How much should a food budget be for a family of 3
with food allergies? I'm going to have to include dog food in this category. I'm vegan and gluten free and ds is working on it. Dh can't tolerate fruits and only 3 veggies (corn, sweet peas, and green beans). I have to work on a budget for Monday's FPU class and I have no idea what we *should* be spending. I know we are spending way more than we should be. According to the figure we came up with, I will not be able to by anything organic or even shop at Whole Foods for that matter. Looks like I better learn to cook from scratch and garden.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shannon
Looks like I better learn to cook from scratch and garden.
Aside from this bit, which I personally believe that everyone should do something of this sort... (but I am totally bias). I alot $100 per person for food per month. So our budget right now is $430 per month for food (I'm 5 months pregnant). I do not include what I buy to can or freeze in that, but I do include eating out when we eat out as a family (when Don and I get a baby sitter that comes out of 'entertainment'). This is for everything, including TP and all personal toiletries that we need like dh's deoderant, or Cyan's special tooth paste (and Taio's cat food as well). Right now we are right on budget, but we eat out a lot... so I could easily cut that by $100 if we were eating out less... but then again, I am canning and preserving food all the time so when Don comes home and sees 12 jars of peaches on the counter or 7 trays of currents drying and he says "Want me to go pick up pizza?" I am saying YES! much more often than normal. lol!
I do garden a lot... but it has taken three years to get to a point where I am gardening exactly what we eat and not a ton more or varities we eat once and then discard. This year I concentrated on peas, beans, and tomatos and did much less zucchini, cucumbers, and herbs. I have tons of frozen beans and peas in the freezer from my efforts and that feels great! Stored bounty for winter.
Val
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I budget $125 per week for 3 people, on the dave ramsey plan too. This includes some convience foods, frozen lunches for the office, some snacks. I buy very little organic only if it's on sale, I try to buy almost everything on sale (so we are trying new things). This # includes toiletries and pet food. If I'm under budget dh & I split it and add to our blow $. We eat out on spending $ not food $. I take a calculator into the store and add as I go, so I don't have to put things back at the check-out. I get the sunday paper from my neighbors to look for coupons.
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I should add that we eat mostly organic and I plan a LOT. lol... CSA's, community plantings, knowing where to get organic pork and beef from farmers, etc... that is all in there. But that knowledge comes over times just like gardening. If I was to move to a new state I bet our budget for food would go up by $200 a month to eat the way we eat now.
I don't include eating out in our grocery budget either. It's from our only-if-there's-something-left-over-after-everything-else spending money.
There are 6 of us, and really we are pretty big eaters and we make everyone's lunches for work/school. This month I think we spent under $300 on groceries. I should check the grocery challenge thread because I was keeping a tally there.
But like Val said, I've gotten to know the cheapest ways/places to get food in our area. That can take a while. And I'm in the routine of it, you know? We do have treats and some convenience items, but only when they show up at discount stores or whatever. I think this is good because we have variety. And because it's not all the time, the kids get such a huge thrill factor from the occasional box of granola bars or whatever.
And I'm willing to wait if things are too expensive. Like I went to the vegetable store 2-3 times over the month, and one time I didn't buy anything. Once I spent $9 on necessities. And then yesterday I finally hit a good day and got 2 pounds tomatoes, 3 pounds bananas, 3 pounds nectarines, 25 pounds of peaches, and 50 pounds of new red potatoes, all for $25. We don't usually buy organic, although my husband works at an organic mushroom farm, so we always have organic mushrooms! LOL.
Mainly we eat vegetables, fruit, meat. Some convenience foods because some are cheaper than making your own. Like bread, for instance. I could bake bread and sometimes do. But to make cheap white bread would cost I'm guessing 50 cents a loaf. To buy organic or sprouted-grain day-old bread with expensive ingredients like flax and nuts and stuff, I spend 89 cents at a bakery outlet. To bake that at home would probably cost me over $1 a loaf.
There's a pdf budget from the US government here: http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/FoodPlans/U.../foodmay06.pdf I actually think it's a little high, but everyone's different. The thrifty plan is all I would look at on there anyway.
Kerri
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Thanks for the replies. I wish we had a bakery outlet. We were getting food from Ozark co-op, but they stopped. Not sure if they are going to open again. And the hurricane wiped out our CSA.
We have been feeding our big dog holistic dog food and we just took in another big dog, a stray. She's a 33 pound puppy and eats more than our 79 pound boxer. I'm going to research the barf diet and see if it would cost less. I'm vegan though so don't know if I'll actually be able to stomach it.
I'm the freespirit in the family when it comes to money, but since I started going to the class I don't want to spend....freaky! LOL
We budget $150 per week for our family of 6 (3 adults plus 3 kids)....this amount also includes any household supplies/toiletries that we may need. This amount covers all meals (including any that we may choose to eat out for)...it's tight, so we are really, really trying to eat every meal at home. Because of the tight budget, we are very limited in what organic products we are able to purchase. We do purchase organic milk and yogurt, and occassionally some produce items that are organic.
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Val
totally off topic but Val, EMAIL ME! I can't find your phone number and I cant send pms for some wierd reason now and we are HEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!! tyrus shadow at comcast dot net remove spaces add symbols, etc
I am ready to PLAYYYY!
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We're a family of 3. I budget about $200 a month for groceries. That is eating about 90% organic, and gluten and sugar free. I have a CSA share on work/barter, so that would add about $35 a month if we had to pay, so $235.
I think this will vary widely depending on where you live! And we cook everything from scratch, and shop all the sales, and preserve a lot of food in the summer for the winter.
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We're a family of 3. I budget about $200 a month for groceries. That is eating about 90% organic, and gluten and sugar free. I have a CSA share on work/barter, so that would add about $35 a month if we had to pay, so $235.
I think this will vary widely depending on where you live! And we cook everything from scratch, and shop all the sales, and preserve a lot of food in the summer for the winter.
OMGoodness, are you serious? Guide me wise one. And I'm totally serious, I have no idea how I'm going to do this. Off to go find that grocery challenge.
Location: When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.
Posts: 9,502
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mamaselena
totally off topic but Val, EMAIL ME! I can't find your phone number and I cant send pms for some wierd reason now and we are HEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!! tyrus shadow at comcast dot net remove spaces add symbols, etc
I am ready to PLAYYYY!
I pm'ed you. I will give you a call tonight to set up a play date. It sounds WONDERFUL and I am SO glad you are here!! YAY!
Location: When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.
Posts: 9,502
Quote:
Originally Posted by Korwynne
LOL - you garden, you can, you know the cool places to shop... I want to be like you when I grow up
Well THAT I can handle. lol... Just so long as you know that right now there are 5 loads of clean laundry sitting on my couch just waiting to be folded, (that have been there since at least yesterday... maybe the day before).
Much love! And it would be so cool for you to join our little NW club. I would love to meet you.
I alot $100 per person for food per month. So our budget right now is $430 per month for food (I'm 5 months pregnant). I do not include what I buy to can or freeze in that, but I do include eating out when we eat out as a family (when Don and I get a baby sitter that comes out of 'entertainment'). This is for everything, including TP and all personal toiletries that we need like dh's deoderant, or Cyan's special tooth paste (and Taio's cat food as well). Right now we are right on budget, but we eat out a lot... so I could easily cut that by $100 if we were eating out less... but then again, I am canning and preserving food all the time so when Don comes home and sees 12 jars of peaches on the counter or 7 trays of currents drying and he says "Want me to go pick up pizza?" I am saying YES! much more often than normal. lol! 
I'm going to research the barf diet and see if it would cost less. I'm vegan though so don't know if I'll actually be able to stomach it. 
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