Name: Thrive! NCHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-05-22T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-24T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Tagged: food costs

This topic has 14 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 2 months ago by dztamra.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)

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Posts
February 3, 2012 at 10:02 pm
scmgal
Member
I thought that this link was very interesting and wonder how your budgets line up with this. I’d say that we are thrifty even when I feel like we are liberal.
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodCost-Home.htm

February 4, 2012 at 12:26 am
Monica
Participant
We are way below thrifty…and I don’t think I’m that thrifty compared to the bargain-shopping I used to do!
February 4, 2012 at 2:18 am
Suzq
Participant
I only looked at Dec. 2011 and we are Thrifty or less according to that.
February 4, 2012 at 4:00 am
Rachel White
Participant
Definitely below Thrifty. Did you look at how much the family of 4 cost had gone up from Jan. 2011 to Dec. 2011 compared to the 2010 prices? Quite telling…
Jan. 2010-585.60; Dec. 2010- 587.40
Jan. 2011- 598.90; Dec.2011 – 623.80
February 4, 2012 at 7:22 am
MamaSnow
Participant
Wow. This actually makes me feel a little better – we were just below ‘thrifty’ for a family of 4, even though we are a family of 5. And I know we could have done better than we did last year but we were travelling/moving a lot last year so I couldn’t always stock up on things on sale and we ate out a lot more than we normally would, too. Our food costs last year were higher than I would have liked them to be, but STILL on the way low end of the ‘average American’. Makes me wonder what everyone else is eating….
February 4, 2012 at 11:22 am
Tristan
Participant
We are in the thrifty range for a family of four — and we are a family of 9!! Wish we had double the thrift budget to spend (which would still be a family of eight at thrifty level) LOL
February 4, 2012 at 3:30 pm
Heather
Participant
Wow, thanks for the link! We are evidently way below thrifty. I’ve just added up my costs (My budget is no more than $350 every four weeks for a family of 5) and I am at $280 with a week to go!! That link makes me feel so much better!
February 4, 2012 at 3:49 pm
my3boys
Participant
We are definitely in the Thrify range or below.
@Heather, are you going to share “how” you keep your costs so low?? Well, Tristan could, too, for that matter, lol. I’d like to lower our costs even more than they already are.
February 4, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Heather
Participant
@my3boys…I’d tell you but it’s top secret…Just kidding! This is my problem! I know so much about what to do and put it into practice for my own family, but it’s come from years of tweaking and experimenting and I don’t know where to “start” when trying to explain. I so desperately want to help others but I don’t know where to begin putting it into words. This blog idea makes me feel stressed, but I really want to help others! Oh how, how do I begin???
February 4, 2012 at 5:57 pm
my3boys
Participant
Maybe you could start with *your* beginning and what prompted your need/desire to put into practice this way of life for your family. I’m sure lots of us could relate. Then just go from there. Kind of like those that began hsing early on or those that started somewhere in the middle…something prompted that change and caused it to be what it is today.
Like you didn’t already know this…I just love to read about the *reasons* why people do what they do. I may not always change my lifestyle because of it, but I may tweak something here or there. It’s definitely interesting and can be thought provoking.
But no rush, we’ll just go further into debt while we’re waiting, LOL. You know I’m just kidding, rigth?? Really, I’m just kidding.
February 4, 2012 at 6:20 pm
Heather
Participant
I know you’re kidding…and very funny! I get what you’re saying though. I’ll try to get it together and I’ll let you know as soon as I do!!
February 5, 2012 at 3:06 am
AprilMayJune75
Participant
We sit just at “thrifty” for our family of three, if I don’t use any coupons. With coupons, we are well below it. The one season that I really splurged, we still stayed at or under “low cost”, LOL.
April
February 6, 2012 at 5:03 pm
kpincoffs
Participant
We’re coming in moderate to liberal and we need to be thrifty! I am really trying (sales, marked down meat, making everything from scratch), but I feel like all of the usual tips don’t work for us. I used to feed my husband and I for around $200 a month with no problem. Then my kids were born with allergies to gluten, oats, chicken, eggs, milk, tomatoes, pumpkin and blueberries. We aren’t allergic to legumes, but don’t tolerate them well and rice has to be rotated to not cause problems. Every budget meal plan I look at is heavy on most of those things. We have just moved to a house that has room for a garden and some fruit trees, so I’m hoping that will help once it gets going.
February 6, 2012 at 6:03 pm
tfigueroa
Participant
For our family of 4 we are coming up in the low-cost plan, but some months we are above the low cost and below the moderate plan. It is hard to believe as I feel strapped in the Grocrey Budget area as it it. I guess we could do better.
February 6, 2012 at 8:06 pm
dztamra
Participant
Yea, well below thrifty for a family of 4 with young children and we have 5 people with our youngest being 10. My kids eat as much or more than we do at every meal. It’s hard to know when they’re actually hungry or if they’re just not stuffed. I try to explain that not-hungry doesn’t mean you feel stuffed, it just means you are satisfied physically. Hopefully they’ll get it someday 🙂