Answer 42 home

Per Iva · from Dad, with love and spreadsheets

Student life, project-managed

Our favourite student is studying in Italy. These three corners are for her, and for every student surviving on pasta, deadlines and the last twenty euros of the month.

ProgettiUniversity projectsThe semester as a project, without the stress CucinaStudent recipesFive meals, one pot, almost no money BudgetStudent budgetWhere did the money go? Find out before it goes

01 · Progetti

A semester is just a project with exams at the end

We are building a free student edition of Clear Works, and Iva is first in the queue to try it. Dad sees "on track". Dad does not see how many episodes were watched instead.

How it plans a semester

  • Subjects, each with its compulsory and optional books and its exam date.
  • A reading plan per book: pages to go, days left, and the pace that gets you there. Skip a week and it quietly spreads what is left.
  • A one-minute check-in once a week: type the page you reached, done. No diary, no streaks, no scores.
  • Library books with return dates, and a polite warning when the book is due back before you have finished it.
  • A short plan on Sunday evening for the week ahead, and a nudge only when something drifts.
  • Family can follow along and see "on track" or "a bit behind", nothing more.
Free student edition · on its way Ask to try it first

What Sunday evening looks like

This week - Iliad: read to page 300 - Aeneid, book 2: to page 120 - Essay due Thursday - Odyssey back to the library by Friday (or renew it online) On track for the January exams.

An example plan with made-up books, not Iva's real timetable. Hers is longer.

02 · Cucina

Student recipes, with acceptance tests

Cheap, quick and forgiving. Every recipe has a "done when", because in this family even dinner has acceptance criteria.

Pasta al pomodoro, the baseline

15 minabout €1 a plate1 pot + 1 pan

You need

  • 100 g spaghetti
  • Half a tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 clove of garlic, olive oil, salt
  • A few basil leaves if you are feeling rich

Steps

  1. Put the pasta water on; salt it well.
  2. Warm the garlic gently in oil, add the tomatoes, simmer 10 minutes.
  3. Cook the pasta a minute less than the packet says, finish it in the sauce with a splash of the pasta water.

Done when: the plate is empty and nobody Italian has looked at it with pity.

Pasta e ceci, one pot

25 minabout €1.50 a plate1 pot

You need

  • 1 tin of chickpeas (keep the liquid)
  • 80 g small pasta (ditalini, or broken spaghetti)
  • Garlic, a spoon of tomato paste, rosemary or chilli
  • Olive oil, salt

Steps

  1. Soften the garlic in oil, stir in the tomato paste and herbs.
  2. Add the chickpeas with their liquid and about 500 ml of water; mash a few against the pot.
  3. Add the pasta and cook it in the soup, stirring, until thick and creamy.

Done when: a spoon stands up for at least one second. Two seconds is a stretch goal.

Frittata of whatever is left

15 minabout €1 a plate1 pan

You need

  • 3 eggs
  • Leftovers: cooked pasta, potato, spinach, half an onion, the end of the cheese
  • Salt, pepper, oil

Steps

  1. Fry the vegetables or leftovers for a few minutes.
  2. Pour over the beaten eggs and cheese, cook gently with a lid until set.
  3. Flip it with a plate if brave; finish under the grill if not.

Done when: the fridge is empty and the project is formally closed.

Lentil soup for exam week

35 minabout €1 a bowl4 bowls

You need

  • 250 g dried red lentils
  • 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 stick of celery
  • A tin of tomatoes, a stock cube
  • Bread for dunking

Steps

  1. Chop and soften the vegetables in oil.
  2. Add the lentils, tomatoes, stock cube and 1 litre of water.
  3. Simmer 25 minutes until soft; freeze what you will not eat this week.

Done when: four portions are in the freezer and exam week has one problem fewer.

Overnight oats for 8 am lectures

3 minunder €11 jar

You need

  • 50 g oats
  • 150 ml milk or yogurt
  • A spoon of honey, a banana or an apple

Steps

  1. Mix everything in a jar the night before.
  2. Put it in the fridge.
  3. Eat it on the way to the lecture you nearly skipped.

Done when: you arrive before the professor. Arriving awake is optional.

Prices are rough supermarket guesses and will vary by city and month. Iva is welcome to correct them.

03 · Budget

The monthly budget, before the month spends it

Fill in what comes in and what has to go out. It tells you what is left for each week and each day. It all stays in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.

Money in this month
Fixed costs this month
Every week

Left at the end of the month

€0

€0spare each week
€0spare each day

Fill in the boxes on the left. Dad is watching (supportively).

Send the budget to Dad
  • Pay yourself firstMove the savings out on the day the money arrives. What you cannot see, you do not spend.
  • One food budget a weekWhen this week's food money is gone, it is pasta al pomodoro night. See recipe one.
  • Ask about student pricesMany universities have a canteen (mensa), and many trains, museums and cinemas have student prices. Always ask; the worst answer is no.
  • Check the month on SundayFive minutes with this page beats a surprise on the 25th.

This is a simple planning aid for students, not financial advice.

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