There are many points in the year when people make reassessments of parts of their lives. There is new year, birthdays, and even lent, with its opportunity to give something up.
Whether these dates offer anything more than just a chance to make another promise to yourself on healthy eating that won’t be kept, the day of the Budget is one to make some more significant reassessments.
As chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his speech, millions will have waited to see what this meant for their taxes, benefits and much else besides that could affect their bottom lines.
However, while the chancellor has to make decisions about public spending, borrowing, tax and finances, every household must do likewise in their own way – including how much to spend on food. Often balancing healthy eating with keeping costs down can be hard, as the cheaper options are often the lower quality and more fattening ones.
However, there are ways of squaring this circle. As This is Money notes, it isn’t necessary to splash out on fancy ‘superfoods’ like salmon and goji berries.
It quoted nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation Sarah Coe, who explained that good planning is often the key. She said: “Making a shopping list can help you avoid making impulse buys of foods that may be expensive.”
Her other tips included buying tinned fruit with no added sugar, while fruit sold loose often costs less and frozen items can also provide great nutrition.
Good planning is, of course, essential for things like gluten free meal prep, as you must be careful to shop only for the goods that fit this description. Where these are more expensive, the cost savings can still be made through shopping for lower-priced options in naturally gluten free produce like fruit and veg.
Unlike some recent Budgets, this year’s speech did not add any consumption tax on alcohol or sugary drinks. But while these have not suddenly become costlier, it is of course by drinking more water and less unhealthy stuff that you can supplement food choices that both save money and help improve your waistline.