How to Feed Your Family for $60 a Week
Sometimes you need to save money quickly and one of the easiest budget areas to cut is your food spending. According to the USDA, the average family of 4 with two school aged children spends $151 – $247 weekly on groceries, and that doesn’t even take restaurant food or take out into consideration.
If you’d like to feed your family for less, here are a few quick tips to make that easier. (See my printable $60 Budget Weekly Menu Plan and Grocery List below.)
Plan Your Meals
The simple act of planning what you will eat and buying only the ingredients you need will yield significant savings. If you plan meals around sale items plus what you have on hand you can save even more.
Eat More Produce
Eat in-season and low cost produce like bananas, apples, carrots, potatoes and salad greens to not only save money but boost your nutrition level as well.
Skip Convenience Foods
Convenience costs. Wash and cut your own produce, cook meals from scratch and avoid snack foods.
Drink Water
Beverages like juice and soda can add up to 25% to your weekly grocery bill. Drink water and save hundreds of dollars in just a few months.
Cook Once, Eat Twice
Cook one food like a whole chicken on the weekend and use it all week in soups, casseroles and salads.
Eat Less Meat
Add meat to soups and casseroles rather than making it the centerpiece of your meal. You can also substitute other protein sources like eggs, beans and peanut butter.
To eat cheaply at home you have to make a small investment of time to plan, shop, cook and prepare the food, but I’ve done much of the work for you.
Print the $60 Menu, Grocery List & Recipes in one PDF!
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$60 Budget Weekly Menu
OR Grab the Super Easy Meal Plan Bundle!
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Please Note: You may not be able to replicate this menu for exactly $60 because grocery prices vary by region and you will have different items on hand but you can save money just by using a meal plan. 🙂)
Read how I feed my family for less without extreme couponing in my Save More-Clip Less ebook!
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Thank you for sharing this! I LOVE your meal plans, but they are typically just a tad more than my “goal” grocery budget (we have less in our household 😉 . I love that you had a lot of variety in this menu, and yet it was simple. I think this is a fabulous short term menu, and I doubt anyone will wither away from a few weeks of simple eats! Sometimes, we eat similar to this, except we do a few meals such as “rice bowl” (black beans, spanish rice, corn, avocado, and cheese or sour cream for my toddler and husband), “grilled cheese and tomato soup” and “black bean quesadillas” just to name a few of our cheap meals. It is kind of fun to get creative and see how much you can make with a smaller amount. Thanks again for sharing 🙂
So glad to help Courtnie! We starting eating a “southwest” bowl that is similar to yours. So good, and cheap!
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I think that eating raw and homemade foods are great and the best way to go for good health and nutrition. I like the idea of this type of menu. I chose an item from each list (breakfast, lunch, dinner) such as oatmeal w/raisins, cheese quesadilla w/ an orange and chicken enchiladas w/rice & beans and did a caloric estimate at 1285 calories. I didn’t look at protein or anything but just the caloric count may not be enough for most people.
Thanks for making that excellent point Lisa. I think that someone could easily add a slice of toast with peanut butter or a boiled egg on the day they eat the oatmeal for breakfast if they need more calories and protein. I also want to re-iterate for those reading this post that I am assuming that eating this type of diet would be short term for a week or two just to save money for an emergency situation. Obviously your family’s health should be a priority but one week of eating cheaply should not affect your long term health.
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Just curious if your Husband eats the lunch you have listed or is this just for your kids?
Excellent question Loyda! My husband usually eats a sandwich, leftovers from dinner or food provided by his employer for lunch. If you have a husband who works a very physical job you may need to increase the budget to add more protein for him.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂