On a budget,with 4 children.

I spend less per week than any other family that I know, on groceries.I always have,in fact,when I was first married and it was just the three of us,I spent $40 a MONTH on groceries[but times and prices have changed]Sure,if I am feeling frivolous,I can spend $100 a week.But on average,we spend about $40 a week in groceries.

This is what $40 of groceries,for us,looks like.But this will last us longer than a week…

You will notice,no name brands.I am not opposed to name brands and on occasion, I buy name brands,in fact in some foods,I refuse to eat the generic brand because of flavor differences BUT for the most part,I do not buy name brand.
I buy on sale.I take survey of prices and shop accordingly.Some things will be cheaper than others at different grocery stores and I make it a priority to stay on top of those prices.I also use what I have on hand,I dont re-buy something that I already have.I take stock of what I do have before I even enter the grocery store.This week,I had a nice big bag of apples and two heads of lettuce.So my kids will eat apples this week.If bananas,oranges,plums etc; are on sale,they eat those.And I will plan meals around using those two heads of lettuce.I also have a deer shoulder,two slabs of pork ribs,2 pork shoulders and a loin and a huge jar of peanut butter,many jellies and jams,oatmeal(I could go on)-on hand.

Last week I did an experiment.I wanted to see if we could make a good,large dinner for 5-6 people on 3 dollars a day…and the addition of what we had on hand.We passed with flying colors.And had leftovers.Some days I could have spent less-

Most people buy groceries when they dont even need them.

If you look at the above picture you will see that I bought a bag of potatoes for $1 and a bag of celery for $1.You will also see a really tall stack of bologna.3/$1, so I stocked up.I will freeze what we wont use  now,for later.

Our dinner/supper menu:

Breakfast night:Pancakes,eggs and bacon(or fried bologna,I personally hate it,but some of my fam loves it.)
Deer “stew” with noodles and creamed corn
Taco Salad
Pot roast including carrots,peas and potatoes
Chicken and dressing with green beans on the side
Baked shoulder with great northern beans and cornbread

If you are looking at this menu and asking yourself,where is day 7? Well,usually on day 7 we treat ourselves to dinner out or we take groceries to his mothers house and have a dinner with his mom and fam.

Now,there are other areas of saving which I am not well versed.Gardening and dehydrating,freezing or canning.I know how to do very little of any of those things.I have a ton of canned tomato relishes etc from a year that I joined in a “canning party”.I have a dehydrator and plan to learn to do all of these other things soon,maybe I can cut my grocery budget back even more,since I will no longer be paying for a personal chef.But anyhow-
I do grow my own tomatoes and green onions.
In pots.
In my front yard.

The hardest part is the wait.This is a cherry tomato plant.I bought it for a dollar and it came in a peat pot.I filled a flower pot I had on hand with soil,dug a hole and sat the plant in.When it gets larger I will have to stake it and tie the plant to it in three spots to support the weight.Thats it.Its easy,its cheap and anyone can do it.It will provide my family with cherry tomatoes to last the summer season.
You dont have to buy flower pots.Anything will do…as you can see my sons cabbage  is being grown in a sand bucket.I will eventually have to move it,it is a giant cabbage plant.
I have 9 regular tomato plants too.and green onions.They are not hard to grow.In past years,I have tilled an actual garden in my backyard but with flower pots you have the advantage of NOT HAVING WEEDS.You dont have to amend soil that is in the pot,no snakes or slugs or any other creepy crawlies.No tilling,pulling,hoe-ing.And..
I have grown other things before but with much less success due to my lack of dedication.This,what I do,takes no work whatsoever.And for the cost of 1 tomato,you can get a seasons worth.

So what I am saying is this.Most people are looking for cheaper recipes and while that does help,that is not the root of eating frugally.Changing the way you shop and preserve your food is what makes all of the difference.