<prompt> Human: Ok so heres the rundown boys and girls. 29 years old with no real debt outside of my car payment. That being said, I also have never really established any credit ever. My family was very pro Dave Ramsey and so I never had credit cards or financing for anything. If I needed soemthing I just worked until I had enough to pay for it. But that was before real life hit me in the face with sledgehammer. So I have a decent job now working for 30k salary with bonuses, with no college education. However, Im currently behind on about everything I have. Rent, car payment, cable, electric, hell I even have a an empty fridge. My total outgoing right now is right around 1900 a month. Rent 496 Car 396 Insurance 130 Cable 140 Electric 77 Gas 210 Cash Advance for down payment of car through my employer 322 Cell phone 88 And I cant even realistically budget food right now. Im already set up to move into a cheaper apartment by January and I would love to drop cable, and have already reduced it to the bare minimum, but it is literally my only entertainment. The high car payment is due to my ghost status for credit checks, and no previous loans. I plan on refinancing that at the 12 month mark unless my financial situation improves. What else can I do to give me some breathing room? And to stop being caught in this paycheck to paycheck garbage? Thanks! Assistant: So you are paying 718month just in car payments? That is 29 of your gross pay! No wonder you feel trapped.And your total transportation expenditures are 42 of your gross pay. This is not a problem of you not having credit. This is a problem of you spending too much on only one aspect of your budget.My advice? Sell the car, move close enough to work so you can walk or bike or move somewhere where public transportation can get you to work.You are spending 1058month on transportation. If you need to double your rent payments so you can be close enough to sell the car, you will still come out way ahead!Human: Im not sure where you got 718month in payments, Im spending 396 in payments, still not great, but not nearly as dire. Also, Im moving about 20 mins closer to my job, but I cant leave until January lease. Also at that point Ill have dropped the 322 a month in the cash advancement as it will be paid off at that point. Which would then only put my monthly outgoing at 1410. Which is comfortable. Yes cutting television is happening this month. Internet is a must. Not only for sanity, but also for work. And yes I 100 agree, my car expenditures are killing me. However Ive only had the car for a month. Ive made one payment on it. One. And Im about 5k upside down with my interest rate. Again selling the car at this point is just not feasible considering I live 30 mins away from my job. Once I move, that may be something, but also once I move I wont have to sell the car because at that point Ill have already freed up almost 500 a month in January. Edit: Im stupid, I just realized you were talking about the cash advancement and the actual car payments.  <response>: You are not counting all of your car payments Car 396 Cash Advance for down payment of car through my employer 322Those two are both just for purchasing a car and they equal 718. You did not put when that cash advance ends in the original post.And that is not your only car expenses: Insurance 130 Gas 210This all equals out to 1,058 just on your transportation. Once that cash advance ends in January, then you will be spending 736month on transportation, which is still 30 of your gross pay. You havent even mentioned what your take home pay is.You dont need a car. You can move close enough to work to either use public transport, bike, or walk, and completely rid yourself of the car and its horrible financial burden on you. Even without the cash advance, 30 of your pay for a car is terribly detrimental to your finances.Your original question was this: And to stop being caught in this paycheck to paycheck garbage?Getting your budget only to the point where you can service your debt, but not save for retirement, and certainly not save for anything else is one way to always remain living paycheck to paycheck.If you were to lose your job? You would be in a downward spiral within a week. If I needed soemthing I just worked until I had enough to pay for it. But that was before real life hit me in the face with sledgehammer.Real life did not hit you, you did this to yourself. You chose to ignore those principles of working to save before purchasing something. You have made only one payment on this car and it already has left you with no money, no savings, and no food in the fridge. Yes you need to kill the cable, yes you need to lower your cell phone bill, and yes you need to start unplugging things and turning off all lights, but those things are only 12 of your budget total. And you would only be reducing them, not eliminating them. That car is the ball and chain bringing you down. So cut those things that you can cut and start saving money so you can sell the car. 