BILLINGS - Throughout the week we've learned that the cost of food is up at all levels of production, delivery and sales. Farmers are paying more for fertilizer, equipment, and seed; truckers are paying record prices for diesel; grocers say their cost are up as much as 90%. So how are all these rising costs affecting the average American Family?

Howard Butler is an engineer for the Conoco-Philips Refinery. His wife Mona works at a local dental clinic and usually does the family's shopping. They have two kids who go to school at Arrowhead Elementary. Howard said recent food costs have them re-thinking the way they shop.

"We've moved kind of to a budget really," he said. "The price of milk in particular has gone up. I don't know if it made us drink less of it, but we notice it in our checkbooks." He said they're trying to make the most out of the food the do buy.

"If we take a glass of milk we do try to make sure the kids drink it all so we don't waste what we might have in the past," Howard said. The family is also making a few changes to their everyday life. "We're trying to cut back on eating out so much," Howard said. "We try not to drive unless its necessary. I don't go get a movie just because. We'd incorporate that with a grocery trip or something like that."

Howard said these little cutbacks allow them to save up for the big expenses. "We're going to Jamaica in a few weeks, then we're driving to Canada," he said. "It's the smaller things we're having to cut back on."