Monday, June 1, 2009

Can I feed my family of ten on less than $100/week - UPDATE

My goal this month was to spend less than $100/week on groceries, H&B items, cleaning supplies, and diapers. I did not meet this goal, but considerably dropped my OOP expenses in these catagories this month (May) when compared to April. See April's totals here.

My total OOP expenses [for groceries, H&B, cleaning supplies and diapers] in May was $491.65. My April expenses for the same catagories were $1,120. I spent $628 less this month.

The weekly breakdown for May comes to $122.91/week. April's weekly breakdown was $280. I spent $157 less each week in the month of May.

The problems I encountered that made my goal of $100/week difficult were:

1. I implemented my weekly menus, but after a great first week I ended up not sticking to the menu on the average of 2-3 days per week. I realize that I really need to look at the activities my family has scheduled and plan accordingly.

2. Another problem I didn't anticipate was my DH or DD making purchases for me but adding extra items that affected my OOP expenses.

3. I also made some unplanned purchases for a hungry toddler on a mini road trip. I should have planned ahead and had some crackers and water in the car for this.

4. I continued to stock up on items that my family regularly uses when I found a really great price.

My goals for June:
I still think I can get my weekly OOP expenses below $100/week and will keep this goal for June.

I learned that I need to create a more realistic meal plan that fits with our activities.

This month I will give myself a "stock up" weekly budget that is within the regular weekly budget. Maybe of the $99 budget I could allocate $49 to stocking up and $50 for the regular milk, bread, eggs, I need to keep us going.