Grocery Budget

When my husband lost his job last year our family lost its main source of income. We were forced to budget very tightly and I tried our hardest to make ends meet without having to go into debt. I succeeded but things have remained tight in order to make up for those months without a dual income. In reviewing our finances, I've found that one of the places I spend the most money is on groceries. I'm having a hard time determining a good monthly grocery budget and with a baby on the way, I'd like to start planning for a family of four.

I usually do one large grocery shop every 4-6 weeks. This will include a trip to Costco for a few bulk items like TP, paper towels, meat, diapers/wipes, as well a trip to the grocery store (usually Walmart because its SO cheap) for everything else. Before I do my large shopping trip I plan meals for the month and take with me a list of items that we have run out of since the last shop so I'm not spending money on things I don't need or impulse buys. I feel like I do really well in sticking to a budget for these trips but it's the small trips in between that kill me. I find myself going to the store at least once a week to pick up small items like fresh produce, bread and milk, and somehow end up spending $50-$75.

I really need to try to cut back in this area so answering my questions or giving any advice and suggestions would be great!!

Questions:

~Any ideas on how much a monthly grocery budget should be for a family of four?

~When you budget for groceries, do you count diapers, wipes and formula as part of your monthly allowance?

~Do you include personal items in your budget?

~Do you usually do one or two big shops a month or do you shop weekly?

***Small disclaimer: I don't spend money on the newspaper with ads, clipping coupons isn't really my thing and I don't have time to run from store to store in order to "chase" the best deals so keep that in mind!

Full-time Maid

Even though I only have one toddler and a husband, I feel like I am constantly struggling to keep my house clean. With another baby on the way, the idea of having more to pick up and someone else to clean up after is REALLY overwhelming. I clean my kitchen and living room everyday mostly because it's our only living space however, I find it hard to keep up on the other "deep cleaning" tasks I need to do.

I'm curious as to whether you moms out there clean your house one day a week or do a few things each day in order to keep from being overwhelmed?

Any great ideas (besides hiring a maid) on how you keep your house clean and organized?

Curious

I realize I have neglected this blog the past few months since a few major events have occured in my life and I'm wondering if anyone ever checks or reads this?? Now that things have calmed down, I'd love to get it started up again and turn it into the blog I was originally dreaming of.

Is anyone out there??