Economical Food Is Good For The Wallet And Health

Nowadays, we pay more not only at gas stations, but also at grocery stores. This can be blamed on rising oil prices, poor harvests, global warming and/or a weak national currency. Experts believe that there are a huge number of factors that affect the cost of food products . All of this leads to consumers looking for a way to save money while shopping at the grocery store, but without compromising on their diet. 

According to the State Statistics Service, by the end of 2014, the population of Ukraine began to buy 20% less food than in 2013. Also, it should be noted that 53.5% of the subsistence minimum is spent on food by Ukrainians. Although, ideally, food costs should not exceed a third of the living wage, not to mention that in Germany, France and Spain this figure is less than 13%. In Europe, a person is considered financially secure if he spends less than 20% of his income on food.

According to the data of an independent survey in which 1,244 respondents took part, most Ukrainians spend more than half of their salary on food . 24.84% of respondents spend 80% of their salary on food, and only 5.87% - less than 30.

According to the global ranking of countries' expenditure on food products (data as of the end of 2014), Ukraine spends the most - 55.5% of total expenditure. While Denmark spends the least - only 10.6%.

Many are used to thinking about savings as something shameful. Like, if I save, it means that I simply can't afford it, and, therefore, I don't earn much. Of course, part of the population saves precisely for such reasons. However, it is worth looking at savings from a different angle. Economy is just a smart way of distributing your expenses. Thrift is a great way to save money to be able to spend it on other needs. And why spend large sums on food , if you can eat well for less.

Why are  Ukrainians ' food expenses the highest in Europe and is it possible to spend less?

Despite all external factors that force us to spend the lion's share of our income on food (inflation, exchange rate, etc.), the situation in the country cannot be blamed for everything. Learn to systematize and calculate your income and expenses. At first, it may take a long time, it will seem like a difficult and boring process, but the result will not make you wait. If you've never budgeted for food before, start by researching what you buy and how much you spend on it. After each trip to the store or the market, write down exactly what you bought and how much money you spent.

The next step can be planning. Choose, say, one day a month, before receiving the main part of the income. Write down all the income expected for the next month. Now you can start planning expenses. It is better to categorize everything: it can be categories of different products (meat, milk, bread, vegetables, fruits, sweets, drinks, etc.), you can also divide expenses into main ones (what will be used for the main menu breakfast/lunch/dinner and additional (treats and delicacies). At first, such calculations may be inaccurate, but with each month you will better know exactly how much money you will need to spend on food. Such systematization, provided that you follow a spending plan, will help you will understand whether you need to exclude or add something from the diet, will allow you not to spend too much onfood and understand how much junk food you buy.

Also, an important aspect is the composition of the menu. After all, how can you calculate future expenses for food without knowing what you will eat and what you need to buy. Give up irrational and unorganized food shopping, choose a specific day to buy the main part of the products (of course, some products, for example, bread, will need to be bought during the week as well). This will allow you to systematize and minimize your food expenses.

How to properly plan a menu and make a list of products, read the following article - http://harchi.info/articles/planuyemo-menyu-ta-skladayemo-spysok-pokupok

We all know that home cooking is the best option. Tasty, useful and much more profitable than eating in cafes or restaurants - that's for sure. However, cooking at home is not limited to this. Very often this applies to those products that we are used to buying in stores, without thinking that their preparation does not require special equipment, complex and expensive technologies, and, just as importantly, does not take much time. Let's think about what is needed, for example, to make homemade noodles or vermicelli? Water, eggs, flour, a rolling pin, a knife, a little time and desire. There are also many cooking recipes. And you can make sourdough, sourdough or cottage cheese from good milk - also at home. And what kind of yogurt will you get! There are many such examples and recipes.

And you can grow some products yourself. This will not only save you money, but will also be an interesting experiment for you, if you have not done this before. We are talking not only about those who have a dacha or garden, but also about those who live in an apartment. You can easily grow some vegetables or herbs on the windowsill or balcony.

Chips, croutons, chocolate bars, a small bottle of soda or juice are the little things that we grab from the supermarket shelves while we buy the main products, but which turn out to be a penny at the checkout. In fact, these are products that we did not plan to buy, that will not form the basis of our diet and will not bring any benefit, and it is possible that they will be thrown into the trash. By making a clear list of products, not being distracted by unnecessary advertising and promotions in grocery stores, and making it a habit to refrain from buying such small things, you will save more and eat better.

Also, if you want to learn how to save on food, you should refuse to buy semi-finished products. You can make a lot of store blanks yourself at home. The same applies to canned vegetables and jam - making it at home is not very difficult and does not take much time. All expenses for the process of preparing homemade preserves and jams will pay off in savings on store-bought products of this type, as well as in greater benefits, safety for health and naturalness.

According to the results of research by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), about a third of food products (approximately 1.3 billion tons) are thrown into the trash every year . Consumers in rich countries throw away about 222 million tons of food a year—almost as much as the entire sub-Saharan African region produces. The main share of discarded products is vegetables and fruits, root crops.

On average, in Europe and North America, 1 person throws away 95-115 kg of food every year, while in Africa and Asia - 6-11 kg. Ukrainians, in particular, generally throw away 7 million tons of food every year (for 5.5 billion hryvnias).

Of course, the reasons for throwing away products can be different. In India, for example, there is an acute shortage of storage facilities and refrigeration units. Millions of tons of products are thrown away both in the production process and by consumers simply because there are no storage conditions. However, in the countries of Europe and America, there is no such problem, and the main reason for throwing away food is irrational buying and improper storage of products in the presence of all conditions. All this can be avoided if you analyze your diet, plan your menu and give up the habit of buying extra.

Reasonable savings on food products , which we are talking about, does not mean malnutrition. The basis of savings on food productsthere is a clear definition of the diet, making a menu, refusing fast food, home food. Isn't this the basis of what has become so popular these days - healthy eating? Smart planning, systematization of expenses, control of excess food — will have irreplaceable benefits not only for your wallet, but also for your health. Drawing up a menu, refraining from buying chips or chocolate bars, giving up various juices and carbonated waters, etc. — will allow you to normalize your diet, make it complete, and eat homemade food. If you make preparations, preserves and jam at home, you can be sure of their quality and safety. And the correct storage of products will ensure not only a reduction in food waste, but also the preservation of their benefits and properties.

Of course, at the beginning it will not be easy to switch to a system of saving and accounting for food expenses. If you are used to not counting the money spent on food , to go to the store every day and take everything that catches your eye, it will be difficult to give up the habit.

Also, it is worth mentioning choosing a specific day for purchasing products and making a clear list. Allocating, say, part of your day off for shopping will be much more profitable than going to the store every time after work or a walk. Also, you will spend much less time in stores or markets, if you know exactly what you need to buy, instead of wandering between rows and shelves in search of something that appeals to you. Thus, if you sum up the time and effort you spend once a month/week to think through a plan for that term and carry out the main part of it, and the unsystematic waste of time and effort every day if you don't know what to buy and cook , then it is clear that the first option is much more profitable. In addition, over time these actions will become a habit and will require very little time and effort,

In the subsequent articles of this section, we will take a closer look at all aspects of saving on food products , you will learn how to properly plan the menu, buy and store food, how to save on celebrations - all that will help you save on food, but not on food, minimize your expenses and switch to really healthy and high-quality food that will be good for your wallet and not harm your health.