<prompt> Human: Heres the story. My boyfriend, as great of a guy as he is, is in a bit of a financial slump. He is 24, and is currently a manager at Pizza Hut, making around 8.25 an hour. He has been working since he was 14 due to a terrible home life growing up, and has not had the resources to go to school or to make his financial situation better in the long run. Currently, he brings in a little less that 800 a month, has a 90 cell phone bill, and around a 275-300 rentutilities payment but the lease is up next month, and he will be living with a friend until he can find a new place. He is just now paying off the debt he had for falling behind on rent, which is where all of his paycheck has been going the past few months. He has been trying to save what little money he has, but it is difficult for him to budget money and to save. He also has bad credit due to crappy parents. His dad has the same name and put my boyfriends name on things when he was a kid and used his identity to pay for credit cards, cable bills, etc., but of course they fell behind, and now he has bad credit. He has plenty of work experience as a manager and other positions, and is a great and ethical worker, but there simply arent any jobs available. Its not like hes living in poverty, but right in that zone where it seems that theres no way to get ahead. Living paycheck to paycheck is difficult to see him have to deal with, whenever I have my parents as a safety net. How can I help him get on track to a better financial future?Thanks so much. If more information is needed, I can provide it.  <response>: Wow, theres a LOT going on here. Here are my suggestions.To track his finances all in one place set up a budget: To learn how to spend less: To look at his actual credit report this is free! and see what is really going on: To dispute the fraudulent credit activity: Next, some reading... Grab these books one at a time from the library free and read one-three chapters per day. Make notes. The Complete Idiots Guide to Getting Out of Debt by Ken Clark The Pocket Idiots Guide to Living on A Budget, 2nd Edition by Peter J. Sander and Jennifer Basye Sander Debt-Free Forever: Take Control of Your Money and Your Life by Gail Vaz-Oxlade If this friend of his he is living with will let him live there for free, this is the BEST opportunity to get kickstarted out of his bad hole. So hop to it ASAP. I personally believe you should see being successful as a fun project and take it lighthearted. He presumably has his health, a great girlfriend, and a job... and his youth. He will do fine, so dont let it get him or you down. You are awesome for sticking with your man in these hard times and asking for help. Wife her, dude!EDIT: I forgot to add. He should sell EVERYTHING he has that isnt bolted down. He can always replace stuff later, and since hes living at a friends for a while, no reason to haul around any extra crap. 