Guys, what do you think is a reasonable amount to spend for food per month? I'm interning this summer and have to figure this out. Any advice on how to minimize the cost (except for starvation of course)? Also trying to eat somewhat healthily, so if you have some recommendations for that, it would be awesome. Go!
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Minimizing costs while eating healthily means going to the grocery store and buying your own fresh foods and cooking for yourself. The hard part about eating healthy would be the temptations of fast food/restaurants, not only will they cost you a lot more, they're nowhere near as healthy.
Eat multiple small meals throughout the day (~6) instead of the typical 3 big meals as this will keep your metabolism running. It also prevents you from overeating at any time as your body takes a bit of time after eating to register that it is actually full. Try and eat meals with a good amount of protein as protein will keep you feeling fuller longer. Same thing goes for water, drink lots of it, and it's free.
I would probably say ~$500 per month if you do just groceries but I don't know where you're gonna be at, you're weight, and you're eating habits so take it with a grain of salt.
How many hours will you be working, and what meals does your firm pay for? Also, if the cafeteria is good and cheap, you might want to eat there. I say anywhere from $400 to $800. I'm not a fan of cooking when I'm working a lot of hours so I'd rather just eat whatever I want and supplement with fruits and vegetables I get at the grocery store for snacks.
How many hours will you be working, and what meals does your firm pay for? Also, if there is a cafeteria that is good and also cheap, you might want to eat there. I say anywhere from $400 to $800. I'm not a fan of cooking when I'm working a lot of hours so I'd rather just eat whatever I want and supplement with fruits and vegetables I get at the grocery store for snacks.
Are you living in a city? I don't live in a big city so It is much cheaper where I am to eat.
I normally buy stuff in bulk and freeze it (chicken, fish, steak whatever) either from BJ's or Costco, something like that. I also don't have any allegiances at all so I would buy whatever they have on special at the gorcery store and have one of their store cards as well to get the discounts. Pasta is ridiculously cheap if you like that (and hopefully you have time to run a lot. haha). If you eat simply and cook you can do it for pretty cheap, you can squeeze out like 50-60 bucks a week in groceries if you plan just a little bit. Honestly, with a bit of creativity while cooking you can buy your main proteins and carbs and supplement with whatever other stuff you like to spice it up.
Thanks for the responses guys. I'm working 40 hours a week and living in Philly, if that makes a difference. Firm doesn't cover any costs.
$5 footlongs
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Good suggestion. If you pick all the toppings then a foot long subway sandwich will provide you with most of the nutrients and vitamins for the day. Spare the drinks and chips. These are empty sugar and calories and cost you extra, which add up. http://www.subway.com/nutrition/nutritionlist.aspx
Where is your internship at? If it is NYC then Chinatown has a large selection of fantastic cheap and nutritious food options. Case in point, Prosperity Dumpling where you get 5 dumplings for $1 !. That is 20 cents each and each dumpling has a nice mixture of carb (dough), vitamins (vegetable fillings) and protein (meat filling).
If you budget carefully, you can easily manage to eat healthy at around $10/day.
With those conditions you can pack breakfast and lunch and cook dinner at home and eat on like $10 bucks a day no problem. That's $300 bucks a month, which might creep up to $400 if you eat out some.
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