Looks like it’s
food week around here at Debt Free U, but that’s very much a good thing. You need to be eating, and it’s best to start figuring out how you can be doing some saving in the process. The truth of the matter is that college students waste
way too much money on food when they really don’t need to be, and even though that slice of pizza at 2am only costs $2.50, it all adds up to a significant amount at the end of every semester.
Here are five valuable methods you can employ to cut down on your food budget:
Use Your Meal Plan
Okay, it’s Friday night and your friends are going out to dinner at some restaurant in town, but you still have a dinner left on your meal plan. And even if they’re going to get Italian food and that’s what you really want and the cafeteria’s serving some kind of Mexican business, it’s important to keep in mind that if you go with your friends you’ll be essentially paying for two meals. And that’s just bad budgeting.
Buy in Bulk
Get a membership to BJ’s Wholesale Club, Costo, Sam’s Club, or your local wholesale grocery store and stock up on cheap prices. If you have a freezer and place to cook, buy bagged, frozen chicken and store it in your freezer. Always make sure you’re getting the best value for the food you buy.
In that vein, remember to keep an eye on the
price per ounce, not the total price. A lot of grocery stores will make it look like you’re getting a better deal by buying the bigger item, but don’t be so easily fooled. To the right of the price tag there’s always a smaller number that shows how much you’re paying per ounce. When comparative shopping, that’s your most important figure.
Cook in Bulk
Make two pounds of pasta and store leftovers in the fridge for a few days.
Cook five chicken breasts and turn whatever you don’t eat into sandwich meat. Make stir-fry for two nights. Make
Spaghetti Carbonara for dinner and eat the rest for breakfast since there’s egg, bacon and starch in there. There’s no sense in cooking for just one night when you’re leading a busy life already. If you plan ahead, you won’t be rushing out to the pizza shop when you’re in a rush, since you’ve got that meal already cooked back at home.
Eat-In Late Night
Not that we condone the excessive use of alcohol or anything, but in college life there does tend to be the situation in which students who have a little too much fun on the weekends choose to stuff their face with late night food from the nearest wing spot or pizza parlor.
Our advice: cut it out! Not only is it pretty bad for you, since you’re loading up with empty calories right before you put your body to rest, but you’re killing your wallets. Go home and eat something out of your fridge instead. Odds are it’s healthier, and you’ll wake up relieved to find a few more dollars in your pocket.
Find Campus Kitchens and Grills
All schools have ‘em, and if you don’t have a kitchen in your dorm room or apartment, it’s pretty likely that you’ll be able to find a public-use kitchen somewhere around campus. At my college you could find a usable kitchen in two different dorms and one cooperative living house, and there were grills situated all around campus for cooking burger meat, steaks or chicken.
Of course, it helps if you’re a good cook, but even if you’re inexperienced you can quickly figure out how to take control in the kitchen. You can even make it a social event. Bring friends over and cook for them (make sure they’re chipping in for their share or else the practice is pretty useless) or organize potluck dinners. You’d be surprised how much money you can save when you whip a few tasty ingredients together.