COst of college students to EAT in their own apartment???

[marcyinPA]

When I moved into my own apartment, the best thing I did was work in the dining hall on campus. I ate most of my meals there- for free. When I did have to shop for food, I was not buying anything fantastic. Truth be told, back in the late 80's, my diet was not stellar. I probably spent less than $50 a week.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Wow. That's our food budget for all 4 of us at home per week.

Me too...

My son lived in an apartment for 3 years at college, on my dime, and his biggest problem was he kept trying to fix meals with receipes off Food Network. He actually called be from Safeway to ask me if I knew that Whole Vanilla Beans were $12.....and I asked what on earth he needed vanilla beans for? I asked, "how much is the vanilla extract?" "$1.99 " was the response, Bingo, that's what you're buying.

My husband is like this too. He loves making recipes from the Wall Street Journal with expensive ingredients. I have banned him from going to the grocery store alone, but sometimes he sneaks out. Last month he bought a $25 jar of pine nuts! Pine nuts!!!!!

 

[shortbun]

I remember living on pasta, butter, a dozen eggs and a lb of bacon for two weeks. The next two weeks, I switched to peanut butter and jelly, carrots and bananas. I have recall that those splurges cost me about $10 for two weeks.

 

[Skatermom23]

I have two in college and both live in their own apartments. They generally spend about $35-40 a week on average. The girl child spends more sometimes when she has to buy shampoos/conditioner etc.

My kids usually cook two meals a week and then have leftovers. Examples would be: Chili, Spaghetti, Tacos, Chicken. They have hot dogs and hamburgers in the freezer along with a few lean cuisines for quick meals. They buy lots of grapes and apples. My DD eats lots of sandwiches and a loaf of bread can last two weeks in the frig. She buys packaged lunch meat which also lasts longer. Breakfast is mostly cereal and milk. I usually send care packages of snack items like granola bars and chips every 3 weeks or so. Believe me, neither of them is starving!!

 

[skatalite]

While in college I was able to eat on about $20 a week. Once I discovered the slow cooker, my life got infinitely better. I'd buy a bunch of stuff, toss it in the cooker, and have food for most of the week.

If my parents sent me $400 a month for food, I would've been in hog heaven.

 

[disykat]

We're planning on $200 a month which we anticipate won't quite cover it. He can supplement with his own money as needed, but if he wants to really economize he could probably make it.

If he had wanted more food money he could have found an apartment with more roommates rather than having his own room. He goes to school in the city and apartment living can be more expensive than the dorm and food plan unless you find a two bedroom four people can live in etc. Our deal with our kids is that after the first year or two of the dorm, we'll only give enough money for the cheaper option, so we're giving him what the dorm costs. His expenses will be slightly higher.

 

[Art 1]

Wow. That's our food budget for all 4 of us at home per week.

My son lived in an apartment for 3 years at college, on my dime, and his biggest problem was he kept trying to fix meals with receipes off Food Network. He actually called be from Safeway to ask me if I knew that Whole Vanilla Beans were $12.....and I asked what on earth he needed vanilla beans for? I asked, "how much is the vanilla extract?" "$1.99 " was the response, Bingo, that's what you're buying.

I saw some brown dust on a plate not long ago. I figured I would be nice and clean the plate, this was about a month ago. Later I heard a shriek in the kitchen. My lady asked where did her chopped vanilla go? Well, she pulled the jar out of the garbage and off to Publix I went. Ouch, I could not believe what a jar of those beans cost.

 

[Callie]

My mom gives me $100 a month for food and other apartment supplies. Lets just say I spend way over that. Its almost to the point its cheaper to eat fast food than cook at home.

Also, you need to take into account freezer space. If she has a roommate, its harder to stock up!

 

[AustinTink]

I remember living on pasta, butter, a dozen eggs and a lb of bacon for two weeks. The next two weeks, I switched to peanut butter and jelly, carrots and bananas. I have recall that those splurges cost me about $10 for two weeks.

This was me. Plus the occasional can of tuna mixed with noodles and mayo. So gourmet!

My big splurge was the Little Caesar's personal pan pizza deal. Two little pizzas for $1.99. That was 2-3 dinners for me.

 

[clh2]

OP back (again) - I know for a fact that there is "no way" that she would take a job anywhere close to the dining hall. She is so done with the dorm food. Her school offers a commuter meal plan - for ~$500 per semester - whish is approximately about what lunch would cost for the semester. DD can't stand the dorm food, so while she might occasionally get something to eat there (if she would be meeting friends)- she would be better just paying cash for those days.

I'm not so worried about the "add-ons" i.e. laundry soap, shampoo, etc, as those items are already being purchased, so they aren't an additional expense.

And - while the $100 a week sounds really generous - DD is going to need to come up with her own "adult beverage" money. Probably won't be an issue until she turns 21.

 

[PatsGirl]

Short answer $75/week. Either make it work or supplement it yourself. I feed three of us (two adults and a teen) breakfast/lunch/dinner for at least five days, all our household items, and two cats for $150/week.

There's no time like the present to learn how to budget

 

[Northstar]

DD is trying to come up with a budget for "food" if she lives off campus and would not be required to take a dorm-food plan.

So - she is curious - how much should she budget for food - and she asked me to ask all of you...

So - if any of you have some opinions on this - please share

Thanks all!

Because she's trying to come up with a budget, maybe it would be a good idea for her to keep a food diary for a while? Writing down everything she eats. Then you could help her estimate cost based on that.

Or, if she is currently enjoying the benefits of your fully-stocked kitchen, another thing to do is to inventory the pantry and identify the things she'd want to have on hand at all times.... spices and staples.. and the things she could do without.

I'd be inclined to say $100/week for food, toiletries, and household supplies like toilet paper and dishwashing soap. That would be pretty comfortable and allow a little splurge now and then.

If she doesn't have that much money, of course she could do it much cheaper. It would just mean careful use of available resources.

 

[tvguy]

For some reason it has stuck in my head that it was your son who said drinks in Europe were something like 10 euro with his meals. NOW it seems so obvious this is not a kid who understands looking around for budget items

Actually it was 5 euros in a restaurant in Spain 5 years ago.

My daughter just finished orientation in preparation for studying for a year in England, and they say to expect to pay 4 pounds for a 355 Ml (12 ounce) coke (about $6 U.S.).

 

[NHdisneylover]

Actually it was 5 euros in a restaurant in Spain 5 years ago.

My daughter just finished orientation in preparation for studying for a year in England, and they say to expect to pay 4 pounds for a 355 Ml (12 ounce) coke (about $6 U.S.).

I found it, it was 8 Dollars, which is over 6 Euro, but even at 5 euro that is more than anything but a major tourist trap charges. I have never paid more than 4 euro in Spain and usually 2.5-3.5, even when we are in Barcelona. The point was--this kid seems like he might not care much to look for better prices

and, the exchange rate is nutty going to pounds, but where the heck are they sending these students to eat. Their college kids right? Nandos or Wawas or other inexpesnive but good places still charge about 2.50 (and Nandos has unlimited refills BTW) and even at never places which cater towards tourists I have never seen more than 3 pound 50 for a drink in London.


OP---maybe the take away from the above is to make sure your DD knows how to price out a few venues in her area when she eats out and factor in the cost of drinks (or enjoy that lovely free water---something we do not have in Germany ) and make sure your DD knows to look for generics, etc when shopping.

How close to home will she live? When we were in college my mother in law often bought my then boyfriend (now my husband) extras from Costco or when there was a sale and she'd send him up with a big load of groceries every time he went home for a visit (every 6 weeks or so). She had more time and ability (with a car, etc) to gab good deals and go to many stores to get the bargain. Then he only had to get fresh meats, produce and dairy to fill in.

 

[tvguy]

I found it, it was 8 Dollars, which is over 6 Euro, but even at 5 euro that is more than anything but a major tourist trap charges. I have never paid more than 4 euro in Spain and usually 2.5-3.5, even when we are in Barcelona. The point was--this kid seems like he might not care much to look for better prices

and, the exchange rate is nutty going to pounds, but where the heck are they sending these students to eat. Their college kids right? Nandos or Wawas or other inexpesnive but good places still charge about 2.50 (and Nandos has unlimited refills BTW) and even at never places which cater towards tourists I have never seen more than 3 pound 50 for a drink in London.

.

It was a high school trip and he had to eat where the teacher took them.
The price list for my daughter is the "non-profit" student dining hall.
My favorite charge is for a TV license for the TV in their dorm room....$100. I had forgotten there is no free TV in Great Britian.

 

[clh2]

OP---maybe the take away from the above is to make sure your DD knows how to price out a few venues in her area when she eats out and factor in the cost of drinks (or enjoy that lovely free water---something we do not have in Germany ) and make sure your DD knows to look for generics, etc when shopping.

How close to home will she live? When we were in college my mother in law often bought my then boyfriend (now my husband) extras from Costco or when there was a sale and she'd send him up with a big load of groceries every time he went home for a visit (every 6 weeks or so). She had more time and ability (with a car, etc) to gab good deals and go to many stores to get the bargain. Then he only had to get fresh meats, produce and dairy to fill in.

She'll be about 4.5 hours away. So while we'll get her initially stocked up - (i.e. a reasonable selection of spices), some basic baking items (flour, sugar, salt, oil etc) It will not be practical for us to replenish through out the year.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

I would say she should be able to buy enough food and supplies for $100 a week.

I am not the most frugal person myself. I spend about $150 a week just to feed 3 ppl. Some weeks more.

If she likes Ramen noodles she can eat for about $10 a week! You can buy a box of 12 for $3. Some ppl can't stand them but my kids really like them. They probably won't by the time they go to college.

 

[Robinrs]

I send my daughter $100 per week.

Will you adopt me?

I never spend that much for my entire family.

Hi, Dad!!

 

[Art 1]

Will you adopt me?

I never spend that much for my entire family.

Hi, Dad!!

Hey, that would be cool. Only the baby would be upset since now she would only get $50.

 

[fr spodo komodo]

In college I spent roughly $100 per month.My dad sent $150 per week.My spendings were so low because I occasionally forgot to eat