Grocery Budget

I am reposting this for Dana (Elijah's Mom). This is how we do groceries........

We have a grocery budget of $350.00 (as of January 2008) per month. it used to be $300.00 but with milk and things going up we had to increase. We are a family made up of husband, wife and 21 month old twin boys (that are little piggies). (The boys are now 27 months old.)This includes:

• cleaning supplies (we try to make most of ours)
• diapers/wipes
• paper products
• cosmetics/ health & beauty aides/toiletries
• all food products

• We try cook almost all meals at home. We usually eat out twice a month.
• I try to bake a good bit for snacks and all.
• I stockpile every chance I get.
• We use Angel food Ministries (check out http://www.angelfoodministries.com/). There is no age, income or government restrictions.
• Hubby takes lunch to work each day.
• Only buy things on sale and use coupons.
• I also use http://printable-coupons.blogspot.com/. I find great coupons on there.
• I buy coupons from coupon sites and E Bay.
• Comparison shop.
• Use CVS to my advantage. (check out http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ for more info).
• We grow almost all of our fruits and vegetables.
• I can and freeze those. I make almost all of our canned tomatoes, green beans, peas, salsas, jams, jellies, butters, chutney, bbq sauce, spaghetti sauce, soups, taco sauce, preserves, relishes, pickles, applesauce, ketchup, okra and tomatoes, and so on so forth. Canning can be economical if you can grow your own and/or get your produce cheap.
• I freeze okra, corn (on the cob and cream style), green tomatoes, peaches, blueberries, strawberries, freezer jams and so on so forth.
• We deer hunt and eat the venison. We try to have a freezer full by the end of deer season, around January 31.
• We buy some things in bulk.
• We try not to buy much processed food, soft drinks (although,hubby takes a Coke each day in his lunch), pre-packaged foods and things of that nature.
• I almost never pay over $2.00 per pound for meat. This includes b/l s/l chicken breast, center cut chops, roast, steak, bacon, sausage, ground chuck, tenderloin, cubed steak, ham, fish. The usual things. Hubby has to have meat with every meal.
• We have 2 yard sales each year. 2 huge ones, at my parents home. They last 2 days and there is usually n o less than 7 families. The stuff is good things. No stains, broken or not usable items. All clothes are on a hanger and so on so forth. Everything is always priced with the person's initials on it. We advertise well and everyone knows we usually have one around the 1st part of March and somewhere between October 1 and November 1. On average each person usually sells around $500.00.
• Now, to say my say here. All of the things I get for free or almost free from CVS and the like (that we don't use or have way too much of) I sell at the yard sales. For instance last year alone I got over 150 tubes of toothpaste fro free or no more $.25 each. I sold what we did not need for $1.00-$1.50 per tube. What does not sell I donate to the local Children's center or a women's and children's shelter. I also do stocking for each niece and nephew with toothpaste and toiletry items for Christmas each year. I make extra money and this supplies groceries for my family throughout the year.

I hope this helps someone needing to save a few dollars here and there. Please feel free to ask questions or email me. I can always use help and suggestions!

Blessings!