I am a budgeter. As a single mom it's a necessity. Because of this, I know how much I spend each month on each aspect of living. One of the areas that is going to make a huge jump this month is groceries. Since I've just been feeding myself and a toddler it's been pretty inexpensive to eat and I always have leftovers. I only have to cook 2-3 times per week too.
I've accepted that there will be no leftovers and I will cook every night in a house of 5 solid food eaters. What scares me is the addition of teenage boys and a man who has a physical job. These are people who can EAT! After asking a few coworkers with teenage boys what their weekly grocery bill was like I am now scared. Very scared.
Then I heard a teenage boy needs to eat that much because he's growing and needs 2800 calories per day. I thought this surely can't be right so I did some searching. It wasn't right. It's a low estimate!
According to www.livestrong.com, here are the caloric needs of each member of our family. Of course these needs go up with the more activity each person does and it's summer so that means active kids.
4-8 year old boy: 1742 calories per day
9-13 year old boy: 2279 calories per day
14-18 year old boy: 3152 calories per day
41 year old man (active): 2800 calories per day
30 year old pregnant woman: 2200 calories per day (This will jump to 2500 when nursing.)
I am shocked to learn that even pregnant I'm the second lowest in need of calories! I'm really shocked to learn that the teenagers really will eat us out of house and home and for a valid reason!
I'm no longer scared of the grocery bill. I'm petrified. How do you keep your family full in a healthful manner without breaking the bank?
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