By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer

Within the last year, I have realized that my enjoyment of eating out did not outweigh the consequences. I spent way too much money, developed unhealthy eating habits and in turn, I did not enjoy eating out anymore.

In my head, eating out here and there would be cheaper than making a big grocery run at the store. I was proven wrong after my bank statement came in — yikes. After receiving my bank statement, I was quick to learn that spending roughly $10 per meal added up more quickly than I thought. A report done by the Education Data Initiative concluded that college students spend on average $410 a month eating off-campus. I did not spend that much, but I was close.

After doing the math, I realized it would have been much cheaper to do grocery runs than to go Cane’s a few times a week. Not to mention, it would have been much healthier in terms of my diet.

A Worldmetrics report released last month had alarming results for college students’ diets and eating habits. Four of the statistics that stood out was that 70% of college students reported regularly eating fast food and 42% of college students reported eating out multiple times a week. Only 10% of college students eat the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables; 40% of college students consume sugary beverages daily. I am unfortunately a part of those statistics, and I know many of you who are reading this also fall under the statistics as well.

Go to H-E-B or ALDI and pick out foods that are affordable and easy to make, yet healthy. Having healthier eating habits may even improve your academic performance — you never know until you try.

Unless you want to spend way too much money, develop unhealthy eating habits and not enjoy eating out with friends anymore, I recommend that you eat out less.