Say you are a broke college student....

13

Replies

  • Symphony6
    Symphony6 Posts: 116 Member
    I'm a broke student too, AND i have to feed a family of 5, so I have a few tips :)

    First, I go through all my local grocery store fliers every week and plan my meals according to what is inexpensive. I also only shop at stores that do price-matching. I take all my fliers and make sure I get the best price on what I buy.

    Since veggies are cheap where I live (even fresh!) I make a lot of dishes like stews, casseroles and chili. Ground turkey is almost the same price here as hamburger, so we substitute it. Whole grain pasta, a jar of pasta sauce and a lb of ground turkey is only 10 bucks, is nutritious, and it feeds us all. We also make homemade soup quite a bit. Jamie Oliver has a great tomato soup recipe here: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/soup-recipes/tomato-soup-updated . It's inexpensive, freezable, and way better for you than ramen noodles. When I'm really broke, I make whole grain pancakes and turkey sausages for dinner :D
  • des24rob
    des24rob Posts: 77 Member
    dozen eggs for 1.29 at walgreens in my area. Same for turkey sausage and english muffins.
  • natachan
    natachan Posts: 149
    Canned fruit
    eggs
    chicken thighs and drumsticks
    roasts (these are generally fatty and tough, but put them in a crockpot with some other stuff and it's GREAT)
    round steak is a cheap cut of meat as well
  • seebeachrun
    seebeachrun Posts: 221 Member
    Canned fruit
    eggs
    chicken thighs and drumsticks
    roasts (these are generally fatty and tough, but put them in a crockpot with some other stuff and it's GREAT)
    round steak is a cheap cut of meat as well

    A crock pot is a great way to go if you can have one where you live. A small one is usually pretty cheap. Cooking cheap cuts of meat in the crock pot for 6-8 hours while you're in class or at work is a great way to save but still eat well. Plus if you add water to make it a soup or stew then you usually have plenty of leftovers for other meals.
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    Love all the suggestions here!

    Seems like grains and crabs are incredibly cheap, can find good deals for protein, but what about fats? any tips there?
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    And had very little money for food for the next 2 months *-* what would be the top items on your list?

    I was thinking:
    cans of tuna 52 cents
    bag of rice around $1.20 or so
    maybe a bag of frozen chicken breasts - $6 or so

    what would you add :flowerforyou:

    Oranges, so you don't get scurvy
  • Miss♥Ivi
    Miss♥Ivi Posts: 461
    And had very little money for food for the next 2 months *-* what would be the top items on your list?

    I was thinking:
    cans of tuna 52 cents
    bag of rice around $1.20 or so
    maybe a bag of frozen chicken breasts - $6 or so

    what would you add :flowerforyou:


    THIS! :drinker:
    alcohol-desi-glitters-1.gif


    But to make this a somewhat helpful post, I say veggies (freezer ones tend to last longer than cans! And you don't get the yucky sodium!), beef, rice, chicken, oatmeal, cereal (although some are super expensive!) and fruit (the whole ones, sliced fruit is stupid expensive!)

    And, I might get flamed by those hippie-minded souls on here, I go to Wal-Mart. My grocery store, Publix, is so damn expensive, it hurts! I spent $97 bucks yesterday on mediocre groceries. When I go to Wal-Mart, I double my groceries for the same price!
  • Enkibean
    Enkibean Posts: 56
    When I was a broke college student, the choice I made was:
    -pack of cigarettes = $5.50 (about) per day
    -top ramen twice a day = $0.10/packet
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    homebrand veg are good... got 1 kg worth of peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflour for $1.75
    eggs and drumsticks :)

    or what i do is buy chicken thighs in bulk, its about $10 for 14
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    I'd go to Trader Joe's. I do 90% of my grocery shopping there and I feed a family of four about $120/week. High quality, organic foods, great fresh produce.
  • Moonbeamlissie
    Moonbeamlissie Posts: 504 Member
    vegetables.. i buy frozen!
  • Hernandeak11
    Hernandeak11 Posts: 351 Member
    I bought a pound of Ground Turkey from wal-mart earlier this week, and added jalapenos, cheese, oats (helps hold mine together) and bacon and formed into patties and had 248 calorie turkey burgers that lasted me 4 days!

    You can obviously do this with ground beef, etc. and add whatever you like.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Love all the suggestions here!

    Seems like grains and crabs are incredibly cheap, can find good deals for protein, but what about fats? any tips there?

    When you buy meats (esp beef) don't buy the super lean cuts. Then it comes with the beef rather than having to buy it separate. Can do the same with dairy... don't buy fat free versions. Peanut butter too.



    Edited to remove beans... they don't have any significant fat.
  • beebabe
    beebabe Posts: 67
    Heres several methods of getting by i've employed in the past.

    Hit up your friends (who know you are broke) at their place of employment-mc d, chik fila, pizza hut, bakers (the shoes place lol) Ross, Marshalls (a girl always needs more clothes)

    Make friends with people that interest you/you interest them. Women always have guys who want to take them out on dates. you don't have to give them anything (its the 1st date!) I used that when I wanted to go somewhere I could not really afford. you can only do this a couple of times before they expect something in return... lol

    Coupon shop- stuff always goes on sale/clearance and coupons inserts are available for free if you look (starbucks, mc'ds, ihop) theres websites that do the homework for you! you just bring your coupons and buy stuff thats on sale anyway (i still do this now)

    costco on saturday morning-you can try all their sample food and actually get full in one trip!

    tutoring-find someone that needs help in something and help them for a few dollars

    babysit- nuff said.

    and just ask. if you are having a hard time, people are very willing to help.. just leave your shox shoes and your coach purse and iphone at home when asking. dont update your fb status about your trip to universal studios. people hate that. lol

    hope that helps.
  • 2kidsandadonut
    2kidsandadonut Posts: 137 Member
    If you don't mind getting your hands a little dirty Walmart has giant 10lb bags of chicken thighs and legs for about 5.50 you can skin them and freeze them and they will last you for a long time. Also they are great for things like Chicken catchatore which you just put in an onion, some stewed tomatoes and some green pepper (all for under about 2 bucks per serving) over rice and it is awesome. Rice is also a cheap good thing. Eggs are great but they are getting a little expensive now days. I don't know how much you cook or if you have an oven (my dorm did in the basement) but buying bananas are great and get flour, sugar, salt and other baking stuff and you can make your own bread for cheap! Also rather than buying bags of salad buy the lettuce head. One head of lettuce is equal to three bags of salad! Don't buy baby carrots there is no such thing as a baby carrot they are just large carrots processed and cut down. So buy real carrots (they keep for a long time) and celery with peanut butter (great snack you had as a kid but also cheap and filling) other thoughts are buy one water bottle and just keep filling it up.
  • loki3981
    loki3981 Posts: 249 Member
    Aldi!!! Got a dozen eggs for 0.69 and a lb of strawberries for .79 this week.
  • sgroendyke715
    sgroendyke715 Posts: 1
    I also shop at Aldi grocery stores. I hate grocery shopping so I try to do it the least amount as possible. I go shopping only once a month, sometimes we can stretch it to 5 weeks. To feed my husband and I we usually spend around $125-$140 which is about $30-35 per week (less if we can strech the food farther). One of my favorite meals that is SUPER cheap and makes a ton is:

    1 box Jambalaya Rice Mix ($0.99)
    1 can black beans ($0.55)
    1 can stewed tomatoes ($0.55)
    1 bag frozen corn ($.99)

    I throw in some red pepper flakes to make it a little spicy and top w/ a little sour cream. If you want to add some meat to it, chicken or ground turkey go well.
  • Sandytoes71
    Sandytoes71 Posts: 463 Member
    I shop at Walmart and buy generic labeled food. Great value (walmart brand) has a 48oz bag of frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts for under $7 and the drumbsticks/wings are even cheaper than that. Frozen fish fillets are a good buy too, if u have them at ur local walmart like we do. It's a bag of alot of fillets. Russet potatoes are cheap as is brown or white rice. Eggs are good. Popcorn is a cheap snack. Sugar free Jello is a VERY cheap snack and I love great value popsicles! Veggies are more of a struggle for me to find cheap because I like to eat lots of veggies to fill me up so I can eat a whole bag of frozen $2 veggies. If u can eat like half the bag instead of the whole thing, u can get two meals out of it. I also buy $1 frozen veggies, but it would be cheaper to buy dry beans like suggested in earlier posts. There are also $1 frozen dinners I buy and just add a veggie to it and u have a meal. They are called Michelina's Lean Gourmet dinners. They r near the lean cuisines. Hope this helps :)
  • grizzlymaze
    grizzlymaze Posts: 185 Member
    Take up hunting. For less than 50 bucks you can shoot a deer and have very lean meat for a year. Learn to live to old ways.
  • vacherin
    vacherin Posts: 192
    Beans and lentils are pretty cheap to buy, especially if you get dried ones and not canned. Avoid fresh herbs and get dried instead, as they last longer and you only need a small amount. Buy supermarket own brands rather than branded products, and minimise booze!
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    cook beans in water when they are nearly done add bacon strips or sausage, cilantro, tomatoe slices maybe some onion slices too and a garlic clove salt to taste wait till bacon is fully cooked and BAM!!!!!! ranchero beans.:smile:

    YOU ARE MY HERO.....YUM
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    Ramen Noodles were my go to college food ;)

    its about damn time!
    its sad we had to go all the way to page 2 before someone mentioned ramen noodles to a college student... geeze!

    ramen noodles.
    big bag of chicken breasts
    lots of bags of frozen veggies
    and cheap frozen pizzas

    Yes but these arent Good things to eat. Why waste money on ramen noodles when you could just eat a half a cup of flour and 1 cup of table salt. I think people were trying to give ideas that were extremely healthy and clean
  • k7kjack
    k7kjack Posts: 1 Member
    post a PO box number and ask for .............help!!!!!!!!!!!
  • capnwo85
    capnwo85 Posts: 1,103 Member
    Get a jizzob?
  • MMarvelous
    MMarvelous Posts: 1,067 Member
    And had very little money for food for the next 2 months *-* what would be the top items on your list?

    I was thinking:
    cans of tuna 52 cents
    bag of rice around $1.20 or so
    maybe a bag of frozen chicken breasts - $6 or so

    what would you add :flowerforyou:

    friends who work on campus in the cafeteria, that let me sneak end on shrimp and steak night as well as to get veggies and fruit daily. LOL...frozen veggies/fruit like broccoli, spinach, blueberries, etc also so black beans and lentils, brown rice, protein bars. However I would probably end up with PEANUT BUTTER, BREAD, CHEESE, ALMOND MILK, CHEERIOS, whole wheat bread, deli meat, bagged salad, chicken breasts, ground beef, eggs...I would use a printer on campus to print my COUPONS! ;-)

    Also...you could get yourself a job of some sort with campus food service and eat for free!!

    They never paid well. I made more money working in the college of engineering and science and of course the athletics department LOL...I made a whooping $1000 a month from my 4 on-campus jobs.
  • HikeRunLift
    HikeRunLift Posts: 70
    And had very little money for food for the next 2 months *-* what would be the top items on your list?

    I was thinking:
    cans of tuna 52 cents
    bag of rice around $1.20 or so
    maybe a bag of frozen chicken breasts - $6 or so

    what would you add :flowerforyou:

    holy crap?? Where the hell do you shop? I could save a small fortune where you go
  • cinole1706
    cinole1706 Posts: 42
    At Walmart, I buy the Hormel Compleats a lot. They're 2 for $4. Not bad. You get a prepared (maybe not like mama's home cookin' lol) meal for under 300 calories. Definitely add some canned veggies though for more vitamins. They're pretty cheap..
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
    add a bag of frozen mixed veggies and a 1 lb roll of ground beef or ground turkey, a couple cans of pinto or black beans, and you'll have the exact menu I ate while I was in college. When I was broke...and thin. ;)
  • MelissaE27
    MelissaE27 Posts: 682 Member
    If you watch at krogers they have their frozen veggies on sale for 10 for 10.. and 1 bag I can get 2-3 meals out of it... lean turkey if you buy the big family pack you can freeze it into individual servings....
  • reedkaus
    reedkaus Posts: 250 Member
    i'd do what my roommate did and apply for food stamps and then not worry about it XD
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