Living paycheck to paycheck is something that many of us are familiar with, especially in today’s shaky economy. However, knowing that everyone else is doing it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. If you constantly find yourself falling short on money to pay the bills or even put food on the table from week to week, you probably wonder how everyone else is doing it. Here are a few tips to help you manage and maybe even get out of the rut.
Check into a Personal Loan
Most times, when you’re living paycheck to paycheck your credit isn’t good enough to get a loan to help you out of your bind. Luckily, there are places to apply for a personal loan if you have bad credit. Getting one of these can help you catch up on a few credit cards or even consolidate some payments into one lower amount, making it easier for you to get back on track and where you need to be.
Look for Sales on Groceries
Every one of us knows that groceries are one of the major expenses when it comes to draining the paycheck, and it’s not like they’re something your family can do without. One of the best ways to save on them is by looking for local sales. You can do this by looking through the weekly ads or even finding out what sales day is at your local grocery stores and going shopping on that day. Don’t forget to take your coupons with you as well, because they can make quite the difference in the checkout lane.
Keep Trying to Save
This might be the hardest tip to accomplish on this list, however, saving, even if it’s only $10 a week can build a buffer between you and disaster. For example, if you’ve managed to save $10 to $20 a week for a couple of months, you might have the money you need to buy groceries for the week if you have no other money coming in or you’ll have the money to replace the brakes on the car, when they are worn down. It doesn’t have to be much, but saving even a little can help when it’s needed.
Budget Daily
Most of us have a hard time budgeting monthly or weekly, much less daily, but it’s a good idea if you are living paycheck to paycheck to know what you have and what you can spend. This is especially important if you’re living in a two income household. If each of you is budgeting independently and not talking about your bills, then it’s really easy to run into trouble. Try sitting down together every day to go over your finances and see where you can save and what you can budget together.
These are just
a few tips to help you survive and maybe even save a little when you’re living
from paycheck to paycheck. Remember, budgeting and communication are key.