I agree with you she’s already very frugal and hard-working. The advice on getting a well paid job post-MBA is sound. The MS in Org Leadership also means that all of us should think carefully about what degree/education we should invest in to have it pay off in the long run.

I definitely agree with Julie and Mrs FW… women especially are under pressure to “conform” in terms of appearance to a patriarchal ideal, yet we have brains and are working professionals!
Dressing smartly in keeping with your personality is the way forward IMO… I wouldn’t want to work anywhere that had other expectations…. Julie, it sounds like you are smashing it… remember to be kind to yourself along the way!

Late to the party, but like the person who responded by referring you to MMM, I think you’re on the right track.
1. Seriously, 100 bucks a month on groceries is IMPRESSIVE! Going to have to go take another stab at mine 🙂
2. I agree with Mrs. F.
3. On the other hand, you could move closer to your school/work, get rid of your car, get a cheaper cell phone plan (I live in a different country from my parents and I pay 20E / mo for unlimited long-distance and local calls), find a (MUCH) more lucrative side hustle (I spent years doing the Ebay vintage clothes song-and-dance, and while the payoff can be good, I know the insane amount of time it takes to size, photo, answer questions, ship, actually find the stuff, etc…and there are better-paying things out there that take up WAY less of your time!), get rid of the life insurance, learn how to cut your own hair (which is actually quite simple), use OpenOffice or download Microsoft in a cheaper/free fashion, stop paying for Netflix and just use the internet (seriously, you don’t need to pay for entertainment when you have an internet connection)…and I think that’s about the limit of what you could do. All of this would save you at least $600 a month (cheaper rent and more lucrative side hustle not calculated in this sum, although both could easily bump this up to over a grand), which is … more than 7G a year … which in my situation (I make nothing teaching English–about 600E a month–and I have limited future career prospects, which was a happy decision I made when I decided to write full-time) would be a HUGE difference.
But in your case, since you’ll be making lotsa cash later on…well, is it really worth it at this point? I mean, I think it’s worth it overall as a practice in frugality. But, still. If you keep your current yearly budget when you start making considerably more money, you’ll pay down your debt in a few years and then have all that surplus to put into savings and investments.
Anyhow, from an extreme frugalist’s perspective (my monthly budget runs about 800E a month, which, yes, is more than my traditional income, but like you I got me some side hustles!) you’re doing a pretty damn good job. The one thing I’d freak out about is the debt, because as MMM says, that shit’s an EMERGENCY.
Best of luck to you!!
Georgia
p.s. lucrative side hustles that take less time than Ebay: being a tour guide, a server/bartender, painting houses (you make good money, and it’s exercise!), catering, writing, housesitting (seriously, this is a DYNAMITE gig if you can get it–people pay very well, and you can rent out your room while you’re staying at someone else’s house!), wedding photography, painting pictures, etc.

Julie,

Microsoft offers a student option at a hefty discount of $79, but your school may have a program to get it for free, or for ~$10. Not uncommon. Another option is Open Office, or simple Google Drive (Google Docs aka Word, Google Sheets aka Excel, Google Slides aka Powerpoint). The functionality and shortcuts leave a bit to be desired on Google Drive, but Open Office is pretty solid!

Also, I think an MBA + accounting experience makes for another side-hustle that could easily become a career: consulting! Lots of people have business ideas but no clue how to execute. Why not open a site and offer to help with: putting together a plan for bookkeeping, providing advice on Ops, Finance, or Marketing with your MBA background, etc. etc. Lots of value you can provide. I do this right now for $0 upfront, just a small slice of equity (usually .25%).

Your ability to do the above successfully would be greatly helped by some knowledge of Computer Science (esp. data/software engineering or UX/UI design). Lots of free resources on the web for learning this kind of stuff, but it’s rare for people to actually go all in on self-guided learning. Coursera, Udacity, and the local community college are all decent places to start. Harvard has all of their coursework freely available online. With your work ethic, I have no doubt you could up to speed quickly on this kind of stuff.

Remember, it was just MY experience at GINORMOUS CORP 😉

Haha!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! That’s great, Julie, thanks for the update :)!!!!