Food Allowance for family of 6?

[coolmom04]

I was just looking through our past three months of statements (b/c that is when I started using my software), and we spend about $1,000/month on dining out and groceries.

Is that entirely too much for a family of 6?? About $800 of that is groceries and then the other $200 is dining out. Going out probably for one "real" meal once a week and then hitting the drive-thrus on the way to school or work, etc.

[MSbklawyer]

Go here:

http://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/20091101/meanstesting.htm

[coolmom04]

Thank you... I knew I'd seen it somewhere

[JEM]

Question regarding the food allowance, we are a family of 4---if we take the full $752 allowance for food on our schedules, will that ever be questioned?

Or is anything OVER that where the flags start to go up?

For instance I was sitting here plugging numbers into the sched. J and put $600 for food. Can I put $752 and probably not have that questioned?

(We haven't hired a lawyer yet, I'm just running numbers on my own. )

[jdcat]

We are a family of 5 and I'm hoping to get by with $860 for food and $120 for school lunches on my schedule J. That is what we actually spend. I don't know if the age of the children is taken into consideration, but it makes sense to me that it will. A 15 year old eats a heck of a lot more than a 3 year old.

I haven't met with an attorney yet so I'm curious to find out what flies in my district.

[doingpoorly]

We had $1250 for our family of six. It did include groceries, wal-mart stuff like paper products and misc, school lunches, and any meals out or drive thru. I do have THREE teenagers and they are athletic so they tend to eat a lot. Really it isn't that much when you break it down per person. It is only $208 per person a month.

I feed a construction worker who is a meat and potato eater, a teen who is a wrestler and packs carbs, a teen who is a cyclist and eats a very balanced vegan diet, a dancer who eats a ton of fresh fruits and veggies, a 10 year old who loves fresh fish and a mom who eats whatever someone else is having .

Trustee didn't question the amount nor did my lawyer.

[jdcat]

Someone pushed my sons hungry button and it got stuck! And he's only 12! I can't imagine what it will be like feeding him when he's 17, lol!

and a mom who eats whatever someone else is having

Same here.

[JEM]

Someone pushed my sons hungry button and it got stuck! And he's only 12! I can't imagine what it will be like feeding him when he's 17, lol!



Same here.

My son is 9 1/2 and he already has these huge eating spurts right before a growth spurt. I fear the teenage years.

I have one teenage boy (not living with us), but I do know how they can eat.

My 7 yr old daughter on the other hand, eats like a bird.

[Stilltheone]

We are a family of 4 and I WISH we had $752/mo to spend on food! LOL We're lucky if we have $400 a month for food...cuttin' back like everyone else!

[jdcat]

Yeah, we're cutting back also. I budget a little over $200 a week for us, but that includes everything from food to toiletries to clothing on an as needed basis, and sometimes even our gas. Fun stuff huh?

[JEM]

We are a family of 4 and I WISH we had $752/mo to spend on food! LOL We're lucky if we have $400 a month for food...cuttin' back like everyone else!

Well, that's the thing...we haven't been spending that NOW because we'd been cutting back to make CC payments. And doing without in many areas.

However, without those payments, we should be able to spend a reasonable amount on groceries again. I hope.