<prompt> Human: I am a 24 year old living in Monterey Bay, CA. I moved out from my folks place for 2 years at 22 with my then bf, and somewhere in that time period things went assbackwards with my finances. My folks were kind enough to let me come home to get myself back in order, and I am feeling pretty lost on how to start. I have 2400 on a credit card that I need to pay off, I have my tax return of 1300 in savings, and I have no idea how to budget properly so that I can be successful on my own. I make about 1,600 take home a month, est. 2,080 before taxes, and current bills not including rent or groceries are about 650-700. I have disconnected my credit and debit cards from all online shopping areas, as I know I have a tendency to spend real money on stupid games like bubblewitch. I figure I have maybe 3 months home to get my act together and move back out. Where is a good place to start with getting my finances back in order?EDIT: Thank you all for the advice, I appreciate it!!  <response>: Start with your 1600; subtract every monthly bill you have, estimate for foodentertainment, get your final tally.Once you have everything broken down, its a lot easier to see where you can make concessions I.e. - dont buy that extra life in candy crush. When you start looking at places to rent, fit the rent into your leftover budget. Before you move out, try to save up at least 3 months worth of rent as contingency before you move out. Hopefully thats a bit of a starting point for you. 