After researching this post, I’m embarrassed to say how much we spend on groceries every week.  Let’s just say that it’s much, much more than what some of the frugalists out there are dropping at the local supermarket.

Seriously, I was SHOCKED at some of what I found.  People are actually feeding a family of four for under fifty bucks a week.  Do the math.  That’s less than two bucks per person per day.  Amazing.

Now, the menus these folks are using aren’t particularly exciting.  I’m an unrepetant carnivore and most of them don’t contain much meaty goodness, either.  Those who are looking for ways to shed pounds won’t be that thrilled, either.  You’d think that cutting costs dramatically would result in some kind of belt-tightening near-starvation, but that’s not what happens.  Instead, you end up with a lot of rice and breads.  Carbs rule.

I also have a few concerns regarding the overall healthiness of the El Cheapo menu plans.  No, nobody is going to fall deathly ill or anything.  There just isn’t as much fruit and vegetation as your average nutritionist would probably recommend.

That being said, this is some VERY interesting stuff for those who are trying to find a way to keep their expenditures down.  For most of us, following these systems could result in thousands of dollars in annual savings.  For those who are taking a beating during this recessionary period, these plans could be a financial lifesaver.  Plus, even if you don’t go hardcore on the price-chopping plan, you can still learn a few handy tricks that you can transfer into your own overall food buying habits.

Hillbilly Housewife was able to get by on about $45 per week in a pinch back in 2006.  According to her most recent calculations, the cost of feeding a family of four would be around $70 per week.  That’s still pretty impressive.  I don’t know about “hot dog and veggie stir fry over rice” as a supper, but at least you can have some iced tea with it.

Unemployed and Feeding a Family…  This blog outlines a strategy that will feed a family of four for just under a c-note per week.  There dropping $20+ more than Hillbilly Housewife, but that extra money seems to result in a slight upgrade in the meat department.

$30 per week…  This site explains that you could do all kinds of wonderful things if you were only spending $30 to feed your family every week.  Gee, you could buy a new dress or save for some other luxuries.  Sounds compelling until you see the solution.  They advise taking advantage of the Angel Food program, which supplies bargain groceries built around organized menus for less than $30 to those in need.  Personally, I don’t really think anyone who just wants to save some dough to go on vacation should be leveraging the efforts of church volunteers.  Seems a bit creepy and wrong to me, though the program doesn’t have restrictions on participation.  I’m including it because you can look at what they’re doing to get ideas about holding down costs and because those who do have a need to utilize charity right now might benefit from it.

Anjie feeds four for less than $30 per week.  I haven’t run the numbers on this.  It might be a little dated and you may have to shell out more to compensate for inflation.  However, this is an impressive example of how people can hold down their food costs.

I also discovered a message board where people are sharing some cheap, cheap, cheap recipes.  If you want to slice and dice your grocery costs, it’s worth checking out.  If you aren’t ready to get quite that intense, this list of money-saving tricks from The Simple Dollar is pretty functional and a lot less radical.

I’m still reeling over the way some people are able to exercise this kind of cost control.  It’s absolutely amazing.  If you start running the numbers…  Well, it could be life-changing if you’re willing to follow through with it.