ECONOMICAL BUYING
20. APPORTIONMENT OF INCOME.--When the housewife thoroughly understands the qualities of foods as well as their comparative food values and is familiar with the factors that govern food prices, she is well equipped to do economical buying for her family. Then it remains for her to purchase the right kind of food and at the same time keep within her means. A good plan is to apportion the household expenses according to a budget; that is, to prepare a statement of the financial plans for the year. Then the amount of money that can be used for this part of the household expenses will be known and the housewife will be able to plan definitely on what she can buy. If necessary, this amount may be reduced through the housewife's giving careful attention to the details of buying, or if she is not obliged to lower her expenses, she may occasionally purchase more expensive foods, which might be considered luxuries, to give variety to the diet. The amount of money that may be spent for food depends, of course, on the income, and the greater the income, the lower will be the proportion of money required for this item of the household expense.
21. To throw some light on the proper proportion of the family income to spend for food, Table I is given. As the basis of this table, a family of five is taken and the proportion that may be spent for food has been worked out for incomes ranging from $600 to $2,400 a year. As will be noted, an income of $600 permits an expenditure of only 19 cents a day for each person. When food prices are high, it will be a difficult matter to feed one person for that amount, and still if the income is only $600 it will be necessary to do this. To increase the food cost over 39 cents a day per person, which is the amount allotted for an income of $2,400, would denote extravagance or at least would provide more luxury than is warranted.
TABLE I
PROPORTION OF FAMILY INCOME FOR FOOD
| Income per Year | Per Cent. of Income Spent for Food | Amount Spent per year for Food | Amount Spent per Day for Five Persons | Amount Spent per Day per Person |
| $600 | 60 | $360 | $ .98 | $.19 |
| $800 | 55 | $500 | $1.36 | $.27 |
| $1,000 | 50 | $576 | $1.57 | $.31 |
| $1,200 | 48 | $576 | $1.57 | $.31 |
| $1,500 | 44 | $660 | $1.80 | $.36 |
| $1,800 | 39 | $702 | $1.92 | $.38 |
| $2,400 | 30 | $720 | $1.97 | $.39 |
Various conditions greatly affect this proportion. One of these is the rise and fall of the food cost. Theoretically, the buyer should adjust this difference in the food cost rather than increase her expenditures. For instance, if in a certain year, the general cost of food is 20 per cent. greater than it was in the preceding year, the housewife should adjust her plan of buying so that for the same amount of money spent in the previous year she will be able to supply her family with what they need. Of course, if there is an increase in the income, it will not be so necessary to work out such an adjustment.
22. ECONOMIES IN PURCHASING FOOD.--Through her study of the preceding lessons, the student has had an opportunity to learn how to care for food in order to avoid loss and waste, how to prepare it so that it may be easily digested and assimilated, and how to make it appetizing and attractive so that as little as possible is left over and none is wasted. She should therefore be thoroughly acquainted with the methods of procedure in regard to all such matters and should have worked out to her satisfaction the best ways of accomplishing these things to suit her individual needs. But, in addition to these matters, she must give strict attention to her food purchases if she would secure for her family the most wholesome and nourishing foods for the least expenditure of money.
23. To purchase food that will provide the necessary food value for a small outlay is possible to a certain extent, but it cannot be done without the required knowledge. In the first place, it means that fewer luxuries can be indulged in and that the family dietary will have to be reduced to necessities. It may also mean that there will probably be a difference in the quality of the food purchased. For instance, it may be necessary to practice such economies as buying broken rice at a few cents a pound less than whole rice or purchasing smaller prunes with a greater number to the pound at a lower price than the larger, more desirable ones. The housewife need not hesitate in the least to adopt such economies as these, for they are undoubtedly the easiest ways in which to reduce the food expenses without causing detriment to any one.
24. Further economy can be practiced if a little extra attention is given in the purchase of certain foods. As is well known, the packages and cans containing food are labeled with the contents and the weight of the contents. These should be carefully observed, as should also the number of servings that may be obtained from the package or can. For instance, the housewife should know the weight per package of the various kinds of prepared cereals she uses and the number of servings she is able to procure from each package.
Let it be assumed that she buys two packages of different cereals at the same time, which, for convenience, may be called package No. 1 and package No. 2. She finds that No. 1 contains 16 ounces and No. 2, only 12 ounces; so she knows that No. 1 furnishes the greater amount of food by weight for the money spent. But, on the other hand, No. 2 may go farther; that is, it may serve a greater number of persons. This, in all probability, means that the cereals are similar in character, but that the food value of the servings from No. 2 is greater than that of the servings from No. 1. No. 2 is therefore the more economical of the two. Matters of this kind must not be overlooked, especially in the feeding of children.