It's cheap I'll have to give you that
but is it that healthy? I noticed that you don't really have any fresh fruits & veggies & fresh meat
All that hamburger helper stuff isn't very nutritious - your kids aren't going to benefit much from this kind of food
If any of them turn out to be athletes I hope you buy them other food
I'm not critizing you b/c it is expensive to buy fresh everything for such a large family but this is just my opinion.

I agree with @JoeytheGenie@xanga and @chaibunni@xanga.  You don't have to always buy brand name items, and making sure your kids have fresh, unprocessed food will do them a world of good.

Growing up, we had a very small budget with which to buy groceries for a family of 6.  My mom usually shopped at bakery thrift stores like you, and also at Save A Lot and Aldi.  (I don't know if that's available in your area, but chances are you have something similar.)  It's a little ghetto, but we weren't above it.  We sometimes went to Meijer, Gordon Food Market (a bulk food store) and Sam's Club when we could afford it.  Either way, my mom always made sure to have plenty of fresh/frozen fruit and veggies in the house to try to compensate for all the bread and grains we ate.  She was a certified nutritionist and knew we would end up with poor health if we didn't have some semblance of a balanced diet. 

My dad ended up with diabetes and heart disease and died at the age of 49 (when I was 17), largely because of his diet.  I didn't want to end up like him.

I learned a lot from my mom, and thankfully as an adult, I am able to eat better.  My kitchen is stocked with tons of fresh produce, whole grains and very few processed goods.

If you do decide to take the above folks' advice and get more produce- there are usually great coupons available. Produce overall is normally expensive, but if you watch sale flyers at places like Giant Eagle, you  can easily plan meals around the sale items.
 Some lower dollar foods that are nutritious: potatoes...seriously, 5 lb. of potatoes are not expensive, and baked potatoes will complement most meals. Lettuce...a head of lettuce in the fridge at all times goes a long way in preparing salads. Toss some hard-boiled eggs, a few veggies, croutons, and a bit of dressing on top, and you have a nutritious side dish. Bananas... for lunchpacking and quick snacks, bananas are healthy and delicious. Eggs.... scrambled or fried, they are a great protein food for breakfast. Tortillas... these round little geniuses can be filled with a couple tablespoons of chicken or beef, add some sour cream, lettuce, and salsa, and it's a wrap.
 A few good soup recipes are a great way to cut back on money while serving healthy meals. At our house, we have soup at least twice a week. A small can of canned tuna or oysters are great; add salt and pepper, a bit of cheese and melted butter, then fill the kettle with milk. Heat, and serve with whole grain bread that has been buttered on both sides, sprinkled with garlic salt, and toasted. Totally delish.
 If whole chickens are on sale, buy up and freeze. As needed, plop in a roaster, rub down with herbs, and bake for two hours. Serve with the above mentioned baked potatoes or salad and it's a meal! There are only three of us, so one big chicken goes a long way. First meal- about half gets eaten. Next meal, I debone and use most of the chicken to make enchiladas. With the leftover chicken, usually only a cup or so, I toss into a kettle with chicken broth, seasonings, potatoes and carrots. Soup's on!
 I find that eating healthy foods by using some of these tips saves me more money than clipping coupons for the ready made meals. (never used hamburger helper) However, clipping coupons should never be taken lightly. And, there are times when there is no free time, and yes- I then pull out a pizza or hot dogs. :)

@chaibunni@xanga - She's buying brands but with the coupons its still a lot cheaper than the store brand products. You can get a coupon for $1 off Yoplait or some other yogurt brand and its more food (that tastes better) for less than the Great Value brand. I regularly buy organic peanut butter that is cheaper and healthier than the great value brand with coupons. There aren't coupons for store brands in MOST cases. Even though the off brands are the same things as the real brand, it doesn't TASTE the same. They make the top brands first, then they use the left overs that are mediocre to create the store brands. This means inferior fruits and vegetables in frozen and canned goods, as well as a lot of fillers in cereals. You will also be hard pressed to find a store brand that is actually healthier than a real brand, no matter what the food is. Of course, there are probably some exceptions but these are just my observations from being an addicted coupon clipper/grocery shopper. I examine EVERYthing when I shop! 

@cutesycharm@xanga - that depends, like for us we get an additional 10% off the store brand which is already cheaper than name brand and to me it tastes the same. i mean yes what she did was a great deal don't give me wrong, but it wouldn't do that much for me because our family doesn't eat stuff like that at all. most of our stuff is bought at the asian market anyway and when we do buy at the grocery department it's at the organic section. we shop at BJ's ans Sam's on occasion but that's only to buy olive oil in bulk usually.

but with us off brands are still cheaper because the 10% works with coupons too. but like i said before 99% of that stuff up there we don't eat that she bought, my mom doesn't buy processed foods. i wish she included produce or something at least...but don't mind me i'm only 16.

@cutesycharm@xanga - you know i sometimes get pet sstuff for my dog at TJ Maxx because it's way cheaper i got a huge box of dog gourmet peanut butter cookies for like $2.97. oh go to hmart.com they have a few around the United States. there may be one near you! my dad is chinese so he needs his stuff food too!

@cutesycharm@xanga - yeah and if you have little dogs they have the outfits on sale too so it's cheaper, i had no idea about it either until i was wondering around the store one day. i got her dog bowls at old navy for $1 each and they are so cute because old nave has sales in front of the store by the registers all the time and the one here at least always have things for dogs on sale. but it's amazing what you can find in some stores.

@chaibunni@xanga - actually, in my 20 years of shopping experience.  Off brands are never on sale.  They are usually at least 50cents to a dollar cheaper, but never have coupons for them and in my area stores are never on sale for a decent price.I actually save more money buying the name brand discounted with coupons.  Trust me I have done the math.  I can get a generic soup for 75 cents a can but with a sale and a coupon I can get campbells soup free.

@bravehsgirl@xanga - ok

@cutesycharm@xanga - If you have a super target (that actually has a produce section... Target puts out great q's on their apples and bananas usually $1 off 1 pound..  You can get them for alost free.  Target is a great store, but my local one is just a regular with no produce... boo...

I'm so happy to find other homemakers out there who try their best to make ends meet. I myself have learned the value of budgeting and making the most out of coupons. I also read about it here recently but when I saw your blog, I was happy to see how you itemized your purchases, and shared with everyone how much you've actually saved out of your hard work.

Thank you so much, this post is inspiring! :)

I think you did an excellent job.  And to the other commenters : I'm fairly sure that this is just a "stock up and save" deal, not a typical week.  That's like if I posted the deals that I got at the Navy base case sale.... not everything there was healthy, either, but I did manage to stock up on ramen, mac and cheese, minute maid coolers and laundry detergent, for excellent prices.

I'm seriously in awe of the deals you've scored! That's such a drastic reduction- it's insane. 

And I totally get the difference between the things you stocked up on vs. what you actually eat as a family. I only stock up on the pantry items when I do bulk shopping, but that's because a) bulk produce would rot faster than I could eat it and b) I try to buy it at the farmer's market or green grocer, and those aren't exactly coupon places.  I'm so jealous you have space to garden.