Summer Quarter started on June 24th, and already it’s July 10th. What I call my broke or frugal college student grocery list is drastically different than it was going into Spring Quarter.
As I mentioned in the Spring Quarter post, snacking was going to be a main component of my eating while adjusting to a new routine.
If you have been following along since then, you have seen that it wasn’t the greatest idea as I didn’t factor in just how much my body composition was going to change due to the reduction in body movement.
Here is what my frugal student grocery list looks like for Summer Quarter (also keep in mind that I am building an investment fund and have a target goal to hit, so the reduction in food costs is front and center):
- Eggs
- Diced potatoes whenever on sale
- Greek yogurt
- Ground turkey
- Ground beef
- Rice. Lots of rice. Brown rice and white jasmine rice.
- Variety of vegetables
- Pears and applesauce
- Crystal Light (so I have something to drink besides water)
- Whole grain pasta
- Pasta sauce (always what’s on sale)
- Taco shells or tortillas (I never get tired of tacos)
- Condiments (these are key to not getting tired of eating the same foods every week)
- Beans – lots of variety: refried beans, baked beans, black beans, etc.
- Almond milk because it works better for me (always look for the deals)
Most of my meals will be repetitive, items that I do not tire of easily.
Tacos. Pasta. Beans and rice. Burritos. Always with vegetables on the side, though admittedly I haven’t been eating my share of vegetables as much as I would like.
My shopping list ties into how much I will be saving over the next 5 months for the investment fund. I have a target of $1,000 AUM by the end of 2024.
Don’t Be Afraid to Get Creative With Your Meals
Saving as much as possible means a lot of rice and beans and meals that can keep me full and satisfied and most importantly they have to have substance and be tasty. When it comes to rice and beans, the biggest misconception is people buying a bag of beans and a bag of rice and that’s it. I mean, yeah, that’s one way to do it, the cheapest way, but being a student and not cooking as much, I grab packaged cooked rice and canned beans a lot too. (My taste buds are demanding and easily get tired of the same flavor profile so I have to mix it up.)
Uncle Ben’s has a great variety of flavors: Korean BBQ, which I saw at the store today but haven’t tried yet, chicken flavor, lime and cilantro, coconut jasmine, and others. It’s okay to mix up the flavor of your rice portfolio if it means sticking to certain meals for the long term.
For example, I enjoy eating beans, so left over baked beans and jasmine rice with a side of salad and peanut sauce is my lunch right now as I write this. I do refried beans with less sodium and cilantro lime rice, often making my own but also picking up the precooked packages sometimes, especially when they’re on sale.
Don’t confuse good old reliable meals with bland food your great grandparents would have eaten during the Great Depression. Get creative. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that sacrificing taste is worth it because it won’t be in the long run. You’ll get tired of it and throw out the plan to stick to a food budget. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule.
Another thing is condiments. These are GOLD and will help you get through the times when you get tired of eating chicken breast or rice by itself. I love peanut sauce and grew up with it.
Often, I make my own; other times, I buy it at a grocery store. The only thing to watch out for is sugar and salt—be mindful of servings. We aren’t trying to sacrifice our health here either.
Take Advantage of Reward Points (Don’t Leave Money at the Checkout)
For those of us in the broke college student demographic, signing up for grocery rewards is going to help keep us afloat. Don’t confuse this rewards with credit cards. For example, it’s my birthday month, and I received 500 points from Safeway, which is $7 off my next grocery shopping trip.
Download the apps on your phone. Often, stores have digital rewards tied to your phone number, and this is where the real deals are within the app – sometimes personalized where you’ll find just forUdeals and free items.
I am not sure how long I will keep this grocery shopping list intact as it changes from time to time, but most of what is mentioned in this list are staples, and everything I mentioned is something I’ve been doing for a couple of years now. Being creative with meals, using grocery rewards, and again, keeping condiments on hand.
The Broke College Student 
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