The fact is that the earlier you figure out your financial status, that of your parents or whoever that’s sponsoring your college bills the better because that will enable you to discipline yourself financially. You will take into account the things needed to be bought and the ones to be avoided. It’s extremely important to state very clearly that when you don’t plan your food budget before enrolling in a college, you will be overwhelmed by the high exorbitant cost of going to college. So, What Is A Reasonable Food Budget For A College Student?
According to the USDA website, a college student is expected to spend between $163 and $367 a month on food However as a student, you will observe that there’s never any amount of money that will be enough for you because your expenses will always expand to equal or exceed your income. But with good budgeting, will help to prevent the unavoidable brokenness on campus.
The following are food budgeting steps for a college student.
1. The first and most important step is to ascertain how much money you receive per month.
2. Pay yourself first.
As a student, you have to put away some percentage of the money you receive into a different savings account. And this money shouldn’t be touched for whatever reason unless, of course, it’s a matter of life and death.
3. Analyze your daily expenses.
You have to determine when, where, what, and how you spend your money.
4. Cut down your expenses.
Somehow, you have lived with less money at some point in your life than you live now. If that’s true, then you can reduce your excessive spending habit.
5. Set a goal.
Once you have analyzed and cut down your expenses, then you need to write down a specific amount of money to be spent in a month and stick to it regardless of whatever reason.
6. Evaluate your progress.
The point is that you need some level of discipline to carry out any budget plan. So to track your progress, you need to use whatever means within your disposal to keep yourself accountable otherwise, you will certainly slack Off.
The Process for a reasonable food budget.
• Before anything else, you have to know two kinds of feeding; healthy food and junk food. The former gives nutrients to your body and the latter has low nutritional value. Why would you invest in food with low nutritional value? Whenever I plan my food budget, I tend to be very conscious of adding little or no canned food to my budget. That way, I will stay healthy while trying to cut down my food expenditure in college.
•You should eat to live, don’t live to eat;
To be effective in food budgeting, you have to place some limitations on yourself. It’s funny when you set food budget goals and then buy any kind of junk food you can afford at every point in time.
During my first year in college, I had limited income. So I will eat at home in the morning, then buy food at school when I become extremely hungry. When I return, I will only eat dinner if I feel hungry. I don’t just eat for eating, I only eat when I’m very hungry.
• Choose the right friends;
It’s a complete waste of time when you budget for food and then make friends who are glutinous! If you know, “birds of a feather flock together”, then you have to get along with friends who are disciplined in their eating habits. When your friends are always enticed by the sight of food, you can’t resist the urge to be influenced by their attitude because friends are a reflection of our behavior. There was a time when I bought food at school not because I was hungry but simply because my friend bought the food. Friends are instrumental to your food budget.
• Avoid some social activities;
The moment you realize that the mindset of making money is different from the same mindset of spending money the better for you. It’s far easier to spend money you didn’t work for than to save it. Therefore to reduce the high rate of spending your money, avoid certain social activities on campus like excessive partying. Pleasure can cover the logistical part of the brain thereby making you spend more than you can afford.
These are the benefits of Reasonable food budgeting:
1. It makes you feel happy;
It’s a great joy when you can control your appetite. Your self-confidence level tends to increase because you will feel like you’re a king whose commands have been obeyed. Freedom comes from being able to control yourself, in this case, appetite.
2. It creates a path to financial independence;
When you can maintain your food budget for a long period, it can as well be applied to other areas of your life, business to begin with.
3. You don’t spend money you don’t have;
Most students are broke simply because they use the money they don’t have to buy the things they don’t need. But with the right budgeting, they will be able to spend wisely.
Conclusion
When it comes to the food budget, it varies with the students. However, as long as you’re very careful in planning your budget in college, you can actualize your purpose of cutting down expenses while staying healthy at the same time. And most importantly, a reasonable food budget helps in resisting impulsive buying.