Without taking the phrase “starving artist” too literally, living on your own in Los Angeles can often feel like the real life Hunger Games. The city is full of temptation to spend your money and some people forgo food altogether in favor of a booze diet or a stocked closet of designer clothes. Knowing how to feed yourself on a budget is valuable information because as it turns out: if you don’t eat, you’ll die. Read more in “HOW TO BE A BALLER ON A BUDGET PART 2: FOOD”

For those of you learning to grocery shop on your own for the first time, I will let you in on a secret. Many grocery stores offer the VIP treatment of membership cards and frequent shopper deals. These cards aren’t as glamorous as black or platinum cards; they’re better. While becoming a member at your local Ralph’s might not be brand new information to everyone, what a lot of people don’t know is that you can go to the Ralph’s website and add special coupons to your card.

Meal planning is an integral part of leading a healthy diet and also an excellent way to save money. Many bodybuilders and personal trainers will cook in bulk once a week and stock their fridges for seven days full with pre-made breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. While it may seem like a daunting task to cook this much at once, you actually save yourself the time of cooking each meal individually. Consider stocking your pre-made meals with lean proteins like chicken and mixed greens and vegetables. When bought in bulk, each individual meal will only cost you around $1.50, which is much lighter on your wallet and conscience.

If you’re feeling adventurous you could use this as an opportunity to try an extreme diet. I am not in any way endorsing this as a healthy lifestyle choice but life is full of risks anyway, why not take them? Many people in Los Angeles take part in trendy juice cleanses where they have bottles of fresh juice delivered every day from companies like Pressed Juicery. If this doesn’t sound like a hellish experience and actually sounds like fun to you, by all means go for it.

If you are feeling an inclination to go out to dinner, stop into any hotel and snatch a few Entertainment books from the kiosk in the front lobby. These books are generally intended for hotel guests only but are packed with coupons and deals for local restaurants. If you aren’t feeling brave enough to walk into a hotel lobby there are always online resources like Groupon and Living Social that essentially give you the same thing, minus the adrenaline rush.