<p>When I was living in the Boston area after college, my weekly grocery cost and eating out expenses totaled around $30-60/week. </p>
<p>A large part of that was due to work which necessitated eating out more often than usual, being located half-mile from 2 supermarkets with difficult logistics if one didn’t have a car, storage space, and being located in an apartment which got so hot in the summers that roommates would get on my case for even using the microwave (top floor apartment with plenty of summer sun, no A/C, and where internal temps are 20* hotter than outside temperatures). </p>
<p>Even so, I dealt with it within my budget. Unfortunately, when relatives saw my place, they and the parents started expressing concerns I was being “too stingy” with my grocery budget and urged me to spend more.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that in some areas of Boston, especially in areas near universities, the local stores/small supermarkets do jack up the prices to take advantage of students who are unfamiliar with the area and/or feel pressed for time and do not want to venture far from the campus/surrounding area to go grocery shopping. Moreover, my experience was nearly a decade ago so inflation has to be taken into account.</p>
<p>So a full mean plan at DSs school is $185/week. To those of you who gave your kids the ‘full meal plan’ equivalent, was this in the ballpark? From the sounds of most people, this seems like a lot.</p>
<p>We didn’t use the school meal plan cost at all. When our kids made the decision to live off campus they also made the decision to do their OWN cooking…which is FAR less expensive than the meal plans (which DO factor in that someone else is doing the cooking, shopping, etc). We looked at what the kids ate, as well as things like toiletries and laundry supplies. We then did an estimate of how much it would cost with the caveat that we would make an adjustment if our estimate was either too high or too low. As it happened, we were just right at $30 per week. </p>
<p>Like I said, we did stock the kids up with staples and toiletries when we moved them in. Also we periodlically sent them gift cards for their grocery stores.</p>
<p>AND when both kids were looking for off campus housing, they KNEW that grocery shopping needed to be accessible.</p>
<p>We always gave S2 $100/week. That had to cover all toiletries, household products, school supplies, food, gas and whatever other expense he might encounter.
Recently we have given him some extra because the cost of gas is so high and he drives a big truck that is not a gas sipper.</p>
<p>We gave D2 1300/month, room and board for 10 months. Her school room was 7500 and meal plan 5200. She decided to live at a better place for 900/mon, so she took some of her food money for rent.</p>
<p>With all these budget issues, we start by saying what is the budget supposed to pay for. What’s in and what’s not. So in this case, does it include cleaning supplies? Pizza out? Staples for the kitchen to get started? I know from getting my son started that it was close to 100 to outfit the kitchen- salad oil, olive oil, spices, flour, sugar, coffee. Etc it really adds up. </p>
<p>Next question is how much food does he consume? I know my bills went down by more than 100 a week when he moved out nothing like eating a whole chicken for dinner. We would cook two one for him and one for everyone else. He would still be hungry at 9:00. Oh to be able to eat 5000 calories a day and lose weight. </p>
<p>Could you track it for a week? Have him cook some meals with you and see what it costs?</p>
<p>I made the kids buy their own food out of $ they had made. If they were running out of money at that point I sent them money. One semester my D had something like $750 book expenses so I paid that. She paid for her own food. Made her think about the price of food and budgeting. Roommate had a family who paid for her groceries and had a credit card with a $500 limit per month. She would exceed this most months. She bought groceries for her boyfriend and fed him. I am not buying my kids bf,gf their food and I’m not buying beer or excessive going out. Made my kids responsible for budgeting.</p>
<p>She never had problems finding a ride to the grocery store. She did have some problems finding time to make food. She ate out some, it wouldn’t work for boys but she would order enough to have leftovers for another meal.</p>
<p>The cost of a meal plan figure is $500 to $600 a month based on an $1800 meal plan. The money was really for spending money too. We pay more than some because DD has not really worked YET during the summer, so she has not earned her own spending money.</p>
<p>My family spends a little over $120 when we’re buying a lot of food that last for more than a week. So I really don’t see how, especially, a college student needs $100 or more a week for groceries - emphasis on groceries. The only exceptions would be is if it’s for more than one person or if the student plans on eating out a lot, because that will certainly add up.
Otherwise, in my opinion, $40-$50 should suffice.</p>
<p>D1’s roommate never had a problem in getting a ride to a grocery store either, because she always got a ride from D1. D1 drove her for 2 years, not just to the grocery store. Her parents have never acknowledged that. I always wondered if her parents ever wondered how their daughter got around.</p>
<p>Our son survived on $50 a week. His roommate pitched in $50 a week and they ate very, very well for 2 (or more when friends came over) on $100 a week. I don’t spend that much more per week for our family! They always did the thanksgiving feast so I sent more around the short “holidays” so they could feed all the "stay behinds.</p>
<p>Thank you for all of these replies. It’s really fascinating to see the range of grocery bills that people have. The meal plan that we paid for last year was about $180 per week, so the $100 per week that I was going to give my son seemed like sort of a bargain, but based on these replies, we’re definitely going down to $75. This is just supposed to cover food. He has a really good job this summer and should be earning more than enough to cover toiletries, etc, which we also made him buy during his first two years of school. He has very expensive tastes, unfortunately (loves steak and shrimp and lobster), so I think he could easily spend $100 on food, but he really needs to learn to budget and understand the value of money better.</p>
<p>I estimate that I spend about $250 per week for my family of four on groceries, and that seems amazingly high compared to what some of you are saying. We do buy lots of fresh foods, and organic items, and since money is not particularly tight for us, I don’t bother with coupons, etc. I just buy what we need/like. I think I need to re-evaluate my food shopping habits, though, since apparently I am spending way too much!!</p>
<p>I like to know where people shop where they can survive on 50-60 dollars worth of food per week for a family of more than 2 people. Paper goods and cleaning supplies alone are expensive.</p>
<p>Milkandsugar…we spend about $60 a week for two of us for groceries. First…we don’t eat a lot of meat so that cuts our costs right there. We buy meat and fish when it is on sale and freeze it. We get fresh vegetables and fruits, cereals, bread and milk, eggs, and pasta and cheese. We don’t buy prepackaged foods except for granola bars. Occasionally we do spend more, but not often. We shop at some of the less expensive stores…we love Aldi for some things. We also go to a place called Price Rite which has great produce.</p>
<p>I’m having a little difficulty with this concept because my kids didn’t attend colleges where moving off-campus was a choice. At their schools, it was a necessity because on-campus housing was not guaranteed for all four years, and there wasn’t enough dorm space for all the upperclassmen.</p>
<p>I suppose that this viewpoint makes good sense, though, if the student truly has a choice of where to live.</p>
<p>1) $290 for the past four weeks for a family of three (i.e., about $72 per week). This is on the high side for us. Our pantry is full right now.
2) We use cloth napkins and use paper towels only for really disgusting things that spill or are leaked on the floor.<br>
3) The only cleaning supply that I buy more than once every two or three months is vinegar.<br>
4) I buy sale items but for the most part, I don’t use coupons, because they’re almost always for name brands, not the store or off-label brands that tend to be cheaper, even when factoring in coupons.
5) I buy meat only when it’s on sale and produce only when the price is reasonable (except for a few staples that I buy regardless of price; but carrots and potatoes tend not to get very expensive).</p>
<p>Marian, That was me. My kids had a choice about living off campus. But I have to say…when you live off campus, you have a full kitchen. I personally would NOT finance eating out at restaurants for my kids. If they wanted to eat out, it was on their dime. I did give them ample money for groceries…and they both knew how to cook before the left for college. In our house, we all cook. So it really wasn’t an issue.</p>
<p>I guess I’m having trouble with the concept that a student would NOT know how to cook. Or that when choosing to live in a place where there is a kitchen…the student would make the choice to eat out for all or most meals. I guess that seems financially wasteful to me. But that is MY OPINION.</p>
<p>i’m with thumper. not only is learning to cook your own meals an essential life skill, it’s much MUCH healthier than eating out and being a slave to fast food/restaurants. </p>
<p>i recommend the magazine ‘real simple’ for quick, easy, healthy recipes. each month it features new ones. easy stuff for beginners to handle cooking on their own.</p>
<p>Even if you don’t know how to cook before going to college, you learn fast if you’re on a budget. </p>
<p>By the way, it really does matter where you shop. We shop at Pathmark for meat and produce, and Walmart for snacks and such. But if we were to shop at places like Trader Joes, it would be a whole different story.</p>
<p>rosered55, I’m really interested in your note about cleaning supplies being only vinegar. What about laundry detergent and toilet bowl cleaner? Also, shampoo and conditioner and toothpaste and deoderant and bath soap and toilet paper and mouthwash and dryer sheets…I’m curious…are you including those in your totals and if so, how do you manage them?</p>