Guest guest Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 I wish I could help you there, but I don't have a food budget :-( In fact, I have no idea how much I spend on it. I suppose I really should shouldn't I.... *guilty guilty* > This is somewhat OT but I was wondering if you could share your > approximate monthly food budget and how many people are in your > household. Hubby and I just found out that we can get approved for a > home loan and are trying to make up a budget and actually stick to it > <G>. Just wondering if how much we spend is about " right " for BFL > eating or not. Thanks. > > Colleen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 The food budget thing made me chuckle. :-) I'm going to be no help at all. I'm not sure how two people and two dogs spend $800 a month at the grocery store but I swear we do it. I'm the kind of fool who walks in with no plan and no coupons and buys anything that looks good. I'll buy something because the package is shiny, or because I saw it on television last week. I'll buy smoked swiss cheese that's $7.99 a pound. Or the infamous New Zealand blueberries. They were HUGE! So good! But they were out of season and from the other side of the world. That kind of thing does not stop me. I probably paid $30 for a dozen berries. LOL The dogs like these bones called Greenies. I'd been buying them a little bag every week until they started putting price tags on them - $17!! I'd been buying $17 dog treats! Aaaagh! Anyway, I hope somebody else has good food budget advice. God knows I could use some guidance, or even just adult supervision, somebody to go with me and smack my hands when I reach for stuff. :-) BFL food budget This is somewhat OT but I was wondering if you could share your approximate monthly food budget and how many people are in your household. Hubby and I just found out that we can get approved for a home loan and are trying to make up a budget and actually stick to it <G>. Just wondering if how much we spend is about " right " for BFL eating or not. Thanks. Colleen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 When we first went down to one income I made a budget. $80/week on groceries. Yikes! Well - what would help me stay within budget was to (1) make a list, which was created by a plan for the week and (2) write down approximate totals as I go along. I did that by adding together everything I put in the cart as I put it in on the back of my grocery list. Like I'd write down $1 for a can of something. Then I'd buy $5 worth of tomatoes, so I'd cross off the $1 and put $6 underneath it. I rounded everything up to the nearest dollar. And darn it if every time I do this it comes out almost exact. BFL food budget > > > This is somewhat OT but I was wondering if you could share your > approximate monthly food budget and how many people are in your > household. Hubby and I just found out that we can get approved for a > home loan and are trying to make up a budget and actually stick to it > <G>. Just wondering if how much we spend is about " right " for BFL > eating or not. Thanks. > > Colleen > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 Me, myself and I: $30 per week, on average. I am a vegetarian and I eat a lot of fake meat. I wait until something goes on sale, and then I'll buy at least ten of that item, spending over my allotted budget. Then I'll cut back on what I allow myself to spend over the next couple of weeks, depending on how much over I went. Example: Yves Fake Canadian Bacon is on sale, I spend $50 buying lots and lots of it, as well as my regular food. That's $20 over my budget. So for the next 4 weeks, I will only budget $25 for food. Of course, I'm a certified and proud tightwad (half my student loans gone in two years!), so I am perhaps more frugal than others might want to be. My food budget has gone up since I started BFL. Hope that makes sense. Summer PS: I do have one absolute maxim for anyone who wants to spend less on food: Buy Generic! 99% of the time you can't tell the difference. _________________________________________________________________ Say “good-bye” to spam, viruses and pop-ups with MSN Premium -- free trial offer! http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200359ave/direct/01/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 > PS: I do have one absolute maxim for anyone who wants to spend less on food: > Buy Generic! 99% of the time you can't tell the difference. Except for toilet paper! That stuff can be very unpleasant, lol. You are right though, there are even items where I PREFER the generic supermarket brand, like my wholegrain bread, half the price and much nicer. Phoenix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 > I wish I could help you there, but I don't have a food budget :-( In > fact, I have no idea how much I spend on it. I suppose I really > should shouldn't I.... *guilty guilty* ....we don't either, that's the problem I like it, I buy it; it sounds good, I buy it and I have a feeling we are spending a lot more money than we could if we tried to budget a little. Colleen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 24, 2004 Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 In a message dated 2/23/2004 2:13:36 PM Eastern Standard Time, colleen_meacham@... writes: > approximate monthly food budget and how many people are in your > household. Hubby and I just found out that we can get approved for a > home loan and are trying to make up a budget and actually stick to it Here is the breakdown on how to spend your monthly take home pay. These percentages are based on your monthly take home pay. Housing = 30% Utilities = 5% Food = 20% Essentials = 2% to 4% Medical = 5% clothing = 7% Transportation = 15% Recreation = 4% Savings = 8% Mad money = 2% Start from here and then make appropriate adjustments allowing for other bills you have and fixed expenses. You should then be able to determine how much of a house payment you can afford. Whatever amt you have for food (20% of monthly take home pay) you need to stick within that budget. That might mean eating less expensive foods or skipping certain supplements. I just set up a budget for my family for the first time and it has made such a difference in our lives. It has only been a month, but I am so happy to have done this. I am really learning what is necessary and what is not. My husband follows body for Life strictly, he only eats basmatic brown rice, oatmeal, strawberries, fatfree sugar free plain yogurt, Myoplex Delux shakes, chicken, fish and shrimp. The only things he adds to his foods are lemon juice, s hot sauce, vinegar, soy sauce and Splenda. He takes various supplements, too. I make recipes out of the Eating for Life book. We also have 3 kids. So we all have different things we are eating. My kids can eat the meals I make out of EFL which helps. Anyway we spend a lot on food and supplements, but now that we have a budget we are learning to spend more conservatively. I hope this has helped you. Good luck! It is a lot of work to set up a doable budget but well worth the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 24, 2004 Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 I have a family of four plus a daycare with before and after school kids. I would say we average $275-300 a month. This is just food!!! This would not include your paper products and such. This is all food. I hope this helps. Cheree MD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 24, 2004 Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 Thanks everyone for the suggestions! We need to start somewhere. I unfortunately have a lot of monthly money in health care due to my meds (over $100/month), health ins. ($190/month) and physical therapy (over $100/month) that we can't cut down on. Also the dogs don't eat any food with wheat or corn and only foods with meat listed as the first ingredient, so generic is out. With the conformation and agility, I need to feed them the best quality food possible. And we go through a 35 lb of food in just under 3 weeks. BUT reading your emails has given me a good estimate of how to get our budget under control. We already lowered our cable and phone plans so food is the next thing to scrutinize. Colleen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 24, 2004 Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 > Is there a certain kind of beef jerky that I should be buying? I never thought to use this as a protein source. Do I have to look for certain nutrition stats on it? I love beef jerky! I thought it was too fatty. > Celine:) I used to eat the turkey jerky brand that Trader Joes carries. It was not only lower in fat, but lower in carbs. Carbs/sugar is a big factor in choosing what kind of beef jerky to get...oh and for me money but I think I've found a cheaper source now Colleen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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