Have you ever spent a whole week eating nothing but PB&J and spaghetti you've dressed up with a spoonful of expired marinara sauce? You're not the only one.
Money is always tight for college students, and when we do have it, it disappears almost as quickly as it comes. Somewhere between the bar tab and the greasy-yet-delicious (and probably pricey) snack on the way home, many students find themselves with financial troubles when it comes to feeding themselves.
Ohio University offers some dining options for off-campus students, but for the most part, if you live off campus, you fend for yourself. Meal plans are still available if you don't live in a dorm, but meals are allotted by quarter and not by week. A block of 10 meals costs $190 and allows students $100 in Bobcat Cash, too; however, this still averages to be about $10 a meal.
Most students living off campus opt for shopping at the grocery store, with the majority of students headed for Wal-Mart or Kroger. This might save students money when compared to meal plans, but grocery bills can still mount, and food costs account for a large portion of many students' spending.
So how can you cut costs and save yourself from a week of PB&J? It's easier than you think. For students living off campus, there are numerous options to cut costs and help curb spending on food.
The best option for off-campus students is to shop around at grocery stores. Stores such as Save-A-Lot, ALDI, Dollar General and Big Lots can offer less expensive solutions. Many students assume Wal-Mart is the easiest and cheapest way to stock kitchens, but the reality is smaller, less popular stores can have better prices and less customer flow, which makes shopping less of a hassle.
To buy peanut butter, jelly and a loaf of bread seems like a cheap option; however, to get all the fixings at Wal-Mart, it would cost $4.53. For the same ingredients at ALDI, it would cost only $2.98. A savings of $1.55 doesn't look like much, but during the course of a quarter, that could save you more than $10 on your PB&J habit. Spaghetti and marinara sauce cost $2.33 at Wal-Mart, but at ALDI, it is only $1.98. That could save you up to $5 per quarter. Combine the savings from buying ingredients for your favorite meals, and you can see how this small change could affect your budget.
Although eating is essential, it doesn't have to break the bank. Simple steps such as checking the Sunday paper for coupons or going online to see which items are on sale where, and shopping at smaller grocers could help students fill their fridges more effectively.
Whitney Thompson is a senior studying English literature and a columnist for The Post. Complain to her about all your quarters going toward trips to ALDI at wt365806@ohiou.edu
4 Opinion
Whitney Thompson
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