From meal plan to apartment plan

Its apartment time!

You put in your dorm time, but now you are free.  Free to find an apartment and free from the food plan and you are certain this will save you money. Think carefully about what lies ahead in this department and ask yourself some questions.

Where is the closest

Adjusting from meal plan to apartment plan

full grocery store?

 

Do I know who much groceries cost?

How will I get there? Do I have a backup plan if the first one does not work?

Do I know how to menu plan so I can create a grocery list?

What, if anything, do I know how to cook from scratch or a box?

What will be my budget for food including groceries and eat out?

How big is the refrigerator and how will we divide the space?

Will my roommates and I keep food individual or will we make group meals?

Over the summer, before you move into that apartment, practice grocery shopping and acquire a sense for cost. Think about meal planning. Learn what to keep on hand in your college pantry. Practice packing lunches over summer if you will do that in the fall. Build a library of 15 minute meals for when you are pressured for time.  Research college friendly cooking.  Here’s a great book to get you started:

The $5 a Meal College Cookbook: Good Cheap Food for When You Need to Eat by Rhonda Lauret Parkinson, B.E. Horton.

Kristina Houser, LD