Officially a stay at home mom <3

kimspearman · January 2012

Well after months of being home on bed rest and being pestered by my workplace I finally had ds and lo and behold they (the school) couldn't resist asking me for lesson plans 8 days after delivery. DH and I discussed it and decided if I got approved for new health insurance I could stay home as long as I really stick to a budget.

So for all of you SAHMs how much do you spend on groceries a week?

megaloo27 · January 2012

Congrats! I can't wait for little one to come to make it official.

namara5532 · January 2012

That's awesome you have that option! Not all families do.

As for your question about groceries, DH and I get by on probably $50/week on groceries, but we easily burn at least $30 eating fast food because we don't like cooking very much.

Luvmy2sons · January 2012

I'm just lurking, but wanted to answer your grocery budget question. I meal plan (for a family of 4, adding 1 in April). I make my weekly meal plan (always include a night or two of leftovers or "grab" nights, especially for us and our busy schedule). Then I go thru the sale papers, find what I need to make the meals. I usually visit 2 or 3 grocery stores depending how good the sales are. I also try and match coupons for an even bigger savings. On weeks where we don't need a stock up, I can do the budget on under $60 a week (for a family of 4!! That includes staples, milk, bread, lunchmeat, cheese, fresh produce). On stock up weeks (where I need paper towels, and everything i usually budget $100-$130 for the week. Obviously come April when buying diapers, it will change a bit. Though i'm considering starting a Target giftcard, and adding $20/week or so to build a diaper savings. I find diapers are usually pretty cheap at Target, especially with coupons.

Cinco · January 2012

Congrats! We budget 100/week on groceries. This includes non food items, like TP, paper towels, cleaning stuff, cat food and litter, etc. I also have a 5 year old and a 3 year old so my total reflects a famiy of 4.