Agreed! When I was a poor, young teacher, I still ate healthily. Of course, I had knowledge of healthy eating, time to prepare food, and parents who lived nearby to supplement my cooking with their home cooked meals.
I ate very little meat, bought things in bulk and froze them, and joined the food co-op. I even entertained, though I remember serving people veggie lasagna and eating sitting on the floor of my studio apartment. This was also during the time I lost 25 pounds, which had accumulated from too many happy hours and lack of exercise when I first started working. Thankfully, those habits stuck, because I never gained it back, except for when I was pregnant.