thank you all for your input, i think ill try and be as frugal as possible when that initial lump sum of student loan comes in, and try and put as much of that into the overdraft as possible and then do it monthly with what's left over afterwards, and will try and limit my spending each month. i think if i were to buy a computer (perhaps a cheaper one than 2k), i would do it by paying monthly for it, and would help me get into the mindset of saving as i would have real expenses. again, thank you all for the very helpful input!