For some people, budgeting is quite an unfriendly word. It’s like some germs in someone’s germophobic imagination that should be wiped out. That may be the case when we think of budgeting as synonymous to keeping one’s self from enjoying the best the world has to offer. You may think that it is like dieting that entails so much hard work before seeing the result. However, the reality of life will bite us back big-time if we are unwilling to be responsible on planning how we spend our money even in very basic necessities such as food.
Food takes a decent chunk of our budget because it is an essential need. An essential need indeed but we, ourselves, are a witness to our own food wasting crime from time to time.
Here are the facts about food wastage on a yearly basis in some countries.
An average household in NZ is throwing away NZ$563 worth of food. (stuff.co.nz)
An average American family tosses away edible food amounting to US$2000 into a bin. (CNBC)
An average Australian household chucks a staggering A$1000 of foodstuff away. (Huffington Post Australia)
An average UK household is losing £470 worth into the rubbish crate. (The Guardian)
Those are a huge amount of money that otherwise would have been put to other important uses like paying off debts or beefing up travel fund.
The good thing about food budgeting is it is quite flexible and it’s an easy way to reduce expenses. You can control how much you need to spend weekly, fortnightly or monthly depending on how often you hit the supermarkets. If you are cash strapped or if you are a low-income earner, or if you have some financial issues, the more you need to be laser focused on food budgeting. And even if your financial situation is healthy, it is also imperative to consider planning your food spending creatively. At least, think of the environmental impact of unnecessary disposal of edible foods.
Here are some ways to prevent you from blowing up your food budget and avoiding seeing a significant amount go to the rubbish bin.
- Be organized. Plan your meals, make a grocery list and stick to it.
- Check your pantry before going to the supermarket.
- Look for the best deals, however, if a buy one take one item is not in your list, do not take it especially if it is close to its expiry date.
- Check your fridge and make use of the foodstuff that are still there before thinking of driving to the grocery again. Avoid unscheduled visit to the supermarket as much as you can unless it is really necessary.
- Cook creatively and healthily but cheaply. There are many recipes that you can work on which are available online.
- Scale back on alcohol. If booze is in your regular list, consider cutting it down. Spirits are pricey, that’s for sure.
- Subscribe to growing your own veggies. A pot or a little patch can accommodate your favorite veggies.
- Store foods properly.
- Do not just throw left overs. They may still be eaten for another meal. If you don’t fancy eating the same food for two or three straight meal times, create a new recipe out of it.
- Make sure your stomach is not empty before you shop. You must know this so well that you tend to make unnecessary purchases when your stomach is clamoring for food while you are shopping.
These are just few ways to reduce your spending and avoid foods ending up in the thrash. There are still numerous practical measures to food budgeting and minimizing throwing out valuable foods.
So next time you make your way to the supermarket, make sure that you don’t waste your money by not purchasing foodstuff that you are likely to leave to spoil.