You don't mention a spouse, so I assume there isn't one. It looks like you're spending roughly $800 a month on 'shopping' and 'credit'. or almost 10% of your i

You don't mention a spouse, so I assume there isn't one. It looks like you're spending roughly $800 a month on 'shopping' and 'credit'. or almost 10% of your income continually every month on those two items. Many of us do that in an attempt to 'live a lifestyle' or 'conform to an image'. 'Image' and 5 bucks buys you a cup of coffee. Ever notice how rich people often look like they don't even have two cents to rub together? You don't have to do it forever and a day, but stop completely any non-essential (and I mean non-essential) spending until you knock that credit card debt off your list of expenses. Eating out is one of the worst non-essential spending drains. If you have to use a credit card for some reason, maintain a credit balance on the credit card so that the banks don't get to charge you that exorbitant interest. They hate that, but hey, it's your money not theirs.