Only if I find the book exceptional at the end of the course do I buy it to keep. Emergency medical care is expensive. Live within walking or biking distance to school. Check notice boards around campus for secondhand bikes for sale. Don't buy a used car unless you are knowledge about mechanical stuff.
Car repairs can be very expensive.
Take the campus bus, or Bloomington transit. Having a car is not that important. I know that my friends always buy brand-name products, premium gas, and go out to dine. Even with financial difficulties, they keep doing that. I guess it is not easy to change one's values, but I think that the kind of values you have are the key to surviving here.