Economy is the parent of integrity, of liberty and of ease, and the beauteous sister of temperance, of cheerfulness and health.

Living below what you earn is not mainly about money; it is about what money pressure does to everything else. Debt narrows your options until you start taking work you would refuse, agreeing with people you disagree with, and staying somewhere you want to leave. Room in the budget is room to be honest. The calm that comes with it is worth more than most of what the extra spending bought.

Look at your fixed monthly commitments and ask which of them you took on to look a certain way. Cutting one is usually the fastest way to widen your choices. Freedom is often just a smaller number.