New Apartment Budget

[momofrrr]

Our DD19 will be moving off campus this school year and into her first apartment. She will be sharing with three other girls. I have no idea what to budget weekly/monthly for food. I would love to know what your students' budget was and if it worked. We bought a small dining plan so that when she is on campus, either for class or at the library, she can take a break and eat lunch or get a snack but it is not enough to feed her for the entire semester.

 

[VroomVroomLightning]

As far as food goes it depends on if the girls are going to cook meals together or are they all going to have seperate food? I would find out if the girls have any idea on how this is going to work and then go from there!

 

[AlwaysMoving]

What would it cost you to eat if you were living alone? I would use that as a guide. Really, 19 year olds don't make family meals. They are more into grab and go stuff like cereal, salads, sandwiches, etc. Ask her what she would expect to eat now that she will have access to a stove. She will need to learn budget eating anyway, because she will not have mom and dad to feed her forever, so now would be a good opportunity to teach her to spend food money wisely.

 

[laura.anne]

I'm 20 and just finishing up my first year of living in an apartment... my monthly food budget is $120. I also coupon a little and work at the grocery store I shop at (so I get an employee discount) so a more flexible food budget (to me) would fall around the $140-$150 range. I also have a monthly house stuff/personal care budget of $25.
When I first moved in, my roommate (I only had one) and I were best friends and I thought we would be cooking a lot together... this was NOT the case. By the second week I had learned only to shop for myself. That's the biggest piece of advice I can give you and your daughter. I'd reinforce that, except for when they all bake things like brownies and cookies together or whatever, your DD is shopping for herself only, so she doesn't really need to worry about making sure there's enough to go around. I would also advise, if she and her roommates share a bathroom, that they talk about how to split up toilet paper costs and cleaning costs. I thought that wouldn't be a big deal for me and my roommate until I realized I was buying the toilet paper... every single time we ran out... it was very frustrating.

 

[Sagginit]

it is also going to vary by what foods she eats. I'm GF so my food budget is always higher than my other single friends. if she eats organic, it will be higher. if she drinks water over soda/sports drinks etc. that may lower it. depending on where you live once she stocks up on basics i would say at least $40-$60 a week. as stated college kids tend to be short on time/patience in the kitchen and processed foods can cost more than fresh ingredients. unless you teach her to coupon.......