Investigative Money: studying, and the fine art of living on next to nothing

My money situation has done nothing but improve since I've started studying. I think I've ranted before about how liberating the lack of money feels - my acute awareness of the lack of money means that I'm not overspending week by week, rather, counting (and accounting for) every cent. I've been very accurate with my budget, something I have been not that great at doing in the two or three months leading up to beginning study. And it feels absolutely fabulous. I really want to take this feeling of control with me into the post-study, post-debt stage of my life, and it's something I'm going to work really hard to maintain.

I could never have imagined myself saying this 18 months ago. Bizarre.

Truth be told, I've had a couple of great things that have happened that have further freed up my money situation, including the tax people being very understanding with my tax repayments (did I mention my $5000 of overdue taxes? No?). Basically, I had paid off about half of this debt and - be still my beating heart - have been "excused" from the remainder, due to hardship. That is: I rang the IRD to advise them that I would have to pay off the debt at a much lower rate per week, and they just wiped it entirely. When they rang me to tell me this, the phone had woken me up from an afternoon nap and I was absolutely convinced that I had dreamt it. I had to wait until a letter arrived before I could let myself believe. It felt like an enormous weight melting off my shoulders, dissolving into the ether, slip-sliding away ... Moral of this story: TALK to the IRD petals. TALK to the tax people. Do not run away from the Tax.

Would you like to see the Debt Unicorn?

Cunning things to notice: I am just over $1000 dollars still in debt. I'm paying off about $100 a month at the moment (down from $600) and just whittling away at it for the time being. I plan to pay off the rest in a couple of big chunks when I'm working again and then dance in my underwear for about three weeks non-stop.

Ok, so enough of the skiping already. Want to hear my top things for saving money at the moment?

• Taking a leaf out of Ange's book, I am giving myself "espresso days" and not drinking espresso coffee on any other days (unless, of course, I am given one as a treat from my Boy). So, at the moment, I'm only drinking espresso coffees on Monday, Friday and one day in the weekend. Sometimes on Monday I think "oh, I'll treat myself tomorrow instead", but my self imposed rule means that even if I shuffle my treats around I'm still limiting my treats, and given that the coffees are now like, $4 each, the limitation sure is something.
• On the rest of the days, I take my wee flask of coffee to school and drink it in the student common room. It's officially the geekiest mature student thing that I do.
• Having breakfast means that I'm not hungry during my morning break - I come home and eat something substantial for lunch, leftovers or poached eggs on toast. Lately we've had a lot of soup around. So, no buying food out, unless I'm going for dinner or some other kind of meal - and then it's a social event, which is another matter entirely.
• If I'm not drinking any coffee and coming home for lunch, and then working from home in the afternoon, I've found myself having "spend nothing" days almost inevitably.
• I'm back on the cash band wagon. I take out $100 dollars on pay day, knowing that it should be enough to last the week. And, so far it's been pretty good - I've even been able to put a little money in my savings account because there has been money in my spending account that I haven't even touched.
• I've been saving for things I want! I've thought out any big purchases I'm planning to make over the next six months or so and I know about when and about how much I'm going to have to stump up. Organisation with money is a strange and wonderful thing.
• I'm not allowing myself to owe people money. If I can't pay for it, I don't do it.
• I've purged yet more of my clothes, and have taken stock of my clothing situation. The only clothing I can imagine myself needing or wanting over the next year would be a pair of black pants (I imagine cigarette-style pants). I've taken in a bunch of my clothing to the Recycle Boutique so I should have a little money there to help me get a new pair.
• And finally - tiny luxuries make me happy. I'm trying to treat myself to something little and luxurious week by week, knowing that (like the coffee) it's a little treat to reward me for all my good work. At the moment I'm looking at my lovely little miniature roses and reflecting on how pretty, lovely, and cost efficient they are. 

I'm loving on my tiny, concise world at present. Of course, I'm pretty much a hermit. But, I love that as well so HEY HO.