Reply #34: Is there an Asian food store in your area?

[eyesroll]

Rice, noodles, condiments are all much cheaper there. Fresh produce is often a lot cheaper, too.
Mexican groceries have good deals as well -- a package of corn tortillas at the Mexican grocery near me is 33 cents; meat, especially pork, is very inexpensive there, too. While the weather is still cooperative, farmers markets can be a good source of fresh produce, especially if the vendors sell the uglier fruit/veggies at a discount.

Sometimes, you can find about-to-turn produce at the supermarket for next to nothing. I got a bag of about 10 brown-with-yellow-specks bananas for 50 cents once -- at a gourmet store, no less. I turned quite a bit of it into banana bread (which is good for breakfast) and used a few in smoothies. (sometimes, though, the discount produce is too old to be worth it.)

I'll sometimes buy a rotisserie chicken ($5.99 or so) and use the breast meat in, say, tacos or a sandwich or a casserole, the rest for chicken salad, and the carcass for soup. OH: Keep all your meat bones in the freezer (separate them by variety if you want), and use them for stock when you've got enough. (Simmer the bones for a few hours with scraps of onion, carrot, celery -- basically, whatever you've got lying around -- plus a bay leaf or two if you've got them -- in enough water to cover; strain and use.) You can use some of the stock for soup (just add cooked egg noodles) and freeze the rest in 1-cup containers to use when a recipe calls for it. Much, much less expensive than packaged stock (I consider my stocks to be pretty much free, since I'm making them from scraps.)

Take advantage of free food opportunities at school -- hell, I'm a long time out of my parents' house, but back in school, and I still go to a lot of activity meetings, networking receptions (sponsored by the career center), and other events; my university probably takes care of 5 meals a week during the back-to-school weeks, and 1-2 meals thereafter. (Yeah, a lot of it is pizza, but a lot of it isn't.)

Potlucks with friends can also stretch your budget, and vary your diet.

Even though some of the posters above say you'll starve on $200, I found I could eat very well for less than that. I cook a lot, though. The more prepared food you eat (with the exception of ramen), the harder it is.

If you need to budget for TP, toothpaste, laundry, etc., out of that, it'll be a little more difficult, but still doable -- don't wash your clothes after one wearing (except underwear) if all you've been doing is sitting in climate-controlled classrooms. Buy in bulk if you have the space -- toilet paper doesn't go bad. Use paper towels sparingly. Reuse plastic bags. Sometimes the store brands are worth it, sometimes they're not. I'm pretty brand-loyal for toilet paper, tampons (didn't click to find out if that applied to you), toothpaste, and pretty price-conscious when it comes to laundry detergent, dish soap, plastic wrap, foil. I still try to buy on sale, though.

Good luck.