Food Budget - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Olywa · RV-Dreams Family Member

Food Budget

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

In our experience, we spend as much for food living in an RV as we did living in a Sticks and bricks.

If you think about it, all we did is change homes. We wouldn't expect to spend differently if we moved to a different neighborhood would we? Well, maybe we would if there were a lot more interesting restaurants.

Fred

Olywa · RV-Dreams Family Member

Fred
You are right when you say we are really just changing homes however when we do go full time we won't have the disposable income that we have now, yes we won't have the big expensenes either but if I could save some money on food yet still eat well I think it would make our experience even better...maybe even more money in the budget to try those new resturants in each neighborhood.

Pam yawn

contra · RV-Dreams Family Member

We are not fulltiming yet either, but we expect our food budget to decrease from the level it is at now. The reason is that we eat out more often now because we are either tired from working all day or ill prepared to cook because we haven't had time to get to the store. We expect to eat out less often as full timers, partially because we will be on a much reduced budget, but also because we expect to have more free time and will enjoy cooking more (we both like to cook when given the time).

It will be interesting to see if we meet these expectations. Only time will tell...

-Connie

Hdrider · RV-Dreams Family Member

I would think that our food budget COULD increase at first just because I could see us in places that would intise us to eat out more than we do now. We only eat out maybe 3 times a month now.

Jim01 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our food budget went up when we went full-timing. The main reason was that we can not always take advantages of sales and can no longer purchase large quantities of food from places like Sam's Club.

We used to by items by the case, and buy large quantities of meat that was on sale to put into our 2 freezers. Now with limited storage space and a small freezer that is no longer possible.

Once we were on the road for awhile, our dinning out cost came back down to approximately what they had been before we went full-timing.

Our food costs are quite high as that's one place we choose not to skimp on. We eat well. biggrin

Jim

Grant · RV-Dreams Family Member

contra wrote:

We are not fulltiming yet either, but we expect our food budget to decrease from the level it is at now. The reason is that we eat out more often now because we are either tired from working all day or ill prepared to cook because we haven't had time to get to the store. We expect to eat out less often as full timers, partially because we will be on a much reduced budget, but also because we expect to have more free time and will enjoy cooking more (we both like to cook when given the time).

It will be interesting to see if we meet these expectations. Only time will tell...

-Connie

Our food budget is higher since we have been fulltiming; in part because there are just so many interest things and places to eat. Part of the journey is trying regional favorites that we haven't seen before. One thing you will hear all the time from other RVers is “Have you tried … or have you been to the … restaurant.” We never do to fancy restaurants; if I can’t go in jeans and running shoes, we don’t go. However, I think we eat out more than before fulltiming.

Since we spend most of our time away from cites there have been many places where there is only one very small store and prices are higher than they were at home. As others have said there just isn’t enough storage or freezer space to “stock up” as there is in a sticks and bricks house.

Connie – Shopping, cooking and doing dishes are just as much a pain as there where before fulltiming. If you have spent the day traveling, site seeing, hiking, etc. You may still feel tired or ill prepared to cook because we haven't had time to get to the store.

tumwatergal · RV-Dreams Family Member

We are FT now since 8/2008. This year we upped our food budget from $400 per month to $500 per month. We eat a lot of fish and chicken, very little beef. Also buy a lot of fresh veggies and fruit. We rarely go out for a restaurant meal as we are trying to eat healthy. I watch for sales at stores while we are on the road, but we cannot stock up on too much stuff due to weight limits with MH. We eat well but I also try to never let food spoil. It is too expensive to just throw in the trash because we didn't cook it or eat it. Don't shop at Costco too much anymore...no room for all the "stuff". Food is just expensive these days!

sonicsix · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a month long meal plan that we prepared. We don't follow it to the letter, nor do we buy everything in one trip. It's meant as a guideline only. It was done to give folks a sample list of meals and the associated grocery list with costs.

http://rvroadtrip.us/library/meals.asp

http://rvroadtrip.us/library/meals2.asp

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

We did a 30 day practice run last October, our food budget was about the same as it is in our stix and brix. Don't really see that changing once we get on the road.( come on house sell,sell !!) aww

Happytrails · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our food budget is actually less now that we are full-timing. We used to eat out a great deal due to work and schedules....just easier. I try to shop economically usually buying as much as I can at Wal-Mart. We do have a freezer in our basement so that has helped. We are trying to change our health habits and eat foods that are a little better for us. I do cook ahead and freeze some items so I can pull that out on travel day. We eat out when we find a local restaurant that is unique to the area. When we go out hiking we sometimes pack a lunch and take it with us. Our food budget is $450.00 and I have been known to be under that a few times.

retread · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our budget is a bit more generous than Howard's. Our budget for groceries/dining out is approx. $30 per day for four people (2 are kids - but they are growing boys and eat a lot!). We also purchase a lot of household items (cleaning supplies, paper goods, etc.) within this same budget item - so it's more than just food.

Our dining out is typically very inexpensive fast food and usually on travel days. Ordering only water, even at fast food places, saves quite a bit as beverages can really add up!

I think we spend less on food now than we did in our S&B. We always make a menu before going shopping. With the precious space in the smaller fridge, I tend to make better use of the leftovers and produce. I rarely find those icky, neglected items that are mutating into unidentifiable fuzzballs! Trips to the store for fresh produce are more frequent now, but we've enhanced our flexibility in our menu to allow for the better priced items.

My dh and I also stopped buying sodas with rare exception. We decided it was an easy sacrifice to help with the food budget and might be better for our health as well. We also purchased a Brita pitcher to keep cold water in the fridge and reduce the demand for bottled water.

HTH, enjoy planning for your time on the road!
Linda

rjenkins · RV-Dreams Family Member

Another suggestion to keep food costs down is coupons on the internet. There are many sites that deal specifically with coupons that you can print or even download to your phone to use at the store. The sites have the food and just about anything else that sells with coupons, categorized and the savings can be significant.

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

rjenkins wrote:

Another suggestion to keep food costs down is coupons on the internet. There are many sites that deal specifically with coupons that you can print or even download to your phone to use at the store. The sites have the food and just about anything else that sells with coupons, categorized and the savings can be significant.

Good point,coupons have always been a big part of how we keep cost's down.Actually we try to never pay full price for anything we buy.

Hdrider · RV-Dreams Family Member

I looked online for coupons,,, I keep running into places that want me to join for $99 and such. Is this what you mean by on line coupons?

janieD · RV-Dreams Family Member

There are many free sites for coupons. Some of the ones that I use are Coupon mom.com She also will give you the list of specials going on in your area at Target, Wal Mart, Walgreens and CVS as well as some of the regional grocery stores. You have to register for that part but it is free. Also Smartsource and Red Plum which are the insert coupons in Sunday newspapers have sites and the coupons are free. I don't see any need to join something that charges for the coupons. Here are the links:

http://www.couponmom.com/
http://smartsource.com/
http://www.redplum.com/

-- Edited by janieD on Saturday 6th of February 2010 07:55:21 AM

rjenkins · RV-Dreams Family Member

Where I live in South Florida, the major food chains are Winn-Dixie, Publix, Walmart then there is BJ's and Sams Club of which I belong to the former. I have their web-sites bookmarked and when I plan my grocery shopping, I see who has the best deals to know what to buy where. They are all relatively close (they are catering to the same demographic area anyways) so it's not like I spend a lot of extra time and money going from one place to another.
For example I take big advantage of Publix when they have their BOGO (Buy One Get One free). Although it does not require a coupon, they only have these specials on certain days and for certain products. You can save a ton on that alone.
You also get to see who has the best specials going for meat, poultry and fish, etc.
Initially it takes a little bit of work to get it set up and into a routine but it is well worth it. You do save what amounts to big dollars by the end of the year.
On a side note, I have also learned when buying products over the internet, a lot of them have a "Merchandise Code" to enter for an additional discount but I don't know what that code is because I was not mailed (or emailed) an offer. Try doing a google for that product and you will be surprised that there are sites that will give you the merchandise code for the product. The search should go something like this "merchandise code for x (insert product, like nike)". For example, I recently used it to buy some Gap shirts, I was able to save an additional 25 percent because a merchandise code website gave it to me for the current time I was buying the product.

dreamjosie · RV-Dreams Family Member

My favorite site for promo codes when buying something on the internet is RetailMeNot. Here's the site address: http://www.retailmenot.com/. I've saved a bunch of money by using this. The hard part is reminding yourself to check the site before you make a purchase. Although so many internet sites have the promo code box as part of the ordering process which should trigger it.

Olywa · RV-Dreams Family Member

I just wanted to thank everyone for the great comments about food budgets. I too use coupons when I can and have gotten to the point that I don't buy it unless it is on sale or absouletly needed. We don't eat out much so finding ways to eat well and cheaper at home is my goal. Again thanks for your input.

Pam

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

RioMao wrote:

I'm new here, but completely. subscribe to the above-said. Thank you very much for the info, it helped me a lot and proved extremely useful.

______________________________________
Credit card vs debit card
No spam allowed

heyjohnm · RV-Dreams Family Member

... well we're talking about the Food Budget...so a fried Spam sandwich might be appropriate. wink

Ooops!, I got some mustard on my shirt. biggrin

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

heyJohnm.... yawn

Very good.By the way I Love fried Spam Sandwich's.

-- Edited by Racerguy on Wednesday 20th of October 2010 01:18:40 PM

dream reachers · RV-Dreams Family Member

We found that our food budget is higher as fulltimers for reasons already stated plus many places the food costs more than it did where our house was. My wife also likes organic foods and shops in health food stores which are higher than regular grocery stores. We generally group in things other than groceries that we purchase at a grocery or Walmart in our food budget plus eating out so our budget is higher than what others have stated but it works for us.

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Because this has been a continuing thread I would update our food budget to be more than it was but only because of increased cost's due to the economy.We are now in the Southern part of the country and have found Dairy products to be MUCH higher. Example being 1 gallon of milk in Colorado at $2.36 and here in Hardeeville,South Carolina it's $ 3.99 for the exact same milk.We food shop almost exclusively at Wal-Mart but do check local ads for good prices. We rarely ate out before going on the road and have held true to that .

nwlambear · RV-Dreams Family Member

Great suggestion re "food budget". I like the idea of coupons on line. When the day comes when we can venture out of the state of Washington (our homebase--our house and property are here)we hope to utilize military bases as much as possible and be able to use the commissary. But we know we may not always be able to do that. So we then resort to specials locally, fresh vegies and fruit stands when available. It would be nice to think our household grocery budget at home could stay the same. It's the diesel fuel cost that worries me!

TerryG · RV-Dreams Family Member

Just surfing thru this forum I found this subject and found it pretty interesting. Here's my take on eating out. We are still working, and just camp when we can, but plan to go full time in Sept. 2011.

My wife and I work in our business together and both are tired at the end of the day, so we eat out quite often. For the past serveral year we have "split" meals just about 95% of the time when we do eat out, which is very often at Cracker Barrel, while never at buffets, as we don't ever do buffets. We almost always order water with lemon. While we can afford our own individual meals, here are the reasons we do this:

We are always concerned about the quanity of our food intake. We are small people and gaining weight makes us appear like a round ball. I guess we are both very vain. I'm 5'5" 148 lbs, and she is 5'2" 125 lbs. We work hard to maintain this weight, not much one can do about the height. We never plan to leave a restaurant hungry, nor do we like leaving a restaurant about to pop a gut.

Money savings. Now above I said we could afford our own meals, but we have always been careful about our money. We have always lived a little under "our means". A little savings here and there for a period of time certainly adds up, and it makes us feel better mentally, like we won something. We both grew up in the "outhouse" era, and one could "see chickens scratching" thru the floors, so we have always been a little scared someone or someway our clock might get turned back again, if we were not prudent.

Health. We both have low blood sugar. Besides eating sweets with sugar, the next worse thing one can do with the health problem is eat too much at one setting. There are a ton of natural sugar in foods that taste really great, like potatos, I love anything potato.

So while people who don't really know us might think we are "cheap cheap cheap", we both know that eating smaller quanities is simple just a great healthy way to live your life. We can't wait to go full time so we can practice what we preach doing our own cooking 90% of the time, while having the time to exercise everyday instead of maybe two times a week. Now thats another subject.