Cost of living

One of the biggest headaches for a newly grad from college is figuring out the cost of living. I'm sure I've calculated a bunch of times, but the actual spending is always over budget?

here's a conversation to a friend discussing my cost of living:

na1paj: DSL + land line $84 something
na1paj: cellphone $35
na1paj: electricity is about $80~100
na1paj: water $25
na1paj: rent $600
na1paj: Car insurance is like $100 a month.? or $50, i dont' know, i don't pay it
na1paj: food $200~300/month
na1paj: eating out $200/month (lunch and dinner)
na1paj: gas $120~150
na1paj: personal spending (toilet paper, toothpaste, feminine & hair products etc) $50 /month
na1paj: misc. spending (hospital? dentist? car inspection? car registration? traffic ticket?)

Allen and I both spend around $2000 a month for our cost of living

what else?? and what are YOUR cost of living?