![]() All of a sudden, you can afford things you couldn’t before-and you might start becoming pretty loose with those purse strings. That’s called lifestyle creep or lifestyle inflation. If you aren’t careful, a bump in pay can make you spend even more money. Don’t start a side hustle and keep living a lifestyle you can’t afford. This is important, so don’t skip over it: Making more money will do you no good if you keep spending it all (and then some). Once you get some money in savings and debt out of your way, you can slow down again. There are even plenty of work-from-home jobs you can do after hours or on the weekend too. Some great options for making extra money are waiting tables, driving for Uber or Lyft, being a barista, working at a call center, or signing up to be a substitute teacher. If you’ve set a budget and sold some stuff, but you still can just barely make ends meet, you might need a steady way to increase your income. Get a temporary job or start a side hustle. Look, if you can part with something and get cash, do it! You’ll give your bank account or budget some extra padding, which is overwhelmingly helpful when you’re living paycheck to paycheck. Maybe that’s your jewelry, clothes, baby items, or even the extra car sitting in your garage. Now it’s time to bring in more money! One of the easiest ways to get your hands on some extra cash is by selling whatever you can. Think of it like this: When you make your budget, how much of your money goes to debt payments every month? That’s how much extra you’ll take back when the debt is gone. Next, kick your debt to the curb by paying it off smallest to largest using the debt snowball. Say “Heck no” to saving 10% on that cardigan by opening up a store card, which will actually cost you in the long run. Here’s how: First, stop taking on any kind of new debt! That means stop paying for things with a credit card. Living with debt (of any kind) is one of the biggest things keeping you in the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. Do you really want to sink money into your fancy coffee maker for four months? (No.) Listen. They tempt you at checkout by saying you can pay for that French press in four easy payments. These days, installment payment companies are on the rise. You can’t get ahead like that.Īnd debt is getting sneakier and sneakier. And then you’re stuck paying off that beach vacation in December. It’s got you paying off last year’s Christmas presents in June. Okay, so here’s the deal: Debt holds you back. Listen: You absolutely can save up $1,000-you just have to make small (but intentional) daily, weekly and even monthly changes. If you get into a jam, you can pay cash without worrying about which bills you’ll have to skip this month to cover things. It’s your safety net for those “life happens” moments. But guess what? Knowing you have this buffer between you and life will bring you so much peace. You might wonder why the heck you need to save right now if you’re busy just trying to make ends meet. First things first, you need a starter emergency fund of $1,000. But by starting with the Four Walls, you’ll know you’re keeping your family fed, your lights on, a roof over your heads, and gas in the car to get to work. The Four Walls are your top priority, so make sure your budget is ready to pay for these things in this order before anything else:Īfter you take care of those, make a list of everything else you need to pay and tackle it in order of importance. What expenses should you cover first? The essentials, aka the Four Walls. When you’re setting up your budget, you’ll write down your income and then start subtracting your expenses. We can’t say it enough: Budgeting is the foundation for all money management, and it’s the first step toward ending this paycheck-to-paycheck life. Then, you can make the changes you need so you can reach your goals-for right now and far into the future. When you budget, you’ll see spending habits you didn’t even know you had. Why? Because when you budget, you tell your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. You’re just keeping things paid and people fed. Maybe you don’t even know where your paychecks go. 11 Ways to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck 1. You’ll get extra breathing room with your money and gain security like you’ve never known. Seriously! Don’t settle for the “not so bad.” Go for great. 1 But if you’re stuck in this cycle, you don’t have to stay there. One little “life happens” moment can bring it all crashing down. And there’s no real security with your money today. You’re staying on top of bills after all, right? But if that’s all you’re doing, there’s no way to look to the future-because you can’t afford to save any money yet. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, that means all your money comes in and goes right back out again by the end of the month.
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