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How to feed a Family of 5 on a budget
How to feed a Family of 5 on a budget is something that takes alot of careful thought and precise execution. It is no secret that my family and I enjoy home cooked meals. It’s also no secret that the prices of food have sky rocketed to the point where a head of cauliflower ranges anywhere between $4-$10 depending on where you shop. Being that I only work part-time and my Husband is more so of the bread winner in the home it is very important that we watch how much we spend. Especially because we have 3 growing children that eat quite a bit, I look for the best deal that I can find in the biggest quantity that I can get it for.
There are a few rules of thumb that I like to follow when it comes to feeding my family on a budget that I thought I would share, after all sharing is caring right? being that I am also always looking for ways to stretch a dollar. With that being said when I grocery shop I don’t look for cheap food to feed the clan with, my goal is to find nutritious foods that will keep my family healthy and provide them with the energy they need to get through the day.
I have 5 major points that I like to keep in mind when grocery shopping and I know you will too, find them beneficial so lets get started.
Plan Meals/ Pinterest Surfing – Since I get paid bi-weekly I like to plan 14 meals ( 2 being take out) that my family loves to eat. I like to get their input on meals to make sure that they infact do eat them. I have a note book that I like to jot down meals that I have in mind and I normally go through it to see if there are meals that I didn`t get to make or ones that the family loved and I go from there. I love Pinterest for the simple fact that I can find different ideas for meals to keep the family interested without eating the same meals all the time.
Write Ingredients down– In order to prepare my grocery list I like to list the ingredients that; that particular meal needs, next I go through my cupboards to make sure I am not buying something I already have. *side note shopping the cupboard also saves alot of money as well.
Go through flyers to see whats on sale– Now with this you can do this a number of different ways you can either use your favourite apps on your smart phone such as Reebee or Flipp or you can do it the old school way and use the flyers that normally get delivered to your home. What I like to do next is, according the the ingredients I need, I have now built a pretty extensive grocery list. I go through the flyers and if I find items that I need that are on sale, to make things easier and to expedite the check out process I put a * beside the food item along with the price and store I have found it at so that I can quickly pull out the flyer for the cashier in a timely fashion.
Shop in Bulk– This is so important for me having to feed my family. I like to buy things in bulk because it saves money in the long run, getting a membership for companies like Cosco and Sam`s Club depending on where you live is beneficial. They normally have a yearly membership fee to shop at their store. I like to shop for essential items in bulk such as: Sugar, Flour, Rice, Cereal, Eggs, Snacks and water. Now keep in mind this list might be different for some but this is just an idea of what works for me.
Leave the Kids at home– Kids want everything they lay their eyes and hands on. That`s just how they are programmed, leaving them at home for me makes my time go alot smoother. I don`t have to worry about kids fighting or worrying about who needs to go the bathroom. I also don`t have to worry about being side tracked and picking up things that I don`t need which I am guilty of doing.
Like I said before these are some tips that have helped me alot, I spend less money when I carefully plan my meals rather than shopping with out a plan. What are some ways you shop to save money. Lets chat about this in the comments below.
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29 Comments
FLIPP! That is really all I have to say about this 😀 I love flipp and ever since I was shown it my life has been happier. Make a list, have it ready and just be organized at the store and you can save so much. Some times were even decide at the store we needed something we forgot about and I’ll just pull it out and bam theres a deal and yep we save.
29/02/2016 at 9:37 amHey Jill! Yeah flipp seems to be the happening app. I like them both but im use to using reebee or the flyers themselves. They really do save time and money when shopping!
29/02/2016 at 9:46 amGreat tips! We’re just a family of three, so I do best when I shop Aldi. Our biggest food spending problem is eating out. We love to eat out. It’s our one luxury!
29/02/2016 at 9:42 amI know we love eating out as well, we have limited it to 1x per week if we do go more than once we try and go to places that can feed us all for no more than $40 then I normally try and make enough that we have left overs for the next day so I save a meal for another day. Its now a goal or a game that I like to play.lol Thanks for reading!
29/02/2016 at 9:45 amthese are great tips! I don’t have kids yet, but I have to leave the hubby at home! He’s such an impulse buyer and I have to keep reminding him, “It’s not on the list!”
29/02/2016 at 10:01 amYeah I am an impulse buyer too! especially if its on sale I always justify it, but i quickly remind myself that its not on the list. Thanks for reading!
29/02/2016 at 10:18 amthank you for the useful tips. I love the idea of writing meals down in a notebook. I need to try that as when I think about what to cook my head goes blank. Going to have a brainstorming/web recipe surfing session. It’s nice to get some good advice to make life go a bit more smoothly!
29/02/2016 at 10:13 amI am a big list maker it makes my life run smoother! I pick a day where I schedule myself to sit down and compile my list so I can clearly see what my plan is. The notebook makes a big difference!
29/02/2016 at 10:19 amWe have 3 children and as they get older simply means more food more energy more snacks this list is truly helpful. I have to admit I wasn’t the kind of person who looked at flyers or writes down ingredients when it comes to shopping but doing it saves you more time and focus on your spending. We’ve been an ordering food (pizza, burgers etc…) family since starting my business and it just dawned on me this week that the cost that I put in ordering is the same amount we can purchase on bulk food. Been purchasing a more snacks healthy to make at home together as a family and saving more with the lasting food supply.
29/02/2016 at 10:38 amYeah I know exactly what you mean. When we were selling our house we had to eat out alot and it becomes very expensive very fast! We still like to treat ourselves 2 days out of the 14 that I meal plan it leaves something for all of us to look forward too. Bulk food is the best because it lasts for a good few months and in between that time you can buy other bulk items to keep the cycle up.
29/02/2016 at 10:45 amOh…I can relate to leaving the kids at home! My husband too! LOL Great post!
29/02/2016 at 10:38 amyes leave them all at home! its the perfect ME day!
29/02/2016 at 10:45 amThis has happen twice now when I leave the kids at home with hubby it’s either glittershima Glitter all over the house floor or ice cream bowls all over the house. #NotImpressed
29/02/2016 at 11:12 amAm I the only crazy one that insists my boys come with us? LOL Thankfully they are great about helping pick out healthier options and love to find a better deal. Sure they ask for things, but they know that they don’t always get what they want. But what is this FLIPP thing? I must find out!
29/02/2016 at 11:16 amYes you are insane jk but if it works for you go with it.
29/02/2016 at 12:53 pmThese are all good tips. I know we spend less when we plan our shopping budget and have just what we need on the lists (and don’t leave the lists on the counter!) but #5 has to be my favorite tip! Even at almost 6, my daughter is a mess at the store. While I’m counting and reading labels, and mentally checking off my tasks, she is talking, asking for things, pulling stuff off the shelves. It ends up being an emotional hot bed.
29/02/2016 at 11:34 amHiya Janella
You’re a woman after my own heart! These are some great tips for saving on the grocery bill. I’ve two little ones and planning our weekly meals out in advance has drastically reduced my grocery bill, I’m kicking myself I didn’t do it sooner. It’s astonishing how much basic food essentials have gone up, and budgeting for a family can get overwhelming, but the tips you’ve given can make such a huge difference to your purse and your stress levels.
Oghenero | http://www.simplicitygal.com
29/02/2016 at 3:53 pmSuch great tips for all of us – whether we have a big or smaller family but I know it’s a “must” with a larger family! Love looking through the ads – my husband always scans them when they come in the mail and takes them with him to the store… and I have certainly learned the hard way to write certain ingredients down before I head to the store!
29/02/2016 at 5:20 pmWe LOVE Costco! It can be so hard to budget while grocery shopping (even for just the two of us) because we like to eat organic, hormone free, etc. We try our best to plan our meals and go in and out without extras, but that can definitely be hard!
29/02/2016 at 6:11 pmi love this post – EVERYTHING that i’ve done for years – except for writing down a list….
29/02/2016 at 6:47 pmgreat tips! groceries are expensive!!!! i dont have kids but i could see how leaving them at home could make things smoother. i think meal planning is the best thing one can do.
29/02/2016 at 7:23 pmThese are great tips. Even though in my house hold i’m only a family of two humans and to fur babies, bills can be expensive as we feed our dogs home cooked food with vegetables and meats. So I do have to strategically plan. I also prefer going to the store alone as I enjoy going up and down the natural/organic section of my store and exploring new foods whereas my boyfriend isn’t as interested
29/02/2016 at 8:26 pmAs simple as that. Sometimes we make it out to be more complicated than it is. We do what we have to do
29/02/2016 at 8:42 pmBulk shopping for the win! My husband’s grandma bought us a Sam’s Club membership and I’m in love. Great tips!
29/02/2016 at 10:35 pmThese are great tips. I rarely grocery shop for more than 2 but writing down ingridients for specific meals keeps me out of trouble. Also the golden rule don’t go shopping when hungry lol
29/02/2016 at 11:30 pmWe are a family of six and even though all our kids are young, it’s still tough having a strict budget sometimes. Buying in bulk is a great tip, but you definitely still have to check prices per ounce and such to make sure it’s actually a good deal.
01/03/2016 at 1:49 amShopping in bulk and by the sales is the way I do it too! It’s so hard especially for organic produce– when I find a good sale price, I stock up majorly and freeze as much as possible! I love that Costco has so many organic bulk items available now, it’s my favorite bulk store!
01/03/2016 at 1:38 pmAll are very great tips! I know a lot of people who buy things that are on sale in bulk and then come up with recipes based on the expiration dates.
02/03/2016 at 9:49 pmReebee is a life-saver app for me! I recommend it to absolutely everyone. Such great tips!
03/03/2016 at 11:59 pm