COA: How much does it cost to eat like a poor college student these days? Forum

[laqueredup]

Not really a scholarship question, but this still seemed to be the most fitting forum to ask the question. What are people estimating for their board expenses when calculating overall COA? I know I'll be living more cheaply once I lose my income, but wondering what more recent college students are budgeting for this.

[Colonel_funkadunk]

max coa, max debts n livin large

i.e. most schools should have an estimation of living expenses on their sites

[TakeItToTrial]

Not really a scholarship question, but this still seemed to be the most fitting forum to ask the question. What are people estimating for their board expenses when calculating overall COA? I know I'll be living more cheaply once I lose my income, but wondering what more recent college students are budgeting for this.

Not a poor college student, but I am rent-poor. Currently eating on $200/month in downtown Seattle.

[LoganCouture]

Currently eating on ~$300-350/month in CA, for two people. We cook basically every meal though (although not particularly cost conscious with respect to groceries) so cost would be quite a bit higher if we were dining out, getting fast food etc.

[waldorf]

Not really a scholarship question, but this still seemed to be the most fitting forum to ask the question. What are people estimating for their board expenses when calculating overall COA? I know I'll be living more cheaply once I lose my income, but wondering what more recent college students are budgeting for this.

I budget 350-400 a month for groceries, eating out, and drinking. I'm allergic to a LOT of foods, though, so my diet is more restricted and I have to eat pretty healthy, which adds up. I probably eat out once a week, go out drinking about once or twice a week, but I live in a college town, so it's easy for me to find cheap drink specials and things like BOGO appetizers and $3 cheeseburgers.

So, I'd say probably $75 a week, and I eat pretty well although I eat out rarely and pack my lunch, etc. The biggest savings comes from packing a lunch and not eating out everyday. I had a bad habit in college of just grabbing a $7 sandwich or something everyday on campus instead of packing a lunch. It really adds up.

[smow4029]

Not a student, but I've been living on a non-profit salary in DC (one of the most expensive cities in the country) for 3 years. I spend, on average, between $30 and $70 a week on groceries, splitting costs with my SO (so our bill usually ranges between $70 at its lowest and $140 at its highest). We make soup for lunch every day of the work week, cook large meals to last at least 3 days each, buy value packs if we're cooking with meat (if you have to do chicken, look for the value packs because the savings are immense), etc. We eat healthy but cheaply, and I supplement any lack of protein or substance with protein shakes a couple times a week, particularly when we're training for our next half marathon. If you don't mind setting aside time to cook for yourself, and cooking in big batches (to avoid eating the same meal many days in a row, I used to cook two large but different meals and then alternate between them throughout the week), then you can save a lot of money.