If you didn’t have enough money one month to pay all your bills, what would you do? (while you figured out how to make more money…)
You’d prioritize your spending.
If you could only afford 1 thing, what would it be?
1. Probably Food (Not lobster tails, right? Just basic nutritious food.)
3. Then if you could only do 1 more thing, it’d probably be Lights.
4. Then fuel (so you can get to your job) or internet if you work from home,
5. Then your house payment/rent
etc…..You’d make a list of everything you’d want to do and order them in importance. As money came in, you would take care of each need in order of importance to you.
Your food budget is a mini replica of that. Having a CASH budget makes the reality of your limitations, well, REAL. Most of us don’t have enough in our food budget for everything we’d like to do. I’d like to have fresh berries every week of the year. I’d like to buy steaks once a month. But I don’t do either of those things.
I don’t usually write down my food priorities, but if I did they would be:
1. In Season or frozen Produce
2. Healthy Protein
3. Basic whole grains/staples
4. Basic Dairy
5. Snack Foods
6. Condiments
7. Treats like juice, soda, or desserts
Buy the necessary food first. Nourish your family. Then if there is money left, have a treat :).