I'd budget like $1000-$1200/ month. I paid $900/month just for rent when I went through the program. And eating at restaurants is an easy $20/day on the low-low end. $20*30 = $600/month. That's already $1500/month. If you're really diligent, you can cut a lot of the food cost by going to 2-3 meetups every week and getting free meals. Or eating the $5 special at Subway every single day every single meal like I did. (I may never eat a Tuna Jalapeno sub again in my life.)