My estimate of college spending. How do YOU finance living and housing?

Student Lounge College Life
21

<p>And here I am feeling bad whenever I spend $1 for a McDonald’s parfait!</p>

<p>One really good way to save money on food is to not buy the first thing you see. More often than not there’s always a cheaper option that will taste just as good. Buy store brand foods- they’re really not that bad. If you really want to save money buy something that you can cook that will still be good another day or two so you can just eat the left overs for your next meals. </p>

<p>Typically students buy meal plans since a lot of students live on campus and are required to. These are crazy expensive enough at around $1000 or so a semester, and those are just what I’ve seen at the average state school around here. You could always start basing your budget around that so you’re seeing how much the average student at your school really spends on expenses.</p>

22

<p>i’ve been living on my own for the past 2 months, i spent roughly ~$400 on food and spent some on misc…
so basically a total of $500 for living, excluding the rent.</p>

<p>You need to learn how to manage… >.<</p>

23

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<p>Er, define “frequently?” During the school year, I think I eat out, on average, about 2-3 times a month at decent restaurants ($15-20/meal). The rest of the time, I either “cook” (i.e., making the most basic meals possible) or get takeout (which usually happens when I’m stressed).</p>

<p>And if seafood is a regular part of your diet, then I guess that would partially explain your higher expenses. I don’t know too many college students who regularly eat seafood.</p>