Class of 2017.... how you doin?

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I'm going from a super tiny single bed to a queen for the first time ever. Need to have room for bed buddies! (AKA my cats... god knows the next time it will be man, *sob*) Except I still have to buy a bed because I'm just driving my tiny car out with my life in it.
 
Hey guys, I'm trying to put a monthy budget together for when school starts.. I currently live with my parents and do not contribute to monthly food costs... For those of you that have been living on your own, how much do you think you spend on food a month? I know this will vary greatly on food preferences, I'm just looking for a rough estimate. I'm definitely not opposed to Ramen and easy Mac lol
 
Kpowell14 said:
Hey guys, I'm trying to put a monthy budget together for when school starts.. I currently live with my parents and do not contribute to monthly food costs... For those of you that have been living on your own, how much do you think you spend on food a month? I know this will vary greatly on food preferences, I'm just looking for a rough estimate. I'm definitely not opposed to Ramen and easy Mac lol
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Depends (mostly if I'm going to a party and am bringing food), but generally I spent ~$40-$50/week on myself at the store (including my 10% student discount). I buy pretty much only stuff that's on sale. I budget up to $200/mo for my groceries and it seems to work out pretty well. I'm in Canada, though, and everything on the island is a lot more expensive than back home. I also don't buy very much meat.
 
I'm planning on budgeting 200/mo for groceries.
 
Kpowell14 said:
Hey guys, I'm trying to put a monthy budget together for when school starts.. I currently live with my parents and do not contribute to monthly food costs... For those of you that have been living on your own, how much do you think you spend on food a month? I know this will vary greatly on food preferences, I'm just looking for a rough estimate. I'm definitely not opposed to Ramen and easy Mac lol
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My SO and I spend about 600/month for the two of us, including all the times we go out to eat - we LOVE food (and also that number includes paper towels, dish soap, shampoo, toilet paper, etc). We also buy organic (and free-range/pastured meat), and we're in CA, so those both bring the price up. Food is definitely our extravagence. However, neither of us drinks, so that balances it out a bit (the amount his fellow grad students spend on booze staggers me).
 
the annoying thing about packing is that every time I open a bag or a box, I have to remove the cat before I can put anything into it. every. single. time. how does she know?!
 
Foxhunter said:
Orientation starts at 8AM on my birfday.
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I'll bring you a b-day card 🙂

kakurubird said:
the annoying thing about packing is that every time I open a bag or a box, I have to remove the cat before I can put anything into it. every. single. time. how does she know?!
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OMG THEY ARE THE WORST

I have a Cal King bed. The mattress is 6'x7'...my partner and I are both very tall, so it's quite nice, especially since he flops around like a fish. I also thought the king-size pillows would mean I get space for my head since my cat likes to sleep on my pillow with me. Nope, it means I now have two cats sleeping on my pillow.

My bedroom is not huge, but the only thing I keep in it is a bed, so it works great. Instead of having a chest of drawers, I put up a clear shoe holder on the back of my closet door and use it to keep all the bits of clothing I can't hang up (socks etc).

As for the groceries, I always budget $30 per week per person. That covers all the stuff one buys at a grocery store, including non-food items. It's a fairly generous budget for us - we can buy pretty freely on $30/person/week. If I took it down to $20, it would be tougher. We only eat out once a month as a rule.
 
Kpowell14 said:
Hey guys, I'm trying to put a monthy budget together for when school starts.. I currently live with my parents and do not contribute to monthly food costs... For those of you that have been living on your own, how much do you think you spend on food a month? I know this will vary greatly on food preferences, I'm just looking for a rough estimate. I'm definitely not opposed to Ramen and easy Mac lol
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the only thing I would add is to maybe allow a bit more at first for things like oil, salt, pepper, flour, sugar, etc. that you'll use for a long time and are actually cheap for how much you use per meal/serving, but do have a little more upfront.
 
kakurubird said:
the only thing I would add is to maybe allow a bit more at first for things like oil, salt, pepper, flour, sugar, etc. that you'll use for a long time and are actually cheap for how much you use per meal/serving, but do have a little more upfront.
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Very true. Spices as well - setting up a good spice cabinet can cost $100 (or much more) by itself, but then you don't have to buy more for a year (or longer if you get whole spices and grind your own).

...Other people have fully stocked spice cabinets, right? I'm not the only one who considers fenugreek and cardamom and Ceylon cinammon necessary for a basic kitchen?
 
washbucket said:
Very true. Spices as well - setting up a good spice cabinet can cost $100 (or much more) by itself, but then you don't have to buy more for a year (or longer if you get whole spices and grind your own).

...Other people have fully stocked spice cabinets, right? I'm not the only one who considers fenugreek and cardamom and Ceylon cinammon necessary for a basic kitchen?
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Definitely not. In my current kitchen I have an entire drawer just for spices. My new kitchen will be smaller so I'm not sure where I'll be putting all the spices :scared:

Add to the list of things you'll need to stock up on in the beginning - condiments like mustard, mayo, ketchup, soy sauce, oils, vinegars, dressings, etc.
 
washbucket said:
Very true. Spices as well - setting up a good spice cabinet can cost $100 (or much more) by itself, but then you don't have to buy more for a year (or longer if you get whole spices and grind your own).

...Other people have fully stocked spice cabinets, right? I'm not the only one who considers fenugreek and cardamom and Ceylon cinammon necessary for a basic kitchen?
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Yeah but you can just start with the basics and buy other more specialized ones as you go to do that it's not do expensive all at once
 
washbucket said:
Very true. Spices as well - setting up a good spice cabinet can cost $100 (or much more) by itself, but then you don't have to buy more for a year (or longer if you get whole spices and grind your own).

...Other people have fully stocked spice cabinets, right? I'm not the only one who considers fenugreek and cardamom and Ceylon cinammon necessary for a basic kitchen?
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:whistle:

I have no idea what you just listed...

Cayenne pepper and Montreal steak spice are about as fancy as I get. :laugh:
 
washbucket said:
Very true. Spices as well - setting up a good spice cabinet can cost $100 (or much more) by itself, but then you don't have to buy more for a year (or longer if you get whole spices and grind your own).
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Just a semi-helpful hint for those on a budget - a lot of the more common spices are usually in stock at a dollar store (things like cinnamon, oregano, etc). Depends on how picky you are about brands etc but $1/jar vs. $4+/jar was worth it for me 🙂
 
kcoughli said:
Just a semi-helpful hint for those on a budget - a lot of the more common spices are usually in stock at a dollar store (things like cinnamon, oregano, etc). Depends on how picky you are about brands etc but $1/jar vs. $4+/jar was worth it for me 🙂
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👍👍👍

I did not know this. Awesome!!!
 
kcoughli said:
Just a semi-helpful hint for those on a budget - a lot of the more common spices are usually in stock at a dollar store (things like cinnamon, oregano, etc). Depends on how picky you are about brands etc but $1/jar vs. $4+/jar was worth it for me 🙂
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You can also get spices online at wholesale prices - I do this a lot with the less-common spices, because the jars at the grocery store have often been sitting there a long time, whereas stuff from a wholesaler who mostly caters to restaurants will have inventory turn over much faster. I like MySpiceSage, personally, though they don't have the widest selection ever (no galangal 🙁 )
 
Escalla said:
:whistle:

I have no idea what you just listed...

Cayenne pepper and Montreal steak spice are about as fancy as I get. :laugh:
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This reminded me that I need to buy Old Bay before I move. Can't imagine it's in grocery stores in Missouri and don't want to risk it. So, thank you.

That plus lemon pepper and a coarse salt are basically all I use.
 
kakurubird said:
This reminded me that I need to buy Old Bay before I move. Can't imagine it's in grocery stores in Missouri and don't want to risk it. So, thank you.

That plus lemon pepper and a coarse salt are basically all I use.
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Mmmmmm Old Bay. I grew up going to the Chesapeake bay every summer so that stuff = happy memories. I can find it a my grocery store up in NYC but I'd get a huge can of it before leaving just to be safe!
 
kakurubird said:
This reminded me that I need to buy Old Bay before I move. Can't imagine it's in grocery stores in Missouri and don't want to risk it. So, thank you.

That plus lemon pepper and a coarse salt are basically all I use.
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I did a double take when you mentioned the beltway recently, and now I know we're meant to be best friends. I'm pretty sure most people outside of MD don't even know what Old Bay is, let alone have it :laugh:
 
I'm loving this conversation 🙂 except it is making me hungary lol
 
kakurubird said:
This reminded me that I need to buy Old Bay before I move. Can't imagine it's in grocery stores in Missouri and don't want to risk it. So, thank you.

That plus lemon pepper and a coarse salt are basically all I use.
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Old Bay....I had to google that one. My spice knowledge is clearly limited. Glad to be helpful though! 😀
 
that redhead said:
I did a double take when you mentioned the beltway recently, and now I know we're meant to be best friends. I'm pretty sure most people outside of MD don't even know what Old Bay is, let alone have it :laugh:
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I have to deal with the DC beltway, not Baltimore beltway--don't know which you're closer to.

felinelvr44 said:
Mmmmmm Old Bay. I grew up going to the Chesapeake bay every summer so that stuff = happy memories. I can find it a my grocery store up in NYC but I'd get a huge can of it before leaving just to be safe!
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for some reason, I just feel NYC is a bit different than central Missouri. no offense Missouri, but, gotta keep it honest.

Escalla said:
Old Bay....I had to google that one. My spice knowledge is clearly limited. Glad to be helpful though! 😀
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it's definitely a regional thing!


I almost said something about wanting to get crabs before moving, but, um, that can come across the wrong way. also, need to get Ethiopian food. basically, my list of things to do before moving is just different places I need to eat!
 
kakurubird said:
I almost said something about wanting to get crabs before moving, but, um, that can come across the wrong way. also, need to get Ethiopian food. basically, my list of things to do before moving is just different places I need to eat!
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Every time I'm going to leave CA for more than a few days I get Mexican and Thai foods. :laugh:
 
washbucket said:
Every time I'm going to leave CA for more than a few days I get Mexican and Thai foods. :laugh:
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This is going to be the first time since I started undergrad that my preparation for school starting doesn't need to include getting poboys and red beans and rice every chance I get.
 
kcoughli said:
Just a semi-helpful hint for those on a budget - a lot of the more common spices are usually in stock at a dollar store (things like cinnamon, oregano, etc). Depends on how picky you are about brands etc but $1/jar vs. $4+/jar was worth it for me 🙂
Click to expand...

Also, buy spices from the mexican section or a mexican grocery. Cheap and good quality.

kakurubird said:
This reminded me that I need to buy Old Bay before I move. Can't imagine it's in grocery stores in Missouri and don't want to risk it. So, thank you.

That plus lemon pepper and a coarse salt are basically all I use.
Click to expand...

My first old bay experience was last week, eating crabs in the outer banks. One crab spine stabbed some old bay deep into a knuckle and it swelled up for a day or two. Ouch. Tasty stuff, though.
 
Find a store where you can buy spices from the bulk foods section, and you can save some money, too. Not only are the spices often less expensive, but you have control over how much you buy so you don't end up with 6x as much as you could reasonably go through in a year. Even dried spices lose their potency over time. Plastic or glass spice jars can be found, or you can recycle. I use 4oz jelly jars for mine, cuz a tablespoon fits easily and they stack when I need them to.
 
We got our financial aid packages today... :uhno:
Can I just crawl in a hole for a week and pretend those loans don't exist? I mean, I obviously new how much they were, but now they're real. Also feeling guilty for throwing this debt onto my fiance in a year or so. 🙁
 
I just got 23 clean, decent sized boxes from the pet food store across the street. I am way too excited about this. 🙂
 
Stb1473 said:
We got our financial aid packages today... :uhno:
Can I just crawl in a hole for a week and pretend those loans don't exist? I mean, I obviously new how much they were, but now they're real. Also feeling guilty for throwing this debt onto my fiance in a year or so. 🙁
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If it makes you feel any better, if you die or get divorced, your future husband doesn't have to pay back your student loans. 😳
 
Stb1473 said:
We got our financial aid packages today... :uhno:
Can I just crawl in a hole for a week and pretend those loans don't exist? I mean, I obviously new how much they were, but now they're real. Also feeling guilty for throwing this debt onto my fiance in a year or so. 🙁
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I think that the loan counseling simulation was worse....
 
Stb1473 said:
That definitely did not help...especially the estimated loan payments once I graduate. At least you got a scholarship to help ease the pain this year! Congrats!
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Thanks Stb! I am completely shocked! At least after the first year, it can only get cheaper! Yay for silver linings!!
 
kakurubird said:
This reminded me that I need to buy Old Bay before I move. Can't imagine it's in grocery stores in Missouri and don't want to risk it. So, thank you.

That plus lemon pepper and a coarse salt are basically all I use.
Click to expand...

My father lives in southern Kansas and the stores there have Old Bay. Granted, Kansas isn't quite Missouri, but it's not to far away. So there may be hope, but I am a preparer so I wouldn't chance it either.
 
According to my loan simulation, with the loans I'm going to have, I should have a job with a $174,000 starting salary. Rofl.
 
Our financial aid packages have been posted... It's all starting to get more real.... Cha Ching Cha Ching ...
 
Kpowell14 said:
Our financial aid packages have been posted... It's all starting to get more real.... Cha Ching Cha Ching ...
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I can't believe you guys are just getting this info! We got ours back in March...
 
felinelvr44 said:
I can't believe you guys are just getting this info! We got ours back in March...
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We at OK State just got ours too. It had to do with financial stuff on their end, as in figuring out tuition increases as to make up for cut budgets and number of students and so on and so forth. Every school is different, just like admissions.
 
Since I've already paid 325.00 as a tuition deposit to save my seat, I consider myself a student. Once they start getting your tuition, you are technically a student of that school. But I won't change my SDN status until school actually starts because I know it gets people riled up.
 
cs5910 said:
Since I've already paid 325.00 as a tuition deposit to save my seat, I consider myself a student. Once they start getting your tuition, you are technically a student of that school. But I won't change my SDN status until school actually starts because I know it gets people riled up.
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I just figured that I'm closer to being a veterinary student (1 month out) than I am to being an undergrad (spring semester ended 2 months ago). :laugh: Plus, I have my "c/o 2017" under my screen name so it shouldn't be too confusing to see how far along I am...
 
I totally agree with you!!
 
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