How I feed my family for less than $14.00 a day

Here is an example of how I feed my family of 3 on less than 14.00 a day.  Sounds pretty impossible, right?  Not if you think about it and make sure you always have certain staples in the house.  The following is an example and breakdown of the actual costs to feed MY family.  (I am not making this up.) If you really want to stretch those food dollars,
get in the habit of having soup & grilled cheese for dinner one night a week.  It’s inexpensive, delicious and nutritious!  Also, have leftovers at least one night a week…waste not, want not!
NOTE: You can easily feed four people with the meals I have listed below.

Day 1
Soup day:
2 cans of soup = $2.00
Grilled cheese sandwich = Bread .25, cheese .41 X 5 sandwiches = $3.30
Crackers = .25
Total for 4 people = $5.55

Day 2
Pork Roast = $5.43
Mini corn on the cob = $1.66
¼ of a 10# bag of potatoes bought on sale for 2.99 = .75 (for mashed potatoes)
Applesauce = ½ jar = 1.25
Can of Green Beans = .59
Stick of margarine (for vegetables, rolls) = .24
Can of biscuits = 1.00
Total for 4 people = $10.79 (this meal should yield leftovers)

Day 3
Hamburger helper
Ground Chuck = $2.69 (buy a big package on sale and split it to use the other ½ for another meal)
Store Brand Hamburger Helper = $1.25
Bread & Butter (Margarine) = .58
Can of Green beans or peas or corn = .59
Total for 4 people = $5.11

Day 4
2 Pkg. Smoked sausage = $3.99 (on sale BOGO)
Sauerkraut = .89
Baked Beans = .79
Cottage Cheese = 1.25 (1/2 carton)
Total for 4 people = $6.92

Day 5
Chuck Roast = $7.02 (2.35 lbs)
Potatoes (from the same bag bought on sale) = .75
1 onion = .50
1 Lb. Carrots = .79
Can of Biscuits = $1.00
Total for 4 people = $10.06 (This meal yields leftovers)

Day 6
Hamburgers patties, or what some restaurants call Hamburger Steak Some people like these plain with ketchup, or you can make a sandwich on bread.
Ground Chuck (from the same pack used on Day 3) = $2.69
Potatoes from the bag bought on sale = .75
½ of a yellow onion = .25 (to make fried potatoes & onions)
2 Cans of vegetables (Corn, Green Beans, Peas, Carrots) = .1.18
Total for 4 people = $4.87

Day 7
Leftovers = No cooking or spending money!
Note: Leftover day doesn’t have to be the 7th day, but anytime during the week when you are pressed for time or need to use up leftover food.

Ok, that covers the dinners.  Now what about breakfast & Lunch?  Well, my little one usually eats a bowl of oatmeal or a granola bar or cold cereal for breakfast.  If I do eat anything, it is light, like toast or a banana.  My husband usually has an egg sandwich or Oatmeal during the week.
Oatmeal = 1.99 for 10 packets, so .20 each
Granola bar = 8 for 2.99, so .37 each
Cold cereal = 2.00 average for a box, so maybe .25 for cold cereal
So, for the little one, averaging out, it’s about $1.64 Monday – Saturday for her breakfast
Egg Sandwich = .27 X 3 days = .81
Oatmeal = .15 X 3 days = .45
Husband Breakfast Monday – Saturday = 1.26
My Breakfast Monday – Saturday = .25 X 6 = $1.50

Total Breakfast Mon. – Sat. = 4.40
Sunday is a good day to make a home cooked hot breakfast.  Most of the foods typical to a big breakfast, such as bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, etc. don’t need to be eaten more than once a week since they contain a lot of fat and cholesterol.
I will use biscuits & gravy, eggs and sausage for my big breakfast.
1 roll sausage = $2.50 (but I usually get it from the meat manager’s special for like .89 and freeze)
1 can biscuits = 1.00
6 eggs (I don’t eat the eggs) = .50
Milk = $1.00
Sunday Breakfast Total for 4 people = $5.00

School Lunch = $1.85 X 5, so 9.25 a week (We home school, but this is the cost of a school lunch)
My husband and I usually eat something like soup or a sandwich for lunch, so it costs me about .65 to make a sandwich and .79 to 1.25 for soup, depending on what kind of soup.
Average Weekly Cost to feed My Husband and Me lunch – 11.69

Other food costs for the week:
Milk = 1 ½ gal on average, so $4.49
Coffee = 5.98
Creamer = 2.99
Soda = 5.00
Snacks, chips, etc. = 7.00

Weekly Total = $99.10  = $14.15 a day  = $4.72 per person, per day 

Pretty amazing, huh?  This is just an example of a week’s meals.  Of course, your tastes may vary, but it can be done quite easily if you do your homework.  Always check the local paper for sales, buy in bulk whenever possible and plan ahead!