The frugal living
practices of out-of-town university students in Surabaya are not merely a
response to financial constraints, but rather a habitus shaped by the
intersection of internal dispositions, available capital, and the structural
pressures of living away from home in a major city. The unequal distribution of
quality higher education institutions between Java and students' regions of
origin drives educational migration to Surabaya, placing students in comparable
objective conditions: distance from family, limited monthly remittances, and
high living costs. This study aims to analyze how these frugal living practices
are formed and operate as a social habitus. This study employs a qualitative
approach using Robert E. Stake's case study method. Data were collected through
in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation involving 15 informants
from UNESA, UNAIR, ITS, and UPN Veteran Jatim, selected through purposive
sampling and validated via source triangulation. Data analysis followed Stake's
four analytical steps integrated with Pierre Bourdieu's habitus framework
through three dimensions: disposition, classification scheme, and practical
action. The findings reveal that the habitus of frugality operates through four
types of dispositions (altruistic, ascetic, anticipatory, and
achievement-oriented), classification schemes that distinguish needs from
wants, and practical actions including budget calculation, self-production, and
crisis management. These three dimensions generate three distinct frugal
lifestyle variations: self-reliant and productive, slow living, and
anti-prestige. This study further uncovers two simultaneous faces of this habitus:
as an adaptive capacity that equips students with resilience and financial
independence, and as a mechanism of subjugation that naturalizes structural
inequality into a personal narrative of self-sufficiency.
Keywords:
Habitus, Frugal Living, Out of Town University Students,
Surabaya, Pierre Bourdieu, Case Study