My straving student experience was much better than a lot of people but it still wasn't a confortable one.

As an early to mid 2010's student I had classes only two days a week but I had to be on campus most the day. I worked the other 5 days full time. I learned to cook cheap meals--rice, beans, ramen, etc.--and thats good and all, taught me to cook. The only problem, was if I stepped off the treadmill of life, like a week got hectic and I missed batching meals, I didnt have any time or energy to cook and there was zero money left to just buy something out quickly. There were many days at work and school I sat there hungry and distracted.

In hindsight, there was more I could have done to mitigate those experiences. But I didn't know that then. I'm not a better person for those experiences. I wasnt as able to learn as heartily as desired and I lost out on a great internship opportunity I still kick myself for because it was unpaid and I couldn't figure out what to cut out; food, rent, transportation, or the little money I could set aside for books the next semester.

That's just my individual experience.