I agree with these guys. Set up a spreadsheet with your hard costs and review your last 3 bank statements thoroughly to see where the rest of it is going. I guarantee you can whittle things down. Once you make changes, update your spreadsheet and watch your discretionary income grow. I have mine set up to show my monthly discretionary income after every single expense. I am also a Dave Ramsey fan and have car replacement, clothes, etc. in my spreadsheet.
In addition, I calculate my monthly net worth gain. I do this through real estate principal reduction, rental income, retirement contribution, stocks, and additional savings. I put in depreciation for cars.
Get your Wife and family on board. That is a huge variable with a single income household. How about some type of reward for saving X every so often?
Good luck, it will take some effort and hard work to change things but once they are in effect you will benefit greatly every day.
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Todd
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