<prompt> Human: I am an RN and make a great income 110,000yr, my wife makes 7200yr but also takes care of our family which is priceless. We have accrued roughly 55,000 in debt. We pay 2400mth in rent and roughly 615mth in utilities gaselec,watersewer,cableinternet,cell 1400mth cc minimum payments, 700mth loan payments, 400mth groceries and 250mth gas. I have signed both of us up for Credit Sesame which gave us a dire picture of our finances. Although I make a good income we do live in Southern California which is an expensive place to live so my income does not go as far as it would in other parts of the country. I feel like we should be able to manage our money better so we do not have as much stress and anxiety. Please help Reddit Personal finance communityI forgot we also have AutoRenters Insurance which is 220mth. Regarding my wife. She works at our daughters school and she works 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, she makes 10hr. I think that if we budget appropriately and stop all the spending on bullshit we can support our family on my income alone.I am actively looking for a way to refinance my debt and start paying it down. My wife and I are going to start meal planning with the kids and make it a family event on Sundays. I am cutting the cable and actively trying to establish an emergency fund.  <response>: The problem isnt living in SoCal, its that youve spent too much discretionary income that you cant afford. The cc are killing you.Your utility bills are abnormally high...are they really only utilities...?Cut cable. Its not necessary.Decrease phone bill. Who has phones, just you and your wife right? Change to a cheaper plan. Give up the unlimited data and whatever, its not necessary.In the meantime, can your wife pick up some extra income? Babysitting for a friend? Work remotely? She will need to bring in income to help you work off that cc and loan debt because youve stretched yourselves too thin to handle the 2100 going to debt each month. 