<prompt> Human: Throwaway because reasons.Im getting increasingly frustrated by the nagging thought that Ill never be able to get ahead financially. What should I be doing differently?Background: I messed up my last scheduled year of college, which led to me having to take a fifth year to get my degree. My parents refused to pay for the fifth year, so I took loans of around 40K. I got a job making 46K after graduation and was barely able to make the loan payments, so my grandfather fortunately paid them off for me about a year in.I switched employers two years ago to get higher pay, and I make around 65K now. But I still dont have any money left. My biweekly paycheck is 1,879 so around 4K a month on average, and my expenses are: Rent: 1,750 includes utilities Car Payment: 710 Insurance: 204 Gas: 150 Internet: 75 Groceries: 450 Total: 3,339Im on my parents Netflix account and cell phone, so those dont cost me anythingSo that only leaves around 661 a month to live on and have fun, which only covers about one night going out a week. I can barely afford to go out with friends and forget about ever having money to get a nicer car or go on a big vacation. I do get an annual gift from my grandfather of 10K in the holiday season, but that just ends up helping me pay off the credit card debt from not having enough money each month.It just seems like I cant make enough money to get ahead because all of the high-paying jobs are taken by people who are older and dont want to retire, and then the company doesnt have enough money to pay me what Im actually worth. What should I do so that I can actually live a decent life and have some money?  <response>: A lot of it comes down to restraint and changing your attitude. You earn nice things, youre not entitled to them. As other people pointed out, stop spending so much on a car and entertainment. Instead, invest that money, and compounded over time, let those investments treat you to nice things in life. In addition to that, you might also want to ask yourself why you feel you need these niceties anyway. Is it to show off? To feel good about yourself? Or do you actually need these things at all? In my case, I built up my self-worth to over 7 figures so far, yet nobody would ever suspect it. I still drive a sub 8000 car I paid for with cash, wear clothes 2 years old, and spend less than 70-80 a week on food while I live in a tiny apartment etc. I dont need expensive things to feel good about myself, and neither should you. Having financial security is a much better feeling 