<prompt> Human: My boyfriend and I have been together for almost a year and weve been living together for 7 months. We upgraded to a more expensive pad when I got my raise and he believed his job to be steady. Unfortunately, his job was lost about 3 months ago. We got a roommate, but Im still paying off 2 credit cards and student loans on top of rent, utilities, cell phone bill, internet, gym membership, plus a few other minor regular expenses. My mother is helping us with groceries every week bless her heart and I take public transportation to work which my company pays for. I have some money tucked away, but I really dont want to pull from that stash. I have already emptied my regular savings account to pay for last months rent. I normally balance my monthly budget down to the last dollar, but I went a little crazy this month and splurged on eating out a few times, purchasing a couple books, and buying booze for myself, my boyfriend, and a friend who left for the military last weekend. Aside from this month, am I doing it right? Any advice? How would you reprioritize spending? How would you replenish your savings account? EDITSome of you have asked about my boyfriend. 1 not collecting unemployment pride issue, I think 2 graphic web designer 3 he will not just take any job 4 he might have a freelance job that should pay about 650 this month if it all pans out 5 no savings : The numbersI make 14hr at my full time job minus the Health insurance, 401k, and taxes.Rent minus the roommates contribution is 945Commute 281mo company reimburses the following month 0Internet 25mo - I need fast internet since I work from home 2 days a weekGym 30moUtilities 200-300mo minus 13 of that roommate pays 130-200Gas for the house 20Student Loans 82moCell phone 100moSpotify 10moCredit card debt is about 3000 totalThen, off course, any unexpectedtypical expenses... gas for car, catfood, toothpaste, etcHopefully Im making sense. Im a little flustered. Assistant: First and foremost, we need to get the cash flowing again. Your boyfriend needs to get a job and bring in some money if were going to get over this. I dont care if he has to go flip burgers or shake a sign for minimum wage, its a lot more than nothing. And if theres anything you can do, be it working double shifts or selling things you dont need, do it. As for replenishing your savings, the first thing you need to do is STICK TO THE BUDGET. If you dont do that, then its going to take a very long time to get any money saved up. Once we get to this point, you need to scrape together a small emergency fund of 1,000 which you may have already, Im not sure how big your other stash is and cut up the credit cards. Dont spend any money that you dont have and find ways to cut the spending. Eat at home, ditch the gym membership, re-read your old books, etc. Human: He is not the type to flip burgers or clean anything... and I cant force him to do so. Its his choice. Hes a graphicweb designer and has been trying to do some freelance stuff, but so far hes only got one bite for a paying gig. Hes had a couple of interviews to no avail. Another is happening today. I have my fingers crossed. I dont feel comfortable creating a deadline for breaking up if he doesnt get a job, but our relationship has deteriorated a bit from the stress. Is there a limit to my generosity and understanding? Im not sure yet. I cant work double shifts, its a 9-5 admin job. I work really hard already and have given thought to a nighttime hostessing job, but I think I would collapse under the pressure, to be honest. I hear you - I will try harder to stick to the budget. I lost control this month, its true. Selling our stuff is definitely an option and likely to happen soon. I do have an emergency fund of a few thousand, but I fear if I start to chip away at it sell shares, my boyfriend might lose motivation to keep looking for work. That money is the last, last resort for the worst situation. I eat at home 90 of the time and pack lunch for work. Id really hate to cancel the gym membership. It cost 200 to initiate 2 years ago. Im whining. Sorry. Truly, I thank you for your response.  <response>: Hes not really in a position to be picky. He needs a job. The fact that youre considering working a second job on top of your 40 hours while he cant suck up his pride and flip some burgers, makes it seem like hes being pretty selfish here. It sounds like he lost his job and most of the sacrifice is coming on your end.Do you have a month to month lease or year lease? If its month to month, Id suggest downscaling. If hes not going to take a regular job to get by, then youre going to need to cut things like the gym membership and internet. 