Money - McKinney,TX

Geez, what are they eating?! Steak & shrimp?! Just kidding. That's enough, and IMO, WAY more than enough to feed 4 kids for a week. That's 1k just for the kids for a month. I'm wondering what's being bought - I think that bill could be trimmed SUBSTANTIALLY.

I usually try to spend $150-$180 per week on most groceries including food, toothpaste, washing detergent, tissues etc for a family of five. It takes a little budgeting, and some weeks i spend more than others (like when i run out of coffee), but i would think that you could do food for $250 per week quite easily.

For $200 a week, I buy enough food for my family of four.

My husband puts the gas in my car. We are a cash only family. If I get a credit card in my hand, I can spend like there's no tomorrow.

I use coupons. I look through the weekly sales fliers and make sure I have a list. I make a menu for the week and shop off that.

Certainly. That's more then we spend for our family of three in a month!!

Yes. I do. Especially if you use coupons....sign up for hotcouponworld.com or pennypincher.com - you get weekly notifications via your e-mail and can pick and choose your coupons...

Every week in the paper there are coupons for the cleaning supplies. Watch for sales, use your coupons and buy in bulk - the supplies don't go bad.

With gas going up - our local grocery store, Giant, works with Shell gas and you can get 10cents to 40cents per gallon off by using your Giant card..not a credit card but a "rewards" card...the more you use the rewards card, the more coupons that spit out at the register when you check out.

GOOD LUCK!!

I spend roughly $140/week for my family of four, plus pets. This includes food/drinks, household items, paper items, hygiene items, etc. and filling up the tank as needed as well as usually purchasing any gifts that are needed at any given time. I think $250/week should be a doable budget but then again it depends on the taste preferences and ages of the children. Feeding 4 toddlers is not the same as feeding 4 teenagers.

Yes. We spend about $120-$150 every week in gas, groceries, pets, ect. We only have 2 kids though.

That's way too much! I feed my family of 6 on $150 a week, plus a little for school lunches (not every day) and sometimes I buy lunch at work, so all in we may be closer to $200 but that's for four kids and two adults.

I currently have 4 teens at home...and 250 is adequate...as long as there are no 'special' things going on...(b days...graduations...etc).

I buy mostly fresh fruits and veggies (in season) and that has been pricey...

Tried a garden...but...not so much luck!! lol Am trying again this year...but suffice it to say...if we were depending on MY gardening skills...we would be very hungry!!

Best luck!
michele/cat

Depends on how old they are and how they eat. Four kids under 5 or 6 will certainly eat less than 4 teens. And a tiny little size 0 teen girl isnt going to eat near what a big husky football playing high school boy will. If you buy fresh fruits and veggies instead of frozen or canned, and prepackaged stuff you can have a big difference in cost. Buying hot pockets costs more for less food then making good healthy sandwiches. Chicken strips cost more than a whole chicken. Cereals cost a fortune for very little but oatmeal will cost less and go farther.Do you include soda and juice or mostly milk? It all makes a difference. To me it sounds lke a lot of money for groceries.

How much is wasted and how rich the diet determines the cost. Nix the sodas and junk food, eat beans and cornbread occasionally, and use rags for cleaning instead of paper towels. These and other small things will lower the costs. Use coupons when you can, but don't buy junky stuff just because you have the coupon. Buy on sale as much as you can. Watch for markdowns for quick sale, too. Gas is the killer. It's going up everyday, so a $40 tank of gas two months ago is now close to $60, depending on type of vehicle. Learning how to budget is the secret to getting by. Also, the age of the kids matters. Teenagers eat more and more often. We went through a bad time when mine were teens and I had to limit them.

Not for my family of 3. It all depends on you and your family.

Many items fall into this category you describe.

I just added up my trips to Market Street this week, 1 tak of gas for my car, my lunches out school supplies for 1 project, and some makeup from Sephora and I alone spent $442. This does not count daughter's gas and hubby's gas. As for toiletries, I go to Costco about once every 2 months and stock up of canned and paper goods. This is not on Credit.... we live with no debt.

We eat healthy foods and fresh foods, hence the daily trips to the market. We have very little junk foods and fortunately, our family does not care for sodas.

I expect our expenses to rise when school is out. There will be more teens at my house, more food to buy, and more entertainment expenses.

I only spend 60$ a week on 3 people lol.

My family of 4 survives on about $50/week for food and household goods. I plan ahead and use coupons when I have them. I do not go to the store without a list of needed items. We also do not purchase sodas, or a lot of junkfood.

Matters.

We fed a family of 4 on 200 a month, so it is doable, if it only the kids, add in the parents... well that is questionable. Our 200 also covered diapers for 2 kids, toiletries, cleaning supplies and all household things. Gas was not included but we only had 1 car and hubby sometimes had to drive 300 miles a week and at others only needed to drive 15 miles in a week. You will need to shop based on 6 or 12 week price cycle (mattering on your area it is 6 week or 12 week...)

I spend about $100-$150 per week on food for my family of 5 (2 adults, 11, 9, and 3 year olds). But, I spend time and energy clipping coupons, getting deals, and planning meals around what I have that I got on sale. That also covers my cleaning supplies and toilet paper, paper towels, etc. If you add in gas, for me, that's another $60 per week probably, so yes, I think I could do it. Every situation is different though!

I've 4 kids and spend between $250-$275/week on groceries (this includes household supplies, but not gas). I've also been trying to stock up my pantry when things are on sale, so I have been buying a little more than what I will use in a week.

I also typically save $15- $30/week in coupons (most of them are from the Sunday paper- i usually get at least 2). I often manage to combine coupons and sales, and get things for next to nothing- sometimes even free. I do really well with toiletries that way. I usually get Colgate or Crest toothpaste, for example, for anywhere between 29 cents and nothing :)

I try to make a meal plan for the week when I find out what meats are on sale. This time of year, I tend to spend more because I buy more fresh produce and more meat (DH is a grilling fanatic-lol). The other seasons, I make soup once a week (cheap) and we tend to have more frozen veggies (all purchased on sale) so I save quite a bit there.

Do you have a membership to a Sam's Club, Costco, or BJ's? We have a membership to BJ's, but the closest one to us is about an hour away, so we only go once a month or every other month. They are finally building one closer to us though, and it should be opening this fall. We save quite a bit there though, especially when we use the coupons they send us in the mail.
Good luck :)

Food yes but gas will be determined on how much you have to drive! My husband and I use $120 to $160 a week in gas. So that makes a big difference. Also food depends on how much you cook. I understand the need for budgeting right now. We have had to cut back on how much we eat out and how much we cook at home.

Good luck and God bless!

I just had 10 extra people spend a week at my house and we fed my family of 6 and the extra 10 for $267 and had good wholesome meals and leftovers. This included a few incidentals...toilet paper & paper towels, etc. but it was mostly food. So I would say yes.

I don't know about gas, but yes, $1000 a month ought to cover food and household supplies.

I guess it would depend on the food prices where you live. That's a good bit more than we use for our entire family of six, and if you are strictly talking food, not diapers, household goods, etc., I'm guessing that's plenty.

Yep. I have a family of 6 and I spend about $100.00 week on groceries (we are health nuts and I cook dinner every night). We were driving the kids to school (30 mi round trip in a van) and kept that and our other car gassed up for $100.00 week. We also spend about $50.00 each Saturday on taking the kids out to eat and a family activity.
I plan a menu each week and do budget. Since we are mostly vegetarian, we save money on meat and I do buy frozen produce if what I need is out of season. I look carefully at serving sizes before I purchase snacks. As you know, with 4 kids, food can disappear quickly. Also, we are strict about our eating schedule. The kids are not allowed to just help themselves. I provide breakfast, midmorning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. Dessert is a special treat just a few days a week and I typically bake something.
My kids are at a very healthy weight and do not feel deprived. I think scheduling is key to keeping your budget under control. I grew up in a family of 8 kids and that is how my parents were able to afford to feed us.
Hope this helps!