It is obvious that most people view money as being expendable until it is gone. Then we panic.
In college, it is sometimes required that a freshman must spend one year living on campus. This means living in a dorm, usually with one or more people, and also going to dining halls for daily meals. However, there will come a time when renting an apartment with a couple of friends or by yourself is a possibility, and depending where you end up in life, it could be very expensive to just exist, never mind feed yourself, in the area that you choose to pursue a career in.
Mrs. Almeida, the home economics and cooking teacher at Oliver Ames, has some tips on how to eat healthy while on a budget.
1. skip the meat (sometimes)
When you walk into a grocery store, don’t go flying towards the strip steak or pork chops.
“Make a shopping list and focus on fresh produce,” said Mrs. Almeida, “Less red meat is definitely suggested for heart health.”
Some of these meat cuts go for prices that average between $6.99 and upwards of $16.99 a pound. This means when you’re on a tight budget, it can take a big bite out of your paycheck if you buy meat regularly. Instead, buy meat every couple of days or once a week.
You can make one piece of meat go a long way as well. For example, if you buy a chicken on Monday, you can cook it in an oven and eat that for one night, and then stretch that out by freezing some of it or being creative by using it in salads, burritos, or if you’re really adventurous, use the carcass of the chicken and put it into a soup. That could stretch the use of the chicken to possibly a week!
2. Don’t eat out as much
“Avoid the common college foods and try to cook at home,” said Mrs. Almeida. “Try things like canned tuna, dry milk, canned tomatoes, and frozen vegetables.”
Although we all love going out to restaurants and ordering our favorite foods, it is extremely expensive to do so. You could make the same meal at home by buying the ingredients to make it for a fraction of the price. Buy making it in the comfort of your own home, you can also gain some essential tips when it comes to cooking and might be able to get creative with your own recipes.
3. Buy in bulk
When it comes to buying in bulk, we all know to go to big-box stores like Costco, Walmart, and in the Midwest, Kroger’s. This can be life saving when it comes to spending under $100. A 10 pound bag of rice goes for about $4.99 at Costco. A 10 pound bag of beans goes for about $6.99.
These are what I like to call universal foods. You can eat rice plain, or you could put it into that savory soup you made! Beans can be boiled, made into a cake and fried, made into bean burgers, or even just eaten cold in a bean salad. Rice and beans are versatile for all different kinds of recipes and can be used for so many different cultural foods as well from enchiladas to vegetable rice dishes.
When starting off, it is hard to maintain a balance in the outside world which is understandable. However, making a plan and a budget for yourself is essential when trying to conserve money.
“Never go into the grocery store hungry. Shop the sales. These things definitely help to save money,” said Mrs. Almeida.
Remember, these are just the bare essentials. Coupons, buy one get one sales, and gift cards from loving parents are always good! (Below is just an example of a shopping list Mrs. Almeida and I created that amounts to under $100.)
-1 bunch of Bananas: $0.59 a pound (5 pounds)
– 10 lb bag of Potatoes: $8.99
– 10 lb bag of rice: $4.99
-uncooked whole chicken: $8.99 each (get two, once for the beginning of the month and one for the end)
– 10 lb bag of beans: $6.99
– bag of carrots: $5.99
– head of lettuce: $4.99
-salt: $0.99
-Pepper: $0.99
-olive oil: $3.99
– 18 oz bag of granola: $3.99
– chuck beef $4.99 each (get two, once for the beginning of the month and once for the end)
– mixed nuts: (unsalted) $6.00 a pound (get two)
-box of oatmeal: $3.45
-package of dried milk: $5.99
-Bag of oranges: $4.99
Total: $99.25