<prompt> Human: My wife and I have been saving up to purchase our first home, but have really had a hard time making headway. Weve got a small account with some funds in it and have been preapproved at a good rate, but we want to make sure we have a just in case account prior to getting into a home. In addition to that, Ive been working towards leaving my job. Ive been doing freelance writing gamingtech writing for the last few years, and finally Im making some semi-modest income from that. I work in state government and make about 30k a year. My wife is a Registered Nurse and makes more than double that, as expected, but has student loans and some credit card debt that we have to pay. We also have two children, ages 5 2, so weve got those expenses as well. My biggest issue is my commute to work. While she drives only 15 minutes or so, I drive an hour and fifteen minutes -- 75 miles one way -- every day. Were not irresponsible with money, but because of my commute, Ive been unable to consistently contribute to the household finances. Essentially, health benefits for the family is through me, while my wife pays all other bills. I pay for my car 100mo, CableInternetPhone 120mo, and student loan 120mo. Thats it. So I decided to take a look at my finances from January 2013 through today. I wanted to see why I never had any extra money that I could send over to my wife on a consistent basis. I also wanted to see if Id be able to quit my job TODAY if I wanted to. Essentially, if Xthe money my wife would have to pay for healthcare, and Ymy income from writing, if Y is greater than X, I could quit my job. The results are eye-opening. The chart of my expenses: Heres the results: My biggest expense is listed as GasFood at 10,189.57. This is from me stopping to or from work at the local gas stations and fueling up my car, while also grabbing something to eat. Typically breakfast. Transfers to my wife is pretty high at 3,705.14, but thats a skewed number. I had a car wreck last year and got an insurance check in my name, which I gave to her for the savings account. The total was about 3,200. Next is Video games 3,441.88. This can be anything from buying a new console, game, DLC, whatever. My writing is based around gamingtech, so some of this is a tax write off. Then weve got CableInternet 2,252.07. Im always a month behind, but I try to pay 65 per pay period to keep it up. ATM Withdrawal 2,211.70 is next. This is including fees from places, but its just me taking money out for stuff. No idea what it would be used for. Just cash on hand. I wrote 1,991.94 in checks between January 2013 and today. Ive written none in at least six months and most of those checks would have been written at a local gas station. So, take 90 of that and add it to GasFood for a more realistic number. I spent 1,889.13 on Paypal. Usually this would be gaming-related, too. Ive been trying, this year, to use only business transactions through Paypal because thats where I get paid for work, but its not 100 effective, to my accountants dismay. Next we have Food 1,667.59 Fast Food 1,390.77. Food is eating out at restaurants, grocery shopping, and otherwise anything where I get edible products by stepping out of my vehicle. Fast food is the opposite -- drive thru, mostly. No wonder Im also overweight. Then we have the magnificent Misc category. This can be anything from Amazon, to Walmart, to Kmart, to things that didnt fit other categories. I spent 1,281.98 here. Finally we get to student loans 1,207.30. Of all the things Im paying, this really should be at the top of the list. I only owe about another 5k. I have a 100 car payment, but I only paid 1,003.47 no clue why thats not round towards it. I assume my wife paid the months I missed, because its happened a couple times. Automobile repairs is close behind that, at 918.22. I drive 750 miles a week, minimum, so Im surprised this isnt higher. Convenience store purchases is next, and this is only the stores where I know, for fact, that I dont purchase gas. I stop at Valero every day to buy a water and two 5 Hour Energy drinks. Total: 882.00 My next biggest expense is shipping costs. I run contests on my blog Sm1ttySm1t.com, check me out! where I give away the hardware and some games that I play. Mailing those off to folks has cost me 538.19 over the last 17 months. Entertainment was lower than expected, at 389.92. We made a concerted effort to cut out movie night and such, and instead have found free things to do the park, the coast, etc. It shows. Travel costs at 315.00 is Amtrak and taxi fares for PAX East 13 14, as well as some other trips I took to get additional coverage for a magazine I write for. Most tax write-offs. Then we get to the lowest ones, Bank fees 130.00, WebsitePodcast maintenance 1140.40, Donations 25.67 - Im a generous God, and Healthcare 20.98. Dont be fooled, my wife pays most of the healthcare bills we get. So there it is. 35,562.92 in expenses from January 2013 to today. I made slightly less than 30k last year, plus my writing income, and here we are. Its pretty clear where the moneys going. Its going nowhere. Its being wasted in little chunks that seem insignificant at the time. Ive talked to my wife about my little morning project and were going to sit down tonight to look at her bank account. Maybe Ill report back. Nevertheless, if I were to cut out the unnecessary spending that you see here, Id be able to work from home doing what I love. I think sacrificing some donuts and energy drinks is worth it. Ill check back in a year to let you know how Im doing. One quick edit! I added in my hotel lodgings for travel and it brought the total 2,971.86. In travel costs. O_o  <response>: Your food expenses are probably whats killing you.You have: gasfood foodrestaurants fast food convenience store stuff which is mostly fooddrinks1. Why are you picking up breakfast every? morning at the gas station? Why not eat breakfast at home, or make something at home that you can eat in the car?2. And why are you going through the drive-thru so much and getting fast food? Is this lunch for when youre at work? Why not pack a lunch at home, and eat that instead?3. And WTF is up with the convenience store stops for water two 5-hour-energy drinks every day? At the very least, cant you just buy cases of water and energy drinks from a store like Walmart or Costco, and bring them from home? Although it would make a lot more sense to buy a reusable water bottle, and to skip the horrible energy drinks... but lets do some baby steps here.My best guess is youd save yourself almost 5,000 a year if you stopped with the gas station breakfasts, fast food lunches, and overpriced water energy drinks every day. Math is based on the assumption this stuff costs around 20 a day x 5 days a week x 50 weeks a year. 