The Cost of Feeding Our Hive - Tips, tricks and cost of feeding our large family

Feeding a large family is like hosting a party every day and the guests never leave. As you can imagine feeding a family of 12 is expensive! Groceries are our second largest expense after our mortgage. A long time ago, one of our kids told their preschool teacher that my job is going to the grocery store, he was right. One of my job’s in our family is feeding our family healthy food on a tight budget. I wanted to share what a week’s worth of groceries for our family looks like and costs; as well as some tips I use to stretch our budget. 

 

Before I go shopping:

•   I meal plan for the week – Our meals are simple and don’t vary that much from week to week. I ask for the kids input and I will have our older kids help plan and make a meal. Having a meal plan helps me stick to our budget.

              Here is one of our weekly meal plans:

o  Monday – Crockpot Sausage and Peppers with Pasta

o  Tuesday – Taco night – Ground beef tacos with rice and beans

o  Wednesday – Greek Night – grilled chicken, orzo, veggies, hummus and pitas

o  Thursday – Breakfast for dinner - Breakfast casserole and fruit

o  Friday – Make your own pizzas and salad

•  I shop for 1 week at a time. We don’t have the storage space or budget to buy more than a week at a time.
  
  
  
• I clean out the refrigerator and check our pantry that way I am not buying duplicates of items.     
•  I buy store brand whenever possible and sign up for instore rewards card for coupons and often gas savings.
• Even though I have a meal plan and a list in my hand, I try and be flexible if there is a big sale on an item.
• I check for reduced items in the produce section (often they just have small blemishes or imperfections and are marked down).

A week’s worth of groceries costs around $550 for us (we rarely eat out so that cost includes breakfast, lunch and dinner for 12 for 7 days). A typical week looks like:

4 gallons of milk

1 tub of spreadable butter

4 sticks of unsalted butter

6 large boxes of cereal
2 loaves of bread
36 eggs
12 indiv cups of yogurt
15lbs of bananas
12 lbs of apples
6lbs of grapes
large bag of clementines
2 Cucumbers
Bag of Bell peppers
Large bag of carrots
Large bag of Kale or Arugula
3 lbs of potatoes 
6lbs of chicken breasts
3lbs Italian sausage
6lbs of ground beef
6lbs of pasta

3 jars of Marinara Sauce
Large bag of chicken nuggets
Large bag of shredded Mexican Cheese
Large Bag of shredded Mozzerella
1 lb of cheese slices
3lbs of lunch meat
Large box of frozen waffles
Large bag of pitas or Naan Bread

Large tub of hummus
Lots of snacks
A few treats
Paper Towels
Toilet Paper

* Once a month we will restock cooking oils, spices and baking supplies

We now live in the Pacific Northwest and I have found that produce and meat are a little less expensive than on the East Coast. We are spending about $30 less per week now. We shop at Fred Myers (Kroger Brand) and Walmart for groceries and Costco for bulk meats, paper goods, diapers and wipes.

I would love to know the weekly cost of groceries for your family and any money saving tips you have.

The Carousel Ride

Today, I got to say YES!

A trip to a local mall and a carousel ride really hit home the sacrifices of raising a large family. 

The kids had a rainy day off from school and I had planned to take them to a local museum. We pulled into the parking lot and it was packed. I was solo with all the kids and I didn’t want to fight the crowds and be a wreck about losing sight of anyone. The kids were super disappointed, I pulled out of the parking lot with 4 kids crying. I quickly came up with a plan B, there was a local mall close by that was never crowded. I was just looking for an indoor place where everyone could stretch their legs. We hardly ever go shopping at malls and I realized that I could count on one hand how many times my littles had been to a mall.

We headed for the indoor play area in the food court and the littles played. Next to the play area was a carousel. I had planned on spending a little money for parking at the museum and didn’t use it. I made a quick decision and bought 7 of the kids tickets for a ride. You would have thought it was Christmas, the kids were so excited! For that 1 minute ride they smiled, laughed and waved. Instead of being in a mall food court, we were transported to Funland at Rehoboth Beach, where I used to ride the carousel as a kid.

It was so sweet and sad at the same time. Raising a large family we say no almost all the time to extras and treats. We literally don’t have money for anything beyond the necessities. My kids will always have hand me down clothes, shoes and toys, they will never have the newest or shiniest things. A trip out for ice cream for us costs what some families spend on a dinner out. I hope one day they will look back and see that all the sacrifices were worth it. Even though they didn’t get to go to amusement parks or out to dinner often, they have 8 other people that will love them and have their back no matter where they go and what they do. We spend our Friday nights having movie night at home or playing flag football in the front yard, on weekends we go to local parks and free museums, I hope those memories will stay with them. I love that they truly appreciate when we get to say “yes” to that rare treat.

I will remember that today, I got to say “yes” and it was awesome!