<p>I'm a poor out-of-state student who will attend Berkeley this fall. I need to budget my food expenses for next year and was wondering if you guys could help me out by estimating how much money I should allot toward food per week or per month (I have never done this before since I have always lived at home). Anyway, I only plan on eating enough to survive and so my mind would work.</p>
<p>Here's a general idea of what I plan on eating (mainly healthy food): whole-grain wheat pasta/bread, lots of veggies, fruits, grilled chicken breast, lean meat, and pretty much anything nutritious but not ridiculously expensive. </p>
<p>I'll have breakfast set, though, since I'll be bringing oatmeal and a lot of almonds/raisins from home. So I guess each day I'll only need lunch, dinner, and two light snacks (likely veggies and fruits). And if it's relevant, I plan on eating 1,300 calories in all each day.</p>
<p>How much money do you think I should allot for food each week or month? Also, if you have any budgeting tips, I would appreciate hearing them.</p>
<p>I thank you for taking the time to read this. :)</p>
<p>You could probably get by on ~$150/month. I probably spend around $250, but I eat out once every 3 days or so and buy coffee/pastries almost daily.</p>
<p>There’s a Sam’s club in Concord (about 13 miles from Cal) and a Costco in Richmond (about 11 miles from Cal.) I would strongly recommend getting a membership to one or both (I tend to get my food from a combination of Sam’s/Trader Joe’s/whatever supermarket) and my household items from Cotsco. Don’t forget to factor in household stuff… you need things like tissues, toilet paper, toothpaste, etc.</p>
<p>Do all of you guys cook and have cars?? For me who do not know how to cook and don’t have a car, i have to rely on skipping meals (1 meal per day) to keep the cost to $200 - $300. =( I really hope someone can give some advices and maybe suggest some economical places to eat near campus.</p>
<p>I wish I had a wok. Trying to cook with a little pan from IKEA is just not cutting it for me. I don’t think having a car up in Berkeley is worth it for any reason. I’d think it would be way too much of a hassle. The bus system can take you pretty much anywhere and you’re only limited by what you can carry by hand.</p>
<p>If you live off campus there’s no hassle in having a car, as obviously wherever you live would supply parking. I didn’t learn how to cook until I moved out, and I’m still terrible at it. But you can learn to bake chicken breasts pretty easily, I cook about 6 pounds at a time so I’m good for two days. Just mess around in the kitchen, you’ll get the hang of things.</p>
<p>Never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry.
Pick and choose when to eat out when friends and when not to.
If you don’t mind pre-heated food, order two servings during lunch specials and save one for dinner
Shop at Berkley Bowl for produce and Trader Joes for other staples if you want to be healthy. Avoid Safeway for produce, specifically broccoli, and Whole Foods for their ridiculous prices.
Buy bulk grains before the semester starts. I got a huge bag of brown rice from 99 Ranch for around ~$12 that lasted two semesters.</p>
<p>If you don’t know how to cook, you can always learn to cook! The idea is really quite simple: make sure food is clean/edible, heat food up sufficiently, and keep it simple until you’re an expert.</p>
<p>You can get by comfortably on $150/mo if you budget correctly. When I go to the supermarkets, I tend to look for what generally hovers around $0.10/oz, or just slightly more than $1.50/lb. I then analyze everything in the big picture and see if I have a balanced diet. If not, I try to see if I can substitute something cheaply – usually, vitamin pills are the solution.</p>