Personal Finance
What to Budget for Breakfast in Texas
See if the day's first meal is scrambling budgets in Texas
What's for breakfast? If you've checked your fridge and kitchen cabinets and the answer is 'not much,' then it may be time to hit the supermarket.
Make sure you time your shopping trip just right, and take along a good cash-back credit card for maximum savings.
We've already made up a shopping list for you: 10 typical breakfast items — including a dozen eggs, half-gallon of milk and a can of coffee — that altogether will cost you an average $26.52 nationwide.
Find out what's happening in Across Texasfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Is the cost of breakfast better or worse where you live?
Breakfast food prices in Texas
Two breakfast tacos with sausage, cheese, and peppers. Garnished with fresh lime.
In Texas, you'll pay an average $23.84 for our basket of typical breakfast foods, according to the latest quarterly Cost of Living Index from the Council for Community and Economic Research. That's 11% less than the national average. The Cost of Living Index data is collected from more than a dozen metro areas in Texas:
Find out what's happening in Across Texasfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
| City | Amount |
|---|---|
| Temple | $19.86 |
| Waco | $21.00 |
| Harlingen | $21.69 |
| Houston | $21.77 |
| Brazoria County | $21.88 |
| San Marcos | $22.38 |
| McAllen | $22.39 |
| Beaumont | $22.76 |
| San Antonio | $23.02 |
| Round Rock | $23.19 |
| Corpus Christi | $23.23 |
| Sherman-Denison | $23.26 |
| Austin | $23.29 |
| Wichita Falls | $23.72 |
| Tyler | $23.78 |
| Midland | $23.82 |
| Nacogdoches | $24.02 |
| Fort Worth | $24.52 |
| Seguin | $24.67 |
| Texarkana | $24.85 |
| Longview | $24.96 |
| Odessa | $25.41 |
| Conroe | $25.42 |
| Amarillo | $25.59 |
| Abilene | $25.72 |
| Lubbock | $26.08 |
| Plano | $26.71 |
| Dallas | $28.40 |
Breakfast food prices in Texas
Breakfast served with coffee, orange juice, croissants, cereals and fruits
Here's what's in our shopping cart, with the average prices in Texas and the country as a whole:
| Breakfast Item | Average for Texas | Average for US |
|---|---|---|
| Sausage (1 lb.) | $3.53 | $4.20 |
| 1/2 Gallon of Milk | $1.65 | $1.92 |
| Eggs (12) | $1.71 | $1.73 |
| Margarine | $1.04 | $1.14 |
| Bananas (1 lb.) | $0.49 | $0.55 |
| Bread (1 loaf) | $3.12 | $3.35 |
| Orange Juice (1 container) | $3.18 | $3.51 |
| Coffee (1 can or brick) | $3.97 | $4.33 |
| Sugar (1 lb.) | $2.03 | $2.24 |
| Cereal (1 box) | $3.11 | $3.55 |
What's cooking?
If those numbers seem high to you, then you'd better get cracking. You'll need a good breakfast to work hard — so you can keep your checking account full enough to cover today's food prices..
If you’re like most people, breakfast matters to you. Americans tend to eat the start-of-the-day meal virtually every day, and most of our breakfasts — 70% — are served at home, according to the market research firm The NPD Group.
Many of us also put some effort into our breakfast. NPD says eggs and other more "involved" and traditional breakfast foods are becoming more popular, especially among millennials. Mercifully, you won't find any jokes about avocado toast here.
Maybe for your next morning meal you'll want to whip up a plate of breakfast tacos — an undeniable Texas favorite.
Sorry — we may have left a few key ingredients off our list, but knowing the prices of the other breakfast staples can help you build some room in your brekkie budget for the extras that make mornings even more yummy where you live. And resist the temptation to go out for breakfast! The money you save can go into your emergency fund, and you'll be proud to know that you will be able to DIY.
Happy eating!
MORE FROM MONEYWISE: Some of your favorite breakfast spots have fallen on hard times. These restaurant chains won't be around much longer.