My average day consists of a venti drink from Starbucks, a meal from a fast food restaurant, a Top This! Yogurt, and a sweep of whatever is in the fridge or pantry at home.

Thank you, Dad, for my fast metabolism. But all of this was costing me around $15 for food everyday. 

That’s an embarrassing $105 a week, $420 a month. I earn that much from work, so I’m not doing well in the savings department.

So I decided to put myself on a food budget: $25 for a whole week. Sure, that’s easy, you might say. But I had to do my own grocery shopping, cook all my own meals and say no to the number 15 combo at Jack in the Box, all while driving past three Starbucks locations a day. 

I started off feeling strong. I wrote down a plan for all my meals and estimated the cost of groceries. I figured that if I bought in larger quantities, and stayed away from the more expensive processed foods, I could do alright.

At the grocery store I soon realized that this, for lack of a better term, was going to suck. 

I started losing hope quickly when I saw that the already sliced perfectly portioned apple bags with caramel I always eat after school cost $7.

So after regrouping in the hair products section, I picked up a pound of hamburger meat for $1.99, a half gallon of milk for the same price, a loaf of bread for $2.09, four bananas for $2.50, two boxes of Kraft mac and cheese a dollar each, six eggs for $2, a head of lettuce for $2.35, a jar of peanut butter for $3, and those cute little Disney fruit cups with sliced peaches, which were on sale for $2.50.

Everything cost me $21.94,  including tax. 

This left me about $3 just in case I needed an emergency McChicken. 

Now my true challenge began.

Breakfasts were to consist of an egg and a piece of toast with a large glass of water. 

Lunches could be either a peanut butter sandwich or a box of mac and cheese. 

A tasty Mickey Mouse fruit cup could be the cherry on top.

Dinner was a time for creativity. I could make hamburgers with toast as buns, toss a salad or construct a banana peanut butter sandwich. 

I could alternatively put some hamburger meat into mac and cheese for a bigger meal.

Saturday through Tuesday was hell. 

My friends kept forgetting about my budget and asked me to get Bagel Street, Taco Bell or Starbucks. 

Each time I had to decline with, “Stop asking me that!”

On Friday, I celebrated with a meal from McDonald’s. It never tasted so amazing.

I ended up saving $80. I realized that in a few years, after I move out and start paying for my rent and utilities, this is probably how I am going to have to live. 

So, if I calculate this all correctly, I will be dependent on my mother’s income until I’m 34.