When it comes to food, it is hard to fix a specific budget on it. However, it is essential to have a food budget. Unfortunately, many people do not calculate how much they spend on food each month; hence, they are out of cash before the month runs out.

The question “how much should my monthly food budget be?” is commonly asked. Therefore, this article is a guide on how much your monthly food budget should be because there are certain things to know if you want to make a monthly food budget for one or more people.

But budgets vary from person to person and from household to household based on earnings, age, number of people in the family, choice of food, and so many other things. So before we talk about how much your monthly food budget should be, we should know what a food budget is and what it entails to have a food budget.

WHAT IS A FOOD BUDGET?

When a person makes an estimate of the possible amount of money to be spent on food in a specific frame of time, it is called a “food budget.” A food budget is not only limited to cash; it can also be food resources. In addition, it can be long-term or short-term. Long-term food budgets last for about a year, while short-term food budgets last for weeks or months.

There are certain elements to consider when making a food budget. You have to look out for things like age, choice of food, price of food items, availability of food items, age, health condition, and finance.

Now that you know what a food budget is, how much should your food budget be?

HOW MUCH SHOULD YOUR MONTHLY FOOD BUDGET BE?

Food budgets depend on so many things like where you shop, the size of the family, the type of shopping you do – online or in-person and what you buy. There are different ways to know what your food budget should be. Some of the ways to know how much your food budget should be are:

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

To know how much your monthly food budget should be, you can follow the USDA food plans.

To help individuals and families plan and spend wisely, the United States Department of Agriculture, also known as the USDA, made a food plan based on the age and the sex of each member of the family. You can find this on the USDA website. This food plan is updated each month, so it is as accurate as it can be.

There are four different food plans: thrifty, low-cost, moderate-cost, and liberal food plans. These plans have different levels of budget based on a person’s income. It gives a general idea of what food costs so individuals and families can plan based on their earnings.

Thrifty Plan: This is the lowest food budget. This plan gives a budget estimate of balanced diet meals at the lowest prices. An individual will spend an average of $166 to $187 per month.

Low-cost plan: this is the second-lowest of the four food plans. Each person using this plan will spend an average of $210 – $242 per month.

Moderate-cost plan: this is the third food plan and the second highest. An individual will spend $257 – $303 per month on this plan.

Liberal food plan: This plan represents the highest food spending. People on this plan are liberal. On the Liberal plan, each person will spend $330 – $370 per month.

People vary, and the USDA food plans may or may not suit everyone.

Income-Based Food Budget

If the USDA Food plans do not suit you, you can make a budget based on your income. There are two ways.

50/30/20 RULE

The first way to make a budget based on your income is to use the 50/30/20 rule.

This is budgeting in a way that 50% of your income goes to your needs, 30% goes to your wants, and 20% for savings and debts.

You may be thinking, “Where does the food budget come in?” Of course, since eating is a necessity, it falls under the 50% that goes to your needs. But before taking your food budget out of this 50%, it is essential first to remove other needs. That way, you can take out of the 30% for your wants to compensate if the 50% does not cover all your needs and food costs as well because not all groceries qualify as needs.

Overall Budget

You can also make a budget based on your income and overall budget. So how do you do this?

The first step is to calculate your fixed expenses. These are things like rent, fees, and other bills. Then you make a list of variable expenses. This is where your food budget comes in. You can spend about ten percent of your income on food.

FOOD BUDGET FOR 1

When planning or making a monthly food budget for one person, there are certain things to take into consideration, and it all depends on the individual. For example, some people like to eat at home, so they enjoy cooking, while some others would rather eat out.

Although cooking is cheaper than eating out, for people who prefer to eat out, buying groceries will be a waste because they will not cook them. So it is better to buy a few groceries and eat out if you are that type of person.

A good budget for one person should be around $250 to $400 per month. This budget considers eating out at least three times a week (so if you prefer to cook, it will not cost this much) and grocery shopping for the rest of the month.

FOOD BUDGET FOR A COLLEGE STUDENT

For college students, the largest expenditure is on food. And it is always challenging to cook every meal in between classes and personal study. But then, college students do not always have a lot of fixed expenses like rent and so on. Therefore, they can spend more on food.

A good budget for a college student would be about $400 a month. It gives them the liberty to order food, eat out, cook once in a while, get snacks, and order coffee whenever they want.

COOKING VS EATING OUT

What is the difference between dining out and cooking? How does that affect your food budget?

Preparing meals at home is cheaper than eating out. But it is still better to eat out than to order food and have it delivered to your place. You get to eat more at a lower price when you cook at home.

There are also health benefits of eating at home. For example, you know what is in your food, so you do not have to worry about allergies or food poisoning. You can also control portions and substitute your ingredients to your taste.

It is important to cut down the number of meals you have outside to save costs.

HOW TO REDUCE FOOD COST

If you have ever thought about how much your food budget is, it is most likely because you want to reduce costs. Apart from budgeting, these are some other ways you can reduce costs.

These are tips on how to cut down on costs.

Make a list: It is important always to make a list when you are going shopping and stick to the list. That way, you get to buy only what you need.

Follow the seasons: Some things like fruits and veggies are seasonal. If you follow the seasons, it will help to save costs.

Check Expiry dates: You can check for groceries that have the farthest expiry dates so they can last longer, and you get to save up on costs.

Couponing: With coupons, you can save a lot of money. These days, coupons are even online, so it’s not like before when you had to get them out of newspapers. Now you can just get them on your phone.

Sales: It is good to look out for the things that are on sale. You can even plan your meals around sales flyers. Discounts work too. So make sure that you are buying at lower prices most of the time.

Only Shop When You Are Full: When you go grocery shopping when you have had dinner, it reduces the chances of impulse buying. The chances that you will be tempted to buy something you do not need is low.

To conclude, do not forget that it might take more than one trial to find a monthly food budget that fits you. But you will eventually find one. Also, as food cost increases or decreases, your monthly food budget will change from time to time.

The food budget varies from individual to individual based on income, age, and food choice. In fact, when it comes to a budget, there is no rule, standard, meter, or measurement whatsoever. Food budgets differ.

Make a monthly food budget and reduce costs today!