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The Editor's Desk - From Beneath the Clutter
Feature Article - How Much Should My Grocery Budget Be?
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Guest Article - Picky Eater Kid Nutritional Guidelines
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Well, I thought things would calm down after Gage's surgery. My mistake, I guess.
I came home yesterday from a bridal shower to find a notice from the property manager of the condo we're renting. You may have guessed it already - 30 days' notice to vacate. It seems the owner has decided to move back in. Ah, the delights of renting!
So now I'm having to spend time running about looking for a new place to live. Not my idea of a fun time. I'll call it fun when we can afford to buy a place of our own!
My husband is hoping to find something in this same area. It's right near his job, so he doesn't have to waste time sitting in his car for his commute. Howver, a great apartment right next door to my younger sister is coming up available. Believe me, that one is tempting! I don't think the commute's that bad from where she lives, but then I won't be the one driving it, so my opinion doesn't mean anything in that context. But that doesn't mean I can't campaign for it!
Timing could have been worse. We were apparently supposed to have been given this notice on June 1, which would have been just one week after Gage's surgery. Can you imagine how we would have felt then? Now is bad enough!
It's going to be interesting trying to balance apartment hunting, packing and business with the kids. Wish me luck!
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You talk about a question without an answer! But, I'm going to try to answer it anyway.
First, when we are talking about setting an exact dollar amount
for groceries for each family that asks, that's almost impossible.
What we can do is allot a portion (percentage) of our income for
food.
There again, you have all of the variables like the size of your
family, eating habits, etc. Also, a family with a low income may
have to allot a larger percentage of their income toward buying
food.
The question I would like to ask you is how much are you spending
on groceries per month? I would have to say that most people
wouldn't have any idea.
Better yet, how much could you be spending on food? In other
words if you are currently spending $600 on food for your family
let's try to cut that down to $500 or even $400. But first you
will need to know how much you are spending now.
This is going to be a real hassle for a month or two because you
will need to keep track of your grocery purchases. All of them!
Now, we can make that a little easier but you will need to have
your finances set up a certain way. I always suggest that you
only use 4 categories for your budget. These are Housing, Other
Bills, Household Expenses and Savings.
Your grocery bill would come under that category of Household
Expenses. If you have your finances set up this way each member
of the family will have an allowance each payday for things
like car gas, lunches, parking, snacks, etc. Doing it this way
would eliminate the need to keep up with each family member's
food spending except for the family pizza night.
All you would have to do is save your grocery receipts for about
30 to 60 days and add them up. This should give you a good idea
of how much you spend on a monthly basis for food.
When you have this information it's time to start looking for
ways to cut that figure down as low as you can and still provide
good nutritious meals for your family.
If I started telling just the ways I know of how to save on
groceries, this article would turn into a book. There are
endless ways to cut back on your food spending. The best way
to start learning is to search the web. Here are a couple of
web sites you can start with:
The Frugal Shopper
http://www.thefrugalshopper.com
Money Saving Grocery Tips
http://homeparents.about.com/od/groceryshoppingtips/
Grocery Saving Tips
http://www.grocerysavingtips.com/
With all of that said, the bottom line is that you need to spend
what ever it takes on groceries to survive. In too many cases
people will pay their bills out of their grocery budget. This
won't work. Water, Food and shelter are the basics. Put them
first no matter what your bills are or how many times they call
to harass you.
I know you are still looking for a dollar amount for your family.
If you pin me down I would have to say about 15% to 20% of your
income could be spent on food. For a family making $3000 a month
that would mean you would set aside about $450 to $600 for food.
This is great unless you have teenagers that go through the
kitchen like vacuum cleaners.
Terry Rigg is the author of Living Within Your Means - The Easy Way http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/ebookadpage.html and editor of the Budget Stretcher web site. Join the thousands of subscribers to The FREE Budget Stretcher Newsletter and get great articles, tips, downloads and a lot of Budget Help by visiting his home page at http://www.homemoneyhelp.com
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Although many children are picky eaters at some stage in their lives, the experts say not to worry. Unless you are feeding him or her chips and cookies three times each day, these children will most likely meet their weekly nutritional quotas.
However, if you are concerned about their developmental progress, make an appointment with their pediatrician for confirmation. In the meantime, you may want to include a multivitamin in your child's daily diet to balance his intake of nutrients.
Instead of looking at what types of food your child is eating meal-by-meal or even day-by-day, round out the picture by looking at your child's diet week-by-week.
Most children do not eat a balanced diet every day, but over the course of a week or so, their diet will usually fall within healthy eating guidelines. This perspective can help provide you with the total nutrient intake and you will probably feel much better after discovering that they really are eating more nutritional foods overall.
Here are some nutritional guidelines that can help you when looking at your child's dietary needs:
• Children need between 24-28 grams of protein a day, which can be found in just two servings of cheese, beef, chicken, fish, eggs, yogurt, dried beans, milk, or peanut butter
• Approximately 800 mg of calcium (3-4 servings) are needed daily, which can be found in macaroni and cheese, yogurt, orange juice, or a glass of milk
• Children need at least 5 mcg of Vitamin D, which is available in a glass of milk or by playing outside in the sunshine for a few minutes every day
• The requisite 5 mg of iron can be found in lean meats, poultry, fish, legumes, or whole grains
• Vitamin A (500 mcg) can be readily found in vegetables, including carrots and sweet potatoes
• Likewise, Vitamin C (45 mg) can found in fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, oranges, and cantaloupes
Of course, whenever in doubt, the Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children (http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/KidsPyra/) remains the standard for nutritional eating for children between the ages of 2 and 6. This includes Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta (6 servings a day); Vegetables (3 servings a day); Fruits (2 servings a day); Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese (2 servings a day); Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts (2 servings a day); Fats, Oils, and Sweets (use sparingly).
Snack Time
Snacks will typically not ruin your child's appetite an hour or so before dinner because he or she has a small stomach. Because your child may not receive enough nutrients during dinner, snacks should be viewed as an important time to meet those needs, especially if they are offered at a regularly scheduled “snack time.”
However, beware of snacks that provide little more than calories such as chips, candy, and sodas. Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, says, “If you are going to offer snacks, make sure they are supplementing meals, not sabotaging them.”
Here some healthy snack food suggestions:
• Graham Crackers
• Popcorn
• Pretzels
• Milk
• Cheese
• Yogurt
• Hard Cooked Eggs
• Fruit
• Raw Vegetables
• Crackers, Rice Cakes, Celery with Peanut Butter
• Applesauce
• Dried or Canned Fruit
• Low-fat Pudding
• Animal Crackers
• Home-made trail mix made from dried fruit, nuts and dry cereal
• Bread Sticks
• Baked Chips and Salsa
• Dry Cereal
Learn step-by-step how to successfully cope with Picky Eaters with Help There is a Picky Eater in The House! Full of Proven Strategies and Great Picky Eater Recipes that are Guaranteed to Help. http://www.mypickyeater.com
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