$100 Budget Weekly Menu (for six people including three teens!): Menu planning saves money!
See what we’re eating this week with a $100 grocery budget. (Some items were purchased in previous weeks in the $100 budget and are marked with an asterisk.)
Check back later today to see my grocery shopping for this week (and link up your savings!).
Read more about how I stick to a $100 a week budget in my FREE e-book Save More-Clip Less.
Print your own customizable menu planner form here.
*Items marked with an asterisk were purchased in previous weeks in the $100 Budget and are in the pantry, fridge or freezer.
BREAKFAST {Click purple links to go to recipes!}
French Toast, bacon*
Cereal with milk x2
Oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins*
Egg and Cheese Bagel
Veggie Breakfast Scramble (veggies from last week)
LUNCH
Turkey Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese, raw veggies* and ranch dressing* x2
Nachos
Quesadillas, green pepper slices*
Snack lunch: Salami, pepper jack cheese, green pepper slices*
Homemade pizza bagels*
PBJ, apple slices*
DINNER
Shrimp and Grits, steamed asparagus, steamed sugar snap peas
Breakfast for dinner: Waffles and Eggs
Italian Chicken*, Angel Hair Pasta*, Romaine Salad
Blackbean Chicken Chili, corn chips
BBQ Chicken, rice, steamed broccoli and cauliflower
Oven Tacos, steamed green beans*
Chicken Enchiladas, rice
What are you eating this week? Leave a comment or link. 🙂
Please Note: I post my weekly menu to encourage menu planning and to give meal ideas, not as a nutritional standard. You should feed your family based on your priorities and values.
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For more menu ideas, check out OrgJunkie Menu Plan Mondays.
Just wondering about quantities that your family eats. For example, how many quesadillas will each person eat? I would love to consistently feed my family of 4 for under $100 a week.
We usually eat two each, but generally these are for lunch and my husband is at work, so 3 of the children and I eat 8 flour tortillas total and my gluten free daughter eats 2 corn tortillas.
Michelle, it’s entirely possible! Our MONTHLY grocery budget is about under $160… We receive WIC for my youngest, so with that $$ added in, our total would be around $50/week.
Some quick hints:
-do away with paper products- We do not use any paper towels, paper plates, paper napkins, plastic eating utensils or cups. We haven’t noticed any increase in our water bill and the cloth towels and napkins just get thrown into other loads usually as fillers.
-Don’t buy candy, sweets, cookies, chips, ice cream, soda, etc. We do not buy these things. A box of little debbies costs around $1.79 (less on sale) and I can get a pound or 2 of chicken for that price to feed us an actual meal instead of a few snacks. I make some treats at home, and I buy a few favorites every once in a while if they go on sale.
-My twice a month budget is $80, I use part of that money for current menu and usually part of it ends up being “stockpile” money for good sales. For example, when our favorite bread goes on sale for $1.25/loaf, I stock up and put about 4-5 loaves in the freezer. It costs more right then, but saves money later.
-Coupons. I no longer use coupons, but they really helped my family a lot when I did. You can get some great deals on stuff!
-Cook from scratch! It’s not that hard once you get used to it…I can make biscuits from scratch faster that most people can use bisquick, just because I’ve done it so often.
-Make sure to utilize every single bit of your leftovers! A small roast will feed our family at least 2-3 times between eating the main meal and then making the leftovers into a pot pie or soup.
-I cook a lot with ground beef, which can be stretched into several meals. The same with chicken and pasta.
-Look for mark downs in the meat and produce department. I never scrimp on fruits and veggies, because my kids’ health is more important than saving.
-Grow a garden! It’s much easier than you think and you don’t need as much land as you’d think either. If you absolutely cannot grow it yourself, try to find someone–a friend, church, etc. to go in with. We have made our garden bigger for some friends who aren’t able to grow their own. They come and work their small plot and still get veggies. Maybe you could find someone willing to do that for you. We have frozen corn, canned green beans, frozen peppers for quesadillas, pizza, etc. throughout the year from our garden.
-Don’t eat out. We had gotten into the habit of eating out all the time. If you eat out a lot, you’ll be very surprised to see how much money is wasted! I challenged myself and gave up eating out for lent this year to get us back on track. I haven’t even missed it. It has felt really good to go back to not eating out at all.
-Don’t buy convenience foods! If you need to have a frozen meal, make it yourself. I can make several frozen pizzas from scratch for the price of a single frozen pizza from the store.
-Meal plan…it makes things so much easier! It’s easier on the budget and health and makes cooking easier and more fun too because you don’t have to deal with that, “i’m hungry and nothing sounds good but I have to feed my family” kinda feeling.
Eating on a budget just means making smarter choices sometimes and does not mean that your family has to live on beans or anything! I hope this helps to encourage you a little. It definitely can be done! I’m always excited when people are trying to get down to a budget bigger than mine, because I know for a fact it can be done 🙂 lol. I post my meal plans on my blog if you want to check it out…
Crystal – That was super helpful! It really motivates me to make some changes; for our health and the budget. 🙂 Thank you for those tips!
I’m so excited to find you! When I started reading your story and getting into your blog, I ran to my husband to share. I too am a mother of 4 with 2 teens, 1 Pre-teen and a 10 year old. My parents were credit card junkies too. My husband is frugal and I’m still, years later working on it.
I was wondering if maybe I started writing this blog and forgot about it because it is so similar to our life.
I am thrilled to see the tricks and skills you have learned and share. We are in the same financial boat, but I can always use more help cutting back but getting more bang for my buck. Thank you!
“I was wondering if maybe I started writing this blog and forgot about it because it is so similar to our life.” You made me laugh Sarah! Welcome and be sure to share any tips you’ve learned as well. 🙂
I have (yet) another question….I see your groceries,and your menus for the week,which comes first? thank you again for sharing
I love questions. 🙂 I check the ads for my local stores, plan my menu and grocery list at the same time based on the weekly sales and what we have in the pantry, freezer and fridge, then I shop. You can read more about my planning day here: https://thepeacefulmom.com/2011/08/24/grocery-planning-day-step-by-step/ and my shopping day here: https://thepeacefulmom.com/2011/09/01/easy-meal-planning-shopping-day/ .
Hi there! just found your blog through a friend’s pinterest pin. We are a family of 12 (2 adults, and 10 kids, aged 6 weeks to 13 years). We generally spend about $100 per week on food. We are blessed to have someone who renews our membership to Costco every year, without which eating well would be more difficult.
What are we eating this week?
BREAKFASTS:
Scrambled eggs with cheddar and green chiles, toast.
French toast with maple syrup, scrambled eggs with cheddar.
Oatmeal with choice of toppings (raisins, cinnamon, brown sugar, honey, sorghum (2 days).
Fried eggs with corn tortillas and salsa.
Waffles with choice of toppings, bacon.
Pancakes with choice of toppings.
LUNCHES
Quesadillas with salsa, clementines.
pbj sandwiches.
leftover spaghetti, cheese bread.
leftover chicken rice soup and homemade whole wheat bread.
crackers with sliced cheese and raisins (twice).
Pot luck at church.
DINNERS
Spaghetti with meat/tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese, homemade bread, tossed salad, asparagus.
Chicken rice soup and homemade bread.
Shrimp sauteed in garlicky butter (we’re celebrating a birthday!), tossed salad.
Country-style pork ribs with homemade bbq sauce, grilled. tossed salad.
Chicken drumsticks, salad, mixed vegetables.
Spaghetti Pie, salad, homemade bread.
Leftovers.
SNACKS:
cheese & crackers & raisins.
homemade bread with homemade chokecherry jam.
VERY impressive that you feed a family of 12 on $100 a week. Great job!
Thank you, Kimberlee. I should add that my MIL buys wheat berries in bulk every year and gives me freshly ground flour every week or so, and we have chickens which provide us with eggs. The flour is free to us, but the chickens cost a lot to feed, especially in the wintertime.
I have friends who just bought chickens and they live in suburbia. Seems to be catching on. 🙂