$12 an hour for a single person sounds a lot to me, when I was working ( had to give up to become carer for my missus, long story for another thread maybe) I was earning roughly the same but I had myself a wife & 2 kids to pay for. Our priorities have always been home, clothes & food first then the bills,  "fripperies" come after if there's money left over.

I only ever spend money on poser when I know I can afford to do it. If I can't afford it I have to go without, it's that simple.

Also, I've become quite adept at spotting bargains in the stores, yes you can buy famous branded foods at premium prices but often stores own brand is just as good at a fraction of the price. Shop around & don't just pick up the shiniest packaging or the ones who pay the most for advertising.

Windows 7 64Bit
Poser Pro 2010 SR1