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Frugality, the Grocery Bill, and the Large Family, Part One
By Kendra | June 3, 2009
I’ve resisted writing this post for a long time because I think it could open us up to criticism. Still, every time I would save some incredible amount at the grocery store, I would think, “Moms need to know how to do this!”
Here’s the thing. According to the USDA, our family should be spending $1215 per month on groceries, and that’s on the thrifty (lowest possible bracket) plan. Our budget for food monthly is actually $800.
We are feeding two adults, a 16-year-old boy, a 14-year-old boy, an 11-year-old boy, a 9-year-old girl, an 8-year-old girl, a 5-year-old girl, a 2-year-old boy, and a one-year-old boy. Our budget includes diapers, toilet paper, and other household goods, but I can allot those items into our miscellaneous budget category as well, if necessary. It did not include formula when we had to wean Mighty Joe (that’s a long and complicated story; if you don’t know the whole situation, please do not suggest here that I should have continued breastfeeding him).
We also entertain a fair amount. Every Saturday night this summer our home is open with a BBQ, and we’ve invited people to just drop in. On Memorial Day we fed 26 people on $35. It was a party in which one guest contributed the green salad (Thanks, Dana!) and one brought a massive fruit salad (Thanks, EK!). No one left hungry, I can assure you 
The two biggest factors that contribute to keeping our food budget so low are:
-Menu planning based on store sale items
-Couponing
Others factors are:
-making as much as possible from scratch
-buying in bulk
-growing what we can (including eggs)
-having a fixed limit in my mind for certain items. For instance, I don’t buy cereal unless it’s a dollar or less per box.
There are lots of ways to go about lowering your food bill, so I will share with you what we do with the understanding that our way isn’t the best. It’s what works for us.
I’ll write tomorrow about how I organize and use my coupons.
Topics: Home Organization, Resources | 38 Comments »
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:03 am
I am looking forward to reading this that is my budget for a family of 7 and I struggle to keep it under that my husband thinks it can’t be done.
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:30 am
I am so looking forward to the remainder of your post. We also do many of the things that you have listed with the exception of eggs, since we live in the city and they won’t allow us to have chickens.
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Our monthly budget is $600 for a family of 7 and I stuggle keeping it within those parameters. This is something that I have really prayed about and have asked God to help me get under control.
Thanks for sharing your tips and ideas!
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:16 am
Oh, Kendra, I am so excited about your post! I love to save money at the grocery store. In fact the only time I hate to grocery shop is the first few months I am pregnant. We are moving in five weeks and our stuff will be picked up in three so we are eating weird food.
Can you post how you organize your coupons? When my oldest three were little and we were in Okinawa I used a lot, but we could use them six months passed the date. Of course there were rarely sales at the commisary, but when something hit the mark down rack due to package ripping or tearing I could hit the jackpot.
Also, lately we have gone to probably half vegetarian meals – lots of beans as the price of meat is so high. Hey one thing I do to save $ is make my kids eat their food, they are all having leftovers for breakfast this am as they didn’t finish last night. We try to waste nothing.
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:56 am
Kenj,
You have carefully constructed a budget that really saves money! The fact that you put hours of hard work into it should not go unnoticed. Your work is a precious gift to your family and your willingness to share the results is a generous gift to your readers. You are truly living a life of excellence.
Colleen
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:49 am
I am always looking for ways to save money.
It never ceases to amaze me how amazed other people are when they hear how much I spend on groceries and how we “survive” on the amount of money my hubby makes. Like you, I make almost everything from scratch. The sad thing is most people see that as a foreign concept.
What I really want to know is how save money or get coupons on stuff like flour, sugar, oil, and stuff like that!
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:53 am
Can’t wait to hear more on this topic. We have 5 kids with number 6 due in 3 weeks so I am always seeking deals and frugal tips. We also spend quite a bit less than the government quotes for the thrify plan. It helps that we cook at home alot and I buy items when on sale and stock up.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:54 am
Thanks for such a timely post. We are a family of 7 (2 adults, 8,6,4, 2, and 9 months) and $800 is our absolute limit each month plus we receive WIC. I look forward to reading how you do it exactly while managing a very busy home.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:11 am
Looking forward to the rest of the post, Kendra!
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:24 am
My growing family includes 4 children aged 4 and under, and while their tummies are still quite small, we struggle with providing healthy food on a limited budget. Right now, we can keep our grocery bill to under $400/month, but how do we do it as they grow??? I look forward to reading your advise!!
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:34 am
I never coupon. My excuse is that we don’t get a newspaper so we never have the sale ads. (Really, it’s just laziness.)
Glad you’re delving into this. I can learn a LOT in this area.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:43 am
You go girl!! We’ll be waiting for ANY tips you throw our way!! And if you get any negative comments, just delete ‘em and know you stand free and uncondemned in Christ.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:56 am
I can’t wait to read more! According to that link we are about $100 under the most thrifty catagory, which is great! But I think we can do better! I clip coupons, shop sales, and in bulk, but we don’t have room for a large garden or for chickens. I am SO excited about CVS coming to T-town!!
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:02 am
Hi, Kendra,
This doesn’t relate to your post at all, but you website says to contact you by leaving a comment.
I’ve been trying to order your mp3, “Organization and the Homeschool,” but the link is not working and I’ve tried several times. A window pops up and says, “This product combination does not exist.” I’ve tried some of the other links and they seem to work fine–going straight to the paypal page. Anyway, I thought you would like to know.
Thanks,
Courtney
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:10 am
I’ve always found that USDA food chart as affirmation that I’m doing a pretty good job on our food bill. We’re just a bit below “thrifty” but, like you, we have to include paper products, cleaning supplies, cosmetics, etc., into that total.
I’m looking forward to your series, and I’ve referred a few gals to it, as well.
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:18 am
Hi Kendra, I look forward to these posts also, feeding our family of 7 as cheaply and nutritiously as possible. Do you really find healthy cereal for under a $1 a box? My limit is $2 because that is the best deal I’ve been able to find for organic healthy cereals like Kashi.
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:20 am
I can’t wait to hear more! I always feel like I have to go to several stores to really save $. I really don’t like doing that with 4 little ones in tow. Any advice on that?
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:38 am
Thanks, Courtney. I’ll look into it today and email you when it’s fixed.
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:39 am
Malia-
I don’t take all small ones with me. When I only had all small ones, I shopped at night, after dinner, by myself. Now I only coupon with the ones I can trust or when an older child is with me to help keep an eye on them.
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:40 am
Hannah-
It’s very hard to find healthy cereals that inexpensively. We don’t have a steady supply, and if we do it’s because I bought 20 boxes at once!
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:21 am
So excited to learn from you in this area, Kendra! Thanks for taking the time and effort to share your thoughts on budgeting with us.
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:27 am
Courtney-
The Paypal “Add to Cart” button is fixed! Thanks for letting me know.
~Kendra
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:30 am
Kendra–
Looking forward to reading what your ideas are. My sister and I blog about this thing all the time to help people save money. I have #5 on the way and she has 8 children. I wrote this post just last week about our grocery spending!
http://livelargespendless.blogspot.com/2009/06/cash-only-grocery-budget-month-in.html
June 3rd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Kendra,
I have previously read thru ALL your archives, and been blessed.
But these last several posts you have done, answering questions and sharing “how you do it”, have been so extremely helpful. We have 10 children, 9 still at home. Ages 18 down to 2. Plus a hungry daddy!!
I coupon at CVS and Walgreens. However, I would just LOVE to get away from buying everything else at the big box store. I hate even going in there.
We live in the SC Lowcountry, so no ALdi. Kroger is an hour away. Do you do the WalMart run? Or have you found a way around it?
Dawn in SC
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I am also looking forward to the next posts in this series. Our family of four has a budget of $800 per month for groceries, diapers, and household goods, so it sounds like I have a lot to learn about streching our money. Hubby will be pleased.
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Dawn-
I avoid WalMart like the plague
I’ve said disparaging remarks about it before and have had people respond defensively, so what I’ve gathered is that not all WalMarts are dirty, cluttered, poorly staffed (as in incompetent checkers), and icky like our local stores. There’s something about a store that has employees lined up sitting against its concrete block walls while smoking cigarettes and flicking them onto the sidewalk that makes me not want to go in 
No Aldi or Krogers here, either.
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Wow!! According to that USDA link, for the thrifty plan, my family should be spending $412.50 a month on groceries…. and that’s not accommodating the pregnant woman. After this baby is born (our second), we “should” be spending $499.80 a month on groceries! That is outrageous! Right now, as it stands, our monthly budget is about $300, but I rarely go over $250. On an extra frugal month, I spend about $180, and I spend, on average, $220 for our family of 3 (and a half). And I don’t even use coupons…. I just plan meals, make everything from scratch, and watch sales. I don’t grow anything though…. no space! I do want to start a container garden next summer though. I wanted to this summer, but things were just too crazy this year.
Can’t wait to see your post tomorrow!
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Came across your blog from a friend and today’s post and the ones to come are just what I need. I’m getting sluggish in my grocery budget and need to refocus.
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Great job, Audrey!
June 4th, 2009 at 4:31 am
Kendra,
The thing about the employees smoking outside against the wall really gets me too. It’s hard to walk 8 children thru all that smoke and feel like a good mom. LOL!
Our Target and Kroger are both an hour away. That’s my problem…getting the stuff I get at Wally World somewhere else without travelling an hour to Target.
Maybe I should just suck it up and do it. Thank you for clarifying.
Dawn in SC…who is beginning to feel encouraged that it CAN be done without WM. Keep it coming.
June 4th, 2009 at 11:13 am
I love the hospitality note. That is awesome! I can’t wait to hear more! I am a pastor’s wife and our family of 7 would love to have folks over more than we do. Sounds like you have advice for helping me do this! Looking forward to more!
You are SO organized. Praying I learn more.
And by the way, thanks for the post on how you plan for the year. I am looking to try a NEW way this year. I have been so bogged down in planning throughout the year that I haven’t been enjoying teaching as much! Not good. Thanks again!
Brandi
June 4th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Hi Kendra – Thank you so much for all of your posts! I have found so much encouragement and great ideas! I love this post too! I just had a couple of random questions – First – I’m just trying to think of what possible criticism your family could get from this helpful post? Am I totally missing something? Is it just Wallmart vs. Target? I live in Target headquarters land myself (MN) and so we have great Target stores and not very nice Wallmart stores (and not very many either!) So, we are huge SuperTarget fans, but for those who want to shop at Wallmart, that is great too!:)
Also, I am wondering what the importance of checking the USDA average family costs are? I personally would have never thought to look there or really cared what their averages are, and it seems like most real nutrition books agree that their model is not the way towards good nutrition, much better something likehttp://www.nuval.com/Default.aspx
Thank for my random thoughts! Keep up the great work!
June 4th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I am really looking forward to reading everything you have to say about this! I have a lot to learn as it’s only me, my husband, and our 16 month old, and I still spend way too much!
Thanks for all the great tips!
June 4th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Oh man, here in New Zealand all our supermarkets are owned by 2 major players and the amazing prices you guys can get on products just don’t happen here. Add to that the fact that coupons here are very scarce (and I grab all the ones I can find!) and usually only good for one item. We grow some of our own vegetables in summer, and when we lived in the country got our yoghurt from a local farmer, but that’s about as much as I can do!
(apart from just good old sensible shopping, that is!)
June 5th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I’m so happy to learn the USDA average for our family. They say our family of 7 should be spending $948.90 per month. We eat very few processed foods and as much as possible organically. We either grow our own fruits and veggies or go to the Farmer’s Market each week. We shop at Trader Joes and Costco. We also have many people in and out of our house because my husband is on staff at our church. I was beating myself up because I was spending about $720 per month to accomodate our entertaining and eating organically in a family our size! I no longer will beat myself up! I am doing a great job!
June 5th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Brandy-
Yes, you are!
~Kendra
June 5th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
[...] blogged on frugality and wise shopping. She is really good at it. Enjoy her first three posts here: Frugality, the Grocery Bill, and the Large Family, Part One Frugality, the Grocery Bill, and the Large Family, Part Two Frugality, the Grocery Bill and the [...]
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Kendra,
I recently had to come up with a way to severely cut our grocery budget after my husband lost his job. I was blessed to be directed by a friend to angelfoodministries.com and have been able to take my $600/month grocery budget down to $200/month to feed our family of five. It is such a wonderful ministry and anyone can participate. We order two regular boxes and two fruit and veggie boxes every month and spend $100, then I spend another $100 to buy things at the store to expand the recipes and buy paper and laundry products. Also, I was given a recipe to make my own laundry soap which is another huge cost savings.
Blessings,
Sophia
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Sophia-
Great suggestion! I’m sure it could be a huge boon to many families.