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.