<prompt> Human: First post so please be gentle. So im 20 years old in the Military. Joining the military was my first real on my own experience. At first it wasnt that bad, a few bills here and there, a car payment, netflix etc. As i was promoted and moved off base and into my own house i really was unprepared. I made a plethora of poor decisions that mostly stem from a failed relationship. Not to go into too many details, long story short i had a highschool boo who i just KNEW was going to be my wife. Bought her an engagement ring On a credit card, cause that was a brilliant idea. and put her and her mother on my Phone bill, now were split and im stuck with two extra lines on my Verizon account and 7K in credit card debt. With all of the military allowances, I make 38k a year after taxes. Ive let a lot of my bills get ridiculously out of hand and Im slowly working on cutting them down, but Ive dug myself in such a hole its not an easy task.I guess my question is, what is the best way of breaking the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle? and also someone to talk basic budgeting in a way I understand.Thank you all in advance, I really just need to get my finances in order before i slip into even more debt.  <response>: First thing to do is cancel those two lines, if your ex is still using them, you can make her go to her own billing, if she refuses, cancel the lines... Two pretty sure the military provides financial advice.Found a link for you:Three, if you are only 7k in debt, that is really not that bad, so calm yourself and know as long as you are responsible you will be fine.What I would do is sit down, and count up ALL of your monthly bills. See what you come out as each month. Basically once all your bills are paid for the month, what do you have left. Then work on getting the credit card paid off, and getting a savings going. Also if you have the ring, pawn it off. You wont make a lot, but it will be something and you can put it towards your debt. 