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Living paycheck to paycheck is rough!
If you think about it what are the true perks of living paycheck to paycheck? I sat here for literally five minutes and I could not think of one thing. This type of creative budgeting is not effective. Point blank period.
Think about it, who enjoys being broke days before paycheck? For me, I noticed the majority of my money went towards fast food. The sad part is the food wasn’t even that good.
Living paycheck to paycheck isn’t even worth it.
- Who are you trying to impress sis? Are the Joneses even worried about you? Do they even know who you are?
- Is that fast food that you had to indulge in, really that good? Is it worth, having to turn around at that fast food restaurant and telling them that you did not receive the fries that YOU PAID FOR?
- Paying those high interest rates on your credit cards when you know good and well you can’t pay off the balance in full. Is it worth it?
I’m writing this post because I lived paycheck to paycheck for years and one day I was just fed up. I thought to myself why am I subjecting myself to live like this? Why am I literally throwing hard earned money away.
Out of my frustration, I was determined to figure out how I can break this habit! Struggling ain’t cute so it’s time to be an adult and do something about it.
Check out this related post:
5 Legit Reasons You’re Living Paycheck to Paycheck
How do I know if I live paycheck to paycheck
So, I created a quiz just to see if you my friend live paycheck to paycheck. Don’t freak out, it’s either pass or fail – it’s that simple!
Let’s start.
- Do you feel like you don’t have enough money to cover all of your bills?
- Are you constantly running out of money before the end of the month?
- Have you purposely not paid a bill and applied the money from that bill towards another to ensure it gets paid?
- Do you always feel like you broke?
If you’ve answered yes to these questions, you my friend are living paycheck to paycheck.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone. There are thousands in fact millions of people who do so don’t worry.According to a report from CareerBuilder,
- Seventy-eight percent of full-time American workers said they live paycheck to paycheck, up from 75 percent in 2016.
- American workers who make over six figures have said they struggle to make ends meet.
- Nearly 1 in 10 of those making $100,000 or more said they usually or always live paycheck to paycheck,
- Fifty-nine percent of those workers who make $100,000 or more said they were in the red.
Good thing is you’re already searching for help.
Does living paycheck to paycheck doesn’t mean you can’t manage your money? It could mean you earning enough income to cover all of your daily expenses. For some it means that you need a little help with budgeting your money. Plain and simple.
For me, it was a combination of two things:
- I was not earning enough to have extra cash on hand (so I thought). I wish I knew about Swagbucks back then. Find out how I earn $125.00 every month with Swagbucks.
- I WAS LAZY! Did not have a budget – I was paying bills based off of memory and spending money by choice.
I needed to come up with a better solution because being broke is rough.
Sooooo I decided to try the Half Payment Method and guess what?? I loved it and it works for me.
What is The Half Payment Budget Method & How Does It Work
The Half Payment Budget Method is when you take your recurring monthly bills and divide them in half.
On your scheduled payday, you have two options: (1) you can take half of the money owed, place it to the side until you have the full payment amount ready to pay out or (2) you can go ahead make payments to your creditors leading up to your payment due date. I personally use the second option, it works best for me.
FYI – you should do your due diligence and check with your creditor prior to making multiple payments. Just to ensure you will not incur a penalty. Some creditors allow it and some don’t.
Come on, let me show you the half payment budget method works.
Exhibit A
Exhibit A shows you how I used to pay my bills. (Note: Notice $600 daycare?! Where they do that at, lol)
My bills were paid on their due date and I always hoped to have enough money in the bank to cover it.
It looks like I have a combined $320 sitting around after bills are paid. Looks can be deceiving, right. Realistically speaking, I was going to the nail salon every two weeks and eating out religiously. After adding those impulse purchases and a few more expenses (such as fuel), I’m left with about $30 until payday.
This method right had me all messed up! Yes, my bills were getting paid BUT I was placing myself in a tight financial bind on a monthly basis. I did not have the extra cushion for any unexpected expenses.
Exhibit B
Looky….Looky!! What do we have here…LOL! A well balanced budget!!!
Implementing the half budget payment budget method was exhilarating! All of my bills paid in full for the month, I have a surplus of funds in my bank account, I can now plan for unexpected expenses and finally fund my savings account. Check out my post that details how I started a savings account.
The best part is I can stop living paycheck to paycheck! Wooooooo-hoooooooooooo!
Adapting to this change was not easy, it takes a lot of planning. Start small and slowly work your way towards bringing each bill over.
One tip that I found useful was calling my creditor and asking them to change my payment dates. I did not know that I could do this but I’m glad that I did because it has taken a lot of stress off of me.) The majority of my bills were due at the end of the month so it was rough having to pay all of my bills out of one check.
How to Implement the Half Payment Budget Method
Have I convinced you that this was worth it?
Before you start, take an assessment of your bills. I suggest that you:
- Forecast before you implement! Review all of your bills for about 3 to 6 months to get good gauge of the average cost of each bill.
- Write down your payment due dates
- Write down your scheduled pay dates
Once you’re ready to start, begin with one bill first. Once you feel confident, add another bill and continue this pattern until you’ve brought all of your bills over.
This method made budgeting so easy. It left me asking the famous question “why didn’t I start this earlier”.
I created the FREE printable below as a guide to help you with organizing your bills and using the half payment budget method. I’m telling you, this budget method is Ahhh-mazing! Stop the cycle, sign up today!
