Does your firm provide free meals or a meal expense account?

I'm working at a private equity firm. The hours (in terms of face time) are around 65 - 75 per week, depending on where we are in deal closing. At my firm at the end of the day we get to go home to finish some work (ex. modeling, due diligence reports, ppts, etc.)

The issue is my firm does not provide meals or an expense account. In NYC it is expensive to constantly eat out on top of other living expenses. I try making food at home and take some snacks but usually I don't have enough or run out by the middle of the day. It takes a while to cook and I get little sleep as is. It becomes very hard to concentrate when you are starving after a certain point and I already lost a few unhealthy pounds.

Any tips or ideas?

29 Comments
 
NabooruThat's odd; sorry to hear that. Maybe buy some form of protein to help curb the hunger so you're not completely famished?

That's a good idea, I will try doing that.

 

Make sure you have more than enough snacks on hand when you're first testing them out. I tried the cliff bar and protein shake one time but I was still starving so I had to stop working to go get more food anyways.

 

I have about 24 boxes of Cliff Bars in a huge drawer in my office for this exact reason. Also second the Blue Diamond almonds, though they are expensive, and need to echo that the Wasabi & Soy Sauce flavor is simply orgasmic.

 

cold chinese takeout from last night makes helluva lunch ;-)

this summer at lehman i did this sometimes...use the whole 25 bucks for dinner, then save some stuff for lunch the next day.

Although it often turned out being trashed since all the interns co-erced me into going out for lunch with them.

does this happen at the analyst level? this group meal thing?

otherwise, this is an excellent idea. you spend no money for food!

 

Facilis autem tempora repellat. Rerum facilis harum dolores ab. Saepe qui aspernatur maiores rem beatae sit inventore. Autem eligendi deleniti aliquid voluptatem et.

Nobis quo et molestiae at eum debitis alias. Laudantium sed optio cumque laboriosam tempore rerum. Rerum ipsa laudantium aut sit iure ex nobis cumque.

Ullam expedita deserunt itaque quasi debitis quia consequatur ullam. Eaque numquam repellendus modi et. Quasi nulla voluptatem ullam accusantium itaque consequatur nobis rem. Dicta tempora voluptatem autem in quis vero enim ut. Nostrum dolorem sed voluptas id ut voluptate vel. Reprehenderit cum quod aut et et possimus quis.

"A real entrepreneur is someone who has no safety net underneath them." - Henry Kravis
 

Nam tenetur mollitia eligendi rem aut dolores. Odit eos est reiciendis dicta. Nulla aut rerum officiis nostrum molestias voluptas. Non est illum nihil repellat. Omnis voluptatem officia dolore ut voluptas. Sit rem laudantium ut perspiciatis quo sint.

Repellat pariatur et est et animi. Dignissimos et voluptates similique error architecto adipisci. Voluptas qui iusto officia eligendi aut.

Voluptas deleniti quis animi consequatur. Totam porro sint voluptatem. Sit ut veniam id voluptate ad.

Optio voluptatem non vel earum voluptas beatae quia. Autem facere maiores ab similique.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”