Save Money On Food With These 5 Tips

By Tiffany Sy on October 14, 2016

If you didn’t know already — college is expensive! There’s the rising tuition costs, endless amounts of textbooks that your professors require you to have, and steep housing costs. Additionally, you have the option to bring your car to campus, join activities and clubs that involve membership fees, and go out with your best buds and explore what life has to offer.

Are you the type of person who looks at their credit card bill and thinks “Where did all my money go for this month?” *starts scanning* “Oh yes, food!”

Food can be a big culprit and luckily for you, I have five tips that I used during my college years that basically shrank my food budget to crumbs. As a self-proclaimed cheap-o, I love saving money on items that I didn’t need to spend money on.

Image from 401K(2012) via Flickr

1. Be a Nerd!

Yes, be a nerd by having your head in your books but when you’re out and about, be a nerd! When I’m walking around campus during my free time in between campus, I read the flyer postings outside and inside of the class buildings. By reading these flyers, you’re bound to find some event (either one time or weekly) that has a free meal.

I can’t tell you how many times I had my dinner taken care of by going from building to building and perusing the flyers. For example, there was a weekly event on Wednesday that involved a musical performance from students from the music school and a dinner afterwards. Who doesn’t love dinner and a show? (Did I mention it’s free?!)

2. First-timer

There has to be some sort of “welcome week” or “involvement day” at your school. If you have the time between classes, go out to the various tents and talk to the different clubs. Usually for the first meeting or gathering, they should have free food like pizza or even a barbeque.

“Involvement day” can be kind of intense since it can get crowded at peak hours, so go early! Make sure you go to as many booths as you can and see if they have a free meal the first meeting. Not only do you get a free meal if you attend, you get to learn more about the activity and maybe even boost your interest by actually joining. Notably, there are some clubs that do not have a membership fee so take advantage of that if you want to get immersed in your campus culture.

3. Go on Facebook (to an extent)

I know Facebook can be really addicting; you just stay logged on there and scroll for hours but don’t get distracted! My college had a Facebook group dedicated to free food. If you did not get a chance to go to the “club day” or “involvement fair,” then usually members of the club would post about the first meeting and free food if you attend.

I also remember this one time, I was browsing the group and there was one day in which they were giving out a free slice of pizza if I downloaded this application on my phone, and I gladly accepted. Who doesn’t love free pizza?

4. Keep your Receipts

I know keeping small receipts can be a drag but you’ll thank me later. On most of the fast-food receipts, they have a survey for you to complete. If you complete the survey, you write down a verification code and bring it in next time for a free (or discounted) item.  When I was in college, I did this for Jack-in-the-Box, Micky D’s (I think), Panda Express, and Subway. When I went in to Jack-in-the-Box, I also saw a small poster that gave me free fries if I downloaded their app and real talk — their curly fries!

5. Don’t Give In

I know on-campus dining can seem really tempting. It’s fast, convenient, and looks good. But constantly going to the dining halls, cafeterias, and other dining options can drain your wallet. Most of the items are way overpriced and you can make your own meal for around the same price that will last you for the week instead of one meal. I know that that’s how schools make their money but if you have to buy food, make sure it’s filling and worth it.

For example, I remember going into one dining option that had a salad for $9. I am not paying $9 for a salad when I can get the same size at Trader Joe’s for $4. With that being said, go grocery shopping and head on over to Costco once in a while.

That’s all the tips that I have for saving money on food. If I was really lucky, I would not spend a dime during the week because of these tactics. Do you have any other tips you use to save money on food? Leave them in the comments below: I would love to hear them.

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