My husband gives me $400 every two weeks to spend as I see fit. After the necessities like toilet paper, various soaps (hand, shower, dish, laundry), toothpaste, school supplies, and so on . . . I am left usually with about $300 to spend on food. Of course, that amount does vary some, but not too terribly much.
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Feeding 8 people on $150/week sample menu with a price break down
Quick disclaimer: I buy most of my meat in bulk. I get all my cans and fresh veg from Aldi. The prices below reflect the used amount of each item. I don’t need to use a whole 5lb bag of flour to make pancakes, know what I mean? I usually make everything from scratch, but on occasion (to save my sanity) I’ll feed the kids a couple .33 boxes of macaroni and cheese. The below is a pretty basic menu that reflects what we eat around here. Actually, that’s our menu for this week that I posted in my Large Family Frugal Living Facebook group.
In general, I aim for $1 per person per meal or around $20/day. Obviously, suppers will be more expensive than breakfasts, but it all evens out in the end.
Update: Since writing this article, I have developed Large Family Frugal Meals. These weekly meal packs give you everything you need to feed your large family for less than $150/week. Read more about the meal packs in this FAQ or click the photo below to be taken directly to my shop. 🙂 Happy meal planning!
Monday
pancakes and bacon [pancakes $2, bacon $2 (we buy in bulk for $1.99/lb) = $4]
pizza bagels, fruit, veg [bagels $1.69, pizza sauce $.59, mozzarella $1.25, pepperonis $1, apples $2, baby carrots $.40 = $6.93]
ranch chicken, mashed potatoes, salad [chicken $3.38 (I get it for $1.69/lb), ranch/cornflake mix (homemade ranch, butter, cornflakes)$2, mashed potatoes (potatoes, butter, milk) $2, salad and homemade ranch $2 = $9.38]
Total for Monday is $20.31
Tuesday
smoothies, muffins [smoothies around here are homemade yogurt $1 and fruit $2, homemade muffins cost me about $3 for 24, however, we eat about 12 at a time $1.50 = $4.50]
lettuce wraps, fruit [lettuce wraps are lettuce, lunch meat, may, and cheese. I fix about 10 good sized ones for roughly $5, apples/cuties $2 = 7]
tacos, refried beans, Mexican rice [tacos are hard shells .99, 2lbs of meat $4, homemade seasoning .25, and fixins $3, Mexican rice is rice and a can of Rotel with seasonings $1.50 = $9.74]
Total for Tuesday is $19.24
Wednesday
oats, bananas [instant oatmeal $1.99, bananas $2 = $3.99]
burritos (from leftover taco night) [leftover filling plus tortillas .99 and some fruit $2 = $2.99]
chicken chili (with leftover beans) [2lbs chicken $3.38, two Rotel .69 each, an extra can of beans .59 with sour cream and cilantro for topping .50 =$5.85]
Total for Wednesday is $12.83
Thursday
smoothies, muffins [smoothies around here are homemade yogurt $1 and fruit $2, homemade muffins cost me about $3 for 24, however, we eat about 12 at a time $1.50 = $4.50]
macaroni and cheese, fruit, veg [two boxes macaroni and cheese .66, apples/cuties $2, cucumber .99 = $3.65]
Sausage, pepper, potato bake [smoked sausage $1.99, sweet peppers $2, potatoes $2 plus seasonings and butter $1 = $6.99]
Total for Thursday is $13.14
Friday
eggs, toast [dozen eggs .99 and loaf of bread .89, butter and jelly .50 = $2.38]
oven sandwiches, pretzels, fruit [12 oven sandwiches are turkey $3.5, cheese $1.79, Hawaiian rolls $1.99, butter and seasonings .75, pretzels $1, fruit $2 = $11.03]
homemade pizza, brownies [homemade pepperoni pizza costs me about $5 for two large pizzas, homemade brownies are roughly $2 = $7]
Total for Friday is $20.41
Saturday
Cinnamon Rolls [homemade ingredients cost me about $3 total]
leftovers [free!]
steak, broccoli, roasted potatoes [bulk steak is roughly $10 per meal, broccoli $1.98, roasted potatoes with butter and seasonings $2.50 = $14.48]
Total for Saturday is $17.48
Stuck in a rut with meal planning? Check out the Meal Planning Made Simple Planner!
Sunday
Cereal [cereal $1.69, milk .80 = $2.49]
leftovers from the week and/or grilled cheese [bread .89, cheese 1.79 = $2.68]
rice and fish [two family-size bags of frozen tilapia $11, rice $2, seasoning for both (lime, garlic, whatnot) $1 = $14]
Total for Sunday is $19.17
Total for the week is $126.59
But what about snacks and drinks????
We drink lots and lots of water. I do keep lemon juice in the house in case we decide we’d like some lemonade, and of course, sometimes we have sweet tea. But that’s it. I don’t buy juice. Sometimes I’ll buy a 12 pack of those sparkling waters for $1.99 at Aldi if I see them.
As for snacks, that’s where the wiggle room after the meal total comes in. I can buy popcorn kernels, a bag of pretzels, cheese sticks, cottage cheese, and other things of that nature for snacks. Yes, we snack every single day, but usually, the kids just eat an apple or cracks and cheese or something. Our snacks are by no means extravagant or expensive.
If you’re looking for more ideas, check out 45+ Homeschool Lunch Ideas.
This has given me some great ideas for my menu next week. I have been out of the meal planning habit and I’m trying hard to get back into it.
Oh yay, I’m so glad to hear that!
Great ideas!
For the past several years, we’ve been able to raise our own meat and most of our veges–but that’s changing now, since we aren’t able to have a garden this year (it’s summer here in the Southern Hemisphere) and we’re moving into town for a few years. I will have to figure out how to tighten up, I believe. I do find it interesting that my food budget, if you factor in exchange rates, is very similar to yours, with a slightly larger family most of the time here–makes me feel better!
I love to shop at ALDI. I have a family of 9 and my youngest is also 1, like yours. These are some great ideas. I wrote some down. Thank you!
This helped me alot, house of 8, but on respose to your response…I tried Aldi and im finding 70 percent of the time they dont have 90 percent of stuff.
Like today no lucky charms, no pizzas , no sausage just brats…my instacart shopper couldn’t get 57 percenr of stuff…have you found this true?
Great ideas – I love the very simple approach! There are five of us here and it’s a constant battle to keep the grocery bill down, so I like seeing how others are doing it.
These are great ideas! You definitely gave me some ideas!
I”m guessing our family of three could use ideas to eat more cheaply. 🙂
I’m impressed! You’re helping me with my budget for my family of six!
Fantastic ideas. I admit that we probably spend too much on food – snacks and drinks mostly – but I like getting inspiration from others because any little bit helps our family save money. Thank you.
we are a family of 7 my parents live with us and we spend about $100 a week on food…sometimes if we have extra money for food I’ll splurge and we will have a really nice meal…We were eating leftovers for lunch but here lately I have figured out the perfect portions for no leftovers…we try to be as frugal as possible. we like taking nice vacations and sticking to a budget helps.
Love seeing the breakdown of cost per item per meal. Thank you for all the work you did showing us where the money goes.
I am feeding our family of 6 on $500 per month. This includes all paper goods, but only a portion of our meat (we purchase beef and pork from a local producer once a year) I stock up the pantry and freezer at beginning of month and fill in fresh produce as the month goes on.
I love shopping at Aldi too. We’re a family of 3 but I see some useful meal ideas on here that would fit us as well 🙂
Oh yay! I’m glad to hear it!
I’m so happy to see a menu of meals that our family would/does eat. I am aware, of course, that families do things differently, I’ve just been somewhat disappointed in many of the frugal menu plans. They tend to have many foods that we are used to eating or using. It means waste when many family members are unwilling to eat it. This particular list includes things we already eat, probably because we’ve been doing the frugal living thing for 20 years already. I feel like I’ve used up my ideas. They’re all dried out and done! I’m truly looking forward to the reception of pizza and brownies night.
I know what you mean! It’s easy to fall into a meal planning rut! I’m so glad to hear you’ve found new inspiration!
I’m curious as to what these prices would translate to today, in 2022. I can’t imagine some of these prices 😭