I'll definitely write about this later on the TicketStumbler new stuff blog.
Short answer: we live in a spacious dumpy place a 15 min walk away from Davis Sq (Boston area), have shitty health insurance, rarely use a car, keep the temperature low (read: cold) in the winter, don't go out to eat much and cook our own healthy food from the grocery/bakery. Despite all this, we still live like relative kings.
It's sort of cheating though because in terms of clothes & tech I came to Boston with everything I need so I spend literally no money on them now.
good on you. just having the ability to do this (sadly) sets you apart in these times.
the ability to prioritize costs allows you to have a standard of living higher than your income would suggest. this translates incredibly well to having more money. when you do make 100k you'll find yourself spending 50k and still living just as well as everyone else who makes 100k, or spending 100k and living like someone who makes 200k. most people don't prioritize because they never spend the time to sit down and really figure out what is important to them.
Grad students do this all the time. A friend of mine managed to save $20k in 2.5 years on a grad student salary (~$20K/year).
The secret is really roommates + no car + long walk to mass transit + cheap food. If you're willing to walk about 20 minutes to the nearest T stop, you can get quite a few places in the Boston area for ~$400/month. Eat vegetarian with a lot of rice & pasta dishes and you can probably squeak in under $10k/year, particularly if the university provides health insurance.
I live on about $17,000 per year after tax (I'm in the UK though). I have a mortgage, a comfortable style of life, a new car, a contract iPhone, yada yada.. and.. there's no real secret except a) live where the day-to-day expenses are as cheap as conveniently possible, b) spend as little money on frivolities as possible, and c) split the day-to-day expenses with a partner (my wife in my case - half the mortgage, half the property taxes, half the utilities, etc..)
