<prompt> Human: I hope this is the right thread. Please redirect if not.So, me and my SO have been living paycheck to paycheck for a while. We have meager savings for retirement, but no emergency fund working on it. Budgets havent worked so far weve tried several times but we dont spend in the red we dont save either. I want to downsize and hopefully save some money on rent. I also want to shift whatever spending I do in the future from unnecessary stuff to experiences with my SO and family. So, to jump start this change, I was thinking of selling off my stuff. I have a lot of old movie and tv collectibles which might be worth something, especially with new movies coming out I know it is only worth what people are willing to pay. Will this actually help? Or would it be a drop in the bucket? Would the expense in time cost more than the return on the sale of stuff? What is the best way to do this if there is actually a benefit to it major online reseller has tons of fees? Or, should I just donate it all to my local charity and cut my losses? Whats the best way to downsize and start living life financially healthy? And, how do I change my thinking and behaviors so they dont sabotage long-term goals? Thanks.EDIT: To the individuals who didnt stop reading after the word budget, who took the time to read all of my post, and addressed the questions I actually asked, a heart-felt thank you. I think I know where to start now and Im feeling pretty positive about making changes.Assistant: Budgets havent worked so far weve tried several timesYou absolutely need to fix this first. Otherwise any proceeds you get from selling will just disappear.Human: Im sorry, but this doesnt really help. To me, hearing this is like Oh, youre bleeding. You need to stop the bleeding. The person who is bleeding knows that they are bleeding and is asking HOW to stop it. Hence, my question, how do I change my thinking and behaviors so they dont sabotage long-term goals?  <response>: Can you tell us why you are bleeding and where youre bleeding from? That is, why dont budgets work? Are you messing up the planning? The tracking your spending? The setting a new budget for the next month? We can give you tips on getting motivated to do each of those, but you first need to do the work of figuring out where youre dropping out of the budget, because a budget isnt the problem. How youre making and maintaining the budget is.To carry the analogy out: someone bleeding because of a disease that causes bloody noses is going to get a very different treatment plan from someone who just chopped off a finger. 