Health and Wealth – Healthy Eating on a Lower Budget

Health and Wealth – Healthy Eating on a Lower Budget
Budgeting has always been one of the main problems that each individual faces. Whether it be a parent, student, or worker who has a limited amount of cash, allocating one’s resources to meet each need is very challenging. In most cases, one of the problems that could arise with improper budgeting is a “trade-off” between sustenance and health. Specifically, this happens when an individual has more liabilities than assets, thereby causing him to choose cheaper yet unhealthy food products over the healthier (and more expensive) option. This is illustrated from various studies showing that individuals who live on a tight budget (i.e., students or impoverished individuals) are more likely to choose fast food despite its harmful effects in the long run (Harris, 2017). In contrast, another set of studies shows that individuals who are more capable of budgeting are more likely to choose healthier food, especially when they are given the proper food literacy (Ronto et al., 2017). In line with this, it is the author’s belief that giving good food literacy and budgeting tips could improve an individual’s health and nutrition even with a low budget. 
Food Literacy and Budgeting Skills
           The initial and perhaps most crucial step to maintaining one’s health despite having limited resources is to learn how to create a grocery list. Studies show that one of the reasons students and other individuals who have a limited budget pick fast food is its lower prices and greater accessibility (Bugoine, 2018). In other words, fast foods become a more practical alternative because of their economic advantage and the greater convenience that it has compared to freshly- or home-cooked dishes. Accordingly, this satisfies the student’s and an average worker’s lifestyle considering that (1) going to and from the grocery from time to time and preparing meals at home is very time consuming, and (2) learning how to cook a dish is also time and energy-consuming. Nonetheless, this difficulty can be addressed by creating a simple yet complete grocery list that would remove the need to frequently go to the grocery as well as provide a rough idea about the healthy dishes that one can prepare. 
           While preparing the grocery list, it is essential to take note of the nutrition contents of food products. This includes the inclusion of synthetic products that could cause long-term harm to the body. The reason why these factors must be taken into consideration is that balancing between health and wealth during shopping aims to get the best nutrition from the least amount of money used. Some studies even show that this crucial skill should be given more importance by post-secondary educational institutions considering that they help in the development of the student’s life skills (Classes & Sytsma, 2020). In turn, this consideration can be developed through the process of improving one’s food literacy or by maintaining awareness of the daily nutritional needs of one’s body. Ultimately, this again considers the importance of having proper food literacy and ...