<prompt> Human: Hey all, Ive been slowly working on getting my finances under better control and boost my credit but I seem to have maintained the same habits and remained at a bit of a standstill. First and foremost, I got a job about 10 months ago and was given a salary I never thought Id ever get considering my lack of a formal education. With this newfound fountain of money or so it seemed, I jumped into more lavish living conditions and started purchasing things that I do not need or could afford.Every two weeks, I get paid 1,400 and I do not have any other income. My budget is as follows: Rent: 1220 Energy: 70 T.V.Internet: 200 Tollway: 40 Credit CardsLoans: 280 of 10,000 8 credit cards, 1 student loan. Car Insurance: 160 Gas: 100 Groceries: 200 EntertainmentGoing Out: 200Total: 2,470 of 2,800. However, even with this money leftover on paper, I seem to be living paycheck to paycheck and its killer. For instance, I literally have 2.50 in my bank account and Im waiting until Friday to get paid, and after all bills are paid Ill only have 400 for the rest of the month. I watch my budget as best as possible Ive setup a spreadsheet to track spending, yet still it seems to come bite me in the ass. I do not go out as often, I do not eat out hardly ever, yet still Ive been cutting it real close lately.I also am paying off a nasty payday loan 100mo that I am about 34 of the way through with. Also, I have about 200 of unpaid bills that is on my credit report and has been unpaid for about 8 months. I just dont ever seem to be able to pay that off.Now, I do not own a car father owns it but that is a primary goal of mine. My lease is going to be up in September, and I plan to find a place that is much cheaper and also get a roommate to cut the costs. This will give me about an extra 4-500mo to put forward to a car and investsave. My one year is also coming up with my company, and I expect to negotiate a salary raise of about 25, which will give me even more to put back. My company does have a 401K plan, but I do not believe that they actually match what we put in. Is it still worth it if they dont match?So given my situation, what would you guys recommend until I have a higher income? How can I budget better and stop living paycheck to paycheck? My primary goals are: reduce debtraise credit, purchase a car before the end of the year, and put money into a 401Ksavings.Thanks guys. Let me know if you need anymore information.Assistant: Definitely knock down that TVInternet bill.I know a lot of this depends on region, but heres my Comcast bill in the Twin Cities metro area: Thats for 50Mb internet and basic cable, and not on a 1 or 2 year deal. Really, the only thing Im missing out on are Sports channels and there are pretty reasonably pricedfree alternatives for that hockeystreams.com, ballstreams.com, VPNs, Reddit GDT stream links, etc. Plus theres Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, coughusenetcough. In total Id say I pay about 80mo for all my TVInternet needs, and it allows me to watch more shows than I would otherwise with premium cable Mainly due to time constraints. Can the tollway be avoided by spending an extra 15 minutes in your car every day?Whats the possibility on a roommate? Even just a simple subletting of a room to a friend who needs a place to stay for a few months? Gives you a little headroom while you balance things out. Those three things alone could give you an extra 800mo. Even more if your subletroommate was willing to pitch in for utilitiesinternet. Not saying DO THESE - but I dont think its too hard to find places you can save money, you just need to be willing to make those sacrifices.Human: The reason I am paying so much for TV is because of Sports. They require the highest package to see our baseball team play, and I am a diehard baseball fan. MLB.TV is my option, but Ill also need to pickup a VPN in order to work around the blackouts. But still, that would cost me a hell of a lot less.Tollway cannot be avoided here, unfortunately. They are pretty much a fact of life.I live in a 1 bedroom apartment, so finding someone right now wouldnt work. Most of what I save now is going to be focused on moving in SeptemberOctober.  <response>: Personal finance is about managing priorities. Which do you want more, getting 200month closer to being on sound financial footing, or watching baseball? 