He bought some food... yayyyy!

500 isn't much for a family of 3 there is not much people can suggest because you will only say S won't budge

I don't spend anywhere near $700/month on food. In fact, I don't spend anywhere near $400/month. Mind you, there are only the two of us but that sounds like a lot of money for food to me. We don't eat "high off the hog" but we do have meat every night and usually some rice, sometimes veggies or potatoes or salad. We also have 3 cats so need cat litter, cat food etc. We do pick up a lot of stuff at Wal-mart but get all of our meat from a local delicatessen. It may be a bit more expensive than Wal-mart or the grocery store meat but we think it's worth it.

You said you go through two bottles of Tide every month?? That's a LOT of detergent. Did you know that for most loads of laundry you don't need the full measure? About a half to two thirds is plenty. Most people's clothes have detergent in them when they come out of the dryer because they've used too much and it didn't all rinse out. I know you didn't ask, but frugal living is my thing and I just have to spout off now and then. If I were you and you actually do the shopping, I'd buy cheap food anyway. Ramen noodles are a good example, but there are a lot of inexpensive meals like beans and cheaper cuts of meat to be boiled or made into a pot roast type of meal. Plenty of potatoes and rice and so on to help balance the pricey snacks and drinks. Pick up generic brands and hide them if you have to. I know a woman who saved a box from a brand name cereal and refilled it with generic for months and no one knew the difference. $700 a month is an awful grocery bill to pay, even if it includes dog food. If you give them money and they do the shopping, I'd let them learn on their own. Just give them the money and say "I don't have any more, so that will have to last." You have to pay your own bills and buy things you need. Don't short yourself there because they won't or don't know how to cut back on things.

That just sounds like an outrageous amount to spend on food. We are a family of four and spend around 300 a month on food, this includes if we eat out. I get the flyer for our grocery store and match coupons to sale items. I cook by what is on sale and stock up on things that are on sale and I have coupons for. Our laundry detergent and toilet paper I usually go to Target. So when they are on sale, I have a coupon most of the time and than usually Target does the $5 gift card when you buy certain items and certain amounts. Giving me the gift card to use on my next purchase. Im definatly not a coupon queen, but Im just starting out. My biggest savings was 61%. I know there are some people who do better, but the goal is to only buy on sale, not buying a ton of prepackaged food, cook mostly from scratch. We eat healthy. Every Friday is our pizza night and movie night so I buy the frozen pizzas when they are on sale and just keep stocked up. SOmething to look into because 500-700 a month on food is expensive.

Ok, here is what I do and maybe it will help with cutting down on the grocery bill. Take some time and create a grocery list and all of the things your family like and then go back and look at what will last you longer and what is it that you cantake and make multiple meals out of . Then seperate the two and then get you some coupons from either the internet or from the local paper and it will help to cut down on prices. Another thing I do is match prices with certain stores like walmart and if they are cheaper than others stores then redeem coupons with them. Hope this helps.

hi dear PQ I know two of the three dogs will go to a new home now as you got to move. But still I dont understand why you are expected to pay dog food for your daughers and SILs dogs. They are not your pets so they would be the ones to feed their own pets and dont dump the costs of pet food on you. So your bills will be a bit less with only one dog left in the household now. I guess they will start wailing and complaining as their favorite junk is no more in freezer fridge and pantry when you moved now but thats their problem. If they dont want to have what you are buying let them go to McD or elsewhere.

To me, Ramen noodles are nasty. It is a matter of opinion. If you could get a Sam's Membership it would certainly save on laundry products and paper goods if nothing else. Maybe make menus, grow a garden at the new house.

A couple of things...pay for TV? What's that about? (Not being nosey but we have free to air here and it costs nothing except for the power). The cake mix is another unnecessary item for me. I don't need that stuff, it's bad for me when I'm trying to lose weight, quite expensive and also a more processed food item than what I need when I'm trying to eat healthily. I buy pretty basic foods and high priced items like coffee I only buy on special, then I load up with a couple of jars at least and I save heaps. There's always a little in the kitty for this type of purchase because I only spend what I need rather than spending my entire income each month. The balance accumulates and I have an emergency fund and a little bit more. As for the laundry detergent...wow. I use a powder I buy in bulk in a big bucket. It costs me $40 for a really good brand and lasted me about 2 years and that's even giving some to my friend every now and then to help out. I buy it from the farm centre but it is readily available at such places. You are certainly doing it tough to maintain a house, feed a dog as well as 3 adults on $500 a month. It costs me about $260 - $300 to feed 2 goats, 4 dogs and a cat, maintain my home and feed me as well. Fuel costs, general running and maintaining a car is becoming a real problem here. I find if I buy small amounts of bulk when I can to keep my food cupboard stocked and I also buy the dry pet foods in bulk,,,a little bit goes a really long way. Not needing to buy those large items each week is great too. I'm pretty lucky too because I own my home so I don't pay rent and living in such a remote area means low rates.

here in Canada, i find Walmart pretty expensive for food. what i do is plan out my meals for the week and shop accordingly (we take my inlaws shopping each week). you should buy what you want and then let them deal with it. however, i have been in your position and fortunately, we have a big freezer that is pretty stocked, so i can usually find something.

Why is it that you pay for all the food do they cover other things too? (just curious) If things like TP, soap and the non food type items are taken out of the food bills then it will add up even faster. I'd be tempted to make a non food items on a separate bill. Or if certain people insist on shopping at more expensive stores then maybe the difference needs to be kicked in.

that seems to be the biggest arguement with family and room mates. i dont know how some do it. here we have 5 adults. everything, mortgage,food, utilities all split 4 ways. actually thats another discussion on whether its fair to count my daughter AND her bf as one share. we had words about that when my youngest moved in. making him pay a fourth when we were only spliting it 3rds before. but i lost the arguement as usual. so, anyway,you might want to figure if that would be a better deal. spliting it 3 ways.

Our groceries cost us $700 per month also. We have me, my husband, 3 kids and my dog. I shop for laundry detergent, toilet paper and soap at family dollar. Food we go to Aldi's which is sooo much cheaper than walmart! I barely ever go to walmart, too expensive for us. If we shopped there it would cost way more than $700 a month! I would try to tell him you have only a certain amount and thats it. Im sorry that your living off ramen noodles, I hate those days. Ramen noodles are good once a while but not when thats all you have... I hope things get better for you!

It's really a tough job to do the budgeting specially if you have only few to budget.

I would say Im paying for it so Ill shop where I want to shop. Thats a lot for 3 people (I think thats what you said before). I would look into using coupons and samples. I save a pretty penny on coupons and the US has a much better system than here in Canada. I try to save more on items I know I need especially cat food, litter, and so on. Im trying to push my food until the 7th of June when I get paid. I do have food kicking around and trying to use it up.

I bet you're not a fan of Man v Food. Saw it for the first time the other night and the steaks on offer could feed two families for a week. Each steak weighed nearly 2 stone. I know it's "entertainment" but someone is gonna have a heart attack on that show. Sorry I went off topic but not everyone in the US (and here, we're not immune) can buy food like I've mentioned above. I prefer the way you live to be honest and I hope that doesn't sound patronising because it wasn't meant to be.