They were around $6,000 a month...
$2,500 mortgage
$885 for two car payments
$240 for car insurance, teenage driver impact
$500 monthly phone bill due to telecommuting
$300 utility bill, power, water, sewer
$50 cable modem
$35 cable tv
$70 Dish network
$1,000 - $1,200 feeding my family of five, two teenagers and one to four of their friends.
$500-$1500 for clothes, misc repairs, entertainment, legal bills etc. add $600 for credit card payments and we break through the $6,000 dollar level.
When you are taking home $7,500 to $9,000 a month this level of expense does not seem unreasonable, when your income is a quarter, or less, of what you have been earning the worm turns very quickly.