The first thing I'd do (which you may already be doing) is to keep a budget, accounting for every cent - when it goes in, where it gets spent.
I don't have MYOB or anything like that, but from the say I moved out of home at 18, I set up some excel spreadsheets with a "journal" which had all my ins and outs, and then separate sheets for categories, and fortnightly planners.
So for money coming in, I would allocate it (food, rent, bills, medical, uni, clothes, slush, entertainment, etc) and those figures were based on a 26th of my annual projections.
Then when I spent anything - and I mean anything - it would get put on the budget. Everything from a 30c phonecall to my $700 contents insurance.
And I updated my projections every quarter to make sure I was on track.
When I got DH to start doing it too (back when he was DP, and then DF!) he sharpened up really quickly and noticed those $3 coffees, $3 hamburgers, $25 CDs and whatever else - because our food budget was $50 each a week, and one month he spent $191 on MacDonalds!! Now I'm sure you don't do that, but I found that the absolute accountability meant that when he went to buy a magazine or even something perfectly good - but not accounted for - he stopped short, because he knew he'd have to come home and put it on the budget.
Now you're not 19 years old and earning $7 and hour - and maybe you're already doing a budget - but I thought I'd stick the idea out there anyway
PS: Costco has super cheap meat. If you do get a deep freezer, find someone who is going to costco and see if they can pick up some meat for you and drop it around
instead of play centres are there any clubs nearby with play centres in them, I know in Canberra the Hellenic club has a huge kids play centre in it and membership is only $8 a year.
I have got some gorgeous 'good' brand clothes (pumpkin patch etc) from the local buy sell group on fb for around $4 a piece. I collect clothes the next size up, when quality things come up at a good price (op shops too).
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