Recovering expenses as a self-employed student or VAT-exempted from VAT person: how, where, what?

I have just started as a self-employed student and am therefore exempted from VAT. I have already entered some expenses, but I am wondering how and when I will be able to recover them. Will this be paid back, will it be charged somewhere? I have no idea…Can someone provide me with an explanation of how this works? Will I really have these expenses paid back as a VAT-exempted person? I find this hard to believe and I don’t know anything about it yet…