Is it possible to feed properly a family of 4 for $100/week?

[PinkLadyK]

Originally Posted by kfer

Could you please provide some more detail? What stores do you recommend?

I get most of my stuff at HEB and a few things at Costco (produce mainly). If I need one random item and can't stand the thought of navigating the huge Bunker Hill store for one thing, or fighting the masses on a weekend, I'll run into Kroger. Absolutely NOT Randall's, which is a good 20% more expensive in my experience.

I agree about Sprouts -- good, cheap fresh produce options, especially if they aren't picky about organic. Can get enough fruits and veggies for the week for a family of 4 for under $20. That leaves $80 for everything else.

But I don't buy much snack food. I don't buy juice or soda. Our kids don't eat cereal, chips, premade cookies, etc. For dinner we usually have a protein and a veggie. I don't cook much rice/potatoes/pasta, but those things are cheap and in small amounts are an appropriate addition to a dinner plate. (Shouldn't be the main course every night though, especially if the family has $100 to spend a week. Someone who has to feed a family for $50, then sure.)

Now I need to point out that my kids are small, so their portion sizes are less than half of a teenage boy, so maybe I'm underestimating the costs of meat.

Again, I'm not especially watching my grocery budget, but I did for years, and this is what I did:

1. Review the HEB weekly circular and buy sale items. When prices are really good, buy more and freeze for later. (Example, get the salmon when it is $4.99/pound. Buy 3 dinners worth.)

2. I never found coupons to be very helpful, because they were for items we didn't buy -- flavored yogurt, pudding cups, chips, box meals, etc.

3. Cook. Every night. Get used to it. If it comes from the middle aisles of the store, it's probably too expensive. You can make it for cheaper. No freezer meals.

4. Not sure if you're only talking groceries, but obviously when you're really trying to budget, you must not eat out at restaurants.

[xiabelle]

If you are open to a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, Bountiful Baskets is in town every two weeks and for about $18 bucks ($15 plus service fee) or so you get a ton of fresh produce. If you show up early to volunteer you usually get to pick an extra for your basket as well. They have a location in Copperfield.

Otherwise, it's certainly possible. Buy cheaper cuts of meat, and buy more of it when it's on sale and freeze it. I second the Aldi suggestions too. Frozen veggies are quite nutritious and cheaper than fresh generally, and they keep longer. Make the bulk of meals veggies + carbs and less meat.

When we were super broke, we ate pasta a couple of times a week. I'd buy a box for a buck, cook it up, then make my own sauce with canned tomatoes. I also had a recipe for a baked penna pasta casserole that we could get 2-3 meals out of -- essentially pasta, meat and cheese.

[newtype_seiki]

Oatmeal makes for an incredibly cheap breakfast, but you'd have to get the generic brands, and not the individually packed stuff. Go for the stuff in the big cylinders. Toss in a little bit of ground cinnamon for taste, or add a few berries. On sale, a pint of fresh berries should be 99 cents. Per weight, this is somewhat expensive, but I couldn't eat plain oatmeal everyday.

Vegetables can be quite cheap. Fresh broccoli crowns run about $0.99 a pound on sale. Onions ought to be less than $0.99 per pound. Better prices if you buy the bulk bags, but I've found the freshness a bit more hit or miss with those. A bag of carrots would run about $0.99 per pound. Jalepenos are generally inexpensive if you want to spice things up a little. These are Kroger/HEB prices. Maybe even better if you go to Aldi.

For meats, chicken is generally the cheapest, followed by pork. Beef and lamb nearly always cost more. I generally wouldn't buy them pre-seasoned or marinated, due to the upcharge.

As far as drinks go, sodas should be off the list, but HEB carries some sweetened sparkling water beverages that taste pretty good, have zero calories, and are sold for 50 cents per liter bottle. Prepackaged Nestle hot cocoa mix is $1 a box, and you can mix it with water.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by newtype_seiki

Oatmeal makes for an incredibly cheap breakfast

I eat oatmeal for breakfast almost everyday
I buy the "Quaker Oats Old Fashioned" oatmel for $4
and I bet I can have breakfast 30 times with it

I'm telling you .... try the "arepas" and I bet you'll be amazed how cheap they are