# Can You Eat on X a Day?



## Canadian (Jan 17, 2008)

Okay,

First i recognize that I have expensive tastes. I'm planning my next trip and plan to spend 80 dollars a day on food. Is this realistic? I'll have access to the student kitchen, so I can have a cheap breakfast (the school I'm planning on attending has no meal plan during the summer) of pop tarts and coffee, a sandwich for lunch (which I can either buy or prepare myself) and a supper (which will likely be a food court meal).

I'm budgeting 80 dollars a day, but I'm not planning to spend 80 dollars "each" day. Some days might be a Subway sandwich for supper, while other days might be a formal dining room on campus in one of the many high end eateries available. 

Is 80 a realistic figure or is it too little? I can always get by with a bit extra money, but not less than I'd really need. 

C.


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## flydad (Mar 10, 2014)

Yes, that's likely way more than you'll need. I travel frequently and my per diem ranges from $46 to $61 in the US and has always been plenty. It all evens out as some days you might spend hardly anything and others you might have an expensive dinner and drinks.


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## zzdocxx (Sep 26, 2011)

Good heavens.

For one meal a day? This is food we are talking about, right?

Or wait, will you be consuming bottles of wine with your meals and entertaining colleagues and/or females of the opposite sex?

Also, in what city will you be? Are the prices high there or average? Something we could probably find out online.

I'm thinking you are going to London, or Paris, NYC perhaps? Tokyo?


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## Canadian (Jan 17, 2008)

Good to know. I'm a friend of Bill and Bob's, so I won't be having any bottles of wine or anything like that.

That 80 includes taxicabs or metro, shopping at a nearby grocery and vending machine "food". If I want to go somewhere nice, I'll have to eat food court food for a few days.

zzdocxx,

I will be in Toronto. I have never been there, and I'm going to look into average prices. I'm expecting to spend 10 bucks on a sandwich from a student restaurant, but if I want a nice meal out, I could easily spend 200 bucks.

C.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

Your best sources of info will be other students, especially those resident for awhile. They'll know far more cheap, tasty, and filling places than they will gourmet.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

I know Bill and Bob well! That being said, you should have zero problem staying within your allotted food budget. Even with semi-expensive tastes, you should be able to live well.


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## Reuben (Aug 28, 2013)

$80 a day? Heck, I could eat on $80 a month. Wouldn't be pleasant, mostly 12 bean soup with ham necks over rice, but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.


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## Dieu et les Dames (Jul 18, 2012)

You'll be fine. Just be sure to keep track of your money.


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## blue suede shoes (Mar 22, 2010)

Reuben said:


> $80 a day? Heck, I could eat on $80 a month. Wouldn't be pleasant, mostly 12 bean soup with ham necks over rice, but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.


Ham necks over rice is very tasty, especially if you throw in some greens. Add some crusty French or Italian bread with butter and you have a meal to look forward to.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

blue suede shoes said:


> Ham necks over rice is very tasty, especially if you throw in some greens. Add some crusty French or Italian bread with butter and you have a meal to look forward to.


Holy crap! Now, I'm hungry. I'll have some skillet cornbread with mine, please.


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## Reuben (Aug 28, 2013)

drlivingston said:


> Holy crap! Now, I'm hungry. I'll have some skillet cornbread with mine, please.


For dinner today I had a local restaurant's speciality, the grilled cheese. It's a piece of bread, alayer of cheese, a layer of onion straws, a layer of pulled pork, a layer of pepper straws, barbecue sauce, bacon, cheese, top piece of bread, and then one last piece of cheese on top.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

Reuben said:


> For dinner today I had a local restaurant's speciality, the grilled cheese. It's a piece of bread, alayer of cheese, a layer of onion straws, a layer of pulled pork, a layer of pepper straws, barbecue sauce, bacon, cheese, top piece of bread, and then one last piece of cheese on top.


Wow! My cholesterol went up 20 points just reading that post. It doesn't matter. I WANT ONE!! That is what I am having if I venture to Athens. Tell me, do they butter the bread before the grilling? I grew up with night time dreams of Heather Locklear and Olivia Newton John. But, at my age, I am happy to have deviant dreams of a mouth watering grilled cheese.


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## Reuben (Aug 28, 2013)

drlivingston said:


> Wow! My cholesterol went up 20 points just reading that post. It doesn't matter. I WANT ONE!! That is what I am having if I venture to Athens. Tell me, do they butter the bread before the grilling? I grew up with night time dreams of Heather Locklear and Olivia Newton John. But, at my age, I am happy to have deviant dreams of a mouth watering grilled cheese.


They do, and they use challah-ish bread:

They also serve double decker burgers topped with pulled pork and chicken 'n French toast.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

Reuben said:


> They do, and they use challah-ish bread:
> They also serve double decker burgers topped with pulled pork and chicken 'n French toast.


Great... you better hope than I can get a drool stain out of a Hanro pajama top.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Looks like a variation of the monte cristo!!


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## Canadian (Jan 17, 2008)

I love eating Southern food, but around here, it's either cheap or good. Pick one. 

Does anybody have any suggestions for breakfasts on the run? I figure I'll roll out of bed at 8AM, grab something that doesn't require cooking and run to a 9AM class. Keep in mind I've got to shave and brush my teeth, so I might get five minutes to prepare something.

I'm thinking pop tarts, add water granola (with the kind that has powdered milk and blueberries) and maybe an iced tea or a Red Bull.

Does anybody know of caffeine pills that don't make you ralph? I used to use them when I had an early morning job, and around 10AM, I'd be in the washroom puking my guts out. They say it has the same effect as a coffee, but I've never gotten sick off a coffee.

C.


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## Reuben (Aug 28, 2013)

Cliff bar and an apple are my go to, or grape nuts and yogurt.


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## Canadian (Jan 17, 2008)

Do grape nuts require milk? 

Also is it healthy to eat a cliff bar every day for two weeks? Or should I supplement it with a bagel and a coffee?

C.


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## Reuben (Aug 28, 2013)

I mix the grape nuts and yogurt together, plus a little extra whatever I feel like (fruits, nuts, ect). And the cliff bar is probably healthier than the bagel. Not a good snack but definitely a decent start for the day.


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## pleasehelp (Sep 8, 2005)

Only you can answer that question, and whether these expensive tastes you mention are so crippling to you that you couldn't make $80 a day work for a food budget. There are plenty of places in the world where $80 wouldn't buy you a single meal, and plenty of places where you could eat for a week. It's all about what you want to eat and where. If you're starving with a food budget of $80 per day then you have a serious problem.


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## Anthony Charton (May 7, 2012)

I lived in Vancouver for three months- not princely, but fairly well- and spent an average of _far less_ than 80 a day- even by going out to a restaurant occasionally. (Oh, also guys, it's Canadian dollars he's talking about. I as surprised at first, too. The decreasing conversion GBP-Euro-US $- Can $ takes me a while.)


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## Fraser Tartan (May 12, 2010)

Related thread by the OP...

https://askandyaboutclothes.com/com...-Living-Within-One-s-Means&highlight=Spending


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## racebannon (Aug 17, 2014)

$80/day to eat? yes. To drink? that's not likely.


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