What does your family spend on groceries and toiletries a month?

You can make it on $500 a month.

Some things we did was cut out a lot of junk & soda, healthier for us anyway.

We eat less meat; Americans often eat way more meat than they need. We don’t usually have big slabs of meat, we cut it into smaller servings or chunks & mix it with the meal. We also only eat meat 3 or 4 nights a week now. Plus we only buy the meat that is buy-1-get-1-free when we shop, or half-price sales.

Staples: we buy economy size rice (dry kind, not instant), beans (cans or bags), pasta, bags of frozen veggies, onions & garlic and eggs. Keep cans of tomato sauce around, and a variety of seasonings and broth in the freezer. By keeping these things in stock, if the budget starts running low, we know we can make plenty of meals.

Make your own broth… we use broth in cooking a lot and instead of popping a can open we just take our chicken bone leftovers after dinner or turkey carcass or even leftover veggies and boil the hell out of them to make broth in a giant pot of water with seasonings. Freeze them in quart and pint size containers.

Never waste leftovers. Have them for lunch, freeze them immediately, or repurpose them (leftover roasted veggies can become tomorrow morning’s omelet, or a soup for lunch, etc.)

Pays to plan meals, too. Helps you streamline your purchasing and avoids waste. I sit down and make a list for the week, plan 7 dinners. Some easy throw-togethers, some that involve a little more cooking time. Then every night I make the one I feel like making. Some nights I like to cook, some nights I’m in a rush. I always keep a little extra for the next day, leftovers for lunch.

I try to avoid boxes of cereals and instant package stuff or pre-packaged frozen food… not only unhealthy, but usually a rip-off. Cook in bulk, freeze portions, and bam… you have your own frozen dinners ready to go into the oven.

I swear one of the best investments I ever made was a big chest freezer.

about 900$

we have 5 people and 14 animals about a month we spend $100-$300 we go to Winco and Costco

My family of 4 spends probably $900 a month on all that stuff. And we’re actually military so going to the commissary should be a lot cheaper. Having a baby might help though since he or she doesn’t eat as much as a regular adult or teenager. Try not going out those 2 nights, I know it’ll be hard but if you must keep your 500 budget then don’t go out. Try getting coupons, and maybe downgrade on some of the products. Instead of getting Charmin toilet paper get a cheaper brand ect. Good luck hope I helped.

We probably spend 500$ a month. Take out food instead of eating inhouse, you save money by not having to tip. Use generic brands, almost all of our brands at home are generic. Use shampoo from the dollar store, you will see similar brands for cheaper.

Good luck.

Anywhere from $25 to $500 a month for a family of 2. I stock up when things are cheap and sometimes this means spending $100 a week when the sales are great or spending $0 in some weeks when the sales suck. Here are my tips to save on groceries and toiletries. A extra tip for a baby if your baby is eating baby food in jars mash your own food or feed the baby applesauce from a regular jar which is cheaper per ounce.
1. Buy things on sale with a coupon
2. Make sure your coupons are organized or you will get frustrated using them. Three common ways to organize are alphabetical by brand, by categories, and by insert date (insert date found in small print on the margins of coupon inserts).
3. Shop Walgreens, Rite Aid and/or CVS for free or very cheap products.
4. Don’t be brand fussy.
5. Use blogs that feature coupon matchups to help you know which coupons to use at which stores.
6. Do rebates from Ace Hardware and Menards (ok this will save you money more on household things than groceries probably, but it still might be a good source for things you need).
7. Know if there are stores that double or triple in your area. (It would help to know what state or area you live in to help you answer whether you are near any that do. Pick n Save in south east Wisconsin doubles. Other stores in other states double or triple. )
8. You should never pay money for shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes unless you are brand fussy. Colgate toothpaste is free all the time at Walgreens with register rewards and free at CVS often with their ECB program. Toothbrushes are free at those stores lots too and so is shampoo, body wash, and dental floss. toilet paper is rarely free but the best kind to buy is the 12 pack double roll 1000s Scott brand when it is $6 or less a pack.

My favorite websites & blogs related to saving money:
http://www.taylortownpreview.com –will show you the coupon previews for different places.

http://stretchyourdollarwaukesha.wordpre… — lots of ways to cut costs on your grocery bill and other areas. Recipes from scratch. Coupon matchups for Walgreens, Target, Walmart, and southeast Wisconsin grocery stores. Occasionally there are listings for free after rebate items at Menards and Ace Hardware.