Tuesday, February 26, 2008

$40 Weekly Grocery Budget ... Part 1

I am always game to finding out how to save money on food. My grasshoppers are always game to just finding food. I have checked out books and websites with tips and even frugal menus. One I found was the $30 menu for a family of four. That four-letter F-word, four, eliminates my family by a little (like 50%). Still the idea is a good one.

One problem I have come across is that the prices are from the 1990s. Food prices have gone up since then and are still going. So I decided to to update the price list first. The second problem is my family wouldn't eat some of the things on the menu (hubby isn't a big tuna fan). That is another chapter though so stay tuned.

I found three different $45 or less weekly menus. One is from a book called Cheap Eating. The price tag it quotes is $30.39 for a week of meals. Here are the shopping list and menu excerpts from the book:





Another site is called Hillbilly Housewife. Two menus are offered for a family of 4-6. One is the $45 emergency menu complete with price list as well (& downloadable).

The third one I have found on a another website is located here. It also contains the shopoping list and menu ideas.

All these sites/book have great ideas on how to cut expenses in the grocery budget and are helpful. My curiousity lies in how much grocery prices have gone up. Can a family of 4 really manage a $45 or less grocery budget? My goal because I have nothing better to do is take those lists to my local Aldi and Wal-Mart to see just how much prices have changed. I will post my findings in Part 2. I was going to do it in one blog posting, but it snowed. As I am rather warm in my home and want to stay that way, I will venture out tomorrow when it quits snowing and the streets are plowed.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, I realize that this blog was from a little while ago, but just wanted to say that I happened upon it as I was browsing around for the possibility of planning a week-long menu for me and my family. I've never really tried menu shopping in such a scripted way ( I did it in my head when i was at college) but my three siblings and I live together, and I wanted to try the menu thing this week...anyways, your blog was very helpful and I'm now going to browse the rest of it for ideas. Blessings on you and your family.
Allana

Unknown said...

Hello. I was browsing through your shopping list and found several differences. I am not sure where you shop, but the places I shop (and I like to bargain hunt) do not remotely come close to your listed prices.
Example you listed four cans of tuna for $2.20, that is crazy! I have been to five different grocery stores and the lowest price on a can of tuna was $.68. And this is the LESS desirable kind of tuna. If I were to buy four cans of the tuna that I prefer, I will be well over $8.00.
What I am saying is that you may have to revise your plan and bring it up to date with the current market prices because this information IS helpful, however it will be very costly to one of whom is unknowing...

full car wrap said...

Thanks a lot for one’s intriguing write-up. It’s actually exceptional. Searching ahead for this sort of revisions. how to save money