Guest guest Posted September 1, 2001 Report Share Posted September 1, 2001 Seems about average to me, Christy. And I'd question your friends...unless they are living on chicken pot pie and macaroni & cheese out of boxes I don't think a family of two can live on much less than $100 a week??? That is $4.76 a meal/$2.38 a person. You can't get a fast food burger/fries/coke for that. Budget meals are always beans, which I make in quantity and freeze in small amounts, and use on salads, or with rice, or over baked potatoes or something. And large batch tomato sauces, also get frozen, as opposed to wonderful raw tomato sauces with fresh summer tomatoes. Also lentil loafs. Budget but also for time savers on those impossible days. Make your own granolas as the store's are usually very expensive. I'm not a huge fan of the " fake " cheese and other substitutes and they are expensive. Soup goes a long way with a wonderful bread and/or salad. Time consuming...but if you put aside a day a month to a cooking frenzy you put a lot in the freezer. Sarah Christy wrote: > > I hope this isn't considered off topic, but I am curious as to how much > other group members spend on groceries each month. When I compare my > grocery bill to my friends, my bill is two to three times as much!! For my > family, which is just me and my 3 year old daughter, we spend $100 a week on > groceries so $400 each month. I try to buy organic when I can (probably at > least 50% of time if not more). I know that some big expenses are soy milk > (dd guzzles it down!!) and organic juice. And I buy some of the vegan > already prepared food, soy cheese, and boxed rices to save time on days that > we are gone all day. What do other people spend, and how do you save money > buying vegan foods?? Thanks, Christy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2001 Report Share Posted September 1, 2001 At 03:58 PM 9/1/01 -0500, you wrote: >I don't think a family of two can live on much less >than $100 a week??? I would certainly think so. We are a family of 5 (including 2 teenagers), and my grocery budget is $300 per month. I occasionally go over when it's time to stock up on something, but I have never spent more than $400. The best advice I can give is careful shopping. Know the cheapest price you can buy something for, and never pay more than that. If possible, buy your produce from farmers' markets or produce stands instead of the grocery store. Buy staples like flour, rice, oatmeal, etc. in bulk. I hardly ever buy canned beans; I cook several pounds of dried ones at once and freeze them. (They thaw in a sinkful of cold water in about 15 minutes.) Anytime I see a great deal on produce, I buy it and freeze it. Try very hard to avoid prepared foods. They cost way more than it would cost you to make them from scratch! When you cook, make a little extra and freeze it (assuming it's something that freezes well). Then you'll have your own economical convenience foods ready when you need them. You can also make your own mixes (burger mix, etc.) when you have time and keep them around for when you're pressed for time. I don't buy much juice, so I'm short on advice there. But I wonder if it would be cheaper to make your own? I found a second-hand juicer for only $10 or $15 at a yard sale, so it might be worth it to track one down. I've also been considering buying a soy milk maker, because with soybeans only costing less than a dollar a pound, it seems ridiculous to pay almost $3.00 for a half-gallon of soy milk! Anybody out there have one? Do you think it's worth it? How does the milk taste? Oh, one other big money saver is making my own bread. Healthy bread costs a fortune in stores around here. I got an antique breadmaker (aka a breadbucket) from ebay, and it is the greatest thing! It will make 5 or 6 loaves at a time, and all you have to do is put in all your ingredients, crank the handle for 3 minutes to knead it, put the lid on, and let it rise. Then you give it another couple of cranks to punch it down, turn it out, cut into loaves, and let it rise again. Bake, and you have a month's worth of delicious homemade bread to put in your freezer! Jeri Burdett TerraWeb Technologies--Solutions that fit your style Website hosting, design, & domain registration at down-to-earth prices http://www.twtek.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2001 Report Share Posted September 2, 2001 I don't know about this. In my house my mom used to spend $150 a week, and that was with all of us not eating at home all of the time with a family or four. I live on my own now, and can consistently spend 60 per week on fresh fruit, vegetables, and organic things. I hardly buy anything at all processed. I am sure it varies depending on location. Either way, $100 per week for two is not bad by any means. Alan - " Jeri Burdett " <jeri Saturday, September 01, 2001 4:19 PM Re: On the cheap... > At 03:58 PM 9/1/01 -0500, you wrote: > >I don't think a family of two can live on much less > >than $100 a week??? > > I would certainly think so. We are a family of 5 (including 2 teenagers), > and my grocery budget is $300 per month. I occasionally go over when it's > time to stock up on something, but I have never spent more than $400. > > The best advice I can give is careful shopping. Know the cheapest price > you can buy something for, and never pay more than that. If possible, buy > your produce from farmers' markets or produce stands instead of the grocery > store. Buy staples like flour, rice, oatmeal, etc. in bulk. I hardly ever > buy canned beans; I cook several pounds of dried ones at once and freeze > them. (They thaw in a sinkful of cold water in about 15 minutes.) Anytime > I see a great deal on produce, I buy it and freeze it. Try very hard to > avoid prepared foods. They cost way more than it would cost you to make > them from scratch! When you cook, make a little extra and freeze it > (assuming it's something that freezes well). Then you'll have your own > economical convenience foods ready when you need them. You can also make > your own mixes (burger mix, etc.) when you have time and keep them around > for when you're pressed for time. > > I don't buy much juice, so I'm short on advice there. But I wonder if it > would be cheaper to make your own? I found a second-hand juicer for only > $10 or $15 at a yard sale, so it might be worth it to track one down. I've > also been considering buying a soy milk maker, because with soybeans only > costing less than a dollar a pound, it seems ridiculous to pay almost $3.00 > for a half-gallon of soy milk! Anybody out there have one? Do you think > it's worth it? How does the milk taste? > > Oh, one other big money saver is making my own bread. Healthy bread costs > a fortune in stores around here. I got an antique breadmaker (aka a > breadbucket) from ebay, and it is the greatest thing! It will make 5 or 6 > loaves at a time, and all you have to do is put in all your ingredients, > crank the handle for 3 minutes to knead it, put the lid on, and let it > rise. Then you give it another couple of cranks to punch it down, turn it > out, cut into loaves, and let it rise again. Bake, and you have a month's > worth of delicious homemade bread to put in your freezer! > > Jeri Burdett > TerraWeb Technologies--Solutions that fit your style > Website hosting, design, & domain registration at down-to-earth prices > http://www.twtek.com > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2001 Report Share Posted September 2, 2001 Although I wish I could be as good as Jeri, I have to agree that $100 per week is quite good for two. Again, I admire Jeri's wonderful habits and dream of the day when I will be as disciplined, but, while I am in law school and my husband is a PhD candidate, there is barely enough time to sleep, let alone to make our own bread. (Though yours would be the first friend's house I'd want to visit, Jeri!) We actually spend a bit more than $100 a week for the two of us (especially of you count our 3 kitties) and, like you, we try to avoid pre-packaged foods for the most part. Still, I know we are spending less than our meat/dairy eating friends-- and regardless, we're definitely healthier! All this also depends on where you live, I think: fresh fruit and vegetables are so much more expensive up here in upstate NY than they are at my family's in FL. And the $$ we sometimes shell out for good cherries or an avocado... yikes! But oh, so good. Take care, Beth > > Alan McClure [amcclure] > Sunday, September 02, 2001 2:38 AM > > Re: On the cheap... > > > I don't know about this. In my house my mom used to spend $150 a > week, and > that was with all of us not eating at home all of the time with a > family or > four. I live on my own now, and can consistently spend 60 per week on > fresh fruit, vegetables, and organic things. I hardly buy anything at all > processed. I am sure it varies depending on location. Either > way, $100 per > week for two is not bad by any means. > > Alan > - > " Jeri Burdett " <jeri > > Saturday, September 01, 2001 4:19 PM > Re: On the cheap... > > > > At 03:58 PM 9/1/01 -0500, you wrote: > > >I don't think a family of two can live on much less > > >than $100 a week??? > > > > I would certainly think so. We are a family of 5 (including 2 > teenagers), > > and my grocery budget is $300 per month. I occasionally go > over when it's > > time to stock up on something, but I have never spent more than $400. > > > > The best advice I can give is careful shopping. Know the cheapest price > > you can buy something for, and never pay more than that. If > possible, buy > > your produce from farmers' markets or produce stands instead of the > grocery > > store. Buy staples like flour, rice, oatmeal, etc. in bulk. I hardly > ever > > buy canned beans; I cook several pounds of dried ones at once and freeze > > them. (They thaw in a sinkful of cold water in about 15 minutes.) > Anytime > > I see a great deal on produce, I buy it and freeze it. Try very hard to > > avoid prepared foods. They cost way more than it would cost you to make > > them from scratch! When you cook, make a little extra and freeze it > > (assuming it's something that freezes well). Then you'll have your own > > economical convenience foods ready when you need them. You can > also make > > your own mixes (burger mix, etc.) when you have time and keep > them around > > for when you're pressed for time. > > > > I don't buy much juice, so I'm short on advice there. But I > wonder if it > > would be cheaper to make your own? I found a second-hand > juicer for only > > $10 or $15 at a yard sale, so it might be worth it to track one down. > I've > > also been considering buying a soy milk maker, because with > soybeans only > > costing less than a dollar a pound, it seems ridiculous to pay almost > $3.00 > > for a half-gallon of soy milk! Anybody out there have one? Do > you think > > it's worth it? How does the milk taste? > > > > Oh, one other big money saver is making my own bread. Healthy > bread costs > > a fortune in stores around here. I got an antique breadmaker (aka a > > breadbucket) from ebay, and it is the greatest thing! It will > make 5 or 6 > > loaves at a time, and all you have to do is put in all your ingredients, > > crank the handle for 3 minutes to knead it, put the lid on, and let it > > rise. Then you give it another couple of cranks to punch it > down, turn it > > out, cut into loaves, and let it rise again. Bake, and you > have a month's > > worth of delicious homemade bread to put in your freezer! > > > > Jeri Burdett > > TerraWeb Technologies--Solutions that fit your style > > Website hosting, design, & domain registration at down-to-earth prices > > http://www.twtek.com > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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