I posted in a forum about feeding your family on only fifty dollars a week, and somebody posted back asking how I do that. This is my response:

Our biggest paycheck of the month comes in on the 15th. I pull out $50 for each weekend between that payday and the next 15th, plus $20 for dog food. (Cat food gets worked into the rest of the grocery budget.) We shop on Sundays after church, and I only take $50 with me so that I don't overspend. My general plan is to get all the stuff that we need, and then use whatever money is left to stock up on items for later.

First thing I do is get the list from the website so I know which coupons to clip. I keep them in a drawer with each week's coupons in their own folder so that I can find them according to how the list displays them (SmartSource from 8/30, for example.) This typically takes about an hour if there are a lot of coupons.

Then we go to Walmart to get stuff that we need that didn't show up on the list. (Right now our Walmart is undergoing construction, so sometimes I'm inclined to skip it.) This week, I got a bag of frozen chicken ($7), olive oil ($3.75 w/ coupon), vegetable oil ($3), frozen OJ ($3.75), milk ($2), eggs ($1.20), dog food ($12), noodles ($1), dry beans ($1), minced garlic ($4 - costly yes, but it lasts a few months and I use it a lot), a bag of potatoes ($2), jar of yeast ($4.50). And I know there have to be some other things in there because I spent $48. So allowing for the dog food, I had spent $36 on groceries, leaving me $14.

I went to Albertson's on Monday because I needed to stop and get some extra coupons from my mom. There was a promotion in the paper for Quaker Oats products. After the sale and the in-ad coupon, I could get five cans of oatmeal for $1 each. I had two coupons for $1.25 off of two items, so I got an additional $2.50 off, making my oatmeal fifty cents apiece. I had a coupon for $1 off Pillsbury Grands biscuits, and they were BOGO Free, so I paid $0.89 for two. And Allen's frozen veg was on sale, and I use that in soups, so I got two for $0.69 apiece. I spent about $4.60 at that store.

Then I went to Kroger where they were having a "Buy 10 selected items and get $5 off" sale. Purina One cat food was on the list, and I had two coupons for $3 off a bag, so I got them for $1.50 apiece. Tidy Cats litter was $4.50 and I had a $1 coupon. Buitoni pasta was $0.99 in this sale, but I found a coupon online for $1 off, so I got those for free. Nestle Tollhouse refrigerated cookie dough was $1 apiece after my coupons, and that's less than I can get a bag of chocolate chips. And to round out my ten items I got three Kraft Mac & Cheese for $0.50 apiece. I also had coupons for Suave Bodywash, which I use, so I got three of them for $0.50 apiece. I spent just under $12 at Kroger. So technically I spent about $52, but that's close enough. I had a couple of ones left over from previous weeks, so no biggie.

The last couple of weeks, "healthy" snacks have been on sale, so we have an assortment of granola bars and other similar items for hubby to snack on. Other weeks, I have him get $4 worth of fruit that he picks out. I also found a recipe for homemade granola, and while the initial outlay for the ingredients was pricy, it calls for so little of it that those ingredients will make a LOT of granola.

This week for dinner, we'll eat:
pizza (I make the dough myself, and it's cheaper to buy pepperoni from the deli. Hamburger meat or sausage is in the freezer already.)
spaghetti & meatsauce
lentil soup (I have a recipe I've been wanting to try, and the lentils are already in the pantry)
orange chicken & fried rice (from the Crockpot blog - It was okay, but it didn't taste like Panda Express)
chili (crock pot)
meatloaf (leftovers in the freezer)
baked potatoes w/ Eckrich sausage

So as you can see, we're not starving by any means. Bear in mind that this is just two adults. I've made a concerted effort over the last year to eat leftovers for lunch since we've gone to just one income, so I try to cook big dishes. This $50 does not include eating out, which we only do about once a month when we have a coupon for a free dish somewhere, and then we split it. It helps temendously that Kroger & Albertsons will double/triple coupons up to a certain amount, but I understand that some areas don't do that.

I have a shelf in the bathroom full of products I've gotten very cheaply. Toothpaste goes on sale for $1 fairly frequently around here, and there are plenty of $0.50 coupons that will double so the toothpaste is free. I use Suave deodorant, and there's a coupon for that in the P&G Brandsaver at least every other month. I think I have four or five sticks that I got for free that way. Good coupons for hubby's deodorant are a little harder to come by, but I think we have some stocked up. Shampoo/conditioner/body wash will usually end up being about $0.50 a bottle. We like Irish Spring soap, and they come out with $0.35 off, which triples and I use that when the 3-bar pack is on sale for $1 to get free soap. Toilet paper is the biggest thing. I like Cottonelle, and there are plenty of coupons for that. A 4-pack runs about $1.25 at Kroger, and I usually have a $0.50 coupon that doubles, so I can get the pack for $0.25.

9/29/09 Edit: I use thegrocerygame.com and if you want to try it for free for four weeks, please use thegrocerygame.com@hejny.net as your referral email so I get credit. I recommend stocking up on coupons for at least a couple of weeks before starting the trial so that you get the best use out of it. I get lists for two stores, and I pay $15 every 8 weeks. I more than save the $15 in any one week.