What Should Your Weekly Budget Be for Your Family, Including Food, Diapers, Formula, Clothing, and More?

A mom writes in asking for advice about budgets. She wants to know what a reasonable weekly budget is in order to provide for her family. She is struggling to pay for groceries, clothing, diapers, formula, gas, and more on $200 a week.

Homeschool Hideout‘s Tiffany Jordon weighs in with some expert advice below.

A Mamas Uncut fan asks:

“What is your weekly budget for groceries/toiletries/laundry/gas for the car/ diapers/formula/baby food/clothing (baby always needs bigger sizes)? My husband is upset I’m having trouble managing with $200 a week. I need tips and tricks, anything!”

– Mamas Uncut Community Member

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Advice from Tiffany Jordon

 Budgets will be different for every family, depending on where you live, how many kids you have, and their ages. Our family of 5, living in a very inexpensive area, has a budget of $250 a week. We homeschool our kids so we have a large food budget, but a small clothing budget. Since they’re older, we don’t need to worry about diapers or formula. There are a lot of factors that will make your budget vary from others.

Challenge yourself to cut expenses as much as possible. See exactly where your money goes each week and try to reduce your spending in each area. Some will be harder than others, but a few simple changes can make a big difference!

Shopping around for the cheapest groceries will help you save some serious cash. This means going to more than one store to get everything you need at the cheapest price, but the savings will be worth it. Another easy way to reduce your grocery budget is to use a “Grocery Pickup Service.” You’ll save a lot of money by avoiding impulse buys and getting only things you actually need. Plus you’ll save a lot of time, too!

Make the most of your grocery budget by eating every last bit of food you have! You can always repurpose leftovers or eat them for lunch. Try turning leftover grilled chicken into fajitas or spaghetti noodles into pasta salad.

Another easy way to cut down your spending is to buy things used! Between Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and Craigslist, you can score some seriously nice items for just a fraction of what you’d pay for them in a store. With so many options, you don’t need to settle for something you don’t love! Just keep looking until you find exactly what you want.

Try making small changes to cut down on your weekly budget. Next time you want to go to the park, opt to walk instead of drive. Or swap out reusable hand towels for paper towels. You’ll be surprised at how much money you can save by just making a few simple changes to your lives.

[Images via Shutterstock]