The High Cost of Food

I was happy to read in the Globe and Mail recently that food costs, originally predicted to be on the rise for 2012, fell 4.8% in the month of December. I’€™m no financial expert by any means, but I understand this is due to the inflation rate dropping, which seems to be a good thing for the price of food.
Lately, I’€™ve been really curious about my family’€™s actual food costs over the course of a month, so I’€™ve started tracking exactly what I spend each week. I try to keep within a budget, but must admit that I’€™m not too stringent about it. I also purchase a lot of food for my work, and I know that skews my numbers a little.

Financial experts state that we should be spending approximately $50 a week per eating adult in the home, and half of that for each child. For me, this would equate to $200 a week, because although I live with two children, they definitely eat the equivalent of adult portions for most of their weekly meals.

A few of the moms at Savvy Mom HQ have decided to start tracking their costs to see how much they’€™re spending each week. I’€™m curious; do you know what you spend? Do you set a budget and force yourself to stick to it? What are your secrets for keeping your food costs down? Let’€™s discuss!