Everyone, everywhere loves food. And if you say differently, you’re lying to yourself.
Food is incredible, but most really good food can be expensive. As we all know, the theme of my blog is ballin’ on a budget so, as always, I’m gonna provide you with some ways to save money while still enjoying your fav foods.
1. Student Discounts
As we all know, there are lots of food options on and around campus that are basically giving money away yet no one knows about it.
But of course, I have a couple personal favorites that I’m going to share with you all.
Bubbakoo’s Burritos on 53 Easton Ave., New Brunswick
I’m all about cheap, Americanized Mexican food that just gets the job done and if you’re like me, you gotta go to Bubbakoo’s. They offer different deals for Rutgers’ students every day.
Another on-campus convenience that I’m sure a lot of us frequent is:
Qdoba on Livingston Campus, Piscataway
Or any Qdoba, really, but it’s pretty easy to get to the one that’s on Livi. People keep trying to tell me that Chipotle is better, but I’m just not buying it. I’ve never heard of an E Coli scare at Qdoba!!! Anyway, Qdoba offers students a free drink with their meal. Personally, I’m the type of restaurant-goer that would rather pass on a drink than pay $2 for some sugar water. However, if they wanna give it to me for free I’m not gonna deny them that pleasure.
And, because I’m amazing, HERE is a nice, comprehensive gallery by Seventeen magazine of 30 different restaurants that provide student discounts.
2. Meal Deals
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m a sucker for a great brunch. Mimosas, yes; breakfast food, yes; great times with friends (or even alone because brunch is a lifestyle), yes!!!!!
George Street Ale House on 378 George St., New Brunswick
Now, this place has been back and forth on how they run their brunches for a little while. The last time I went, it was bottomless mimosas and a brunch menu item for $35. To me, if you’re someone who drinks a lot $35 for bottomless anything is really a loss for the restaurant SO I love brunch. George Street offers lots of food items and different variations of brunch cocktails. Their brunch weekends are always packed and it’s just a loud, fun place to be.
Again, I really love breakfast food. For me, a diner is pretty much the best kind of restaurant ever invented, which brings me to:
Somerset Diner on 1045 Easton Ave., Somerset
Every diner pretty much has breakfast specials that include a plate of food and a coffee/juice. The specials here range from $6 for two eggs, potatoes, and toast, to $10 for 4 pancakes and bacon/sausage; all of them come with coffee AND juice. I just love the Somerset Diner, and most people in the area do as well. It has a 4-star rating and, as someone whose worked in a diner, that’s a very high standard. They’re open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but good luck getting a table at peak hours (8am-1pm) on the weekends.
I also gotta throw in the Wendy’s 4 for $4. Everyone knows about it, but come on, what a meal deal.
3. Loyalty Cards
I am a huge proponent of all things Loyalty Card. I love signing away my personal information for a chance at getting something for free. I sign up for them at places I’m pretty sure I’ll never go back to just in case.
Places like Panera, Starbucks, Jersey Mike’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Qdoba, Chipotle, etc. all have locations at our school and all offer a card that tallies points every time you stop by.
Starbucks is my personal go-to fav and I can’t even tell you how many points I’ve earned going to the one on College Ave. You earn a point for every $1 you spend, bu they also have different deals every week where if you go x amount of times or try “this new item,” you earn double points. I get a free drink at least two or three times a month which is honestly incredible.
Panera is also a good one to have because once in a while you’ll go to pay for your food and the cashier or the kiosk will surprise you with a “you’ve earned a free pastry, would you like to add it to your order?” To which the answer should almost always be yes because duh, free food.
Food is essential to life and happiness and basically everything, so I hope some of this can help you enjoy it a bit more by spending a bit less on it.
xoxo broke, hungry b*tch
Ballin' on a Budget 
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS. I’m always broke and I love food lol.
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Dude I love bottomless brunches I had no idea George street ale house did them!!!! Omg im totally doing it this weekend!!! Somerset Diner is actually amazing ( I love the little bar carts they walk around with) I sound like a raging alcoholic I promise I’m not lol. I also rely on Panera 4/7 nights of the week for dinner I def need a panera card. I completely agree with you tht breakfast is the best food!!! Great job this week girl
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Once I saw Guy Fieri, I knew this was going to be a good post! I always tend to bring food from home cause why not since I commute and I always have to resist the urge to spend money on more food since I’m trying to save money for summer classes. However, this post is a life saver. I knew about the Wendy’s 4 for $4 but not about the other stuff, so thank you! But overall, thank you for all of your great posts this semester, they were truly helpful and I appreciated the way you wrote out your tips 🙂
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okay I needed this post in my life. Qdoba will never compare to Chipotle tbh but I’m kinda mad that they would always ask me if I wanted a drink with my order and never mentioned that it was free!! I always turned down paying money for sugar water like you stated.
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This is relatable lol. I usually order a lot of food, mostly Mexican takeout, but before I do I would spend like 20 minutes online to try to find some kind of promo code or coupon code or something, and I rarely find any. Discounts for food are blessings.
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I enjoyed this post, im always looking for deals at different places. The gifs you used made it so funny lol and free food is always amazing. Im definitely going to check out the places you mentioned they sound like really good deals.
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this is super helpful, although i will say i really dont like somerset diner because every time i have been (like 5 times) the workers have been pretty rude!! idk foods good though, and i especially love that u included that brunch deal
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It is really helpful blog, and I have been to Somerset diner for couple times, the burger was so good and they also have the discount for Rutgers students
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Why would I ever read this on a morning where I skipped out on breakfast. Like always, great tips. I have lunch in my bag currently but I want to go to Qdoba to get that free drink lol. You can never go wrong with saving.
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This blog has been so helpful and informative and you best believe I will referencing it from time to time! I think you were very smart in making your last post about food because you just made all of our heart complete with your last hoorah! I swear by the wend’y 4 for 4 and I HAVE JUST GOTTEN THE STARBUCKS APP!! Currently still trying to navigate it because I’m slow and take forever to understand something, but regardless, I’m halfway there ahaha. Thank you for all of the budgeting you’ve helped me do! Hopefully I can keep it up so that I’m not broke by the time I get to summer 🙂
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As soon as i read the word “food” i had to immediately continue reading your post lol. I don’t think anyone understands how much I LOVE food. Thanks for all the great tips on where to go and the perks students have in some places. I also found myself giggling with some of the things you mentioned. Again, great post 🙂
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I can’t live without food!!! As a college student, I pay a lot of attention to the amount of money I am spend on things. Hence, I try my level best to minimize the amount of money I spend on food…just because a home-cooked meal is cheaper. Lol. But once I heard about the student discounts, I began to actually experiment with the different cuisines on campus. And I agree that Qdoba is waaayyy better than Chipotle! The Somerset Diner is a place that my friends have really been urging me to go to, and now I am all the more pumped to try it out. Thank you for all the amazing posts!
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