<prompt> Human: Hello all. I come with a question, which may be one I can answer myself after I write it, because I feel like writing it out here will help me process it. Nonetheless, I look to all of you for some guidance.I work 40 hrs a week at roughly 30 an hour. My twice-monthlg paycheck is, at minimum, about 1800. I own a rental property which grosses about 1900 a month. I receive 200 from my girlfriend since shes on my insurance and phone. My monthly income is 5700 unless my math is way off.I have student loans, insurance, credit cards, utility bills, phone bills. Normal stuff, everyone has. And the mortgage. If I add my bills up, I come to about 4000 per month. That doesnt take into account gas for my vehicle, which varies but I would estimate about 100 monthly. I smoke about a pack a day, which is about 300 a month. Yuck. I know. So maybe 4400 a month.It leaves me with about 1300 a month left to spend. I find myself scraping by, sometimes, lately more often than not, resorting to using my credit card to cover my ass. I used to spend a lot gambling; I rarely gamble any more knowing the consequences of doing so, and I am able to hold back when I get the urge. Aside from gambling, Id say my other vice is eating out at nice restaurants and going on expensive weekend getaways.My question is, how do I get back on my feet, and maintain stability? Im tired of trying to do this and get nowhere. I want to be able to have fun and save money, but Im just not able to. Do I need to stop having fun and just save money? How do I change my lifestyle so drastically and even more so, how do I change my girlfriend and my lifestyle? Were used to it and I know its one of the things that makes us happy.But I want to be able to save money. Have a backup plan when everything fails. Because it seems like that part of life is inevitable.So Reddit, what are your thoughts? Any good advice for a guy? Thank you for reading! And in advance, for your replies.TL;DR: make enough money, cant budget for shit, fix me, please. Thank you Assistant: Student loans can be killer, and how much are your credit card bills? Cut back on your fun and wipe those out as soon as possible and dont use credit cards anymore.Human: I feel sort of spoiled by my student loans compared to my peers. I only pay 150 a month for them, granted I didnt finish college.I pay about 200 per month for cc bills. Ahh, and forgot about the 75 Im paying monthly for the water heater I had to buy on credit thru home depot earlier this year.  <response>: Quit smoking. I just realized you said you spent 300 a month to kill yourself. Seriously, stop that. 