by Braeden L.
“I get paid on Friday, then I can spend my money.”
This is what many people say when they are living paycheck to paycheck. About 78% of American workers live paycheck to paycheck; a study by Ramsey Solutions found 47% of Americans have less than $1,000 saved for emergencies. Especially now that 2020 has hurt many people around the world, living paycheck to paycheck is very “normal” for people in today’s world.
One easy way to help manage your money is to create a budget. Creating a plan for your money so that each dollar has a job to do; you should know where each part of your paycheck is going and how that is affecting your life. First, start making a list of your income and expenses (rent, food, internet, etc.). Subtracting your expenses from your income should hopefully leave you with enough money to put elsewhere in your budget. Using the 50-30-20 rule is a perfect way to start out your planning and budgeting. Buying a cheap BUT SAFE used car is another way to save money and to make sure that you aren’t spending too much on car costs.
Living paycheck to paycheck means that you probably want to bring money in consistently. Having a full time job that pays well and always going after promotions is key, but having another form of income is sometimes better. Some ways to increase your income that many people do is: uber, lyft, doordash, side hustle, etc. These are easy and quick ways to boost your income. Starting a side hustle can be challenging sometimes but, if you involve your interest and talents, it can become fun and potentially turn into something more.
Housing across America can be really expensive, especially if you want to live in an area where there is high land value. Many young adults want to have indepence and that means living in a place by yourself and where you want. But this causes many people to have financial problems later on. Finding a neighborhood or area in a city that is SAFE and affordable if you must live on your own but finding roommates that you can have pay rent is also an option when it comes to getting a place.
Being financially strong and stable is really important when trying to not live paycheck to paycheck. Taking your paycheck and automatically putting the bill payments away so you know what money to get to “spend” in a month is essential. Being caught in living paycheck to paycheck doesn’t have to be a permanent lifestyle, using these tips can help you live your best life. Also, don’t eat out that much, it's not healthy and it’s very expensive.
Works Cited
Lake, Rebecca. “7 Tips For Moving Beyond Living Paycheck To Paycheck.” Personal Finance, ForbesAdvisor, 27 02 2020, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/moving-beyond-living-paycheck-to-paycheck/. Accessed 21 03 2021.
Ramsey Solutions. “How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck.” Debt, Ramsey Solutions, 23 02 2021, https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/stop-living-paycheck-to-paycheck. Accessed 21 03 2021.
Your post was very interesting to read, and also relevant in current times as many people have suffered from their living paycheck to paycheck habits in the pandemic. Even once the pandemic is over, it is important to not live this way, because it's inefficient and could cause a lot of trouble if you have no emergency fund. For those that don't choose to live this way and have legitimate living expenses that are too costly, I don't think all of them are capable of changing their lifestyle. Although they can work more jobs, find cheaper places to stay, etc., I feel like those who already don't make that much money and happen to live in apartments are in an endless cycle of living paycheck to paycheck, as saving up to buy a house might be impossible for them.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really well written blog. The statistics of people who live paycheck to paycheck is scary but something that we all have to be careful of. I really enjoyed some of the tips to avoid living paycheck to paycheck because some of them are things that most people wouldn’t think of, like door dash and other “side hustles”. I think it is super important to incorporate them as they are becoming more and more frequently used, this could get someone quite a bit of extra cash on the side. I also enjoyed your tip on buying reliable but not the best of some things, like cars, buying a reliable used car vs a new car could be a make or break for your budget. Overall, I really enjoyed your blog and it definitely left me thinking!
ReplyDeleteYour post is very relevant for the time as everyone took at large hit from 2020. I also love how you address that most of us usually spend it all on wants rather than needs in the early-to-late future. Emphasizing to break this unhealthy habit now because you may do it in the future which can very detrimental for our mental and financial health. Really love this post.
ReplyDeleteI think the topic you chose was super smart and targeted our age group. The statistic you mentioned about 78% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck really shocked me. I knew that this was common, but the fact that many Americans live this way was very eye-opening and a great way to start. I assumed you would mention creating a budget, which is a very practical way of spending money. Apart from that, I thought it was cool how you mentioned small side jobs like being a doordash driver. I feel like people tend to overlook those sorts for job, but they can definitely be a great second source of income. All in all I think you’re blog was super well-rounded!
ReplyDeleteI thought your blog was very informative and I was shocked that so many people live paycheck to paycheck. Sadly, people have such a hard time managing their money. I think finance classes like this are so important because they start to teach kids how to save money early on and encourage positive financial habits. Think of Biztown! It was so fun and it taught us so much at a young age. This is why financial literacy is crucial for overall success in life. I loved how you added tips on how to save your money and get out of this paycheck to paycheck lifestyle, I think for many it can be a struggle to change long-term habits so we should learn from our past generations and be smart with our money.
ReplyDeleteThis blog was a very interesting read. I was surprised to hear that 78% of employed Americans live paycheck to paycheck. This seems to be why America is in great debt. An economy like ours should not have so much debt, but people spend mindlessly. Do you think the pandemic has caused people to save there money better? Overall, great blog and great information.
ReplyDeletevery interesting, I have always had a tough time spending money and saving it. I would always have to spend my money wisely and only have one pay check and once I found other ways to make an income like doordash and selling trading cards it became more easy to maintain a good money saving/spending habit.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to me that the number of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck is so high. I used to struggle with saving my money but as I had control of more money I learned how to save. Finding side hustles makes it a lot easier to invest your money instead of spending it.
ReplyDeleteI'm shocked when I see the data you provided! So many people live Paycheck to Paycheck, financial freedom is huge for me at the moment, it is one of my main goals in anything I do. This piece made me even more motivated after seeing how many Americans put themselves in tough situations and aren't financially responsible.
ReplyDelete47% is quite high! People should not be forced to live paycheck to paycheck, emergency funds are very necessary! I hope that we as a nation can work on solving this problem, even if it takes some time. We cannot leave this problem to get worse.
ReplyDeleteObviously with 78% of Americans living this way, it goes without saying that this is a huge problem today. I think with this many people, living paycheck to paycheck has become more and more normalized than it has before. This creates an echo chamber of people having the same problems, and therefore having similar views on the issue, without ever finding a way to fix it through talking to other people, as both parties walk away from the conversation thinking that everyone else lives this way as well. I think this blog post is really important concerning this problem, as it shows people who don't even know that they have a problem financially that there are better ways to manage your finances. Maybe with more posts like this, more people will realize their financial problem.
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