When you walk out of the bar on the night you didn’t get lucky, or any other night for that matter, the first thing on your mind is usually food. Few things are as comforting as drowning your sorrows in a cheeseburger after you strike out with the ladies. After a night of drinking, or a day spent shopping at the mall, you may be too broke for Denny’s, or even a value meal at McDonald’s. That is when the average college student has to get cagey in the pursuit of a decent meal.
The first place most people go looking for a cheap meal is the local fast food restaurants. Most of these places have 99 cent or dollar menus. The most popular menus of this type appear to be at McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s. These menus work for a lot of people because they include almost anything you want. Wendy’s for example has burgers, fries, drinks, salads, chicken nuggets, chili, and even a baked potato. So many choices, and all of them just one dollar each! Adam DeRose, 21, from Grand Island says, “When I’m liquored up, I usually get two Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers, Fries, and a Coke from the Wendy’s dollar menu. It’s a whole bunch of food.” Adam only spends $4.28, gets all the ketchup he can eat, and he goes to bed with a full stomach.
These dollar menus have the added benefit of requiring very little math to figure out how much you’re spending. Let’s face it, we are not all math majors, and after a night of drinking it’s doubtful that our computational skills improve. But anyone who is aware of the existence of sales tax, and can count to four, can easily place an order from a dollar menu.
For the students looking for fast food that is not burger-based, the other option is Subway. There is a new breed of people out there that like the idea of eating healthy food. Even though many students find healthy eaters weird, they are still out there. Subway prices vary with each product. Six-inch classic subs range in price from $3.25 to $4.75. The subs at the $4.75 range may be too pricy with sales tax, but there are many other cheaper options at Subway.
The main barrier to getting your $5 meal from a fast food place is the limited hours these places keep. Recently some fast food places have made moves toward staying open later, but what if you can’t find one of these places? That means that you might actually have to cook your own meal. Cooking food is something many college students are terrified of doing, but there are some meals out there even a college student can cook. So grab a shopping cart, and head to a supermarket. Wegmans, for example, is always open 24 hours a day.
Just about every kid at college is aware of the unbelievable cheapness of Ramen soup. You can get six packages of Ramen for just 96 cents. That means you can feed yourself plenty of times for just five dollars. Ramen is rather easy to make as well. Making Ramen requires only hot water, a bowl, and a spoon to cook and eat. Ramen eats like a meal, but beware of the upcoming battle your body will have with all the MSG.
If you’re looking for a different kind of hot meal, and you even want it to taste good, you can always try spaghetti. You can buy a box of spaghetti, Procino & Rossi Spaghetti (sounds Italian doesn’t it? They’re from Syracuse.), for 63 cents. The box of spaghetti says it has 2.5 servings. That translates to about one male hungry college kid serving or two girls. A bottle of Ragu Rich & Meaty Meat Sauce costs $2.09, and is more than enough for one meal. Spaghetti is easy to make, but be careful of sauce stains on your nice club clothes.
For our next idea we turn to Betty Crocker for some advice. You may not be able to make Hamburger Helper for fewer than $5, but you can make Tuna Helper by Betty Crocker. A box of Tuna Helper costs $2.57, and you will find many varieties to choose from at the super market. Some of the most popular brands are Creamy Pasta, Cheesy Pasta, and Tuna Melt. One box of Tuna Helper requires only one can of tuna. You can buy one can of Bumblee Bee Tuna for $1.39. The other ingredients required are one cup of milk, and 3 tablespoons of butter. You can get a pint of milk for 50 cents. If you’re out of butter it’s not really that important anyway.
For the student that absolutely refuses to cook something there are other options out there. You can buy a box of Pop-Tarts for $2.19. You can get your average box of cereal for about $3.50. You can get a pint of milk to go with the cereal or Pop-Tarts for less than a dollar. You can even get a pound of bologna and a loaf of bread for fewer than five dollars. In fact, the grocery store has hundreds of combinations for food under five bucks.
Now that we have proven you can eat for only five dollars, saving your last five dollars is all you have to do. When you are out at the bar striking out with various ladies, just remember, you will be hungry soon.
