Minimum shopping cart. What is included in the consumer basket in Russia

The consumer basket is one of the most important indicators reflecting the level of development of the state economy. It represents the minimum set of food products per person, depends on the subsistence minimum, as well as the minimum wage. The composition of the consumer basket is constantly changing, and the state regularly changes it.

The legislative framework

Before considering the cost of the consumer basket, it is advisable to study the products provided for it. After all, the total cost of the consumer minimum will depend on the amount of food products, their prices.

Understanding what is included in the consumer basket in Russia, it should be noted that now the composition of the current minimum set of products is regulated by Federal Law No. 227, which provides for a number of features. Among them, the division of all citizens into 3 main categories deserves mention, for each of which an individual set of products is provided. The minimum list of products is compiled for:

• people of working age;
• pensioners;
• children.

This approach is designed to significantly improve the quality of life of consumers, as well as ensure that the set of products meets the individual needs of the body. The grocery basket includes 11 components. At the same time, the current law provides that the costs of non-food categories of goods will be about 50% of the costs of food.

The composition of the consumer basket is different for a working citizen, a child and a pensioner

Earlier versions of the document detailed not only food expenses, but also other necessary payments - clothing, essentials, the cost of services. Subsequently, it was decided to abandon this practice, and legislators focused their attention on the consumer basket.

The composition of the consumer basket

Such an indicator as a consumer basket is designed to reflect the list of products and services that a citizen needs for a minimally comfortable existence. The composition of such a set was constantly changing, however, all the items presented can be divided into three groups:

1. Food.
2. Products of the non-food segment.
3. Services required for living.

As mentioned earlier, the composition of the basket was repeatedly revised, supplemented, and the proportions of the products in it changed. According to the decision of the government of the Russian Federation in 2015, quite serious changes were made to the basket - the share of bakery products, as well as potatoes, was reduced. At the same time, the amount of meat/fish per person has increased significantly. Dairy products have been increased.

Significant innovations include the introduction of greens into the diet of Russians, which made it more balanced and healthy. Despite the significant transformation that the size of the consumer basket has undergone, the list of services and non-food products has practically not changed.

Products in the cart

The number of product items, as well as their quantity provided for by the consumer basket, can vary significantly, depending on the region. A similar situation is observed with the cost of services, which, according to the idea of ​​legislators, should be approximately 50% of the cost of food.

Nevertheless, in the Moscow region, this figure is significantly higher than this mark, which makes the consumer package less relevant. Annual calculations for each category of the population provide for the following composition of the consumer basket.

The minimum set of food products in the consumer basket

Such values ​​are relevant when calculating annual consumption, however, if desired, each citizen can calculate monthly limits. To do this, it is enough to divide the number of products presented in the table by 12, which will allow you to find out the monthly consumption rate of each item.

The presented figures at the first acquaintance may seem quite large, but such an impression is erroneous. If you calculate the daily norm of products, it becomes clear that it does not always cover the real needs of the body.

Categories of citizens and the cost of recruitment

The key parameter for the consumer set of products is the cost, which is calculated individually for each category of the population. In the process of calculations, three of them stand out - pensioners, able-bodied citizens and children. For each of them, there is a monetary limit required for living:

1. Pensioners - 8528 rubles;
2. Children - 10443 rubles;
3. Adults 12145 rubles.

The cost reflects the set of services and products, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, which each category is entitled to expect. For pensioners, there are reduced limits on goods and services, and for children - an increased amount of fruits and vegetables, in comparison with the working-age population.

The minimum set of food products includes the maximum amount of healthy and nutritious foods

How the composition of the basket is determined

Despite regional differences in composition and quantitative terms, the consumer set in all cases is determined by the same algorithm. The main requirement for such a set is the frequency of its renewal. The list of products included in it must be updated at least once every 5 years, and the changes must be fixed by law.

When updating a food set, legislators should take into account its nutritional value, balance and other parameters. In theory, each subsequent set should be better than the previous one, since the changes made are primarily aimed at increasing the proportion of healthy foods in the diet.

Recently, there has been a trend towards an increase in the share of meat, fish and dairy products, as well as vegetable and fruit products. This happens due to a decrease in the share of potatoes, bread, as well as oil and fat products.

Purpose of the consumer basket

The practice of determining the minimum required food, services and other expenses can be observed in many developed countries of the world. This approach allows you to easily calculate the minimum amount that a citizen is able to live on. Any set is exploratory in nature, since it is clearly not enough for a full-fledged life of a modern person. However, it reflects the consumer minimum necessary for life.

As a rule, the cost of living acts as the main indicator when calculating various social benefits, payments and other benefits.

A basket of products for a month allows you to reliably determine inflation indicators, focusing on an increase in its cost.

The consumer basket includes not only food products, but also non-food products and services.

Non-food limits

The consumer basket consists of three main components, among which an impressive role in the daily life of a citizen is played by non-food products and services. First of all, it should be noted the amount of utility costs provided for by the basket. They are exploratory in nature, since such costs were painted only for earlier versions of the basket.

Daily consumption of utilities:

• 285 liters of water;
• 10 cubic meters of gas;
• 50kw electricity.

It also provides for the cost of purchasing clothes that were previously scheduled for each item of clothing separately. To date, the share of clothing, non-food items and services necessary for life is 50% of the cost of food and is not itemized.

Is this set enough for living

After studying the data on the consumer basket and the estimated costs per person, citizens begin to doubt the possibility of living on such an amount. In fact, this is quite real, but the restrictions provided by the set can make life much less comfortable.

The grocery basket does not include alcoholic beverages, and the allocated funds will not be enough to purchase most of the fruits brought from abroad. Such a minimum also does not provide for any cultural program, which is why it will be necessary to abandon trips to museums, theaters and other leisure facilities.

It is advisable to take into account the need to pay utility bills, as well as the purchase of clothes for the allocated amount, which somewhat complicates the task. Before deciding on such an experiment, it is extremely important to take into account the fact that the consumer basket is an introductory value and does not reflect the real needs of various categories of the population.

Before proceeding to a detailed consideration of this topic, it is worth deciding on the concept of a consumer basket (PC) - one of the basic in the economy.

So, a consumer basket is a certain set of services and goods that provides a full-fledged living of a person during the year and satisfies his needs at the minimum acceptable level.

In Russia, it is quite significant, especially when calculating the minimum wage, other social benefits, and determining the purchasing power of the population. The composition of the PC, as well as its cost, are updated periodically and change based on certain realities. Today, for example, many citizens are concerned about the current composition of the PC.

Formation of a consumer basket

The concept of a consumer basket exists in all countries of the world, and if we compare its composition in Russia and in civilized European countries and America, the situation will turn out to be disappointing. Thus, 350 goods and services are included in the PC of England, 475 in Germany, 300 in the States, and 156 in Russia.

Once every few years, the composition of the consumer basket, its value are reviewed and compiled anew. An updated version is being considered and further developed that better meets the current needs of the country's citizens.

The PC mainly includes those goods and services without which a person cannot live in comfort for one year (all calculations are made for one year). However, if you plunge into the affairs in more detail, then with the naked eye you can see that the bulk of the figures and indicators are either underestimated or absolutely do not correspond to modern realities. Therefore, all the arguments and questions that have arisen on the part of the citizens of the country that the PC should be completely revised in the new year are far from being based on an empty place.

There are several types of consumer basket based on the categories of citizens for whom it is compiled:

1. For children.
2. For citizens of working age.
3. For citizens of retirement age.

What's Coming to PC in 2019

Today, many are concerned about the composition of the consumer basket in the new year. After all, the standard of living of the population of the country depends on what will be included in it officially.

Accordingly, the main part of the list consists of food. Food is the main part of the consumer basket, because without it there is no need to talk about any comfortable and fulfilling human life. By the way, in the PC of Western countries, products make up only a fourth of the entire basket. The reason lies in the following: in the West, not only is the basket "richer", but far from so much money is spent from family budgets on food.

Food complement clothing, household appliances, medicines, shoes. The third conditional group includes all kinds of services that a person also needs for one year.

This includes:

• utility bill payments;
• transport payments;
• trips to cultural events.

With a more detailed and accurate study of the numbers, you can see the following picture. For an adult, the Government of the Russian Federation officially took:

• potatoes - 1 ton;
• various vegetables - 115 kg;
• various fruits - 60 kg;
• bread, other flour products - 127 kg;
• meat - 59 kg;
• fish - 18 kg.

• bread - 300 grams;
• potatoes - 280 grams;
• milk and dairy products - 80 grams;
• fish - 50 grams;
• meat - 160 grams.

If we evaluate objectively, then these figures are simply mocking and do not hold water at all.

How much is a PC worth in 2019

No less interesting is the cost of the consumer basket. According to experts, the cost of a PC in the new year is set at 10,000 rubles. However, it must be remembered that a lot depends on the specific region for which the calculations are made, as well as on which store the installed set of products was purchased from. For example, if the purchase took place in economy class stores, then the cost of a PC may be about 5,000 rubles.

Increase in PC-2019 in value

The cost of the consumer basket in 2019, according to the latest news, should change upwards. Analysts explain this by the fact that the situation in the country has changed dramatically, the incomes of many citizens have decreased, while prices, on the contrary, have increased.

But even the most negative conditions will not be able to stop the gradual increase in the cost of PCs. The value level will continue to rise in a sequential order, neither speeding up rapidly nor slowing down more than necessary.

And although it is difficult to name the exact amount of growth now, analysts say that it will vary within 500 rubles. This is exactly what it has been like in many regions of Russia in recent years. In other words, every quarter we can expect an increase in the level of consumer spending by about 150-200 rubles, no more.

However, based on the experience of previous years, it can be understood that there will be no significant and qualitative improvement in the basket.

In recent years, it did not rise much in price (the increase was about 3-4%, which did not reach the then level of inflation), but today it is completely hopelessly behind. After all, the increase in prices, the decline in incomes of citizens, the general situation with Russian loans - all this literally emptied the baskets. Feeding yourself and your family with such indicators is simply unrealistic.

PC-2019 by regions of Russia

The table shows official data on the composition of the PC for various regions of the Russian Federation.

Region	Kostroma region	Moscow	Moscow region	Murmansk region	Leningrad region.	Nizhny Novgorod region.	Saint Petersburg
Bread products, kg	128,4	130,86	128,4	156,8	130,6	131,0	130,6
Potato, kg	100,5	108,5	100,5	82,9	87,9	87,8	87,9
Vegetables, kg	115,2	108,5	115,2	112,6	115,2	121,1	115,2
Fruit, kg	60,0	60,0	60,0	65,0	60,0	60,0	60,0
Sugar, confectionery, kg	22,2	22,26	22,2	26,3	23,8	23,8	23,8
Meat, kg	58,7	58,7	58,7	70,4	58,9	58,5	58,9
Fish, kg	19,0	19,0	19,0	32,6	19,0	20,0	19,0
Milk, dairy products, kg	290,8	290,8	290,8	260,8	290,8	254,8	290,8
Eggs, kg	210,0	210,0	210,0	261,0	210,0	210,0	210,0
Vegetable oil, kg	11,5	13,32	11,5	15,9	11,6	13,0	11,6
Other products, kg	4,9	4,9	4,9	4,9	4,9	4,9	4,9
Non-food products, %	50,0	45,0	50,0	60,0	45,0	50,0	45,0
Services, %	50,0	127,0	85,0	68,0	45,0	50,0	50,0

Since the composition of the PC is set at the level of regional laws, the figures for each region of the country are different.

Consumer holiday basket-2019

In 2019, the festive table for the New Year will be released for Russians at an average of 5,790 rubles. According to preliminary estimates, the cost of food for the festive table increased by 28% compared to last year.

Traditionally, the festive consumer basket includes 23 products: vegetable pickles, red caviar, raw smoked sausage, smoked fish and meat meats, fresh vegetables, cheese.

Often, Russians choose 1 kg of chicken and 1 kg of beef as hot, and desserts are oranges and bananas (1.5 kg each), lemons (0.2 kg), cake (about 1.0 kg) and chocolates (0. 5 kg).

On the table of drinks, there are usually juices, carbonated drinks, mineral water, cognac, champagne.

According to statistics, due to the increase in the price of many products this year, 63% of the country's residents plan to reduce spending on the New Year holidays. To a greater extent, the savings will affect gifts and various delicacies. On average, citizens plan to spend about 17,000 rubles on New Year's celebrations this year.

The question of whether the consumer basket for Russians was correctly drawn up was raised by Minister of Labor M. Topilin. What is a consumer basket, how can it change in 2018, what will be added from the products to the "set" of the basket? How is the consumer basket calculated in Russia and abroad? Let's deal with some concepts to understand the essence of the issue.

In fact consumer basket is an approximate set of calculations, a range of goods that characterizes the typical level and structure of the monthly (annual) consumption of a person or family.

The Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation Maxim Topilin announced the need to revise the consumer basket (PC), first of all, to improve the qualitative composition of the food set. Today, there is “too much” bread and potatoes in it, the head of the department believes.

The consumer basket in Russia is still far from the real consumption structure of the population, although in 2016 the Russian Ministry of Health approved healthy eating standards. In a number of positions, the food basket of the consumer basket lags behind them.

“There is too much bread and potatoes in the current basket,” the minister believes. - And, on the contrary, there are not enough meat and fish products, vegetables and fruits. To bring the set of food products closer to the optimal one is the main task of the new consumer basket.”

The Minister believes that it may be necessary to change the ratio between the share of food, which currently stands at 50%, and the share of non-food products (25%) and services (25%).

It is quite possible that in order to determine the needs of Russians in a civilized way, they will have to switch to a new calculation of the subsistence minimum. In Russia, it is determined precisely on the basis of the consumer basket. But in most countries, the cost of living is set as a percentage of median per capita income.

What is the difference between average per capita and median income?

Topilin explained that the figures are different - from 40 to 60 percent of the median income, depending on the country's economic capabilities. By the way, the current living wage in Russia is about 43 percent of the median per capita income.

The head of the Ministry of Labor suggests that the government discuss a bill under which the cost of living will be revised based on the median average per capita income, and not on the cost of the consumer basket. “Much depends on how accurately and fully we can measure the monetary incomes of the population,” Topilin specified.

Average income, by definition, is a simple division of the total income of the population by its population. And the median income is a parameter when half of the population receives an income above the median, and half - an income below the median.

Thus, according to Rosstat data for 2015, the average per capita income in Moscow was 59,567 rubles, while the median was less - 43,043 rubles. As a result, the living wage in Moscow in 2015 (14,749 rubles) was 34.3% of the median per capita income.

In fact, 40% of the median salary is an extremely low level, bordering on poverty. Therefore, as the economy develops, it is necessary to strive for a living wage of 60% of the median wage.

Living wage and consumer basket

But back to the consumer basket. Today we are guided by the measures of consumption norms, which were last revised in 2012, which were valid for us in 2013-2017..

The new composition of the PC provided for the transition to another method of its calculation - the normative-statistical one, when the costs of food are calculated on the basis of consumption norms, and the costs of non-food products and services are calculated in proportion to the costs of food, so that a specific list of non-food products and services in the law about the PC will not. They are determined as a percentage of the cost of the minimum food basket.

By the way, the proposed normative-statistical method is used in most developed countries, and the transition to such a system means approaching European living standards.

It is clear that in its pure form the PC is not used. This set of products, non-food products and services is necessary for calculating the subsistence minimum (hereinafter - PM), minimum wage, calculating the amount of scholarships, pensions, compensations, subsidies and other measures of social support for the population. PC is calculated separately for the able-bodied population, pensioners, children, taking into account the climatic features of the territories.

What does an old person spend his pension on?

If we put his small income on the shelves, we get the following distribution: 34% - food, 44% - payment for housing and housing and communal services, 10% - for clothes and shoes, 5% - for cultural, household and household goods, 6% - for essential goods and personal hygiene, 1% for bed linen.

Whatever the government plans for us in the end, a pensioner can only buy what his skinny wallet allows him to buy. In fact, the purchase of medicines and payment for medical services takes the third line of expenses (which are not included in the consumer basket).

So, if, at the request of pensioners, the consumer basket includes the amount of vital services that are not included in the consumer basket and amount to 3013 rubles, then we will get: the consumer basket until 2013 (old) will be: 9685 rubles. + 3013 rub. = 12698 rubles.

And after 2013 (new) this basket is: 7260 rubles. + 3013 rub. = 10273 rubles.

At the same time, the standard for the cost of housing and communal services and other expenses is reduced to 1980 rubles. at actual expenses of 4261 rubles, i.e. will more than double.

The source of covering these expenses for pensioners is only their pension and social support from the state. Consequently, in connection with the adoption of a new consumer basket, additional social support for pensioners will be required.

The minimum set of products according to the standards of Rospotrebnadzor

At first glance, it would seem that the changes are positive: Ministry of Labor officials assure that now the energy value of the minimum set of products complies with the standards of Rospotrebnadzor.

Reduced standards for the consumption of bread products (including flour, cereals and pasta). In a year, an adult will need seven kilograms less, pensioners - five. Dividing the prescribed kilograms by 365, we get the daily norm - 346 grams. For the able-bodied population, the norm for fats, margarine and vegetable oil has been "cut" by almost three kilograms (for pensioners - per kilogram). The rate of consumption of meat products is increasing: one and a half times for workers (daily norm - 160 grams), 1.7 times - for pensioners.

Much more milk and dairy products are relied on for each inhabitant of the country, 360 kilograms per child per year. The standard for fruit will also more than double for all age categories. It turns out that in a month an adult should eat 1.5 kg of fish and almost 5 kg of meat, the same amount of fruit (5 kg) and almost twice as many vegetables - 9.6 kg, while bread and cereals - 10.5 kg , and potatoes - 8.4 kg.

The standards for sugar and confectionery products have changed slightly, children have “suffered” the most: they now rely on almost 3.5 kilograms less sweets per year (60 grams per day). According to the basket, Russians also consume 290 liters of milk and 21 dozen eggs annually. In children, the consumption of dairy products and fruits is higher, while in pensioners, on the contrary, it is lower.

Therefore, the increase by the Ministry of Labor of the share of meat and fish, as well as fruits and vegetables in the virtual basket is unlikely to somehow change the structure of the real consumer basket. However, indirectly it will help the poor categories of citizens.

A change in the structure of the consumer basket will lead to an increase in its cost, which, in turn, will lead to a change in the subsistence minimum, and this will ultimately affect the income growth of some categories of citizens, such as state employees and pensioners, since their incomes are calculated in relation to the subsistence minimum.

Another important innovation in the new consumer basket: non-food products and services will be determined as a percentage of the cost of food. Until now, the state has decided what is the minimum amount of clothing, writing instruments and essential goods and for how long a citizen needs. The volume of required services was also established.

For example, a person was supposed to have 285 liters of hot, cold water and sanitation per day, 10 cubic meters of gas and 50 kW of electricity per month, 6.7 gigacalories of heat per year and 18 square meters of housing. Five percent of total monthly service spending was for cultural services.

Now it will be different: it was decided to abandon the articles “non-food products” and “services”. The law says that these costs will be 50% of the cost of food. That is, to put it simply, we multiply the cost of the “grocery basket” by two and get the minimum amount a person needs per month with all services, purchases and payments.

No matter how we treat these norms, but consumer basket is a very important element in the social system of the state. It does not exist at all for people to go to the store, focusing on it. On its basis, the living wage is calculated, which, in turn, is used to determine the minimum wage, pensions, scholarships, allowances and various kinds of social benefits.

How is the consumer basket calculated abroad?

Experts note that compared to other countries in Russia, the consumer basket is quite compact. It includes only 30 positions: 10 points each for food, non-food products and services. For comparison: in the US, the consumer basket includes more than 300 items.

In the West, it is customary to inflate the basket on which benefits for low-income citizens depend. The more goods in the basket, the greater the benefit for the poor. In other words, the state spends more to support these segments of the population than it could, but on the other hand, it receives a return by stimulating production, tax revenues and economic growth as a whole.

Not surprisingly, each US state has its own consumer basket. “In our country, the food basket is a kind of social indicator of the well-being of the population, and in the USA it is more of a reference information that allows you to estimate the expenses of a household if it is going to live in this state.

Consumption habits may change

Scientists propose to abandon the calculation of the average basket for the entire country, as was customary in the Soviet planned economy, and start counting the basket for each federal district separately.

It would not hurt to add telephone and Internet access to a separate line of utilities, since today this is already a mandatory expense item for almost any Russian family. Perhaps it would be worth highlighting medical services as a separate line, since their price is high and makes up a significant part of household budgets, and we still pretend that medicine is free.

In a word, at adoption of a new law on the consumer basket, according to which the country will live in 2018 and a few more years, raise concerns that it will be little different from the previous one.

That is why, when adopting a new consumer basket, experts suggested to the Russian government:

make a deep analysis of the result of the new consumer basket;

finalize a new consumer basket that will directly affect the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population;

bring the dietary norms of pensioners in line with the norms of rational nutrition recommended by the medical community;

to organize an open discussion of the PC by the general public.

What is included in the consumer basket of Muscovites?

If we consider the norms of the consumer basket for Moscow and Muscovites, then this is what the picture will turn out to be.

Each citizen can consume per day:

The composition of the consumer basket

• 370 grams of bread;
• 290 grams of potatoes;
• 370 grams of vegetables;
• 180 grams of fruit;
• 780 grams of dairy and sour-milk products;
• 60 grams of sweets; half an egg;
• 70 grams of fish;
• 180 meat.

In addition, the composition of the necessary products includes vegetable oil, tea, fats and so on. Such products are required in the diet. As you can see, there are no cheeses, seafood, alcohol, sweet drinks, delicacies.

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Western scientists have long calculated that people spend money on food rather inefficiently. An insanely large amount of food is thrown into the trash every year just because people bought something extra, did not have time to eat before the expiration date, and the product went bad. At the same time, it is not at all necessary that this happens only in rich and wealthy homes, and people with modest incomes do not have food stale. Quite the opposite - in an effort to save money, poorer people often buy more products for various promotions than they need, and the same sad fate awaits them ... The right way to save the family budget is not only buying goods where they are cheaper, but also compiling a list of products that you should not deviate from when going to the store. Monthly grocery list for a family of 3: Economy version of the minimum grocery list for a small family.

List of products for a month for a family of 3: economy version from the state

When calculating the subsistence level, the government uses the so-called consumer basket. This is a set of products, which, according to the state, are sufficient for human survival. If we calculate the consumer basket for a family of three, consisting of two working adults and one child, then for a month we get the following list of products for a month for a family of 3, in its economy version from the government:

• “Bread products”, which, in addition to bread, include pasta, cereals, flour and legumes - 27.55 kg.
• Potatoes - 24.1 kg.
• Vegetables and melons - 28.5 kg.
• Fresh fruit - 20 kg.
• Sugar and confectionery - 5.8 kg.
• Meat products - 13.4 kg.
• Fish products - 4.6 kg.
• Milk and dairy products - 78.4 kg.
• Eggs - 52 pieces.
• Vegetable oil, margarine - 2.25 kg.
• Other products (salt, spices, tea, etc.) - 1.1 kg.

According to government statisticians, on average in the country, such a set of food for a family of three will cost about 15.5 thousand rubles.

Whether this list of products for a month is enough for a family of three is difficult to say. This economy version is rather conditional and is used rather for statistics. Probably, indeed, this list is enough to not die of hunger, but that's all. Let's leave this minimal conditional list of products to officials and turn to more realistic proposals on how to make a list of products for a month for a family of 3 economy version.

No matter how conditional the list of products from the state is, it is good because it includes all the necessary products in their relatively balanced variety. In practice, not everyone can like fruits, not everyone eats a lot of sugar, someone in principle cannot drink milk, etc. But there are lovers of chicken eggs, potatoes or fish. Even in the same family, these tastes can vary among its different members. In this case, even with the same budget of 15.5 thousand rubles calculated above, this budget may be redistributed in favor of some products at the expense of others.

We suggest that each individual family make a more detailed list of products for a month for a family of 3 and in practice calculate its economy version that is right for you in accordance with your dietary preferences. To make your personal list, try to write down everything you buy and eat for a month, adding it to the appropriate box in the list below. Do not forget to indicate the cost and focus on the amount of consumed, not purchased products.

A monthly grocery list for a family of 3 should include:

• Vegetables: potatoes, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, onions, beets and herbs.
• Fruits: apples, bananas, oranges, lemons.
• Dairy products: milk, butter, kefir, sour cream, cottage cheese, hard and processed cheese.
• Canned food: fish (sardine, saury, etc.), stew, peas, corn, condensed milk, mushrooms.
• Freezing and meat products: meat set for soup (chicken, pork), chicken legs (thighs), pork, beef, fish (pollock, flounder, sole, etc.), fresh mushrooms (champignons, mushrooms), meatballs and cutlets , puff pastry.
• Products for the preparation of a side dish: pasta, buckwheat, pearl barley, rice, hercules, corn grits, peas.
• Other food products: tomato paste, mustard, honey, vegetable oil, eggs, vinegar, margarine, flour, yeast, sugar, salt, soda, black and red pepper, bay leaf, coffee, black and green tea, cocoa.

By carefully writing down everything you eat for a month, you can determine the best list of products for your family. If you do this regularly, and not just one month a year (or even a lifetime), and record not only purchases, but also take into account leftovers, as well as discarded spoiled products, you can quickly come up with an optimal list.

In order to save on groceries and not overpay, you should go to the store with a list of what you need today. Don't let yourself buy something that isn't on the list - store marketers, especially chain stores, do everything to make you make unplanned purchases and leave more money in the store than you planned. Don't fall for it. If you have not included something in your list, then there is no particular need for this product.

It is also worth knowing well the prices in various supermarkets and wholesale markets. Even if you don't have a car, it may be more profitable to take a taxi to the wholesale market or a large supermarket to buy groceries for a month than to regularly buy groceries close to home at inflated prices.

Finally, remember that ideally sticking to a monthly grocery list will be pretty hard anyway. Some products will be consumed quickly, some slowly. A pack of soda can be spent for a year or five years, and ten packs of spaghetti can “fly away” in a week. The unexpected cold of one of the family members increases the need for honey and butter, etc. In addition to compiling a list of products, you need to try to correctly plan the family budget in principle and try to follow it steadily. Fortunately, now there are a lot of computer programs or applications on a smartphone that help in maintaining a home budget and make this process much easier.

The state, according to the Constitution, guarantees the receipt of a minimum cash income for working citizens and pensions, benefits and other social benefits for the relevant categories of the population. To determine the amount of these payments, you need to know the cost of living. This is the amount that is required to maintain the health and life of a person. To establish the size of the subsistence minimum, the concept of a consumer basket has been introduced. What does it mean?

The consumer basket is the minimum necessary set of products, services and non-food products that allows you to carry out life activities and maintain human health. Its value in monetary terms is the subsistence minimum. In our country, this concept was introduced in 1997 by Federal Law No. 134-FZ. According to it, the composition of the consumer basket is determined at least every five years.

The quantitative and qualitative "contents" of the consumer basket are established on the basis of special ones developed by the government with the participation of trade unions. These recommendations determine the content of the consumer basket for the country as a whole and separately for each subject of the Russian Federation, taking into account local conditions and traditions, as well as the level of economic development of a particular region.

The consumer basket, according to the Methodological Recommendations, is compiled taking into account scientific data on the physical norms of consumption of basic products, statistical information on the actual consumption of goods and services in low-income families, and the state's ability to provide the necessary level of social protection.

The calculation is made separately for each of the three socio-demographic groups:

Pensioners (by age or disability).

Children under 15 years old.

Food and other goods that make up the required minimum are combined into groups. Their number is given in physical terms.

The basis of the list is the food basket. Products are divided into categories, each of which has its own consumption norms. These are bread, cereals, pasta, legumes, potatoes, fresh vegetables and fruits, confectionery, sugar, meat and fish products, eggs, milk and dairy products, butter and other fats, as well as tea, salt, spices, etc. Consumption rates are given in kilograms per year (eggs - in pieces) for each of the three population groups separately in the form of a table.

In addition to products, the consumer basket includes a set of services and these are clothes, shoes, underwear and hats, as well as stationery, household goods, medicines and essentials. For each type of product, the ratio of the minimum required quantity in pieces (shoes - in pairs) to the standard wear period in years is given. Thus, the number of items of outerwear for the working population is set at 3 pieces for a period of 7.6 years, for pensioners - the same number for 8.7 years. Shoes for both of them are supposed to be 6 pairs each (working - for 3.2 years, pensioners - for 3.5 years), etc.

Expenditures on medicines and sanitary items are planned as a percentage of total non-food expenditures and amount to 10% for the working group and 15% for pensioners.

The consumer basket also provides for the costs of paying for housing and communal services in accordance with current regulations, transport (measured by the number of trips per year), cultural services (their value is set at 5% of the total cost of services).

Despite the mandatory revision of the composition of the consumer basket prescribed in the legislation once every 5 years, its content for 2011-2012. unchanged from 2006. Experts explain this by the need to introduce a new normative-statistical method of calculation, which will be introduced in 2013. It is designed to eliminate the difference between the planned and actual level of consumption of goods and services and provide greater freedom to the regions.