How to Survive Living Paycheck to Paycheck

If I had a dollar for every time I heard the words “all you need to do is start saving”, I wouldn’t need that dollar.

How do you save when there’s not enough to begin with?

If you’re in the position where there’s no money left at the end of your paycheck to save, how on Earth do you save money?

What if you’re already stretched as far as you can possibly go with those bi-weekly paychecks? How’re you supposed to save the ‘extra’, when there’s already not enough to pay all of your bills in the same month?

If you’re in this boat, I hear you, and I’ve been there.

I remember hearing those words, “you need to put something aside for a rainy day”, and thinking “every day IS a rainy day”! It’s difficult to hear that advice and not feel like a complete failure, thinking that you must be the only person who’s not able to save money.

But that’s just not true.

Research shows that 78% of us who’re working full time are living paycheck to paycheck. That means that more than half of the population who’re working full time, can’t afford to save money for the future, and that’s a sad fact.

Most financial experts recommend stashing at least a six-month cushion in an emergency fund to cover anything from a dental bill to a car repair – and more if you are the sole breadwinner in your family or in business for yourself.

But if you’re already stretched beyond your limit, how’re you supposed to do that??

There are a couple of ways to find/make some spare cash to help you make enough money to put something aside for the future. Some might take a little time to implement, but if you start now, before you know it you’ll have significant savings, without any real effort.

Start a side gig

Starting some kind of money-making thing outside of your regular job can start making you money fairly quickly if you just stick to it. If you’re the creative type, you could sell crafts, or baking something like that.

Get a part-time job

Yeah…I know. Don’t say it. This is the least desirable way to make extra cash because you probably already have one job you hate, and here I am telling you that you should go get another one.