Now that we have looked at the shelter component of the four walls, what about your food? What would you say is essential about the food you eat, or have you ever thought about it?
Food is such a way of life in not only being a necessity but also key for nutrients, comfort, and the component of bringing people together in the way of community. So is it essential that you always have a homemade meal? Do you value ordering in or going out to eat? Do you value eating highly nutrient-dense foods that are sustainably sourced or those from local farms?
Oftentimes people don’t know how to budget for food. I see so many people seeing this essential as just that; whatever they spend is what they spend.
As people continue to value convenience over thinking about the cost of what they consume, this convenience can be at the expense of both our physical health and our pocketbooks. Just look at the last year or so, as people have utilized delivery services like Uber Eats, Grubhub, and the like to deliver their McDonald’s. A meal that would typically cost $12 costs $20 after delivery and tip.
Think about the components of your diet that are most important to you. If you were properly planning for your meals, your nutrients, and your energy source, what would be included in that? And probably more important, what would be removed?
Knowing how much water you should consume, fats, proteins, sugar, and carbs are essential to a balanced diet.
Factoring this into your budget or Plan to Spend ensures that you are financially planning for your needs in your diet.
If you are unaware of what you spend daily, weekly, monthly, or annually for your groceries, coffee, eating out, or ordering in, you may be shocked at what this is costing you. Beginning by writing down what your diet either currently consists of or what you would like it to consist of and assigning a dollar figure daily that could then be multiplied to get the greater figures. You will then look at the account or accounts you purchase food from to see what you have spent in the preceding three months and compare.
More than likely, you think you are eating better and more economically than you actually are.
When you are calculating what your ideal essential food budget will look like, make sure to include the following;
- Grocery store
- Restaurants
- Coffee
- Supplements (protein powder, fish oil, medications)
- Subscriptions
Food is one of the largest budget expense items I personally have. Much of this is due to eating out. My go-to is getting some sushi and a good steak, which can add up if you’re not careful. I am not the best cook and definitely not a baker, so many of the meals I make are simple.
The important part is that you’re realistic and place a dollar figure next to each category for a month, then look at what you actually spent after the fact; that will help you to see how accurate your estimates were. Once you know the priority you place on which areas of food, you can then look at the rest of your budget and how to make adjustments accordingly.
CTA:
My call to action is to know what you are spending on your version of essential food. If you don’t know where you are regarding your spending with this, it will be much more challenging to figure out where you are going.
