Tired of living paycheck to paycheck? Here's what to do! • Savvy Frugal Mom

8 tips to help you stop living paycheck to paycheck

I know you are tired.

You have been working long hours, trying to care for your family and yet the money runs out before the month does.

And you still have to wait before your next paycheck shows up.

It is frustrating, exhausting and you are so done with it.

I get it. According to Forbes, 78% of American families are living paycheck to paycheck. Did you catch that? Almost 8/10 homes in your neighborhood are struggling.

Which means you are not alone in this struggle. But it also means that we need to make a change.

The true trick to stop living paycheck to paycheck is to have extra money in the bank.

When you have money in the bank, you don’t have to always rely on the next paycheck coming on a specific day to pay your bills.

It is possible to stop living paycheck to paycheck. You can do it. But know that it won’t necessarily be easy. It will require some effort, sacrifice and patience.

And you can’t give up, even when it feels hard.

If you are ready to change your financial situation then I want to give you 8 tips to help you stop living paycheck to paycheck and start easing your financial stress.

How do I stop living Paycheck to Paycheck?

Start with A Budget

Yep! A budget. I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear.

But a budget doesn’t have to be the enemy. Think of it as a plan for your money. That’s it. And, as the saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

The same can definitely be said of your finances. If you don’t take the time to make a plan for your money, you will find yourself wondering where the money went.

This is what we DO NOT WANT.

You want to know where your money goes each month, each day even.

If you are new to budgeting, don’t worry. I’ve got you covered.

Head on over to the beginner’s guide to budgeting to get started.

It really doesn’t have to be hard. But it will make the most difference in your and your family’s ability to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.

Save a basic emergency fund

In order to quit the paycheck to paycheck cycle, you need money in the bank. Set the goal to build up a basic emergency. $1000 is usually a good first goal to work towards.

You would not believe the small bit of peace that comes from having $500 or $1000 saved up. Suddenly you have breathing room and wiggle room in your life.

You can pay for those small emergencies that life will inevitably throw at you, and not feel like you are drowning even more.

With a little effort and patience, you will be well on your way toward your financial goals.

Limit spending to necessities

Once you have your budget figured out, you will need to look at where your money has been going and trim down your expenses from there.

Limit what your household spends to the necessities, as much as possible.

What are necessities? That will depend on you and your situation. But, to start, the basic necessities would be housing (rent, utilities, etc), Food, Clothing (not name brands, now. Remember–basics), and transportation.

Once you have those things in place see where your numbers stand.

Where can you trim expenses and free up some money?

This part can get frustrating. But, remember, the goal is to stop living paycheck to paycheck. This means it is time for a change and sometimes change in hard.

So take a hard look at what you are spending money on. What can you do without for awhile?

No eating out

I know the draw of just wanting to pick up a pizza or have someone else cook after a long day, or week.

Believe me, I have been there.

But eating out is SO much more expensive than making dinner at home, especially if you already have the food at home to make dinner. It is like paying for that night’s dinner twice (or more!).

Now, I’m not saying you can’t eat out Ever. But most likely eating out is a place where you can save some money.

And it isn’t just dinner. What about grabbing a bite to eat for lunch while you, or your spouse, is at work? That money adds up over time as well.

An easy fix for this–pack a basic cold lunch, or pack leftovers from the night before.

We started having my husband take leftovers for his lunch while we were still in dental school. To this day he packs a lunch to take to work, unless the company has lunch plans. It saves SO MUCH MONEY!

I listen to other people planning what lunch they are going to buy every day and just shake my head. True, bringing your lunch to work to takes planning–but not that much. And it doesn’t require that much time either–make lunch when dinner is getting put away at night. Done and done!

Meal plan

You may have noticed that the amount your family spends on food is one of the biggest items in your budget.

Americans, on average, spend over $7000 a year on food. That is a LOT of money on food. And, if you aren’t careful, your family could be spending even more than that!

So how do we keep this food budget under control? Meal Planning.

Taking the time to plan what your family is going to eat has the potential to save so much money AND keep you on, or under, budget.

Now meal planning takes some practice and effort, but it is so worth it! And it will make your nightly “what is for dinner” question easy to answer!

You can do this and it will help! I personally attribute meal planning to being one of the single best things we did to help us get out of debt.

Automate savings

If, in theory, you make money to meet all your expenses, but there still isn’t money to save–you might need to try automating your saving.

Don’t plan to “save what is leftover” after you have spent for the month. I have a news flash for you–there won’t be money leftover to save.

Plan to save first and spend what is leftover.

There are some easy ways to do this. First is to automatically contribute to your company’s retirement plan (if they have one).

This money will come out of your paycheck before it ever lands in your bank account. You don’t even have to think about it–it is done for you. Easy Peasy.

Second is to set up an automatic saving with-drawl, from your checking account, for a set amount each month (or paycheck), to a separate savings account. It doesn’t have to be big. Just enough to get you started.

Save raises and bonuses

Sometimes you can’t find any extra wiggle room in the budget, even when cutting expenses like crazy. So the next step is to save the extra money you get, anytime you get a raise or a bonus.

It is so easy to look at an upcoming bonus and find all the ways to spend that money, before you even get it.

STOP. Don’t look at that money as the opportunity to spend more. Look at that money as the opportunity to give your family a financial buffer–ie SAVE IT.

The more money you can put away into savings, the less you will need to always rely on the next paycheck.

Like we said before, the trick to stop the paycheck to paycheck cycle is to have money in the bank.

Stay optimistic

The final tip for getting out of the paycheck to paycheck life is to stay optimistic. You are making a life change and it won’t always be easy or fun. It will be hard and frustrating some days.

Be patient with yourself and keep reminding yourself that Yes! You can do this. Yes! It is possible and it will make a huge difference in your life and the life of your family.

Focus on why you are making the change and the end result you want to accomplish. If you can do that, you will get there!

How to Not Live Paycheck to Paycheck

If you are tired of living paycheck to paycheck and ready to make the change to a better financial life, it is totally doable and within your reach.

All it takes are some small changes that can make a big impact. It may not all be easy at first, or fun–change is often hard. But it is possible.

And remember that this won’t all last forever.

Once your finances are in better order, you will have more breathing room for everything. And that is the ultimate goal of all this, right? To no longer have to stress about finances and breathe easy knowing you can meet your financial obligations without worry.

You got this! Let me know if I can help, and leave a comment to let me know what you think and/or your tips for getting out of the paycheck to paycheck cycle.

Tired of living paycheck to paycheck? Here’s what to do!