<prompt> Human: Hello guys,I just signed up for reddit although I have been lerking on this thread and reddit for months now. I finally want to speak about my financial situation because I have no where else to turn. I am really feeling stressed out and I have never felt like this before. I am hoping you guys can help me with my finances and give me hope for the future.Well I work in NYC and commute from New Jersey.My take home pay is roughly 2800-3500 depending on overtime a month in a field where I have no mobility, its basically a dead end job, but I have been here for 3 years now. One good thing is I can work as much OT as I want, so I can make towards 3500 each month if I put my mind to it.So budget : 3 k take home.700 rent.125 utilities tv and heat gas100 train to work800 student loans my dad bought them off with a home equity line of credit since the house is paid off, so I pay him directly150 food my parents drop off food to my apartment a lot to help300 entertainment eating out, bars, social outings I have a gf, clothes, etcwith Christmas coming up, and me being an idiot with credit card debt, I worry I cant get out of it.I have some CC debt.800 on a capital one card middle interest1800 on a bank of America high interest 500 on a bank of America middle interest 300 on a chase slate lowest interestI also have a 401k that my work doesnt put any money to. I have about 5000 in it, and obviously dont want to ever touch that. I have 1800 in a savings account, I dont know if I need that emergency fund or put it all towards the CC.Any help can be GREATLY appreciated! I just beat myself up over my credit card debt and it sucks. I should be putting every penny of my spare income to the cards right? Thanks for the help guys!EDIT: THANKS SO MUCH GUYS!!! I REALLY NEED TO TIGHTEN THE BELT AND REALIZE MY SITUATION AND PLAN ACCORDINGLY. WAKING UP THIS MORNING TO SEE EVERYONE HELP ME OUT WITH TIPS AND POINTERS REALLY HAS HELPED ME FOCUS ON WHAT NEEDS TO GET DONE. I KNOW I AM GOING TO HAVE A LONG ROAD AHEAD THE NEXT 4 MONTHS, BUT ITS WINTER AND TIME TO WORK WORK WORK AND SAVE SAVE SAVE. I HOPE THAT WHEN MY TAX RETURN COMES IN MARCH OR APRIL IT CAN GO DIRECTLY TO MY EMERGENCY FUND AS MY CREDIT CARDS WILL BE PAID IN FULL AND CHOPPED TO LITTLE TINY PIECES!EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING, GOD BLESS!Assistant: You have 3k take home and you put your expenses at 2175. So you have 825month extra right now.First, I would recommend you get that emergency fund to three months before doing anything more than minimum payments on that credit card debt.Second, stop spending 300 in frivolity if you are having your parents bring you food because you have no money. That is absolutely insane and has to stop.Third, make sure your budget is actually accurate. Do you not have a cell phone?Once you have that emergency fund, then start concentrating on your credit card debt. Start with the highest interest and put every extra dollar towards it while paying minimums on the others. Once it is out of the way, put all of that money that had been going to it towards the next highest interest rate card, and so on.Dont go out and buy crazy amounts of Christmas presents. You are in debt and you cannot afford it. Make homemade edibles and wrap them up real pretty or something else very low cost.You can get out of this debt, but it is going to take some belt tightening for just a little while. Then you will reap the rewards of lowered financial stress and the ability to see your bright shiny future unclouded by debt!Human: thanks for the reply. my phone is paid by my parents as well, yes 300 a month seems high but its 75 dollars a week, is that too much in my situation? having a girlfriend, taking her out to dinner in a movie in nyc is usually more than 75 dollars a week, I guess dates are out of the question now. Assistant: Dates arent out of the question, just 75 dollar ones are.Human: thats true, maybe a movie night at home cooked meal can only cost 20 bucks  <response>: I would say more like 5, depending on what you make! 