Well, the inflation in my country now is not extremely high but has already damaged the economy. The cost of living is increasing and does not seem to stop. Last week one of my friends lost his job after working in the same company for a decade. His life abruptly changed, putting him in a place where he could not support his family. If you were him, how would you survive this tough time ? As a friend, I am trying to help him as much as I can and meanwhile, I am planning to save more money to prepare for the unexpected challenges in my life. What about you ?
actually saving has been taught since we were small, the purpose of saving is to cover the cost of living which has become a minus because of one thing, yes, like current inflation, saving in small amounts or as much as we can, don't force it to reduce our daily food allowance just because we want to save money
I think food is important if you are spending extra amount on food, I was a person like that, and I have overspent on food, because I like to eat in nice places and that is a problem of mine, I hate cooking, I literally hate it, I would rather starve and go to sleep hungry then cook, which is a big psychological issue I know, but that is why I ended up overspending on food. If that is the case, then I think it is important to cut back on food spending.
However, nobody should be starving to save some money of course, that part is true because that is a basic human need and even medical condition if you don't eat well enough when you are capable of doing it.
That's the lifestyle you chose to pick, and it also your responsibility to sustain it. We cannot judge you or dictate what you chose as your means of living since you are the ones earning for your own keep. And yes! I also agree that no one should be starving just because you want to save money, and it may sound like a glutton to others but if you have the capability to get as much resources (money) to put food in the table then it's your job.
I remember a quote way back then saying, "Our job is not to judge people, Our job is to work to put food on the table". That's exactly how I see the situation right now.
Personally, I am the one always in charge in cooking, so I am a bit knowledgeable when it comes to family expenses regarding the ingredients and the food. In my country even if there's not that much inflation, I can still feel the changes/spikes on the food/ingredient prices. There have also been sudden spike of prices in all the basic needs and seasonings and mostly it would also affect the prices when you are out eating on the restaurant.
That alone is the reason why some of my friends are struggling to keep up with the prices, it's because some of them are also fired from a job in which they have been working in long time already, same with the OP. While most of my friends are working for just 2 years or more, that job already became their stable source of income, and now they have to go back to square one because of being jobless.