<p>$200/month is plenty for food, if you’re frugal and know how to cook. My food budget is consistently under $200, and I’m not even trying (coming from a 6’2", 180 lb male).</p>
<p>And this is with no meal plan.</p>
<p>@ Slorg: I agree that that’s entirely possible. I’ve been surviving off of Ramen and LOTS of vegetables over the summer along with eggs, bread, and spaghetti with sauce. In total, I’d say a $40 can last me about 2.5 weeks. That being said, if you’re in any way picky with your meals or you suck at cooking, I wouldn’t try this unless you (<em>cough</em> your parents) need to save money.</p>
<p>200 a month is plenty; i hit about 100-150 myself. i was saying 200 for 5 months. i’m not so sure about 40 for 2.5 weeks…you must be eating a lot of ramen :)</p>
<p>@ Batman17: Yeah, actually I am; at least one bowl a day. But hey, how many other students here can say they lived exclusively off of their own income, completely independent of their parents?</p>
<p>@chaolin…i know i’m going to sound like a mom right now, but hey, take care of yourself. make sure you get all the nutrients (food pyramid…)</p>
<p>$200 for five months is ridiculous. You must be eating trash, losing weight, or else attending a lot of free food events. :)</p>
<p>2000 calories/day * 150 days / $200 = 1500 calories per dollar</p>
<p>Best deal I’ve seen on a per-dollar basis is about 1000kcal/$ for whole milk and beef back ribs, but I’d imagine that more-processed stuff could get better than that.</p>
<p>I’m still stabilizing my budget; last month was a festival of horrible spending choices and accidents and I went up around $1k. Monthly income is currently $600, though that’s going to ~double once I start work in the fall. Right now I’m at about $400/mo for food expenses, but I think it’s worth noting that I cook all of my own food from scratch, so I’m running more than necessary (fortunately, I don’t buy a whole lot of other stuff, so…).</p>
<p>EDIT: I should perhaps also note that I probably also eat 2-3x what most people do.</p>
<p>I’m WAY pickier with my food than you guys are, apparently. Even though I cook most of the time, my food bill ends up being around $250 a month. Considering that’s about $6 a day, it’s still reasonable; eating out would be at least twice as much. My only problem is that I end up cooking really fancy things - hey, might as well develop my cooking technique for the future, right? Also, I can’t stand ramen (haven’t had a bowl since going to college!)</p>
<p>I ended up spending about $2000 for the whole year, I be-weave? Most of that was for like, toiletries, school supplies (damn chem books…), clothes, and eating out (the Bay Area has some amazing restaurants. You guys should really try some of them, or you’re missing out on one of the best food areas in the country.) Food probably took up the greatest percent, actually. When you’ve just finished a midterm, a 12-page paper, or you just want a late-night snack, who wants to go to the dining commons?</p>
<p><a href=“haven’t%20had%20a%20bowl%20since%20going%20to%20college!”>i</a>*</p>
<p>In this base so hard. Helps that I’m damn close to being a carnivore, but still.</p>