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Payday is my favorite day of the week! Who doesn’t like to get paid, right?! For me, there was a point in time when payday couldn’t come fast enough.
In 2010, I started working as a substitute teacher. It had been a while since I collected a recurring paycheck. I was happy to have money coming in because as quick as it came in, I was taking it out. One day, I went out to lunch with a friend and when I went to swipe my card, it declined. The cashier swiped the card and told me that the card declined and I told her to swipe it again. I assumed it was a glitch, I had no idea that my account had less than $10 in it. Prior to that event, the last time I checked my account was two weeks ago when I got paid!
I was embarassed! At that moment, I realized I needed to start taking my finances seriously. Listen, if you don’t like change, it’s going to be hard for you to break this pattern.
I couldn’t understand how I had money in my account on payday and then less than $10 the week before I get paid. That makes absolutely no sense. I tried to convince myself that someone tapped into my account and withdrew money. Unbeknownst to me, the culprit was me. LOL.
Living paycheck to paycheck is more common than you think.
- According to CareerBuilder.com, 78% of U.S. workers are living paycheck to paycheck in order to make ends meet and 28% of workers making $50,000-$99,999 usually or always live paycheck to paycheck, and 70% are in debt.
- USA Today states that the average person spends $483 per month on non-essential expenses. $483.00 a month on non-essential expenses is a lot of money, over the course of 1 year that amounts to $5796.00.
Living paycheck to paycheck is a bad habit to have and most of us aren’t aware of why we’re living that way. Here are 5 legit reasons why you’re living paycheck to paycheck.
1. You Compare Yourself to Others
Ever heard of the expression keeping up with the Joneses? For you it could be the Smith’s, the White’s or perhaps the Kardashian’s.
Your best friend recently purchased a Tesla and a coworker just purchased a custom built five-bedroom home in an up and coming neighborhood. We associate with these individuals on a daily basis so it’s normal to assume, if they can do it I can too? It doesn’t help that they make it look so easy. From the outside, it looks like they may have it together but we don’t know what it took for them to purchase those items. They may have financed them or they could have paid for it in cash. Who knows. Since we don’t know, it’s best to stay in your own lane and stick with what works for you.
The worst thing you can do is splurge on extravagant items and then have them repossessed because you had no business purchasing them in the first place. I’ll take avoid embarrassment for $500 Alex!
At the end of the day, there’s ALWAYS going to be someone out there who has something that’s bigger, better and different from what you have. Guess what, it’s okay. Trying to keep up with everyone is going to hurt your bank account and perhaps your credit score in the end.
If there’s an item that you really want and you know that you can’t afford it, create a savings plan. I’d feel better in the end knowing that I paid cash for a particular item as opposed to putting it on credit and making minimum payments over the course of 2 or 3 years.
2. Budget?! Your Budget Is Non-Existent.
Do you have a budget? Are you aware of your inflow and outflow? This simply means do you know how much your bringing in and spending out on a monthly basis? If you don’t have a budget also known as a financial plan, you will continue to live paycheck to paycheck.
It’s one thing to set up a budget, but if you don’t stick to it, you’re setting yourself up for failure. I get it, when it comes to money – it’s a sensitive topic. We take on this mindset that’s says “I’m an adult and I don’t need you to tell me how, when or where I can spend my money”. There is some truth to this statement, however as an adult, you’re expected to make responsible decisions about your money.
A 40 year old adult should not have to rely on friends, Facebook and a Go Fund Me account to pay bills. Friends should not have to bail you out. That’s not cute. I manage my money and I make sure I can make ends meet. I shouldn’t have to bail you out because of your poor choices. Hey, I’m just keeping it real. If you’re asking me to spend MY money, I need a damn good reason to do it.
Develop a fool proof budget plan. Use functional budget printables, like these to help you get your finances straight. These tools will help you to figure out exactly where your money is going and exactly how much you are spending. There are also plenty of apps available to help you track your finances.
Don’t wait until an emergency arises to start a budget. Do it now. When and if an emergencies arise, you’ll be better equipped to handle it.
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3. You are Credit Card Dependent
This bullet point speaks volume. This was me! I use to rely on credit cards to fund some of my day-to-day purchases. I remember opening the card and saying that it was supposed to be used for emergencies only. That $150 shoe purchase was NOT an emergency.
Credit cards will mess you up! I charged so much to my card, my minimum payments were in the range of $150 to $200 a month. Yes, you read that correctly the MINIMUM payment. These credit card companies are out here making tons of money at our expense. The interest and credit fees are extremely high. Their set up that way because it’s supposed to keep you in debt. These credit card companies are profiting off of our poor fiscal habits.
Use either cash or your debit card. There are a lot of folks in the Debt Free Community who use cash envelopes. I have yet to try that method but from what I can see, it works! The one thing I like about cash is, it doesn’t lie. If you don’t have enough, you don’t have it. You can only spend what you have. Credit cards like to deceive folks, we tend to not have that much but we forget about that and find ourselves, swiping our lives away.
4. Food Is Your Weakness
C’mon let’s be real. Who doesn’t like to eat? I do. I’m sitting here daydreaming about Chick-Fil-A. I’ve learned to keep a frozen bag of Tyson’s Chicken Nuggets and Ore-Ida Waffle Fries in my freezer. In my head, I’m going to pretend to the best of my ability that I have a meal from Chick-Fil-A. I don’t have any regular lemonade but I do have a bottle of Strawberry Lemonade in my fridge. LOL.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says in 2018, Americans spent an average of 9.7 percent of their disposable personal incomes on food—divided between food at home (5.0 percent) and food away from home (4.7 percent).
5% on food at home and 4.7% spent on food away from home is nice but let’s be real. I surpassed these percentages on a daily basis. If I did this, my grocery budget for the month would be $180 and my dining out budget would be $150. Yeah, so not realistic.
I had to get creative and find ways to save money on groceries.
Save Money On Groceries
In my post, 7 Simple Ways to Save Money on Groceries, I mentioned two cost effective ways to save money on groceries.
I will say that since I’ve planned ahead and made meals at home, I’ve been able to cut back on grocery costs. I’ll let you in on a secret. If you plan ahead and cook dinner at home , your lunch is already prepared for the following day. This is an automatic cost savings! Woo-Hoo!
Now that I’m a mom of two, I’ve found that I don’t have time to meal plan. If someone else can do it for me, then by all means sign me up. That’s why I recommend the $5 meal plan. This weekly meal plan service allows me to save time and money! By outsourcing this one thing, I’ve found that I have just a few more minutes in my day to focus on my family.
For only $5 a month, you’ll receive a delicious meal plan that costs less than $2 per meal. If you aren’t convinced you can give it a try by clicking this link to receive a 14-day risk-free trial. If this meal plan did not meet your expectations, no worries! You can cancel at any time without spending anything – No questions asked! Whattttt? You can get two weeks of a meal plan for FREE!!! Come on down and sign up today!
Earn FREE gift cards with Ibotta
I do not like clipping coupons. If I do clip coupons, I tend to always loose them.
Last year, I signed up for Ibotta. Ibotta is a FREE cashback app that you can download on your phone to save money. You earn cash back by shopping either in person or online at some of your favorite grocery stores, restaurants and retail establishments.
In a nutshell, it’s basically couponing without clipping coupons!
According to the Ibotta webpage, Ibotta is supported by 300+ nationwide retail stores in over a half million locations and includes grocery and convenience stores, restaurants, movie theaters, home improvement centers, pet stores, and pharmacies.
Just hearing the phrase FREE money excites me! I feel like a contestant on The Price Is Right. I’m ready to come on down.
Take advantage of Ibotta today by, getting a FREE $10 welcome bonus from Ibotta when you sign up through my link.
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5. You Spend More Than You Save
Do you spend or do you save – THAT is the question!
This is a rough one, especially for someone who is accustomed to spending. Whenever you see something that you like, you IMMEDIATELY purchase it without any questions asked. This was a hard lesson for me to learn because I was constantly chasing and comparing myself to the Joneses.
There is an old saying that says patience is a virtue. Being able to wait for something without being antsy or frustrated is a great skill to have. Although you may see something that you want right now, the question is do you need it. If there is something that you need, check out the alternative options. Is there a sale or clearance rack nearby. Perhaps, you can purchase the same item but get it under the store or the generic brand name.
I can attest to buying clothing just because I wanted it. Unfortunately, those same items are still hanging in my closet with tags on it.
According to author and small-business coach Julia Kline, a wish list can help consumers reduce their spending and make their dollars stretch for the items they truly want.
“I often have clients who thought they couldn’t afford a new TV, but by simply curtailing their impulsive, unnecessary spending for a month, they found that they had plenty of money for the TV after all,” Kline said. “And they were more than happy to sacrifice the extra tube of lipstick, the fancy sunglasses and the expensive carry-out in order to make it happen.”
Monthly Budget Printables
Download the FREE half payment budget payment worksheet today. If you want to track your half payments, use this worksheet AND stop living paycheck to paycheck!
What are you waiting for? Start today!
Now that you know what the 5 simple tips are. It’s time to implement them. Need a budget, start one today. There are so many free resources and templates at your disposal. Reach out to me on Instagram and I’ll be more than happy to assist you. Stop spending so much money and learn how to save. You can always use FREE survey sites such as Swagbucks. Read about how I make $125.00 monthly from Swagbucks.
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