller pieces.

Potatoes are always good - even if you buy the cheaper potatoes that come in big bags, it is hard to go wrong with mashed potatoes. Red potatoes or new potatoes are really delicious boiled and with a little butter, chives- dried chives are just fine, salt and pepper The red potatoes tend to be more expensive, but maybe a treat it can work with your budget. Or you can always make a meal of a baked potato and a veggie or two.

I like cornbread, and it's very filling. I love Mexican cornbread. Depending on the recipe, you throw in a can of creamed corn and a few other things. Sometimes you can find a recipe right on the back of the cornbread mix. And, if you have plenty of time, you can really make it economical by buying cornmeal and a few other ingredients instead of buying a corn bread mix. (But really, the corn bread mix isn't that expensive.)

I also like rice-a-roni. There are always recipes on the back of the box, which you can use to jazz it up a little. Or google it to find recipes.

Do you remember salmon croquettes from your school cafeteria? You can find a recipe for those, if you like them. They can taste pretty good if they're homemade. I know, not everyone likes them.

Sometimes, a pancake supper can be fun. Fry or scramble some eggs, if you like. Not everyone would want that for supper, I know. You can serve it with some fresh fruit - even just plain old sliced apples or orange segments.

Do you like corned beef hash? It's also something you can serve with a fried egg if you don't mind the breakfast for supper concept.

You can make barbeque chicken pretty easily. Just buy the pieces already cut up, put the pieces in a pan, and pour barbeque sauce on it. It doesn't have to be expensive barbeque sauce, either.

Just try to supplement everything with a little fresh fruit or some veggies if you can. It's always a struggle for me, because I so love starches.

Best of luck with your budget.

Answer 3

Storage for the rice, flour and potatoes should be cool and dry. You want as low of humidity as you can get. Besides buying your bulk items at Costco / Sams you should check out a Super Wal-mart (the grocery side). I'm always amazed at how they can sell name brand foods for such low prices.

Answer 4

don't buy any processed foods and try to switch to all whole grains . . . whole oatmeal, whole wheat bread and brown rice. these will keep you full longer and they're more nutritious and about the same price if you really shop around. i think the best bargains out there are canned beans, canned vegetables and dried lentils . . . you can do tons of things with these and if you're serving beans and/or lentils, it'll save you the expense of buying meat. if you want to buy chicken, buy the huge tray and freeze what you won't immediately use. also, i don't know if your family will eat tofu but it's really cheap and good for you, too. you can do anything with it. my favorite recipes are: homemade tomato sauce (sauteed onion & garlic with 2-3 big cans of stewed tomatoes added) served with whole wheat pasta or even just some italian bread baked brown rice and broccoli casserole (layer brown rice in the bottom of a casserole dish, stick pieces of broccoli up out of the rice like little trees and pour a can of cream of broccoli soup & 1/2 can of milk over top . . . cook for 45 minutes at 375) pulled pork made in the crock pot . . . cook it on low for 8 hours and all you have to do is put the meat in with 1/2 can of beer in the bottom (or water if you prefer, though the beer gives it nice flavor) and then shred it and put it on a bun with bbq sauce a big pot of vegetable soup: a can of each with their juice - green beans, yellow beans, kidney beans, beets and a chopped onion, 3 chopped carrots, some celery and 1/2 head of chopped red cabbage. add some salt & pepper, 6 cups of stock and serve with some sour cream and bread. good luck :)

Answer 5

Refrigerate or keep in the cool places. If you don't want to buy items in bulk, I heard coupon clipping works great! I often see on the t.v. that people save lots of money by using coupons and go to the stores that offers double coupon saving. (you can get a double discount of coupon value) Check Sunday news papers. I heard they have LOTS of good coupons!

Answer 6

There is a wed site call www.angelfoodmimistries.com. They might have one around you. It is a place where you can order food for 25.00 a unit.and they also have specials that you can order. The food changes every month. It is not based on you income anyone can order. You can order as much as you want. I order for my family of 6 every month. You pay for your order one week and about 2 weeks later you go pick it up. It has been a life savor for me.

Answer 7

you can freeze alot of things, Can whatever you can and i invested into a food saver and that really does save alot of different things, Also i always use coupons and never buy anything unless its on sale and i need it

Answer 8

two tips: don't go grocery shopping when you're hungry, and don't buy anything that's not on your list.

Answer 9

freeze them, can them. put in bags.