How to Eat Well on a Starving Student Budget

Eating well provides the body with the nutrition it needs.

Eating well on a student's budget is a challenging task to master. It is essential to find a way to feed yourself well with the little money that's left after your other obligations are met. This task is possible to accomplish even on a starving student budget. With that mind, be prepared to make some sacrifices. This process requires money management, looking for deals, stocking up on the basics and planning your meals.

Instructions

1. Come up with a monthly budget for all your expenses. Make sacrifices on some of your personal expenses such as going to clubs and eating out. This will help with the food budget. Remember eating well should be a top priority along with fixed expenditures.

2. Learn how to prepare main dishes. Ask a friend or your parents, or get a beginner's cookbook. Learning even the simplest culinary tasks such as boiling water, cooking rice or preparing eggs will help become a better cook.

3. Buy cooking utensils such as a can opener, frying pan and spatula. Many of these things you can find at thrift stores, dollar stores, your parents' house or you can get them from friends. Stock up on the basics: black pepper, salt, sugar, cooking oil, ketchup and anything that you will use often when cooking. This may cost a bit at the start but it will pay for itself after a couple of meals.

4. Plan your meals for the week and write a shopping list of the things you will need. Look for deals from different grocery stores and find a store that does price matching. Check your school schedule, if you have a busy week at school chances are you will not have time to cook. If this is the case then fill the list with sandwich ingredients.

5. Go to the bank once you have a number for the food budget and withdraw the cash. You are less likely to overspend when paying with cash. This will help you stick to your budget.

6. Make sure the foods on your list give you the most bang for you dollar and are nutritious. Such foods include beans, potatoes, apples, bananas, onions, lettuce and carrots, as well as canned tuna, sardines, soups, eggs and peanut butter. Also try whole-grain spaghetti, brown rice and oatmeal. Try creating new recipes with inexpensive food and you will land some new favorites.

7. Buy your snacks and beverages from the grocery store. Buying them from a campus store will drain your money fast. Make sure you have home-bottled water at all times. There is nothing more natural than drinking water to stay hydrated. Take fresh fruit to school with you for a snack. Buy chips and salsa, popcorn, granola bars and chocolate chip cookies to snack on both at home and school. This will save you money and give you more options to choose from.

8. Look for several ways to help save money when grocery shopping. Ask some friends to split bulk purchases. Take advantage of good sales by buying enough of the product for the whole month. Search newspapers on campus for coupons and collect as many as you can. A lot of good savings come from using coupons.

9. Keep your eyes open for events that offer free food on campus. Become more involved and join some activities. There are often free breakfasts, lunches or barbecues at many extracurricular events.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not be ashamed to ask for help when you are in need. Every student will have the odd week every now and then where there is just not enough money. Ask your friends or your parents to help you get by. It is important eat well in order to do well in school.

References

• The Chart: Healthy Eating on a Student Budget

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish