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Nandu,

I was very curious when u were talking abou tthis budgeting and was waiting to see the list(believe me i thought of a excel list..but this is too cool.i burst out laughing..first reaction...)

My budgeting technique is very simple...I will come back at the end..I am known to be too frugal and miserly.....in my circles..so let me come in the end...but i don't compromise anywhere....+

 

Hey Nandhu!

I just posted in the other thread, and here I am now!

I have thought over how much we spend on Groceries, and roughly it comes to about $100 a week. I buy the daals, and all other Indian groceries once in a while and this $100 includes all that. So roughly $ 400 a week is our approx. budget on groceries for a family of 3. How about u?

ANK

 

Hi Nandhu!

U mean to say, ur grocery bill for a week is $60-$70?
Well mine comes to $100 approx. I have put it on the higher side actually.
I visit Walmart/Sams/Indian Groc./ every week, and my combined bill comes to almost $100 a week. I find fruits expensive, and not to mention Indian veggies, sp. the frozen variety like drumsticks, Kantola etc. I have a 12 yr. old foodie at home, and once in a while I get frozen Spring rolls, chicken nuggets etc., so all this adds up!

ANK

 

May be you are an impulsive buyer. a simple thing, go to your pantry and storage and check how much of the things you buy you are effectively using. do you have things that you have brought and have not tried for various reasons???

 

Hi all,

Just thought I will share with you. There is an organization called " Bountiful baskets.org" in Phoenix. A group of ladies go buy in bulk from a big grocery chain and distribute it at a subsidized cost to whoever signs up with them.
Each basket is filled with roughtly 10-12 veggies and 10-12 fruits of the season.
The cost is $17/-. They offer it twice a month and it is delivered at a nearby location, usually a a park. It is all done by volunteers.You place the order online and it is to be picked up by a certain time on saturday morning. I have been doing this for nearly 8 months and very happy with it. We get some fruits that we do not try normally. Some of the produce are organic, some are not. It has become so popular that they have opened several sites. You can try and explore if there are some groups like these in your city.

I have to tell you also that since I do not get the Indian veggies with this order, I make a trip to the local Korean market to make up for the deficit.
Cutting down on prepared foods, except for kid's school lunches is an option while budgeting.

MY Blogs

 

Hi Nandhu,
From your list, several things are missing which I usually purchased for weekly basis.....
Bread
Eggs
Fish (only for Dh, I am a veggie)
Paneer

Greens and Beans (mustard green, water spinach etc)
Several fruits (Apple, Pears, Peaches, Grapes, Strawberries, bananas ....I used to buy all these every week for 11:00 am snack for both of us). And certain seasonal fruits ones like Cantaloupe and Water Melon and berries

Salad things (Lettuce, cucumber, carrot, avocado (I like avocado in salad))

Soup Mix with Croutons
Fruit Juices
Several frozen stuffs like peas.....mixed veggies.....etc......
Certain Indian veggies like okra...brinjal.......yellow squash.......

I used to get these in weekly basis......we are just two and yeah most of the time our bill goes around $80 per week.......
I don't think there is anything I can cut down.......
All these fresh veggie and fruits are costly.......so can't help with that......

Only things are which we purchase in six months basis.......rice........wheat........and sugar.......otherwise......for a balanced diet we need all these........
Me and hubby are not in the group who does budgeting in food.......other things can be cut down like use less gas by buying most of the things from a supermarket.......
Walk down to nearest mall .......cut down the money you spend for Happy hour etc.....

Regards.