So what are the rest of us supposed to do to save money?

it sounds like it sucks... i went through the same thing. If you are applying any extra money to anything stop. pay the minimum on everything. stop using credit cards. If getting out of debt and freeing up money is important than you need to turn off any thing that is leisure, cable, renting movies, extra cell phones or features on a house phone, memberships, magazines etc. Find someone with a costco card and buy the diapers, milk and wipes in bulk if its cheaper. STOP small spending like starbucks, going out to eat, buying candy etc. Track your expenses, all of them down to the penny, for a month. once you've done all that see what money is left over. Catch up to your bills, then get a small Term Life Ins to protect your income, Pay a little extra towards one debt like credit cards or loans then continue doing that till all are payed off, (dont pay a little extra to all debts at the same time), Start an emergency account till you build up to 3-6 months of living expenses, then fund an IRA, then College acct and so on. You may not be able to do them all at once but that is the order to build wealth as the money becomes avail. It is a process that requires time and discipline. If none of that helps get another income and apply it. Good Luck.