<p>I know the five day all access is recommended for first year students, but I wanted to know if anyone would recommend declining balance for first year, on-campus freshman.</p>
<p>If possible I would also like some pros and cons about all meal plans.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>gpowsang</p>
<p>When my daughter lived on campus her freshman year (Broward Hall), we got her the declining balance only…not the meal plan. This turned out to be ideal. We put enough money in it (and were able to add if needed online). After about two weeks, she stopped eating in Broward dining (the food is mediocre and boring) and started getting sandwiches at Beatty Market or eating at the Reitz, or one of the on campus places. So glad we didn’t waste our money (which you cannot get back) on a meal plan. The declining balance account is good for all four years (it carries over) at UF!</p>
<p>Interesting… Would you say you saved money with declining balance? (the all acess meal plans are about $3200 a year.)</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>We saved a ton of money with declining balance. Instead of spending the full cost of a meal plan, we put about $1000 into her declining balance initially. I would say that we maybe added a few hundred to the account second semester…my daughter used the DB everywhere on campus that she could…we had lots of starbucks charges. When and if she did a meal at Broward or Gator corner dining hall, she swiped her card (for $7.45 I believe). She NEVER ate there more than 3 or 4 times in a week.</p>
<p>Was the $1000 used for all her food/meal needs for one semester? Or did she spend other money she had. Besides food, what else can you use the declining balance on?</p>
<p>WOW seiclan, that seems amazing!</p>
<p>It appears that you did not spend more in ONE year than what a SINGLE semester meal plan would have cost (about 1500-1600)</p>
<p>Now I really think I am set on going with declining balance then!</p>
<p>THANKS</p>
<p><em>S</em></p>
<p>Alright, let me lay down some reality on you when it comes to meal plans and eating while living on campus in general. </p>
<p>First off… i think the general comparison between declining balance and meal plans is almost nonexistant. Declining balance is the same thing as PAYING… its just in a different form. There is no discount or savings when it comes to it. Almost everywhere that accepts declining balance will also accept credit cards and plain money. You are basically asking the same question as… “should i get a meal plan or not”… that is the REAL question. The only purpose of a meal plan is saving money when you go to the same places regularly on campus to eat. If you plan on eating consistently on campus then a meal plan is worth it. </p>
<p>Its not that hard to decide if you want a meal plan or not. Most kids only have trouble after deciding beacuse they don’t know their options and when they come to find out what they are THEN the meal plan becomes a value or waste. If you are going to be like most people and eat 3-4 meals a day and you are willing to eat what is served in Gator Corner, Broward Dining, and Home Zone during their hours then either meal plan would work great for you. And now with the way meal plans are designed you can actually eat a lot more and not get charged more if you eat more than that in a day. Though, if you only expect to eat at these places only 3-4 times a week then the meal plan would be a waste.</p>
<p>You have to keep in mind that none of these places are open past 9 pm. There are many dates on which these places delay opening until 10 am. There are dates where they close early at around 4 pm. The choices at all the on campus dining places are limited to a degree. These reasons are what really keep students not wanting to use their meal plans… ultimately ending up wasting them.</p>
<p>Remember if you live on campus you will frequently be eating at either a dining hall or eating out. Cooking is just not feasible and MOST students dont do real cooking (zapping instant stuff in the microwave is not cooking but some students eat that way on a frequent basis throughout the day instead of taking in regular meals). So if the dining hall is closed, its a weekend and you are on a 5 day meal plan, if you are going out with your friends to eat, or if you just dont feel like eating at the dining hall you will most likely eat out somewhere, whether it be off campus or on campus and this would require money that is NOT from your meal plan; therefore extra cost to what you originally paid to eat for a semester.</p>
<p>AND… either way… if you DONT choose a meal plan and you want to eat while living on campus as if you do have meal plan, ie not eating food you cooked yourself, then you will spend as if you still are on a meal plan, whether it be through declining balance or any other form of payment. For instance:</p>
<p>Sally the UF student does not have a meal plan. On a typical day she goes to Einsteins Bagels for breakfast, Subway for lunch, and Chipotle for dinner where she spends 5, 6, and 7 dollars respectively. On an exceptional day she eats Einsteins for breakfast, Gator dining for lunch, goes to the Swamp for dinner, and has coffee at starbucks where she spends 5, 7, 10, and 4 dollars respectively. On an atypical day Sally will cook 2 of her meals using 5 dollars spent on groceries and eat her fourth meal somewhere on campus for 6 dollars. On a free day she will be at home and eat her parent’s food for free. In a 30 day month Sally has 15 typical days, 8 atypical days, 4 exceptional days, and 3 free days. Sally spends 462 dollars a month to eat. In a 16 week semester she spends 1707 dollars which is an average price of a meal plan.</p>
<p>Think about these things. In my honest opinion i DO NOT think the meal plans are worth it, despite the changes they made to it, and im not on one anymore and never will be again. i would rather live off campus with a kitchen and cook my own meals than live on campus and eat expensive food whenever the vendors are open. Even having a meal plan, the same food over and over again gets old.</p>
<p>mystifire: Eating repetitively at dining halls makes me fear the food there would get old. That is why I am leaning on declining balance. My parents already bought me a small, simple rice cooker.</p>
<p>Also seiclan, did she cook any of her own food?</p>
<p>one of mystifire’s main points was that declining balance is no different than paying with cash/debt.</p>
<p>i’m going on the 150 meal plan first semester just to see for myself the value of a meal plan. right now it seems pointless, but it would be a nice luxury i think to have for once.</p>
<p>to save money, i plan on buying the plan without the flexbux, which i asked about is “absolutely an option”.</p>
<p>My daughter only cooked microwave popcorn and the occational frozen dinner. Her roommate however, used the floor kitchen all the time (making pasta, eggs and other things).</p>