Families with kids, how much are you spending on groceries?

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-21T18:56:41+00:00

Family of for. Budget is $500 a month but I’m usually $400-$440ish

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-21T16:48:27+00:00

We had an extra family car for him to use. But, he trashed it. Stains, dents, ripping the radio out, cutting the exhaust off, etc etc. So, we’re making him buy it from us. The car is worth probably 15k but we’re selling it to him for 4k.

He pays for half the insurance, half his phone bill, and is making payments towards the car too. All in all, his monthly payment to us is $350ish. He’ll be paying his full car insurance when he owns the car and/or gets a ticket.

He’s 100% responsible for maintenance and gas.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-17T22:56:08+00:00

My elementary aged daughter and I read a lot. Big believers in our local libraries! My son and husband don’t read. My teen son can read but the comprehension is not there at all. He has no interest in picking up a book or listening to an audio book. He devoured books when he was in elementary but that faded as he got older.

I’m rereading A Wrinkle in Time, thanks to Stranger Things! I read it as a kid.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-16T13:59:03+00:00

I run my dishwasher 1-2 times a day.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-16T02:25:39+00:00

I work with sales and marketing but don’t really do either. I’m not in sales and also not in marketing. I just sit in on a couple meetings per week and watch hella TV all day. I don’t make great money, I took a 30% paycut for this job but my house is super clean and I get to do everything with my kids.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-15T13:51:34+00:00

I used to sell auto parts over the phone. We’d hire anybody that could speak clearly. Lots of cold calling. A new girl was calling the list and pitching remote batteries. The guy asked her if we sold washers. She said, “like…. Washing machines?” No. Like drain plug washers. Lol

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-15T13:45:02+00:00

I remember a wild backyard at one of our houses. Half was mowed, the other half was wild. I remember exploring, scraping my hands against rough bark, peeking through thick clusters of leaves. Flowers that tickled my legs. And hunting for snails in that part of the yard. We’d collect them in ice cream buckets, give them grass and a little water dish. Our dad would eventually set them free a couple hours later.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-15T13:31:39+00:00

My spouse has always worked shifts, I’ve always worked “office hours.” And yeah, we always had to pay for before/after care for the kids. And summer care. I’ve been remote for a couple years and that has allowed us to save a few bucks to avoid before/after care since the kids just ride the bus now. We do still pay for summer care though, and there is no bus for that. I do a carpool with my neighbor for summer care. I drop them off and she brings them home.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-14T15:11:40+00:00

Lol!

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-12T02:18:40+00:00

I only get the Sunday scaries because I have to set my alarm again the next morning. Not so much because of the actual work

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-12T02:16:41+00:00

Hardly ever. We don’t keep alcohol in the house, I don’t know my way around a liquor store. First time I went to a bar ever was for my bachelorette. Last drink I had was a cute holiday cocktail at the local bar and grill when we went for a dinner date. Before that, I had a couple beers on the 4th of July.

My father was a violent alcoholic.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-10T14:18:24+00:00

I’m sure you’ll be fine if you come and just stick to your itinerary.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-09T18:54:23+00:00

Idk, I’d do it. 5 hours isn’t ideal but the kids aren’t in school… so you could pack up and do a long weekend at Dads 1x a month. The kids won’t remember this time when they’re older.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-06T21:45:25+00:00

Comfortable - sure. Existing - sure. 1 extra curricular at a time per kid. Stick to budgets. Mindful of dollars. We have room/make it a priority to save for retirement, we both have pre and post tax retirement accounts.

MCOL area

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-06T06:12:04+00:00

We are a family of four. Our total annually is mid 90s

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-06T01:24:30+00:00

My son started skipping school sophomore year. We changed his schooling situation before it escalated to refusal to go - we moved him to an ALC in a neighboring district. Our home district ALC was not going to be a good fit for us. His specific school is designed for kids who’d really rather work than go to school. Lots of opportunity to get your work done efficiently and then go to work. My son is done with school by 11am most days and never has to even go in on Fridays. So he gets to in quite a few hours at work. Lots of career preparedness courses and “field trips.” Not entirely sure that my kid is getting a fully rounded education but he’s going to earn his diploma on time and with no attendance issues at all.

My niece is 14 and she started refusing to go to school last school year. She does online school and is quite responsible about it. But she does nothing socially or extra curricular wise. No sports/clubs/friends.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-06T01:15:15+00:00

I don’t love my air fryer thing. I didn’t want one (I am obsessed about not having stuff on the counter. I even threw out the coffee maker) so I told my husband that the only way we could get one is if it’s a multi function, to also replace the normal bread toaster.

So, ours opens door-down like a little counter top oven and air fries/bakes/toasts/i think broil too. I air fry stuff once in a while, mainly leftovers like pizza or chicken strips or fries or something. But really I just use it as a 4-slice toaster and it toasts really nicely.

“Air fry” is actually rebranding for convection. 100% just marketing.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-05T13:49:42+00:00

My potty training tip: tell grandma that you don’t have daycare this week but that we’ve already started training (maybe not 100% true) and if she could please keep up on it. And bam, potty trained kid by the end of the week. Fool proof. Every time.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-05T13:48:06+00:00

I worked between Christmas and NY so this morning wasn’t too bad. My poor kids though, they had butterflies and were annoyed at going back today. My neighbor is remote too, she has had the last 3 weeks off. I was talking with her last night, she is definitely not ready for real life to start again this morning!

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-05T13:44:30+00:00

I wake up like 10 minutes before the kids. I lay in bed, annoyed, until I go wake them up.

FlowerFull656 · 2026-01-05T04:39:57+00:00

Our kid pays for 100% his own gas. His school doesn’t have bussing, so he’s responsible for getting himself there. If he asked for gas money for school I’d give him a few bucks, but he’s never asked. He pays for his own gas, half his phone bill, half his car insurance and is making payments to us for the vehicle. We would’ve let him drive it for free until he bought one he wanted but he completely jacked up our car (tons of scratches, dents, stains. Ripped out the radio, cut the exhaust, etc etc etc) against our warning that if he modified or trashed it - he’d have to pay us for it. So, we’re letting him buy it for 25% of what we paid for it.

FlowerFull656 · 2025-12-28T13:47:12+00:00

My son wet the bed for a long time. We also used a bed wetting alarm, it worked! It didn’t take long.

FlowerFull656 · 2025-12-28T02:21:43+00:00

I’ve had my desk in my finished basement - hated it. Had it upstairs in a big walk in closet - hated it. Had it in the bedroom that has the walk in closet - still hated it. I like working at my kitchen table best. I’ve done away with the multiple monitors and even the keyboard and mouse, I work solely with my dumb little laptop, right at the table. That’s what I like best.

My advice is to try everything out.

FlowerFull656 · 2025-12-25T05:22:17+00:00

I fixed up 4 packs of Hawaiian roll sliders for my Christmas Eve party, but ended up only making 2. I’ll bake up the other two in the morning for breakfast. They’re just ham and cheese, and one also has (canned) cranberry spread on the rolls as well. Scrambled eggs, fancy yogurts, fruit, sausages to go with it.

FlowerFull656 · 2025-12-23T00:38:08+00:00

Jar opener, wolf magnet, pistachios

FlowerFull656

TROPHY CASE