Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck

Living paycheck to paycheck is when you only have enough income to cover your expenses until your next payday, which is not a good thing.  Living paycheck to paycheck can make it hard to live if an emergency comes up, and it can add a lot of unnecessary stress to one’s life.  If you find yourself living until your next paycheck, it’s time to stop and follow these action steps!

Get a Budget

The first thing you need to do is put together a budget so that you can clearly see your income and expenses.  If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, chances are you also don’t even know exactly where your money is going.  Put together a simple, easy budget that highlights all your income and spending, so that you can quickly see all of you personal finance life.

Improve Your Income

The first thing you can do once you put together your budget is look for ways to improve your income to give you a little cushion each month to build saving with.  You can do this in several ways.  First, look to your employer to see if you can work extra hours to boost your paycheck.  Also, you may even consider getting a second part-time job to boost your income.

If working a traditional job doesn’t sound good, maybe you should consider freelancing or starting a side business.  Depending on your skill set, this could be an easy way to boost your income.

Cut Your Expenses

The other option, once you lay out your budget, is to cut some expenses.  By analyzing your budget, you can see areas that you can cut.  Are you still paying for cable, or do you eat out a lot?  These are all areas that you can trim back to give you a little money that you can save each month.  By saving money each month, you can break the cycle of paycheck to paycheck living and give yourself an emergency cushion should something unexpected come up.  That way you will have the money you need, and won’t be in a cash crunch.