$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.