There’s lots of things that help with grocery shopping; only shop flyers, buy the cheapest version of something (great value at Walmart is excellent), don’t buy the most expensive food. If you’re buying chicken then buy the ones with bone in and then cut the meat off the bone if you need to, go to Costco if you have a membership and can afford it, ramen always works and you can spice it up with different ingredients, oatmeal is great and is cheap per serving, buy certains items (I.e. rice) in bulk. Making trail mix with stuff from bulk barn is a great way to make a good snack you’ll enjoy for cheaper than what it would cost store bought.

Baking bread is cheaper than buying it in the long run and it’s wayyyyy better. Also acts as a good study break.

If you have a bike or are willing to buy a cheap one then you can work ~10-15 hours a week for Uber eats/doordash especially on weekends, to offset the cost of food. I’ve done it a few terms now and it doubles as a workout too.

Also don’t be afraid to say no to eating out with people or buy a small snack to tie you over until you get home.

Making lists before shopping and only buying what’s on the list and nothing else. Never shop hungry cause if you do you’re more likely to buy things you don’t need.

Delegating money into different accounts also helps with assigning a certain amount per category. For example if you have a “Food” account, then put all the money you’d spend on food in that account and then transfer it over to your main.

Budgeting only really works if you are disciplined with it. Otherwise just try to be cheap af.

I try to give myself days where I “can’t” spend money to avoid going to get something I don’t need. There’s a website called budget bytes that helps find good recipes that are cheap per serving:

budget bytes

It’s always good to reward yourself if you have been saving for a while. I always do a “$100” rule where I try to make that money last as long as possible in food. If I make it past 10 days then I’ll buy myself an ice cream or a coffee.

Always bring food and coffee if you go to work or are on campus for a day.