OK, so you won't eat my cheap meal then confess to what you would make and how much you would spend

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OK, so you won't eat my cheap meal then confess to what you would make and how much you would spend
Posted by bluespagan
on 4/22/12 at 7:45am (6 likes)
So I was reading through the comments on the cheap meal thread and honestly shook my head. $800/month for a family of 4! Wow! When it was just me I could easily get away with spending $50-75/month on myself and that was with treats.

So I am dying to know, what do you all eat that costs so much???

Me personally, I think I spend an upwards of about $200/month on groceries when I do it all at one time. I have learned to barter for many things in my local area. We have pear, cherry and apple trees in our yard so we trade those for things like eggs, veggies and other fruits. My MIL will barter through her job for things like a rough cut butchered cow for beef and split it with us if we help her out with her garden. Then again, my husband can't work right now since he is going through cancer treatment and I am the only one bringing in an income. when we have guests I can usually very easily spend a max of about $5/person in one meal. That includes a meat, veggie, starch and sometimes dessert.

My menu usually consists of something like this...

Grilled chicken legs and thighs

Romaine tossed salad with homemade pepper and garlic dressing

garlic mashed potatoes

green beans with carmelized onions

So if you wouldn't eat my cheap meal then please tell me, what would you make and how much would it cost?

Replies (1-10 of 348)

Posted by mommommymomx5
on 4/22/12 at 7:48am

we spend about 800 a mth for a family of 7
Posted by mstkn.identity
on 4/22/12 at 7:48am

Oooh that sounds yummy.
Posted by bluespagan
on 4/22/12 at 7:49am

I can see spending that much for such a large family but these people were talking $800 for a family of 3 or 4.
Posted by kristyann
on 4/22/12 at 7:50am (6 likes)

I'll be honest, your meal sounds fine. But I am one of those moms who spends about 800 dollars a month for a family of 4. . I work full time and so does my hubby so a lot of it is convenience food. I also admit we buy mostly name brands. Why does it piss people off that I spend more on groceries? I get no assistance, so what does it matter.
Posted by etsmom
on 4/22/12 at 7:53am

Everything you have there sounds good to me. We spend about 500 a month on groceries for a family of 4, but we also try to buy organic so some of the cost comes from that. We are planting a garden to offset our own costs and we get eggs for free from my mom who has organic raised chickens. I think that there are some terrible snobs out there who judge way too quickly. I grew up in a big family, there are 7 of us, and we didn't always eat the greatest, but we did eat good most of the time. Not everything on a meal plan has to be gourmet. In my house we have a few favorites like baked chicken and mashed garlic potatoes, sometimes spaghetti with meat sauce. Our new favorite is grilled swai with fresh salsa, steamed brown rice and a nice big salad. that literally costs about $7 for the whole meal to make for a family of 4.
Posted by bluespagan
on 4/22/12 at 7:53am (1 like)

It doesn't piss me off but the whole feel of that thread was judgemental. It made it sound as though those of us who do not spend that much a month make crap for food.

I work full time as well and my husband doesn't have the energy (due to going through chemo and radiation) to do much when I get home after watching the baby all day. We don't have the money to go out and I don't see the point in name brands when off brand tastes the same. Either way, my meals are just fine, almost completely homemade and cheap.

As for your last part on the assistance, i don't care how much people spend on groceries, on assistance or not. I just wanted to see what in the hell people are eating that is so expensive lol.
Posted by CreziaMommyTo2
on 4/22/12 at 7:54am

we dont eat dark meat in the house, so the white meat chicken itself costs about 2x more.
we spend about $150-$175 each week on groceries for a family of 4
lunchables - ASD child is picky $10
Rice Milk (ASD cantdrink cow milk) $10
fruits - strawberries, blueberries, melons, apples, pears, bananas (every week we buy) $30 alone in fruits
Vegis - red peppers, celery, carrots, broccoli $10-$15
Chicken breasts $1.99 lb - $10
OJ $2.50-$3.00 a continer (on sale) we go through about 7 a week $20
cold cuts $15
what i listed there is $105 alone and that isnt including other stuff that i change up each week...
Posted by Moogie1005
on 4/22/12 at 7:57am

The only thing I have against your meal is that I don't care for chicken. I would eat it, but it's not my favorite.
Posted by JoLee12345
on 4/22/12 at 7:59am

1000.00 or so for 7. Tons of meat and milk
...lol not cheap. Oh and I love that we get bashed for getting 300.00 a month in fs while I'm pregnant with our sixth child and dh is works five days a week from 4 to six active army and I am a sahm. We still out of pocket at least 7-800.00! Shoot fs covers milk and stage two formula
Lol
Posted by bluespagan
on 4/22/12 at 7:59am

I could easily subsitute chicken for beef. We get that basically free (other than some hard labor as a barter) so I have a freezer full of different rough cuts.