STUDENTS: How much do you spend on groceries each month?

[applecheeks]

I know there are similar threads, but I'm looking for answers from students, not people who are buying groceries for the whole family.

So.. Approximately how much do you spend on groceries per month?

This is not including eating out. Just groceries alone. I'm wondering how much I should put aside for food this year, as I'm planning to cook most meals myself (as opposed to eating from a rez meal plan). I was thinking $250/month would be enough, but my boss was telling me that it would be at least $100/week. :( I've never bought my own groceries, so I'm not even sure what to expect...

Edit: sorry, not just students, but people who live alone and buy groceries & cook for themselves!

[CSR]

$40/week times 4-5 weeks.. $200 max

[speedyforme]

Well I'm not a student but I live alone and my "cooking" budget is only $160/month, but if you factor in savings from eating out, you can probably get away with $200.

[HighFlyer]

Not a student either.... $250 sounds reasonable even with a bottle of wine here and there. I plan my meals based on what's on sale that week.

[taylor192]

Food was never something I sacrificed on, even as a student. $100/week easily.

[RandomSanity]

Honestly it depends what you're used to. I grew up with a poor family, and during my college days I survived on instant noodles, cheap pizzas and kraft dinner for about $100 per month.

However my girlfriend grew up in a more privledged family and now that we're living together we spend around $300 per month on meals.

[SivaNevets]

groceries dont cost much (less than $200 for me/month)
eat outside really cost much. ($8 per meal)

[dux]

I am not a student anymore, but I spend between 50-75 a week. I try to buy things that are on sale and I completly skip the junk food section (i.e. chips, pop, ice cream, frozen pizza, etc)

$100 a month is a lot...

[kidflash23]

Not a student anymore but I spend about $200 per month.

[win-star]

I would say it depends on how much you eat, quality of food you want to eat and how much you eat. It varies through different people as some people eat less or more than other people, people eat high or low quality food than others ... so it varies on the person and other factors in it

[abu_sme]

Too much.
My food bill is usually around $300-400. That’s for one person. It was skewed though because I was buying a lot of one offs that I use over many months. Now I am probably spending around $30-40 a week.

[taylor192]

I'm impressed with the number of $50/week or less posts. I couldn't live like that, I spend about that on breakfast and morning snack:

1x $4 pineapple
2x $3 strawberries
1x $5 yogurt
1x $5 blueberries
1x $5 granola
1x $4 bagels
1x $2 bananas
1x $4 orange juice
==
$32

My breakfast is pineapple/strawberries/blueberries/yogurt/granola with a glass of OJ, then for a snack before lunch a toasted bagel and a banana. I am 6'2", 220 lbs and workout/run daily though :)

[applecheeks]

I would say it depends on how much you eat, quality of food you want to eat and how much you eat. It varies through different people as some people eat less or more than other people, people eat high or low quality food than others ... so it varies on the person and other factors in it

Well, yeah.. obviously :P But I was just wondering about the majority of you. I'm actually quite surprised the most votes are for under $200... but this is RFD right? LOL.. what do I expect?

[B0000rt]

I'm impressed with the number of $50/week or less posts. I couldn't live like that, I spend about that on breakfast and morning snack:

1x $4 pineapple
2x $3 strawberries
1x $5 yogurt
1x $5 blueberries
1x $5 granola
1x $4 bagels
1x $2 bananas
1x $4 orange juice
==
$32

My breakfast is pineapple/strawberries/blueberries/yogurt/granola with a glass of OJ, then for a snack before lunch a toasted bagel and a banana. I am 6'2", 220 lbs and workout/run daily though :)
????
You can buy a whole pineapple for $3.
You can buy two boxes of strawberries for $3
Greek Yogurt is $1 or less
Blueberries I never buy so don't know the price
Granola bars? $5 buys you two boxes
$4 buys you atleast 2 packs of bagels
Bananas are ~50-80cents a lbs, so that's 2.5-4lbs of bananas..
$4 buys you a gallon of Tropicana, not from concentrate

What the heck, you eat all that every morning? Or do you get ripped off with your breakfast?

[applecheeks]

????
You can buy a whole pineapple for $3.
You can buy two boxes of strawberries for $3
Greek Yogurt is $1 or less
Blueberries I never buy so don't know the price
Granola bars? $5 buys you two boxes
$4 buys you atleast 2 packs of bagels
Bananas are ~50-80cents a lbs, so that's 2.5-4lbs of bananas..
$4 buys you a gallon of Tropicana, not from concentrate

What the heck, you eat all that every morning? Or do you get ripped off with your breakfast?

How is that a lot? I'm pretty sure that's his breakfast for a WEEK...

[B0000rt]

How is that a lot? I'm pretty sure that's his breakfast for a WEEK...
Ah, that makes sense. $18 would be left over for Dinner a week, on a $50/week budget, not much.

[taylor192]

????
You can buy a whole pineapple for $3.
You can buy two boxes of strawberries for $3
Greek Yogurt is $1 or less
Blueberries I never buy so don't know the price
Granola bars? $5 buys you two boxes
$4 buys you atleast 2 packs of bagels
Bananas are ~50-80cents a lbs, so that's 2.5-4lbs of bananas..
$4 buys you a gallon of Tropicana, not from concentrate

What the heck, you eat all that every morning? Or do you get ripped off with your breakfast?

Out of season a pineapple is $5, in season on special $3
Out of season strawberries are $5/lb, in season on special 2x$5/lb
The large yogurt containers are $3-5, I prefer a certain brand that is $5
Granola, and fresh granola, not the boxed crap or bars
$4 does not buy 2x6 bagels.
$4 does not buy 4L of tropicana
7 bananas is > 2lbs.

Where do you shop? Prices are a little more expensive on the west coast, yet I just moved from Ontario and can tell you I've never seen the prices you're quoting.

[taylor192]

How is that a lot? I'm pretty sure that's his breakfast for a WEEK...
Kinda, I do eat out breakfast 1-2 a week too! :o

Its the downside to being in shape, you consume a lot more food, and a lot more for breakfast to get the day going. My dinners are smaller.

[CSK'sMom]

I voted for our son going away to school. We figure roughly $200 or under a month. We're sending him with enough food to completely stock his pantry cabinets and fridge/freezer to start off and then some. We also just found out today that hubby swung a deal with another produce buyer from the same town to send care packages of produce and other assorted "stuff" every other week. He'll even drop it off right at his rez. He's a health freak who does not eat junk food if that matters...

[deveritt]

$100 per week is ridiculous, unless you eat out a lot and are factoring that in. Usually this is how a term goes for me. Initial bill ~$200 or so....usually hit up Costco and stock up. After that inital purchase it's usually ~$20-30 per week with the occasional $40-50 (maybe once a month if even) when you have to replenish condiments, detergent, etc. So looking at probably ~$600 for the term.

Obviously this will change based upon your diet....I buy fresh fruit and vegetables every week, along with fresh meat half the time and then freezer food for the other half. I don't buy any junk food either. If you start to run short on cash, pasta is the way to go.

[Zelig]

$100 per week is ridiculous, unless you eat out a lot and are factoring that in. Usually this is how a term goes for me. Initial bill ~$200 or so....usually hit up Costco and stock up. After that inital purchase it's usually ~$20-30 per week with the occasional $40-50 (maybe once a month if even) when you have to replenish condiments, detergent, etc. So looking at probably ~$600 for the term.

Obviously this will change based upon your diet....I buy fresh fruit and vegetables every week, along with fresh meat half the time and then freezer food for the other half. I don't buy any junk food either. If you start to run short on cash, pasta is the way to go.

It really depends on what you eat. I drink $20+ of milk per week, so there's no way $20-$30 per week would suffice for me.

[Nyte]

Not a student anymore, but voted based on my later years as a student.


This is not including eating out. Just groceries alone. I'm wondering how much I should put aside for food this year, as I'm planning to cook most meals myself (as opposed to eating from a rez meal plan). I was thinking $250/month would be enough, but my boss was telling me that it would be at least $100/week. :( I've never bought my own groceries, so I'm not even sure what to expect...


Seeing how much other students spend will not necessarily help you. You need to figure out what kind of food you want to eat, how much you intend to eat and how much you have to spend. If you're only eating instant noodles everyday, you could probably make do with around $50. If you're like me and eat a lot of meat, you'll go well over $100/week.

Edit: You could also do it for $30 if you're like these guys (http://cheapskate.blogs.time.com/2009/08/18/how-to-eat-on-a-dollar-a-day/).

[deveritt]

It really depends on what you eat. I drink $20+ of milk per week, so there's no way $20-$30 per week would suffice for me.

Yeah that's the truth. I don't drink milk, I just take calcium supplements.

[CSK'sMom]

It really depends on what you eat. I drink $20+ of milk per week, so there's no way $20-$30 per week would suffice for me.

+1! It's also going to depend if one shops "smart". By smart I mean watching the weekly flyers, planning meals around what's on sale, etc.
So for example, if chicken legs or thighs are on sale then by a larger tray of them. Cook them all up at the same time. Have some for dinner with leftovers for the next day and freeze the rest. Then they can pulled out of the freezer on a late class day and nuked or made into chicken salad for lunches, chicken soupor stew, stir fry,etc.

[UrbanPoet]

????
You can buy a whole pineapple for $3.
You can buy two boxes of strawberries for $3
Greek Yogurt is $1 or less
Blueberries I never buy so don't know the price
Granola bars? $5 buys you two boxes
$4 buys you atleast 2 packs of bagels
Bananas are ~50-80cents a lbs, so that's 2.5-4lbs of bananas..
$4 buys you a gallon of Tropicana, not from concentrate

What the heck, you eat all that every morning? Or do you get ripped off with your breakfast?

This is coming from a forum where making $100k a yr is "barely enough to get by". Or having $200k in savings is "barely enough to get ahead".