May 5, 2011 Students Consider Fast Food Finances
College students have a bad reputation for staying up at all hours of the night, which leads to late-night fast food runs. Due to busy schedules and limited income, fast food is a popular choice for most students, including myself. It’s fast, convenient and it’s much more appealing than campus food.
Although fast food restaurant menus usually have dollar menus and value meals, the dollars certainly add up. Learning smart money management not only helps with avoiding overspending on fast food, it also is preparation for life after college.
Americans will spend over 110 million dollars this year on fast food. That’s more than they’ll spend on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos and recorded music combined, according to cbsnews.com. Just think if the average college student spends about $5 per day on fast food that becomes $35 per week, which might not seem like so much, but can add up to $1,820 annually on fast food alone. Even buying a bottle of soda every day will cost at least $30 a month or more.
Freshman Jaronda Williams said the hours of the dining halls, convenience stores and Main Street Market in the Student Union Building (SUB) aren’t always convenient. She said she wishes food was available late at night.
“The options on campus aren’t always the best,” she said. “All the places to get food on campus close before I get hungry.” Williams said that sometimes she can use a snack at 3:00 a.m. and because the C-store closes at midnight during the week and 10 on the weekends, she’s not able to do so.
Senior Brian Nwuele, a student without a campus meal plan, said he eats fast food about three times per week.
“Sometimes when the SUB [Student Union Building] closes, I get hungry at night,” he said. “I definitely spend more money on fast food than I do on groceries.
Although most first year students have the convenience of a meal plan, they too fall victim of careless spending habits on fast food. Many can recall the transition to college life freshman year where eating occurred around the clock.
Nweule said he eats fast food for the convenience. If fast food wasn’t so cheap, he would probably spend the extra time and effort to buy groceries more often. He said a lot of people he knows would say the same thing.
“Sometimes people don’t feel like driving all the way to Walmart to get groceries here and there, when McDonalds is right around the corner,” he said.
By: Ashley Wilson & John Moenster
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