<p>My D will be off the meal plan next year and living with four other girls. They supposedly will be shopping and cooking for themselves, and perhaps going out for the occasional meal. She will not be on the college's meal plan at all. My question is how much should I budget for her to feed herself over the 2009-2010 school year? She is a varsity athlete (about 130llbs) and likes the really healthy foods, salads, fruits, whole grain, pasta... that type stuff. The schools meal plan was a bit over four grand and her school is on the quad system which means she is there about 245 days a year.</p>
<p>Ask her how much her average meal per day is (or perhaps you figure that out since you are used to cooking/shopping). Multiply that by 245.</p>
<p>My daughter will also be living off campus spring 2010. I think we will start with what we would normally pay for full meal plan. The last place I want my daughter to skim on is her food. She likes fresh fruit and salad, and sometimes that could cost more than meat. She understands she will pay for meals out. We will see how it goes and adjust accordingly.</p>
<p>My daughter is a VERY healthy eater. She spends less than $200 a month on food.</p>
<p>I find something between $45-$55 per week to enough.</p>
<p>My daughter’s full meal plan is 2900/semester, which equates to ~145/week, that’s probably on the high side for food.</p>
<p>Wow! 200 per month. If that were the case our out of pocket for food would be cut in half (as compared to the 4K meal plan). I think the college plan equates to about $16 per day.</p>
<p>Yeah, the college meal plan tends to be much more expensive than eating actually costs. I remember figuring out freshman year that I could eat out (cheap but decent food, like a local sandwich shop) for cheaper than I was paying for the meal plan.</p>
<p>My meal plan actually is $49/week (we get a set number of dollars every week to spend at campus eateries, and it restarts every Sunday); I think the larger meal plan is…$65 a week, maybe?</p>
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<p>Sure, someone has to make the menus, shop for the food, cook the food and clean up. D and her roommates will be providing that labor for free now. Board costs should definitely decrease. Plus it is great life experience!</p>
<p>My daughter’s meal plan costs $120/week. This summer, when she is cooking for herself, I estimated about $50/week – and that is about what she is spending. </p>
<p>The first couple weeks might be more, to stock up on spices and other staples (flour, sugar). And the cost to buy pots, pans, etc., if needed.</p>
<p>Beware the beverage trap. My kids learned the hard way that water is free; soda at every meal can easily double your food costs. Plus my hard-core coffee drinker learned very quickly how to brew a Starbucks quality cup for .20 vs. $3 at a cafe.</p>
<p>But accept the fact that most of the food shopping and prep mistakes will occur within the first two weeks (i.e. experienced parents know that if you buy the big bag of snacks expecting it to last longer, it gets eaten just as quickly as a smaller bag; kids need to learn this on their own nickel!). By October most of the kinks and expensive mistakes will be ironed out.</p>
<p>Sort of on this note, my D will also be in an apt. for the first time this fall and is starting out the first quarter with a minimum meal plan - “x” amount of dollars to be used at 3 different dining options on/off campus that can be used throughout the year. She does figure she will do most eating in her apt. I have been trying to build a “stock” supply of starter items each time I go to the grocery store this summer - spices, baking basics, etc. - stuff that can be bought ahead and are basics - so that those first trips to the store in the fall aren’t ridiculous in cost and in amount.</p>
<p>We set my son up in his first apartment this summer while he plays in a summer baseball league. As an athlete, he eats an amazing amount of food - roughly 5000 calories a day. To balance the budget out, my wife and I went with him to the store and loaded up the kitchen with staples - flour, sugar, oil, spices and the like (about $200 worth). We then planned on $15 a day to eat on (based upon what it costs us to feed him at home). We will see at the end of summer how that worked and use this as a guide for future living. If it were for longer than 2 months, we would have created an adjustment point after 2 months anyway.</p>
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<p>One place to get stuff on the cheap is at estate sales–the ones where an older person is going into assisted living and is selling the whole kit and caboodle. Check for expiration dates…</p>
<p>I don’t think my eating habits will change much when I go to college, and I figured out that I spend about $10-$12 on food a day (in the Midwest). Depending on where she’s going it’ll probably be different. I am a very unhealthy eater (mostly just fast food and cereal), but I eat out (fast food) a lot. If she were cooking for herself she’d probably spend a couple dollars a day less than me I would think.</p>
<p>If you live in an area of similar expense to where she’s going, see how much she spends a day there, and give her that.</p>
<p>My disclaimer - I don’t do grocery shopping, my husband does. I know how much he spends total for the month because I see the bill. I just went online to shop for grocery for one week for one person (slow day in the office).</p>
<p>I got 3 different kinds of lettuce, 2 vegs, 3 berries, 2 tofus, chai tea, potatoes, 4 lbs of meat (ground beef, steak, chicken, fish), milk, tea, orange juice, bread, one box of cereal, olive oil, kitchup. The total was 96.33. </p>
<p>Olive oil and kitchup (one time investment) were $13, but I didn’t order any toilet paper, paper towels or any cleaning stuff. Total cost of the meat was $32, but I didn’t order any lunch meat or food. The only breakfast food I ordered was a box of cereal, no eggs, bacon or pancake mix.</p>
<p>Anyone familiar with food costs in Evanston/near Chicago? DD plans to live off campus with some girlfriends, and I do not have a clue as to how much $$ I should budget. Can you help?</p>
<p>I just called H to ask him what he think should be the right amount, without telling him about my online shopping. He said tight around $100/week, with a bit extra $125. I told him that I got $96.</p>
<p>APOL - I don’t think food price varies much from one region to another. Try peapod.com, select food your daughter would eat to see what the total would be, take into account online grocery tends to be more expensive.</p>
<p>oldfort–thank you so very much! Good news-she just advised me she was successful in buying the previous roommates furniture-bedframe, mattress, bureau, and desk for $250. Now I won’t have to worry about her sleeping on the floor!</p>