How to Save Money When You Live Paycheck to Paycheck

How Can I Save When I'm Living Paycheck to Paycheck? · Write out your budget. If you haven't done so already, writing out a detailed budget is the first step to ... Skiptomaincontent Home MyPersonalCredit KnowledgeCenter PersonalFinance ... HowCanISaveWhenI'mLivingPaychecktoPaycheck? KnowledgeCenter HowCanISaveWhenI'mLivingPaychecktoPaycheck? Whileitcanbedifficulttoendthecycleoflivingpaychecktopaycheck,thereareactionablestepsyoucantaketoslowlystartsavingmoney.[Duration-2:44] Readingtime:5minutes AstaggeringnumberofAmericans–nearly80percent–livepaychecktopaycheck,andthisproblemhasonlybeenexacerbatedbytheCoronavirus/COVID-19pandemic.Ifyou'rebarelymakingendsmeet,itcanfeellikeyou'restuckinatrapandpowerlesstobreakfree.Whileitcanbedifficulttoendthecycleoflivingpaychecktopaycheck,thereareactionablestepsyoucantaketoslowlystartsavingmoney. Writeoutyourbudget Ifyouhaven'tdonesoalready,writingoutadetailedbudgetisthefirststeptosavingmoney.Onceyouhavebudgetedforthenecessities–rent,food,utilities,transportation,etc.–makealistofyourdiscretionaryspending.Manypeoplewholivepaychecktopaycheckhavealreadycutdownonallnon-essentialspending,butifyouhaven'ttakenalookatyourbudgetinawhile,youmayfindareaswhereyoucandialdownspending.Forexample,youmightbeabletoreduceyourfoodbudgetbyeatingoutlessorshoppingatalessexpensivegrocerystore.Perhapsyoucantemporarilycutoutcableifyoufindyou'renotusingitoften.Ifyoueverreceiveawindfallthatyoudidn'tbudgetfor,suchasanunexpectedbonusorataxrefund,aimtoputthemoneyintoyoursavingsorapplyittowarddebt. Ifsavingwithinyourcurrentincomeandbudgetparametersisn'tworkingandyouhaveextratime,youmightconsidertakingonasidegigtomakeadditionalmoney,suchasbabysittingordrivingforarideshareservice.Planyourbudgetsothatanymoneyyouearnfromoddjobscangostraighttoyoursavingsaccount. Openasavingsaccount Adesignatedbankaccountisessentialasyoubegintobuildupyoursavings.Lookforaninterest-earningsavingsaccountwithlimitedaccesssothatyoucan'teasilytransferthefundstoacheckingaccount.Onceyou'veopenedasavingsaccount,makeaninitialdepositandthencontributetoitwheneveryou'reable.Banksgenerallyrequireaminimumdeposittoopenasavingsaccount,butthiscanbeaslowas$25,sodosomeresearchtofindonethatwillalignwithwhatyoucanafford. Manypeoplefindithelpfultosetupautomatedpaymentseachmonthtoaddtotheirsavings.Evenifit'sjust$10or$20,knowingthatyou'readdingtoyoursavingslittlebylittlecandecreasethestressoflivingpaychecktopaycheck,andthedollarswilladdupovertime.Ifrecurringautomaticpaymentsdon'tworkforyou,trysimply“payingyourselffirst.”Whenyoureceiveeachpaycheck,depositasmallamountintoyoursavingsbeforeyouusethemoneyforanythingelse.Someweeksitcouldbe$5,others$25,dependingonyourexpectedexpenses.Thisapproachwillensurethatyouareatleastsavingsomeofyourpaycheck.Unlikeautomaticpayments,however,youcanadjusttheamountbasedonwhatyoucanaffordinanygivenweekormonth. Refinance Debt–whethersmallorsignificant–canmakesavingmuchmoredifficult.Luckily,therearewaystopreventdebtfromstiflingyourabilitytosave.Trytopaydownasmuchofyourdebtasyoucanbeforeyoubeginbuildingupyoursavings.Ifyou'restrugglingwithstudentloans,lookintoforbearanceanddeferment,aswellasloanassistanceandforgivenessprograms.Ifthesearenotviableoptionsforyouorthetypeofdebtyoucarry,considerrefinancingyourdebtatalowerinterestrate.Reducingyourinterestrate,evenbyasmallpercentage,canhelpyoupayoffyourdebtfasterandstartsavingsooner. Youmightalsolookintorefinancingyourmortgage.Whilearefinancecanbebeneficialifyou'reabletosignificantlyloweryourinterestrate,it'simportanttonotethattherearevariousfeesassociatedwithrefinancingthatmayproveprohibitive.First,talktoalendertoseeifyouqualifyforarefinance.Thiswilldependonvariousfactors,includingyourdebt-to-incomeratioandcreditscores.Ifyouareabletosecurealowerrate,crunchthenumberstomakesurethesavingsoutweighthecosts. Renegotiateyourbills Takingalookatyourmonthlybills–utilities,cable,phone,insurance,creditcards,etc.–canbeoneofthebestwaystostartsaving.First,browseyourcurrentplanstodeterminewhetheryoumaybeabletocutback.Areyouusingallofthefeaturesonyourphoneplan?DoyouactuallywatchthecableTVyoupayfor?Arethereotherprovidersthatmayhavelowerrates?Forhomeutilities,likegasandelectric,youlikelycannotchooseyourprovider,butyoucancallandtrytorenegotiateyourrates.Alternatively,youcancutdownonyourusagetoloweryourbills,evenifonlyslightly.Manyutilitycompaniesofferfreeenergyauditsinwhichtheyinspectyourhomeandpointoutopportunitiestobemoreenergy-efficientandsavemoneyintheprocess. You'llalsowanttolookatallofyourinsurancepolicies,includingcar,homeowners,rentersandlifeinsurance.Whenyourpoliciesareupforrenewal,shoparoundandseeifyoucangetabetterrate.Youmayalsobeabletobundleyourpolicies,assomeinsurancecompanieswillofferadiscountifyouhavetwoormorepolicieswiththem.Forhomeownersinsurance,tellyouragentaboutanyimprovementsyou'vemade.Forautoinsurance,makesureyourplanalignswithhowmuchyou'reactuallyusingthecarbecauseyoumaybeabletoloweryourratesifyoudriveless.Manypoliciesalsoincludediscountsformultiplecarsandasafedrivingrecord,orforteenagedriverswhoearngoodgrades. Ifyouhavecreditcarddebtformultipleaccounts,youmaybeabletosaveonyourmonthlypaymentswithabalancetransfer.Todothis,youwillneedtofindacreditcardwithlowerinterestratesandthentransferyourdebtsfromyourotheraccountsontothenewcard. Bepatient Buildingupyoursavingswhenlivingpaychecktopaycheckwilltaketimeandenergy,butitcanbedone.Youmayfindthattherearefewareaswhereyoucancutbackanditmaytakelongerthanyouanticipated,butmakingevensmall,regularcontributionstoasavingsaccountcanbeincrediblystress-relievingandmotivating.Thosedepositswilladdupovertimeuntilyoueventuallyreachyoursavingsgoal. RelatedContent COVID+Credit:Whichbillstoprioritizewhenmoneyistight InArticles PayingBills:HelpinCatchingupWhenYou’veFallenBehind InArticles COVID+Credit:UnemploymentandtheCovidPandemic InArticles NotGettingaPaycheck?WhatYouCanDo InArticles ViewMore RETURNTOARTICLES Getyourfreecreditscoretoday! Wegetit,creditscoresareimportant.Amonthlyfreecreditscore&EquifaxcreditreportareavailablewithEquifaxCoreCreditTM.Nocreditcardrequired. LearnMore X Modal