Set your goals and stick to them every week. Like all things worth doing, setting and sticking to a grocery budget involves discipline. The less you eat out, the lower your bills will be and the healthier your meals will be. The ideal weekly budget for your family should allow you to eat well-balanced, frugal meals without having to spend every waking moment searching for deals. I’ve read that lowering your budget by 5% each month is a good place to start. Slowly lower your grocery budget each month for the next 6 months by incorporating couponing, store promotions and meal planning techniques.

Examine where the money is going with a fine-tooth comb. Bring lunch and snacks from home, only buy cleaning supplies on sale with coupons or make your own. Look for ways to target those areas where you know you are overspending. Are you spending a lot on fast food, expensive cleaning supplies or lunch at the nearest deli? You may find some surprises. Look at your expenses to see where the money is going. Until you have an accurate account of how much you spend on food each month, you won’t be able to make the kind of dent in your grocery budget that you want. The result of Step One is that many of you will be SHOCKED! All those trips to Starbucks, McD’s and the vending machine add up quickly. Don’t forget vending machine expenses and money you give the kids for school lunches and trips to the mall food court.ĭo your homework on Step One and you are well on your way to saving lots of money on groceries each month. Include all those trips through the drive-through and any meals eaten at restaurants for a true picture of how much you spend on food each month. If not, track your expenses for the next 2 weeks. If you have receipts from the past couple weeks, use those. **Important: Track how much you spend per week for at least 2 weeks. How much are you spending right now to feed your household each month? The first place to start, when determining how much to spend on groceries, is to take a look at your current grocery spending. Most families of 4 should be able to spend much less than $121 per week by using couponing, store promotions and meal planning techniques.

Here in the Raleigh area, there are so many shopping options and fabulous deals every week. For our family of 4, that’s $20 per person. My budget is $80 per week, which includes food, cleaning, health and beauty and paper products. In a survey by The Dollar Stretcher (a fabulous resource for frugal living ideas), the average family of 4 spent $121 per week - $30.25 per person. Others say more like $20 per person is reasonable. Some experts say $15 per person per week is a very frugal budget. heavy meat eaters), coupon use, geographic location, amount you eat out, shopping options, etc. There are too many variables that come into play such as the number of people in the family, allergies, type of diet (vegetarian vs. There is no “right” amount to spend that applies to every family. Creating a frugal grocery budget isn't hard to do, but it will help you to live more comfortably within your means, which is priceless! Here are some tips to creating a frugal grocery budget, including those I discussed on WRAL-FM this morning. Ever wonder if your grocery budget is on the frugal side or not? Some of you may not even have a grocery budget.

Monthly grocery budget for 2