I’m hungry. And writing about food is making me even hungrier, so I’ll make this short and sweet. We all need to eat. Almost all of us are broke. All of us don’t have huge refrigerators, fully functional kitchens, or budgets that can afford constant take-out. So I’m here with a weekly series that will help you save money, and I can think of no better way to start it than with food. Because I’m hungry.
These tips will cover eating for all college life styles: meal plan, no meal plan, commuters, grocery shopping lovers (maybe that’s just me) and whomever likes to eat cheaply. And healthily. I won’t advocate for cheap, gross, unhealthy eating here.
Tip #1: Clip your coupons! Coupons aren’t just for grocery shoppers. Just since the semester started I’ve found coupons for popular restaurants like Noodles & Co. and Qdoba that have been great deals. Restaurant coupons can be found in the coupon booklets in the newspaper stands outside the Union, in The Daily Tar Heel, as well as online at websites like this one. Grocery coupon advice to come in a later post!
Tip #2: The Phree Phood listserv. If you’re not on this listserv, you’re paying for too much food. Every week I can find at least one event that fits my schedule, my interests, and my appetite. For how to join and the Facebook link, click here.
Tip #3: Set a budget for eating out and always pay in cash. I personally keep an envelope of cash that I have allotted for eating out for the whole semester. Having to take money physically out of my stash reminds me how much I have left and makes me think twice about whether another take-out meal will be worth it. The budget amount is up to you and your needs, of course.
Tip #4: Grocery shop. Even a little bit. I’ll write another post about saving money by grocery shopping later, but this can significantly reduce the amount of money you spend on food. For example, buying your own breakfast cereal and milk will save you tons of money when you compare it to a dining hall or restaurant breakfast. Every little bit helps.
Tip #5: Cut your meal plan down to your exact needs. Freshman year, I thought I would need 200 meals a semester. Well, by the time exams rolled around, I was feeding hungry seniors because I had almost 80 unspent meals remaining. Now, I’m not advocating drastic cuts. Just do some math to figure out exactly how many meals you’ll use in a week and consider how much you want to pay for them.
So there you have it. Hungry yet? Time to go use my free chips and queso coupon at Qdoba!
Feel free to leave a comment here or @PitTalk with your money saving ideas for food.
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