Budget Eating Tips During Job Loss - Healthy Eating on a Budget
Food Budgeting Before a Job Loss
Some job losses happen with warning so take the steps to prepare for the job loss. Review the household budget for the total amount spent on monthly food. The amount should include meals eaten at fast food restaurants daily and weekly as well as splurges for vending machine food. Revise the household budget to limit the amount of money spent. For example, switch from eating out 5-6 days per week to 3 times and place the saved funds in the bank. By making the adjustment early, you will not experience such a great shock once the job loss has been finalized.
A job loss without warning is different because you have not had time to revise the household budget. You should still analyze your food budget and make major adjustments. Refrain from eating out during the first month of the job loss and this will help you calculate the household budget.
Food Budgeting: During the Job Loss
Start replacing higher priced beef and seafood such as crab, scallops, and lobster with lower priced protein such as chicken, pork, and turkey. For example, if a slow cooker recipe suggests 2 lbs of chuck beef, try substituting the beef with 2 lbs of a whole chicken. This will still provide a nice flavor while being budget-friendly.
Allow the smaller children in the household to help in the kitchen. The children will learn the importance of food and they can learn cooking techniques. Also, this can teach the children to reduce wasting food which helps the food budget.
Learn to do batch cooking based on your time. You can cook double the amount of food and divide it into family-size portions, and freeze the dishes for future meals. This is budget-friendly since you can limit the amount of meat used and add more vegetables. Plus, you gain more time for income-producing activities like a job search or part-time employment.
Food Budgeting: After the Job Loss
Once you obtain another job it is a good idea to keep the same money saving practices for the food budget. You have established healthier eating habits, bonded with your family and learned how to stretch your budget during hard times. Plus, economic climates can always change so it is best to remain prepared.
For instance, it you stopped eating out at restaurants make a plan to eat out 1-2 times per month to treat the family and use the additional savings for another possible job loss, a new business, or college savings.