OMG so freaking true. When I was in university I was BROKE. I had exactly enough to pay for housing, classes and books for exactly 2 years to graduate. No extra semester. Cram 4-5 classes each semester including one summer. Food consisted of donations from friends who had cafeteria cards (I saved 300$ a month not living on campus which offset having my car which cost less than that to operate and saved me hours waiting for buses and saved my life when they had a 2 month bus strike) or sometimes my mom would send me things. I ate a LOT of hummus (so cheap to make), mustard on toast, rice, rice, rice (I do like rice) and EVERY once in a while when I had a few extra dollars I would get a cheap $1 hotdog from the shop around the corner who took pity on me and gave me free sides of coleslaw or chips sometimes.  From that experience I eat incredibly cheaply now even though I could go out every day. I make a lot of my own food and never buy prepacked food (except the $1 discount bag of salad, DEAL!) and I am a master at sauces, dressings, leftovers, leftover pies (my favorite) and I don't think I have paid for a 'single serve' non alcoholic drink in over a year. That's right, no sodas, juices, coffees, etc. Make tea and ice tea at home, coffee at work, lots of water and a soda stream at home which I can make carbonated lemonade with garden lemons. Imagine how much you can save if you cut out the $2-5 a day that most people spend on drinks, from a simple coffee, to a quick bottle juice? that's like 700 to 1700 dollars saved a year.