Eating on a college budget can be difficult. Eating out is expensive, but cooking can take up time that few of us have between classes and club commitments. Often, the only available options are unhealthy or just downright inedible. I am occasionally guilty of eating pricey takeout to avoid cooking because of sheer laziness. Still, I usually find myself in a situation where I need to eat on a budget but don’t have time to run home and cook or am too busy to meal prep.
This conundrum leaves me wondering if it’s even realistic to eat out affordably as a college student in Ithaca. Thus, I posed a challenge to myself: eat three hearty meals without cooking but without spending more than fifteen dollars. As a result, I have come up with a cheap eating itinerary that is the solution for busy, or maybe just lazy, college students in Ithaca…
For my first stop of the day, I made my way to an Ithaca classic, Collegetown Bagels. I usually would skip CTB if I were trying to eat on a budget. Everything on the sandwich menu is pretty pricey and would definitely exceed my daily spending. However, CTB’s convenient location made it the best possible option for me.
On my way to class, I stopped at the store and began searching for a cheap breakfast option. I scanned the items in their fridge but didn’t see anything satisfactory for breakfast. I looked at the sandwich board but didn’t think it wise to spend half my budget on my favorite CTB sandwich, the California Sunrise. I was craving the egg, cheese, avocado, and red onion of the sandwich but decided to go with something a bit different.
Just as I was about to give up hope on finding something affordable, I turned to the pastry display and found what I had been looking for. I couldn’t decide between a savory or salty breakfast, but luckily, the prices were so reasonable I didn’t have to choose. I settled on a spinach-feta croissant and a blueberry muffin. The muffin was a bit dry and weirdly lacking in the sweetness I was craving, but I found a new favorite in the spinach-feta croissant. I spent four dollars on the muffin, and the savory pastry cost me around three dollars.
With only eight dollars left to spend, I knew I had to be savvy with my remaining funds for the day. I was worried the pastries wouldn’t be enough, but I found that I was full for my first two morning classes. Still, as my lunch break came closer, I became quite hungry. The panic began rising in me when I realized that my budget might not be sufficient to quell my grumbling stomach.
I left my class in Ives and headed towards Temple of Zeus on my quest for a cheap lunch. I was immediately intimidated. The chalkboard menu was devoid of prices and only listed sandwiches that sounded expensive to me. After considering going somewhere else for a meal, I decided to overcome my anxieties about going over budget and approached the cashier. I asked what the soup of the day was and how much it would cost me. I was delighted by their spicy mulligatawny special, a creamy chicken curry from Tamil cuisine with aromatic apples and cooked chicken. But I was even more delighted by the price – $5.55! Not only would I be able to eat an economical lunch, but it was delicious, filling, and nutritious.
You may be wondering how it is possible to eat dinner with only $2.45 left in my daily budget. To that, I offer you what I consider to be one of the best hacks I have ever thought of. While browsing my email inbox earlier, I saw something that I usually would have ignored. It was an invitation sent to everyone in the ILR school for an evening guest lecture. I almost skipped past the message, but I lingered on the email for one second longer and saw exactly what I needed to see.
The lecture would be providing free refreshments and snacks. So later that night I went to that lecture in order to get my dinner. As I was educated about racism in West Virginia during the 1970s, I enjoyed a complete meal of pizza with salad. The event was enriching to both my mind and my stomach, and I left feeling extremely satisfied.
Eating cheaply requires a bit more effort and diligence, but it is definitely doable. This is not what I will be doing every day, but I hope this serves as inspiration to eat out on days where cooking or going to a dining hall is too difficult or time-consuming.
Caitlin Gallagher is a junior in the School of Industrial & Labor Relations. She can be reached at [email protected].