How much do you spend on food, etc?

[Minnymouth]

Don't know a cure for the rust problem...... thats a hard one. Maybe somebody else has some thoughts on it.....

[Granny]

Minny & nazstar
I use baking soda, vinegar and bleach for almost all cleaning. the only issue Ive had is we have well water and nothing gets rid of rust/iron stains except iron out...any suggestions??

WAM

Have you tried naval jelly for the rust. It's a pink jell, available in hardware stores and not very expensive. But read the warning label.

[nazstar]

For rust on clothes and other fabrics, lemons are supposed to work really well but I haven't tried it. I had some screws that rusted on an outside lock once. I soaked them in Dr. Pepper and it ate right through it - makes me think twice about drinking it now!

[BassBoy]

Have you tried naval jelly for the rust. It's a pink jell, available in hardware stores and not very expensive. But read the warning label.

Nasty stuff if you're referring to the naval jelly rust dissolver.........http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov...ds&id=13010007

[Granny]

Nasty stuff if you're referring to the naval jelly rust dissolver.........http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov...ds&id=13010007

Yep, but it works, especially well in bathtubs and sinks...just keep it away from kids and wear gloves. Definitely not a product I'd use every day but for those really tough stains, I won't bother with anything else.

[Minnymouth]

I've heard of the "navel jelly", but never used it.....

Also Dr. Pepper/coke/pepsi can be used to clean battery cables of corosion.

Wonder if it's that hard on the stomach too???????????

[whatamess]

Hmm maybe I will pour my Dr pepper down the toilet then!!! If it does indeed do to rust what said i will not be drinking much soda anymore. ICK! I already have an ulcer!!!!
Ive never heard of that "jelly", but it sounds scary.....then again, Lime away isnt exactly good for you either.
Thanks!!
WAM

[One Half Full]

I am just one, I spend from 25-30 dollars per week.

I am not sure about "buying a freezer," as mentioned above. You may be able to get meat on sale, but you end up paying for it through your additional electricity bills. I always thought the "half cow" purchase was a good idea until I figured it needed to pay rent.

[Becca]

It's me, hubby and three kids - 17 (b), 13(g), 8(b) and dog. I spend at least $200 a week on food and still run out. I can NOT keep enough food in the house, its maddening. And thats *with* clipping coupons and looking for deals. I don't know what to do anymore.

And with summer coming and them home all the time (friends over more etc) its only going to get worse!

Becca

[TX Bluebonnet]

#6 You will go crazy if you create a budget that's too strict. I allow myself some luxuries. It's like a diet. If you allow yourself a controlled cheat once a week, you're less likely to binge. I cut out my husband's ice cream allowance of 1 pint of ben and Jerry's a day (I kid you not - the man was eating like $35 of ice cream a week). He now gets 1 pint a week and if he eats it all in one sitting - tough cookies. The dogs get a treat once a week and not daily.

I have the same issue with ice cream with my husband. Also, if I buy a bag of Oreo cookies it only lasts 2 or 3 days. I've gotten to the point where I don't buy certain items like these anymore. So now the only time he gets Oreo cookies is on the rare occassion when he goes to the grocery store. Unfortunately, he does occassionally buy a pint of ice cream at a convenience store, which of course is about the most expensive place to buy anything.

#7 My husband has NO portion control. If I make chicken cutlets, he'll eat 3 or 4 pieces. If cut up the same amount of chicken into cubes or strips and mix with noodles, rice and veggies, I can get 2 meals outta the same dish. You can "fill" a plate with a lot of healthy and cheaper options.

Oh my gosh, I sure know what that is like and it's sooooo frustrating. I make a big pot of something thinking we'll get 2 full meals out it, if not more, and my husband just keeps eating and eating until he's beyond full and actually uncomfortable, at which point he says he can't eat anymore.

#4 Don't take the family with you when you go shopping. Everyone has something they throw in the cart that's not on your list... Also, don't go to the supermarket when you are starving - you start tossing all sorts of stuff into the cart.

I couldn't agree with this more. I make a point of going without my husband for the reason above, where he'd just wander off and come back with an impulse item to throw in the cart, and then repeat numerous times. For example he'll go over to the meat aisle and look at the steaks (while I'm in another aisle comparing different brands to see which is cheaper per ounce) and grab up a package of 2 huge expensive steaks to cook on the grill. I'm not that much of a steak person (personally, I'd just as soon have a hamburger over a steak) and try to convince him to get a cheaper cut for my serving. Well, that's insulting to him and he retaliates with, well it's cheaper than eating out. I don't know what that has to do with us going over our food budget, but just let it go at this point because I'm tired of fighting this all the time. Oh, and what do you do with an expensive cut of nicely grilled steak? Well, if your my husband you drown it in steak sauce. Honestly, what's the point?

Another reason I don't like my husband going with me is because he does not like me buying in bulk, even when it's cheaper. All he can see is that if we buy that smaller package the bill will be cheaper at the register. Usually I just do it anyway, but I hate having to explain/justify why I just put a 10-pack roll of paper towels in the cart instead of a 3-pack that "doesn't cost as much."

That way of thinking is probably why it doesn't bother him at all to buy a 6-pack of beer at the convenience store for $7.50 when he could buy a 12-pack for $11.00 at Walmart. When a 6-pack (or more) is being consumed weekly, and money's tight, it makes a difference. Of course, picking up that expensive ice cream at the same time doesn't help any. I guess I'm stuck with this one, though, since I have reached the point where I refuse to buy beer when I'm shopping at Walmart because I feel he's on the verge of becoming an alcoholic.

On the plus side, at least he's not brand loyal and is fine with store brand!!

Meal planning has been the biggest savings for me. I used to just go shopping haphazardly, without a list or any ideas on what we were going to eat for the next week. We ended up wasting a lot of food due to such poor planning, and also not being able to make a meal that appealed to us out of what was left. Oftentimes we'd end up going out to eat just because neither one of us felt like cooking.

I used to gripe because our fridge is so small with a tiny freezer on top. Now I actually like that it's small because I'm doing everything I can to cut back on wasting food. Our fridge used to be so packed all the time that we'd end up throwing food out that we'd forgot about or just kept overlooking. We'd also throw out frozen food after it'd been up there for way too long, or we weren't sure when we froze it, or sometimes didn't even know what it was anymore. Now that I'm planning our meals and making better use of any leftovers, our fridge is not packed full of useless junk anymore and we can actually see everything that's in there much more easily now.

Our food budget is a work in progress. Right now we're budgeting $150/week for the both of us and 2 dogs. That includes food, paper products, tolietries, cleaning products, dog food, those convenience store pitstops, and occasional meals out. This would be a lot easier if my spouse would get on board with this. I think he feels like this is just short term and we'll be going back to the way it used to be once I eventually get a job again. I'm trying to get it in his head that this is a lifestyle change and when I get back to work we'll need to really start saving our money for emergencies and short term goals and retirement, which we don't have any now to speak of and which is only 25 years away.

Sorry for such a long, complaining post. Any thoughts or ideas or true stories about how someone turned their partner around to the idea of staying within a budget would be greatly appreciated.

[jenopher]

Lol, the only way my husband understands the grocery budget is when the bank account says $0.00 left. He's not quite that bad, but will seriously keep making a beer run if he thinks we have extra. We each get 50.00 a month to spend on whatever extra we want and I swear his all goes to beer. I won't put it in the official grocery budget, but he can spend his 50 on whatever. I'm sure he thinks my 50.00 goes to silly girly stuff he couldn't care less about either. We spend about 200-250 a week for 4, (2 adults and 2 kids ages 11 and 13) That includes toiletries and cleaning stuff too. I could do better and stay at 200 I think , we just started this budget thing and will file soon. I really never have had a budget and it's kind of hard. I should've had one all along, but it's never too late right?

Anyone have any ideas on the cheapest yet still decent quality laundry detergent for the HE front load machines?

[rickisbroke]

I am a single guy, live in a house by myself, and I have one dog. When I was still living on credit, I spent whatever I wanted on groceries. I would use coupons and shop sales, but didn't have a budgeted amount weekly. I could easily spend $100 a week, which would include cleaning supplies, etc. Sometimes $20-$50 of that would be alchohol, though. I do enjoy cooking and would buy gourmet and premium ingredients. The worst thing is spices! If I wanted to try a recipe and it called for a spice I didn't have, I would pay the $6 to get it and use maybe once. Some of this was from my mindset of, "Well, I can't afford to go on vacation or have any other fun...I might as well eat good!" I was also guilty of buying bags of salad and not eating them or other produce and throwing it out, letting yogurt expire, having one sandwich out of a loaf of bread before it got moldy, etc.
Now, I am trying to keep it at $80 or under, including a 12 pack or case of beer (beer is a staple), dog food or treats, cleaning and household supplies, and toiletries. I am trying to take better advantage of sales and use coupons where I can. I don't buy more than I can eat before it will expire, and I try to make meals that I don't mind having leftovers of.
We have Meijer here and I love it. It doesn't feel as dumpy to me as other discount chains, and they have name brand, high quality foods. Most of their store brand stuff is pretty good...I get a bummer once in a while, though. They usually have some killer deals, too.

[FLBK7]

Don't know a cure for the rust problem...... thats a hard one. Maybe somebody else has some thoughts on it.....

If it's rust stains on clothes, just rub table salt and lemon juice on the rust stain (on the heavy side), and let it sit in bright sunlight for a couple hours. Then launder normally. It's worked like magic for me every time.

[BigJohn]

In our city, a grocery chain owns several chains of grocery stores. They own the chain of the most expensive stores in the area but they also own the chain of the cheapest stores in the area. I can buy the same bananas at their cheap stores which would cost me about twice as much at their expensive stores.
Every other day, I buy some meat. What is on sale is what I buy. Generally pork or chicken for about $.79 to $1.29 a pound. I generally pay for a package between $2.00 to $4.00 and it last the two of us for 2 days.
The milk is generally $2.79.
I get their icecream (the kind that comes on a stick). They have varieties I really like such as mango ice cream with real pieces of mangos.

I also buy food from an ethnic market. The owner gives us a good break on prices and we are able to buy some things we can not buy anywhere else. Our favorite is pickled pig; I know, not everybody's favorite.

[Cali]

I spend 1000-1200 a month on groceries for a family of 4.