Dear Dave,When it comes to taking control of your money and living on a budget, what’s the biggest thing a family can live without?—WillDear Will,There are always the shiny things people can do without. Sometimes people sell a fancy car or boat and get rid of a $600-a-month payment right off the bat. But on a regular, day-to-day basis, I think maybe the biggest and best thing you can amputate from your life is eating out.I love a good restaurant, and I’ve got nothing against the industry. The problem, though, is that people are struggling to pay their bills or set aside something for retirement because they’re eating out all the time. Most folks simply don’t realize how much money they throw away by heading to the drive-through for lunch or going out to dinner “once in a while.”I want people to enjoy life, and a great part of that can be going out and having a meal with your family and friends. Just don’t do it when you’re broke. If you’re having financial issues, the only time you should see the inside of a restaurant is if you’re working there!—DaveDear Dave,My wife and I make $140,000 a year, and we’re working on our debt snowball. We’re almost out of debt, but we still have two small car payments and some credit card debt. She wants to get rid of the credit card debt but doesn’t mind us having car payments. Can you help me understand this?—KellyDear Kelly,I’m not sure I understand her thinking either. The car payments and the credit card debt are the same thing. They’re both debt payments, and you’re being charged interest on both of them. The only difference is that one is attached to a car and one’s not. It makes about as much sense as saying you like Visa better than MasterCard.Even if she has some strange hang-up about car depreciation, that argument doesn’t hold water either. Cars go down in value whether you borrowed money to buy them or not. A $20,000 vehicle will be worth $10,000 in just a few years no matter what you do. A car payment won’t keep it from depreciating or slow the rate of depreciation.Sometimes people get burned out or tired of paying the price to become debt-free. It can happen when you’ve been working on something for a while, and it seems like you’re never going to get there. Sit down and have a gentle, loving talk with your wife. Find out why she feels that way about the car payments and where the root of the problem really lies.She may just need some support and encouragement from the man in her life. Remind her how far you’ve come together on this journey, how close you are to winning, and how much you love her. You’re too close to making your financial dreams come true to stop now!—Dave* Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He’s authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 6 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.