How Much Does Your Meal Cost? Can You Cut it Down?

You may complain your government a lot recently that you can not buy anything with one dollar with this economic crisis and inflation rate. But did you know how much is a US dollar worth in each country? I do not mean conversion rate but I mean "worth". In many countries in Africa and Asia, a dollar could buy food for a week. No kidding it's true.For example,

* In Thailand, a meal such as rice with spicy chicken or pork cost between 20 and 40 Baht per portion. That is about 1 USD a meal.

* In India, food is extremely cheap. A kilo of tomatoes or most vegetables cost approximately 0.28 USD, a loaf of bread comes for about 0.23 USD, half-kilogram butter for 1.28 USD, 10 eggs for 0.50 USD.

You may think I'm living in USA. I can not afford to live there just for cheaper cost of living. Yes, it's not necessary to move just to cut down your meal price. There are tips and techniques that you can follow to cut the cost down.

1. Planning menus in advance for a week. You will see what items are needed. You can compare this list of items against weekly grocery for the best price.

2. Cut food waste. Buying food in volume may give you bargain power but it will save no money if you have to throw the waste out. Consider investing in a freezer to store food until it is needed.

3. Be self-discipline. Buy only items you have planned. Impulse buying can destroy a budget.

4. Use coupons first. Coupons can reduce the total cost of groceries by 50% or more. There's a woman on TV program said she can prepare food for the whole family of 2 adults and 3 children for a week with less than 30 USD. This is awesome.

Follow the 4 steps repeatedly every week then compare your receipts wherever your average meal cost is lessen. If not, let's find what goes wrong each week. The first few weeks may be tough for the beginner. You have to believe in yourself and be more disciplined. Probably consider go shopping alone next time so you can control the shopping list.

If you have done everything you can but you still can not cut the food cost down, let's think positively that you may reach your lowest point already.