It is quite true that food is necessary for your survival, yet you cannot spend all your income on food alone. Considering the rising cost of food in the market presently, there is need for you to look for ways you can to save on your food budget, experts have said.
According to Miriam Caldwell, personal finance specialists, eating is a necessary part of any budget, and it is an area that varies widely from person to person.
Most people can reduce the amount they spend on food, while making healthier eating choices. With the rising cost of food, you will need to be even more careful about how you spend your food budget.
For young people in their twenties, one of the challenges is that they are often single and buying and preparing food for just one person can be tiring. In addition to meal planning, here are some practical ideas on ways to save money on lunches and your grocery bill each month without resorting to extreme coupling. She has come up with tips to help you save when you need to eat out.
One of such tips is the need for you to package your lunch yourself. Eating a lunch from home will save you money. Fast food lunches cost at least N1,000 a day, and a healthy quality lunch costs even more. One of the biggest problems with packing your own lunch is dealing with appetite fatigue.
You may get tired of bringing the same thing in every day, but you can choose your favourite foods and vary what you buy each week. Think outside the traditional sandwiches and salads to include your favourite foods. You can also pack leftovers, and if you freeze them instead of refrigerate them you can eat them a few weeks after you originally made the item.
Another tip which is not common in the country but could be considered is doing a lunch exchange. All you need to do is to get a group of friends together and set up a lunch exchange every two weeks. This event can take place in the evening or over the weekend. Each person prepares one dish or lunch that can be frozen or refrigerated and portions it out so each person attending can take one serving home with her.
For example, if you have five people in your group you will bring five lunches prepared and frozen and come home with five different lunches. The same thing can be done as a dinner exchange to cut down on the prep time needed for dinner meals.
Caldwell says instead of eating out once a week with friends, have a potluck dinner where everyone brings a different dish or rotate through friends giving each one a turn to prepare dinner for the group. This gives you variety but will cut down on the cost of a meal out each week. You still have the opportunity to spend time relaxing with friends, and if you want you can still go out later to a bar or club.
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
