There are two unavoidable truths that many people don’t tell you, and if they do, you’re bound not to take them too seriously. The first is that the more you stress, the more you spend. The second is that the more you stress — unless monitoring it greatly (which can also be another factor for stress, right?) — the crappier you eat. Because there’s no time to do otherwise, and when there is, you’re just too tired to cook something healthier.

My weekly routine as a freshman consisted of leaving the apartment at 8:00 a.m. and coming back around midnight at least three times a week. Home being eight miles from Cornell, no car, a very, very limited bus schedule, and no meal plan made it so that, if I was lucky, I’d have breakfast at home and the rest of my meals (hopefully two) somewhere between school and work.

In a pretty desperate attempt to cut down on costs as aggressively as possible, I decided to go on an almost-all Ramen noodle diet for lunch and dinner, alternating with the Burger King dollar menu once a week or so. After 10 days, my mood swings and stress levels were so bad I decided it was better if I just started eating some real food. I’ve never tried the Ramen noodle diet again. In fact, I actually don’t recall the last time I’ve eaten Ramen noodles in the last two years.

I’m sure you’ve heard similar things, or even tried them yourself. Eating cheap is hard, especially when you’re pressed for time and stressed out as hell. You are what you eat; unfortunately, often you are merely what you can afford to eat. Healthy food is expensive to buy and/or time consuming to prepare.

In observance of my previous experiences and hoping to give a couple pointers to keep you all sane/not-too-unhealthy/not-fattening-up-like-Thanksgiving-turkeys-with-the-coming-of-Winterlike-Fall, here are a couple things you can do to be good to your body — and mostly, to your wallet. These are, by no means, new or amazingly insightful ideas; then again, when I read them/tried them out I felt they were pretty good, so I’m passing them along anyway.

Disclaimer: I am no nutritionist here. However, I have read a bunch of things on this and have talked to a nutritionist a couple times. And, mostly, I’ve lived with pretty slim budgets for a while. So, take this advice from who it comes from: just your everyday Sun columnist that found nothing better but to give advice on saving money for her column this week, because the column on Facebook’s Restaurant City she tried to write just wasn’t cutting it:

1. Take your vitamins. A jar of 350 is like eight bucks at WalMart. With all the nutrients you need, feeding yourself less-than-optimally is bad, but not as terrible. Specifically, not eating your daily needed dose of ridiculously expensive fresh produce will not kill you. Basically, if you are going to keep living off pizza, bad burgers and cheap, cheap, cheap beer, at least you’re not getting anemic over it.

2. Buy frozen fruits and veggies. The nutritional value is not terribly lost, and they are SO much cheaper. Stir-fries do not suffer from it (and yay for less cutting time!) and defrosted berries with plain yogurt is lots better than buying yogurt with fruit — also cheaper, more nutritious and more filling.

3. Save that water bottle from lunch, and refill it everywhere. Most restaurants, dining halls, even libraries have water fountains. Drinking water is a lot healthier than anything else you can drink, it has no calories and it’s free. If you do this for lunch and dinner, savings can amount to around $60-70 a month.

4. Order a side salad instead of fries with your burger. It costs the same as fries (yes, check it out, it does!), and many are more than decent; the Wendy’s one-dollar salad is surprisingly good.

5. If you’re not on a meal plan, or your meal plan is lacking lunch meals: pack your lunch. It can be as much as 10 times cheaper than your regular lunch deal. Cheapest finds: Aldi’s 37-cent burritos and 69-cent chimichangas (*drool*). For a little more nutritious lunch combo, make a tuna pita Temple of Zeus-style; Wegman’s Flatouts are awesome and very carb-friendly for that; preparing them takes around three minutes.

6. Chill out. Really. The best way to eat and be healthy is to maintain a decent level of stress. Take time to cook something you’re actually good at and make enough to save for later. Make some tea — like, really make it: get the pot, boil the water, mumble nice things while the water boils and drink it slowly — it is more peaceful than you’d think! Bake cookies. Study next to a big window during the day and let the light slip in (and then look out the window and relax for a couple seconds before you start studying again). Don’t take coffee/chocolate/black tea before bed to ensure a nice and dreamful sleep. Play a board game with your roommate/partner/friends. Laugh. Be happy. And good luck!

Florencia Ulloa is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She may be reached at fulloa@cornellsun.com. Innocent Bystander appears alternate Tuesdays this semester.