As has been said before, I buy everything used, preferably from a garage sale. In my current apartment I daid less then $5 for every piece of furniture, including an ikea desk chair, a wonderful hommade microwave stand, and two couches and a recliner that were free (either from friends moving away or trash-picked). Got a working color TV for $5 too.
NEVER buy books new. Use
Campus Books or
Book Finder, sites that search dozens of used book sites for what you want.
And speaking of books, a good bookcase will set you back $50. I made mine out of boards and cinder blocks (I'll attach a photo if I can ever get a digital camera), cost $15, much sturdier and I actualy get compliments on the style.