<prompt> Human: I am 24 years old and I filed for bankruptcy almost two years ago. I thought it would be a fresh start but it wasnt even close. I kept telling myself Id eventually land a good job and catch up and nothing worked out. I finally got a good job over a year ago and Im making good money. I bring home between 2400-3000 every month. This check has to support me and my wife and two daughters. I currently have another child on the way also. I will listen to any advice you have. I am willing to cut wherever I can, but Im already skipping meals so my children can eat. I currently spend 1100 per month on rent, 750 on groceries, 250 on power, 50 on water, 75 on DirecTv under contract. I dont have much room to work here, but Ill take any advice you have. Edit: nothing is amiss here. I meant to say 2400 to 3000 per month depending on how much overtime I work. My bad. Edit 2: I came here thinking people would tell me how crazy my rent payment is, because thats what I assumed my problem was. Ill be looking into making cuts for sure in the grocery department Thanks to everyone who has replied. I have saved this thread to refer back to in the future. This thread sure went a lot further than I thought it ever would, but I learned some valuable lessons. Assistant: Why doesnt your wife work? If she brought in an extra 1500 from a low wage job, you could afford to put the kids in daycare and come out with a profit. Plus your groceries and electricity bills are extremely high. There are pretty simple solutions here. Your rent isnt super high, especially for a bigger family. It would be a lot better if it was split between two peoples income thoughHuman: She doesnt work because we have a 1 year old daughter and shes pregnant. We also have a 5 year old that goes to kindergarten, so while she doesnt work she still does her part for sure. Shes looking into working from home, but I dont even know how to start that. I develop android apps for a hobby and Ive been an avid computer user for as long as I can remember, but she can barely find her way past Facebook on the Internet, much less work remotely on anything Assistant: You develop Android apps as a hobby? Have you considered putting together a portfolio and applying for a job as a developer? Developer salaries are significantly higher than what you are currently making.Human: Yes, Id love nothing more than to develop for Android or develop mobile games in unity. Unfortunately I dont have a fancy piece of paper that says I learned development in a classroom. Around here they just about want you to be A certified to blow dust out of laptops at geeksquad Assistant: Youre barking up the wrong tree... cert for a company like that is to protect themselves at that low level, uncreative, repetitive job.A portfolio is the ONLY thing that counts when it comes to a design job.Human: Sounds like I need to do some research. I learned to code while I was unemployed years ago. I now make apps for the kids to play and sometimes build utilities for myself. I could put a nice portfolio together, I just dont know where to promote myself.  <response>: Apply for jobs you dont think youre qualified for, put out ads in craigslist... will build app, etc... search google how to find a job building apps app dev startups search, search, search, post, post, post. Do anything that comes your way and do the BEST job you can on it no matter what the pay is. Start from the ground up. 