Just being out and about jogging and riding my bike, in the last couple days I've spied:

• 2 fig trees with ripe, ignored figs, one that was full of crows
• 1 apple tree dropping fruit
• 2 walnut trees being attacked by crows for the nuts
• Macadamia nuts rolling in the gutter
• Avocado trees with fruit in several parking strips and unattended areas

And I wasn't even looking for free food. I'm thinking maybe those figs deserve a visit from Diane's Midnight Produce. It might be wise to pay attention to crows.

I'm a college student and I live alone. I spend 150-200 a week. It's insane, I know. Hearing all of your bills makes mine seem even more absurd. :( I'm a huge foodie, and like RacerRex9727, experiment quite a lot. It's so much fun for me. It drives me absolutely insane when kids my/our age eat like crap because of money. I dated a guy once who exclusively ate McDonalds, because of financial reasons. Little did he know it would be cheaper to go to the store and actually buy REAL food! :)

I spend a lot of money on food in lieu of clothes. I rather eat good food.

Here's a real simple argument concerning the cost of food.

• Food is cheap . . .healthcare is expensive.

• Food is cheap . . .shortening your life can also save you money.

• You want cheap gas for your car, why not for your body??

The point to make is over the long run it's impossible to quantify the positive financial impact of keeping your body healthy especially at a young age. But I know over the long run:

• Your peers will be sick more than you.
• Your peers will have less energy than you.
• Your peers will be more depressed than you.
• Your peers will look older than you.
• Your peers will envy you.

Take care of your body, it's the only one you get.

Matt
PhysiqueRescue.com

Priorities. It's simple. I'm not in college nor did I even have a clue what Paleo was in college (started college 10 years ago), it's all about perspective. I've got a pretty good job now and can afford to be a bit more selective with food quality, quantity and variety. With that said, it's still a choice. A bit extra for quality food? A bit extra at a smaller, non-chain store? A little longer drive to a local farm or farm market? To me, it's worth it. Not only the health benefits, but the overall well-being and good feeling I get from it.

I know this kind of went off tangent from the original topic, but I still think it comes down to priorities. For those needing to stretch every dime, understandable. However, for most I think there are many other cuts/changes that could be made, many unrealized, that could allow for some better adherence to food quality/quantity. For instance, the thread starter could turn $20/month in alcohol to $0/month in alcohol and probably enhance 5-7 meals to grass-fed beef quality.

Not judging anyone as long as it's understood that until you're at your bare minimum in-terms of what can be substituted, it's always a priority thing. Being in college once I completely understand the $20/month on alcohol being important than the extra 10% adherence to Paleo. As long as you don't hear "it's impossible to even consider eating Paleo in college" argument from someone with this trade-off possible.

dumpster diving behind produce stores is always an option...just saying

Hi! I'm also a college. I live by myself and only spend about $60 a week. Basically its cheaper for me to be Paleo than be on the SAD diet - before I was buying a lot of bread and my bill was on average $90.

I don't have a big fridge so I shop three times a week, $20 each time. Plus I walk to the shops so its extra fitness. $10 will give me either two large chicken breasts or 2 packs of sausages or about 15 slices of bacon. I live in a cheaper area than a lot of people so I'm glad that I don't have to fork out $300 like other people I've heard on this site. I also eat more vegetables than meat as well.

When you think about all the health problems and bills you will have to pay at the hospital for eating SAD it is fiscally worth it to eat healthy. I eat a largely plant-based paleo diet and it is way cheaper to buy lots of veggies in bulk and splurge the remainder on a little good quality meat/fish. It's not hard to buy in bulk online either on things like coconut oil which lasts months.

My budget has been rather expensive lately, about $150 a week. I know, that's a lot for one person. But I guess I've been experimenting with more ambitious paleo cuisine too, so I tend to buy more ingredients to have a well-stocked pantry with variety rather than sticking with the basics.

My husband and I spend around $300/mo. We're on a budget, but we do buy grass-fed (our local resource is not much more expensive than conventional). We don't have much in the way of organic food around here, but I usually try to get it when I can find it, as budget allows. We also do eat some grain and legumes, so it drives down our costs somewhat.

About half of that budget is in animal protein, between my monthly order from the local rancher, a monthly subscription for Wild Planet Sardines from Amazon, and quality fish when I find it. Then there's eggs (we eat about 2 dozen a week), which we can get locally, but at the rate we eat them, they're prohibitively expensive, so we get large packs of conventional eggs. I also make a point of ordering meat on the bone, some organs, and cheaper cuts. I make bone broth regularly, and in addition to soups and things, I use it to cook well soaked beans and quinoa and rice.

I can only afford $100-125/month on food. I don't find McDonalds that cheap but pasta and ramen noodles are definitely more affordable than all the paleo foods. I end up buying lots of carrots, canned tuna, and huge packs of beef and chicken (all icky grain fed kind). But what happens is I end up buying cheap pasta and ramen anyway because I just can't afford the paleo stuff, even the apparently cheap foods, and I just don't know how other people do it. I suppose they actually have more than $200/month to live on (after rent). :(

I definitely spend way too much money on food. I've just figured out all the good food sources in my college town, and it looks like I'll have a grocery bill of about $50/wk, maybe more. I consider well-sourced animal products top priority, so the bulk of my spending goes toward organic, pasture-raised eggs, pork, beef, and dairy, and wild-caught salmon. Then I have odds and ends like coconut flour, strained tomatoes, unsweetened applesauce for baked goods (apple coconut bread, meatza, etc). I don't buy any veggies. I'm on an unlimited meal plan and my college has a wonderful, well-stocked salad bar... lots of local/organic produce. But yeah, if I had to buy veggies I'd easily be up to at least $100/wk. Ridiculous.

WOW- Where are you living???!!!! I can't believe you are able to eat like that for $6 a day? I live in San Francisco- which is one of the most expensive cities to live in the world- and since I buy organic and expensive items such as raw milk (10 a half gallon) I usually spend about $300 a WEEK, so $1200 a month or more- on food just for me, one person. I'm majorly trying to cut back but one bag from Whole Foods is easily $80. Today I did a big grocery shopping for the week and spent $250 and when I got home and unloaded my bags my fridge still looked empty!!!! I also eat out a few times a week since I work such long hours. But yah, the majority of my income goes towards food every month. Share your tips! What do you eat each day?

Of course McDonalds is more expensive-- they're trying to make a profit off of already-prepared food. And cafeteria food at my college costs about the same or more.

What is cheaper than eating real food is eating stuff like ramen, chef boyardee, mac and cheese... then you're kidding yourself if you say real food costs less. It's well worth the money spent IMO, but at least I have that extra money to put towards diet! Some people honest-to-god don't, you have to remember. Yes it's better to spend it on food than hospital bills, great... if you have the money in the first place.

Bacon, eggs, and some organic beef for a week (not grassfed; I'm in college too man) or halal goat cost me about $30-40. Things like butter/oil/produce bump the bill up to around 60 sometimes, I don't know-- I'd guess 40-70 as well.

Check out Trader Joes, or buy bulk protein at a one of those warehouse discount stores.

When it comes down to your own personal health there really is no quantifiable value you can attach to your life.

Recently found out that this year is going to be really tight for my BF and I (bad fishing season :( hopefully next year is better). So far we've been really stretching things out buy getting the 30% off "use today or freeze" antibiotic free cuts of meat, ground beef, and with LOTS of bone broth. I buy huge packs of chicken feet for super cheap and make broth, then cook all my rice and small amount of meat in it. Very little muscle meat, some egg yolks, some liver, some frozen/canned seafood, lots of broth, lots of rice, lots of nice starchy veg, lots of greens, some coconut milk. So far so good. I'm just starting to realize how much I can cut back on eating muscle meat via this method.