Let’s talk groceries (LCOL area)

I am on mobile, I tried to split it into paragraphs but sometimes it doesn’t read spaces on mobile. This is long! Thanks for reading.

For my family of 4, our grocery budget is $300-$400 a month. I meal plan after grocery shopping, using what I bought and what I have at home. I try to buy meats that can be split into two meals. Roast can be roast and bbq sandwiches, whole chickens can be roast chicken then shredded for 1-2 more meals, etc. I buy things on sale and clearance and don’t always use them that week to keep as a stock pile to use when needed. This method has worked for me for 10 years. I do struggle with lunches and snacks.

Breakfasts aren’t a problem, eggs, biscuits and gravy, omelets with whatever veggies, fried potatoes, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, toast. Just basic breakfasts.

Lunch can be anything from sandwiches to leftovers to an eat-this-before-it-goes-bad smorgasbord. Boiled eggs, pepperoni, carrots, apples, nuts, and yogurt are one of the more frequent lunches because those are staples in our house. Home made lunchables are a go to as well.

Typically for dinner I make a main dish, 1-2 sides, and a bread. We do a dessert about 1-2 times a week depending on what groceries I got. Apple pie, cake, cobbler, cookies, ice cream, sometimes with “cook out” style dinners we will use fruits as dessert.

My biggest issue is snacks. My kids love snacks, but I usually don’t have a lot of what they want on hand. We have granola bars, greek yogurt with granola, pepperoni, and fruits and veggies. They want chips, cookies, goldfish, and those are around double the cost of the snacks I get and last half as long.

Tell me, how would you most effectively use $400 a month? I am a stay at home mom and have the time and ability to cook from scratch, and I have some freezer space to split and freeze meals. Lunches and snacks are where I struggle the most. One kiddo is sensitive to lactose, the other is a garbage disposal. I’m allergic to bananas. We shop almost exclusively at Aldi’s.

If you’d like any of my recipes as well I’m more than willing to share!