How much is your food budget?

spinkles

Tue, May 20 2008, 11:03 pm

I was figuring out our food budget, and it turns out I'm spending anywhere from $11-$15.50 per supper (to feed a family of two adults and three little kids). The most expensive supper is enchilada casserole (lots of cheese), and the cheapest is tofu/rice/steamed veggies/peanut sauce. Is that a normal amount to spend on one meal?? It seems like a lot to me. (A year ago I was spending much less. Cottage cheese has almost doubled, for example.)

So let's say $70 a week for supper (5 suppers).

Shabbos is $100.

Breakfast is maybe $20 for the week.

Lunch is $40 per week.

Snacks are another $25, let's say.

$255 a week for food. The Shabbos $ is not on our cheshbon, but you still have to budget for it. That's like $1,100 per month for food.

I don't even know how I could trim that much from our food costs, because I already make homemade bread for our lunches, and homemade muffins and waffles and stuff. They would be cheaper if they weren't wholegrain, but obviously I'm not going to start using white flour to save a buck.

Is what I'm spending in line with what you're spending???

Beauty and the Beast

Wed, May 21 2008, 1:25 am

Wow, I wish I was so organized with knowing how much I spend on food, but I can for sure tell you that we spend way more than you, and I have 2 adults and 2 little ones. ( one is 2 and hardly eats, but what he does eat is expensive, the other is an infant, and I nurse...)

mimivan

Wed, May 21 2008, 1:52 am

we don't budget it by meal...and it is hard to keep track because we have to keep running to the macolet for eggs, milk, flour etc..

Dh goes shopping and spends about 200 to 300 shekels for the weekly food (more expensive because of shmitta year) lets say 300 including fish...about $100

then meat...we order a couple of times a month...I guess we spend about $30 a week on meat (mainly for Shabbos)

I usually have to spend an additional $30 on Shabbos and my trips to the macolet are another $50 a week..

Snacks are minimal...lets say $20 a week.

okay..$230...wow...that's where it all goes! And I thought we were cheapskates!
Like Chana f, I make my own stuff... tortillas, pitot and bagels (we eat that instead of bread. )Use almost no convenience foods and I also make my own lasagna noodles. I really think food prices HAVE gone up a ton!

Chanaf: I agree, I don't think I could trim more from our food budget...As it is, I use the cheapest cheese for my lasagnas and make enough things by hand...I will probably have to work some more overtime. Crying

spinkles

Wed, May 21 2008, 9:22 am

Oh, I see someone else posted a very similar topic a couple of days ago. Whoops. embarrassed

I posted mine in Chitchat, and it got moved over to Finances I guess. So, sorry for the overlap; I didn't see the other thread in Finances.

Anyway, I feel better hearing that other people are spending in line with what I'm spending.

Beauty, yes, nursing makes you sooo ravenous. I eat way more than my husband. Mimivan, homemade lasagna noodles?? Pretty impressive!!

It's really crazy, I don't know how we're going to keep managing with gas and food prices rising like they are. On the other thread, I saw that some people's food budgets are way lower though--so I wonder what they're doing differently. Maybe they have smaller appetites. I've noticed that sometimes when people send kimpeturin meals or when we go out for seudos--sometimes the quantities are like a third of what I would make for my own family. Lucky people who have smaller appetites, I guess!

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, May 21 2008, 9:48 am

We try to spend between 80-100/week on food for our family of 4. But we don't do it in weekly increments, per se, it just evens out over time...cereal we stock up on, for example, so it will be more expensive for that one week, but we won't shop again for a couple months for that...same with meat (goes in freezer), etc.

jba

Wed, May 21 2008, 5:46 pm

I have been spending about $300-350 a week and shopping twice Tursday and again Sunday or Monday. It was driving me nuts. We are two adults two teenagers (one who has decided to eat only salad, eggs and ice cream!) and one toddler. We weren't even making big shabbaton with guests recently.

Lovemylife

Wed, May 21 2008, 9:42 pm

usually about $200 a week, but I'm trying to get a handle on our spending so I'm cutting out all frozen prepared foods, snack foods etc.

I'm down to about $100 a week but I shop every other week usually.

Here in Miami, kosher food is through the roof (yogurt is $1.39 for the little stinkin' ones that half filled with cheap jelly)
Milk 3.29

any grocery saving tips?

OP I must commend your budgetary skills... you have it down to price per dinner : )

Pizza

Thu, May 22 2008, 7:48 am

One summer I presented my family with "The Great Dinner Challenge"

The kids had been asking for pizza with increasing frequency, and didnt understand why I kept saying no. I explained to them that the cost of the pizza (40 nis at the time, we need two pies = 80 nis for one meal without veggies) was exorbitant compared to what I spend on the average family dinner.

My average family dinner at the time (approx 5 adult portions) cost 40 - 50 nis, for a balanced meal, and there were often leftovers for lunch the next day.

For the next week or so, I would mentally calculate the cost of the meal as I prepared it, and then announce how much it was at some point during dinner.

"The Great Dinner Challenge" was presented on a large poster in the kitchen eating area. Each participant (each kid + dh) signed up for one day during the summer. The rules were as follows:

1. Each participant has 70 nis to spend (I gave them more than I give myself, b/c I knew it would be Mission Impossible otherwise)
2. The meal must adequately feed all 7 of us
3. It must be a balanced meal: protein, starch, veggies
4. They must not use staples from the home (excepting spices, oil, incidentals like that)

The kids spent time planning their menus and shopping. There were some frustrating experiences. The ONLY one to successfully stay under budget was the 6-year old. (ok, I did help her- but she planned the menu and went shopping with me and did all the prep).

I have not heard many complaints about pizza since.

yo'ma

Thu, May 22 2008, 7:53 am

Lovemylife wrote:

My dh just told me yesterday that he read that food in Miami is cheaper than here (Argentina), even meat. Meat is huge here.

spinkles

Thu, May 22 2008, 6:02 pm

Quote:

One summer I presented my family with "The Great Dinner Challenge"

Pizza (LOL), loved your story. We did something similar in an 8th grade class, not making the meals but just planning what we would make and how much it would cost, and it was the best unit I *ever* did in school. A lot of people went over budget.

Hashem Yaazor and others who are spending less than me: can you post menu ideas?

I usually make:

1. Taco Salad (veggie chili, romaine, spinach if time, cukes, peps, tomatoes, optional shredded cheddar, and a few crumbled up blue corn chips).
2. Butternut squash soup, walnut-apricot-wheat germ muffins, cottage cheese.
3. Enchilada casserole (corn tortillas, enchilada sauce, cottage cheese, cheddar, peppers, red beans).
4. Tofu, steamed carrots, cabbage, beets, rice, and peanut sauce.
5. Bean burgers, mashed potatoes, salad.

I would love to have good menu ideas for cheaper foods. (I know it would be cheaper to serve eggs, but my kids won't eat them.) Thanks, ladies, for any suggestions!

sllyjllybn

Fri, May 23 2008, 12:01 am

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

We do the same thing but for only two of us. BUT I do a lot of entertaining. $80-$100 a week, and if we are over we put stuff back. finding cupons really helps and going to different stores does too, even if buying everything in one store is more convenient. Fruits and veggies is another $25-$30

Pizza

Fri, May 23 2008, 12:26 am

What do I make for suchcheap dinners?
Here are some ideas:

1. PASTA
Baked ziti
Macaroni & cheese
Tuna-noodle casserole w/veggies
Matza Lasagna

2. DAIRY
Cottage cheese pancakes
French toast
Crepes
Blintzes
Bagels cream cheese & lox (homemade bagels and cream cheese)
Scrambled eggs / Omelets
Cheese melt
Baked potato bar w/ Greek salad

3. ‘TAKEOUT’
Pita / laffa pizza
Homemade pizza
Felafel (w/ frozen shwarma or falafel balls)

4. LEGUMES
Rice ‘n beans casserole (like a chili)
Taco salad (lettuce, tomatoes, spicey beans w/cheese melted on top; sometimes I make tortillas for with this meal)
Bean patties

5. FISH
Fish Sticks/mashed potatoes
Tuna stuffed potatoes
Tuna loaf
Tuna-pasta salad
Salmon / tuna patties
Sweet ‘n sour fish

6. SOUP- any of these with a loaf of fresh whole wheat bread is a welcome winter meal
Hearty split pea soup
Potato soup
Lentil stew
Black bean soup
Minestrone soup
Chicken-veggie soup w/noodles
Tomato soup w/ cheese melts
Cream of corn soup (easier to make than you think - no cans!)

7. FLEISHIG
Shabbos leftovers
Hot dogs (or soya-dogs w/cheese) w/baked beans
Hamburgers w/ everything
Spaghetti & meatballs or meat sauce
Stir-fry or lo mein
Chicken pot-pie