<p>I had to pop for 5 meals a week in the dining hall (he loves the food and ease of it) and a grill. Lives in a frat so most cooking is in the room because the kitchen is really gross. The grill outside helps to keep him off the frozen food.He does get 300 a month for food on top of the dining card, but after the first 6 weeks i began to suspect that he was saving his food money for surf jaunts. Seems he still thinks “his” money should be for his pleasure. I’m working on it.</p>
<p>When our oldest moved off-campus, we gave him the same amount as we would have paid for the school’s room and board, with the firm understanding that it had to last the semester. It’s up to them to manage it. It doesn’t take long to learn the value of cooking and eating at home. His school offers a discount for buying meal cards, so he did invest in enough points for one meal a day on campus.</p>
<p>You may have already done this, but if not…Current students from DD’s university CC site were invaluable. They knew what things cost, and what would most likely be her expenses from her rental. We then used that information to determine her budget, as it was more site specific.
APOL-a mom</p>
<p>After I read the posts on this thread, I became concerned that S2 was spending too little on food ($25 per week, not counting staples that were bought at the beginning of the school year). So I called S1 who has his own apartment and has been working for two years. He says he’s spending an average of $30 a week. Granted, neither are adventurous cooks, and they don’t make use of ready-made meals, but neither do they subsist on ramen noodles or macaroni and cheese.</p>
<p>^^I have a meal plan but tend to eat only once or twice a week in the cafeteria, and $25 a week sounds like about what I spend on groceries (though I only shop once a month). I only eat two or three different dinners a week and just eat leftovers the rest of the week, and lunch/breakfast are bagels and sandwiches or cereal. I think in some places you can eat pretty decently like that if you are willing to sacrifice variety to an extent for quality.</p>
<p>DD spends $50 a week or less on all of her grocery items including toiletries. She shops at a combination of places…Trader Joes, Target, and Costco. The Costco items are for things that are shared expenses with her housemates. She shops about once every three weeks. She tells me that she has more than ample money and feels she eats very well. She lives in a major metro area…that is expensive.</p>
<p>Indeed, my S does pretty much the same thing as Twistedxkiss. His breakfast consists of milk and cereals. A big improvement on when he was in college (on full meal plan) and skipped breakfast altogether. He makes his own sandwiches. He also cooks a few times a week and eats leftovers the rest of the time. He’s not being stingy, just not interested in cooking fancy meals. Sometimes, he comes home quite late, and it’s a real convenience to have ready to heat leftovers.
Another thing is that he is a guy, so he does not spend much on toiletries.</p>