Maximizing Your Meal Plan: How to Stretch Your College Food Budget

Are you excited to step into college life? We’re excited for you, too. If you’re thinking about dining on campus, you should know a few things about your college meal plan.

Meal plans are a fantastic way to get around or limit trips to the store or dining out. But these plans don’t always cover every meal, snack, or extra drink. And you certainly don’t want to run out of meals too soon, either. So, the best solution is to find ways to maximize your college food budget to stretch it further.

We’re here to dish out our best tips to help you stretch your meal plan further and maximize your college food budget to get you through each semester of the school year. So, let’s dig in.

Meal Plan: follow a budget and shop with a list

Meal plans vary between schools and depend on your situation. On average, a college meal plan offers 7-21 meals per week. Generally, this does not include snacks or extra drinks during the week.

One way to dodge the gap between what you “get” and what you might need is to have extras in your dorm. Small, non-perishable items like microwavable mac and cheese cups, noodle cups, canned tuna or chicken kits, and other similar pantry items are budget-friendly and take up little space. When planning your food budget, consider your eating habits and nutritional needs. And avoid splurging on pricier unnecessary foods like snack foods.

Shop with a list, as this helps you avoid impulse spending on things you don’t need. It also helps ensure you don’t forget something you need. When that happens, it often results in an extra trip to the store, which could mean additional items magically find their way into your shopping cart! Make the time to list what you need and take that list to the store every time. Your shopping list doesn’t have to be with pen and paper. Today, you can download many apps on your smartphone or tablet, so you’ll never have to worry about leaving your list behind.

Plan meals around similar simple ingredients

Finding ways to make meals on a budget can be challenging if you’ve never done it before. But if you keep off-campus meals simple, that’ll help. Choose versatile pantry staples such as:

rice
pasta
beans
vegetables

These items cost less at the store, and you can easily use them for multiple meals. Using cost-effective ingredients, you can create more variety with your meals while sticking to your budget and limiting spending on more expensive items like meats or specialty foods.

Shop sales and deals

When grocery shopping, check out any sales or special deals your favorite store might be running. But buy only those items you need. Sales items and markdowns can easily take your spending off-track or lead to impulse buying that’ll bust your budget. Be mindful of your money and what you need. Savvy shopping means taking advantage of discounts when you find them, but only if those deals are for those things that you already need.

Use your student discounts

Many stores, even those online, offer student discounts. But it’s not just online stores that’ll dish out discounts for students; quite a few retail locations offer them, too. Always check!

If a store offers a discount, use it and present your student ID at checkout. Every penny counts. And if you’re uncertain of what stores and restaurants offer student discounts, ask, or explore student discount apps and websites.

Embrace pantry items and leftovers

Got leftovers hanging around in the fridge and nothing in the pantry looks enticing? Reinvent those leftovers and create new ways to use pantry items. Sometimes a bit of creativity in the kitchen can mean keeping more money in your wallet for other things.

Just because you’re staring at yesterday’s leftovers doesn’t mean you can’t repurpose food into something new. Experiment with new ways to use pantry staples and leftovers. You’ll surprise yourself with the many ways to transform one meal into many others, which’ll help you save more money.

The final word

Creativity and mindful spending can help you maximize your college meal plan and food budget. And it can also help you save money for other things you might need throughout the school year. The tips above will help maximize your food budget and stretch your resources further without compromising your nutritional needs.