A habit of our household is to regularly testify to our gratitude in the pages of a small notebook enthroned in the living room. Last night, my eldest formulated this: “Thank you life because my mother feeds us well”, flooding me with a sweet feeling followed by a pang of worry. So much wisdom, so young… I hope that my children will be able to afford the luxury of eating well all their lives.
When I was a child, my farming parents told me that one day, food security would become one of the most important global issues on the planet and that we would, perhaps finally, recognize the importance of their profession. so essential. In the current economic context, combined with the effects of the conflict in Ukraine, the question of food should challenge us all.
Food safety
The concept of food security includes different pillars such as availability, accessibility and utilization of food. Access to supplies is an equally important one, which has perhaps been underestimated by many.
However, having each experienced the breakdown of supply chains during the pandemic, we can now certainly imagine what our daily struggle would be if sourcing our pulses were to become as long and complex as it is to obtain our building materials. and our garden furniture for two years…
Much closer to personal finances than one might think at first glance, these concerns are the ones I dream of hearing about in future election campaigns. Just as I would like us to hear more about the future of agriculture in Quebec.
How much does food cost for a year?
When I do financial planning, my clients almost always ask me how much “it costs to live”. The cost of living is the most subjective data among the assumptions we use, and the role of the financial planner is not, moreover, to determine their clients’ budget.
personal !
However, it is impossible not to note that this item of expenditure, although important as a percentage of the total budget for everyone, varies enormously from one household to another.
The experience of carrying out a budget exercise to better align it with financial planning is unanimous: many clients understand that they actually have no idea how much it costs them to eat!
To have a realistic and complete portrait of it, it is not enough to keep two or three grocery bills. You will need the annual total, which also includes restaurants, visits to the butcher’s shop, to the cafeteria and to the fresh market on weekends in season.
Without forgetting the need to dissect the invoices of supermarkets which also offer food products. A twelve-month period will allow you to calculate this more precise average, if you are interested.
Is it possible to reduce this bill?
The budget exercise is colored by our personal values. After determining net disposable income after taxes, subtract fixed expenses to find the amount available for discretionary expenses.
The power supply is, in my opinion, a hybrid post. Groceries are a basic expense, but restaurants could probably be considered a discretionary expense. Here are some ways to reduce your bill:
1. Planning and organization in the kitchen can reduce waste and, consequently, the bill. Online resources abound, and community organizations can certainly help you get the basic knowledge to do it better.
2. Be honest and calculate the annual cost of your trips to the drive-thru for that sweet drug that is coffee. In addition to a considerable waste of time (services are no longer fast), the fact of preparing your own lunch could well enrich you twice. Time is money, right?
3. You know my “less, but better” obsession: I also use it in my food choices. Prioritizing seasonal foods, the most local products possible, resorting to community-supported agriculture are all individual choices with long-term collective benefits. The saving of a few pennies on an imported product will cost you much more if one day this product is no longer so easy
of access.
For the moment, I am happy that my son, who is so full of gratitude, does not have to worry about how much it costs to “eat well”… All the while knowing very well that it is a concern that will inevitably catch up with him when he grows up. .