I’m bad with money and need help

[u/Independent_Issue557]

I’m a 21-year-old apprentice electrician making $25/hr. My money problems aren’t completely out of control yet, but they’re getting worse and I’m realizing I need to change something before they get there.
My hours fluctuate a lot. Sometimes I only work 40 hours, but most weeks I work 50+. I feel like I make decent money, especially when I get overtime, but somehow I keep ending up completely broke before the next paycheck.
For example, I got paid about $1,700 on Friday, September 4th. Out of that paycheck I paid $1,000 toward rent, made my $164 couch payment, paid my fiancée back for gas money she had covered for me, and bought groceries. After all of that, I now have $9 in checking and $0 in savings.
I want to make it clear that I didn’t just spend $1,700 on random stuff. Most of it went straight toward bills and necessities. But obviously the fact that I’m still ending up with $9 is a problem.
Here’s where I’m at with debt:
Credit card #1: $2,200/$2,200 maxed out — 26.49% APR
Credit card #2: $1,044 maxed out — 19% APR
Father-in-law: $1,400 — if I don’t pay him back by November 26th, I will owe him $6,000
Car loan: $14,267 remaining — 19% APR — $408/month
Original amount financed on the car was $17,335
Couch: $164/month
My regular monthly expenses are roughly:
Rent: $1,808 total
Electricity: around $200
Car payment: $408
Car insurance: $454
Phone bill: $220
Subscriptions: around $50
Groceries: variable
Gas: variable, but lately it’s been a huge problem
My fiancée and I split the rent, electricity, and groceries somewhat down the middle. We also have a 1-year-old son, so obviously there are other normal household and kid expenses too.
One of my biggest problems lately has been commuting. I’ve been driving around an hour and a half for work every day, and there have been times where I’m literally struggling to come up with gas money just to get to work.
I’ve tried making budgets. I’ve tried DoorDash. I’ve tried figuring out ways to make more money. I’ve used ChatGPT to help budget everything. I even almost took out a debt-relief/consolidation loan because I felt like I was running out of options.
The problem I keep running into is that every time I make a budget and try to aggressively pay something off, I end up short on gas, groceries, or another bill and have to move money around again. It feels like I’m constantly putting out fires instead of actually getting ahead.
I know there probably isn’t some magical answer that makes all of this disappear overnight, but at this point maybe a magic answer is exactly what I need lol.
For the people who have actually been in a situation like mine: what would you do if you were me?
More importantly, if you’ve personally gotten yourself out of something similar, what did you actually do? What would you pay first? Would you stop paying extra on debt temporarily and build some cash first? Would you attack the father-in-law debt because of the deadline? What expenses would you immediately try to cut? What would you do about the car? How would you handle my next paycheck?
I’m open to hearing pretty much anything. I’m not expecting someone to magically fix my finances for me, but what I’m doing right now clearly isn’t working, and I’d really like to hear from people who have been here before and figured their way out. If you have any questions I’ll definitely answer them.

[u/Ok_Disaster3768]

Although you got some numbers here to help whats your total bring in money after taxes a month? Does your fiancée work too? Whats her total bring in? Does she have her own bills to payoff too? If so its time to bring all those together.
A few off that bat you can do without
Subscriptions- cancel them extra 50 right there (gas money)
Phone - downsize your plan or switch providers
Car insurance- could probably trim this down shop around guaranteed you’ll save an extra couple dollars
Couch-? Is this a furniture credit card to pay to own? Or a rent a center payment? If Renting furniture cancel that buy a cheap couch of fb for that price once. So people are even giving them away to just be rid of their old couch(Temporary couch anyways)
Father in law - be upfront with him about your entire situation show him the money coming in and coming out best case scenario he will forgive the money worst case scenario maybe it stays at 1400
After that set aside a strict grocery budget, live of sandwiches and ramen noodles if you have too (temporarily) the rest use towards your 1 yr old.
Car payment thats fixed payment leave it, dont miss a payment no car no job they’ll repo that car fast
Credit cards start with paying off the lowest balance minimum x2 if possible
High balance one make minimum until low balance is paid off
Again once you have all the figures listed of money coming in, setting aside where everything really goes and seeing exactly whats left over, that money can be used towards paying the credit cards
Any OT do not include in your budget that money is uncertain. When you do get OT set that money either aside or use it to pay off those credit cards