S/O Budgeting: Groceries

[Shawna]

Originally Posted by mlewis

I shop the ads and use coupons and go to multiple grocery stores - something that was not possible before I was a SAHM. I also make up a 2-week menu plan and only shop twice a month.

This is what I do as well, we try to shop 2-3x a month and then just do small trips in between to get milk & bread as needed and take advantage of any good deals I see in the ads. For our family of five (2 adults 3 kids) we try to stay under $350/mo for groceries, household items and diapers/pullups for the 2yo. I shop Dillon's (Kroger), Walmart, Target, Walgreens & Sam's Club and then we also have Aldi but it's not close to our house so I don't get there too often.

I have a bunch of frugal/money saving/couponing type blogs in my blog reader and watch for posts about good deals in my area and then stock up as much as I can on those. Another great site is Hot Coupon World which has similar info to the Grocery Game but free. With coupons I can get all our toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, feminine products, razors, etc. for free or darn close to it. Having a nice stockpile of those items has really helped cut our budget down so we can spend a bit more on other stuff. I also never pay full price for diapers/pullups/wipes, there are tons of coupons available for the name brands and most of the stores I shop at regularly do great diaper deals. Not too long ago I got 4pks of pullups for under $12!