How to Save Money and Stop Living Paycheck-to-Paycheck

I know that feeling. You get your paycheck, take care of a couple of bills, and before you know it, all the money is gone. You had great intentions of saving some cash this month, but it didn’t happen. And the story of living paycheck to paycheck repeats itself month after month until today. I am going to show you how to save money and break that cycle finally.

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#1 Be Intentional With Your Money

The first thing you have to do is to be intentional with your money. You can’t continue to cash your paycheck, spend, and expect to save magically. You must establish saving goals every month.

Did you know that most Americans don’t have $1,000 in savings? And yet, most of us have car payments, go out to eat, and spend lots of money on cable bills. You need to make saving money a priority. Aim at gathering $1,000 for your starter emergency fund.

A huge mistake many people make is to save off whatever money is left at the end of the month. And guess what? Most times, there is no money left at the end of the month, so there are no savings. Get into the habit of saving a percentage of your income up front before you make any expenses.

#2 Get On a Budget

The main reason why we cannot account for our money, it is because we don’t keep track of it. If you are always wondering where your money went, that means that you need a budget!

A budget is simply a plan of how much money we estimate to make per month, and how much we expect to spend. You should do your budget on paper and on purpose. If you are not currently budgeting, I recommend that you download a free copy of The Budget Pad. I created this tool to help my financial coaching clients get control of their money. You can have it too!

Once you put your budget together, you can assign a monthly amount of your paycheck to go towards saving. This way, you will ensure to put the money aside before spending it.

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#3 Live Below Your Means

A lot of people can’t save money because they don’t make a whole lot, to begin with. I understand that. But I have also coached tons of people who make a lot of money, and I am talking over $20,000 per month, who don’t have any savings and live paycheck to paycheck.

If you have a good income but can’t save a penny, I have news for you that you may not like. You need to reduce your expenses and adjust your lifestyle. You make too much money to be broke. And probably, you are spending too much money keeping up with the Joneses.

Adjusting your lifestyle is not going to be easy. It may mean selling a car, stop using credit cards, and canceling expensive club memberships. But if you don’t make an effort now to adjust your cost of living to the one you can afford, you will end up regretting it.

#4 Increase Your Income

Now, it might be the case that you don’t make enough money at your job to pay for all the bills and save. Then you have an income problem. You need to work towards increasing your take-home pay. Whether that means finding a better paying job, getting a second job, starting a side hustle, learning a skill that you can monetize, etc.

If you can’t save money because you have a low income, cutting down expenses will be hard to do. The solution here is to increase your earnings.

#5 Get Out of Debt

In some instances, your debt is what prevents you from saving money. Think about it. We pay for our necessary living expenses such as the mortgage or rent, utilities, food, gas, tuition, etc. On top of that, most people have car payments, credit card bills, personal loans, student loans, etc. You work to pay the bills and then the money is gone.

But let me ask you this: What would you do with an extra $500 a month? That’s about the average car payment in 2019. If you get rid of your financed car and purchase one for cash, even a $1,000 car that can get you to and from work, you could be saving $500 every month. Do that for a whole year, and you would have $6,000 in the bank. That is plenty of money to buy a better car in cash.

Then, you can use the $500 to put it towards your emergency fund or paying down other debt. Getting rid of as many monthly payments will translate into a bunch of savings. That’s how you save money!

#6 Make Saving Money a Habit

And finally, you need to make saving money a habit. I recommend that you have a separate savings account linked to your checking account. Most banks offer this option for free. Schedule at the beginning of every month, or on the days you get paid, automatic withdrawals from your checking account to savings. Out of sight, out of mind, works when trying to save money.

Now, make sure you don’t dip into your savings to buy stuff. That account should eventually have enough build-up to pay for six months of your expenses. That’s what we call a fully-funded emergency fund. And yes, as its name describes, it can only be used to cover for emergencies. That money is also there to help you survive if you lose or have an income reduction due to a layoff or an illness.

In Conclusion: How to Save Money and Stop Living Paycheck-to-Paycheck

If you want to get rid of that constant feeling of having more money going out than coming in, you need to follow these six steps.

#1 Be intentional with your money
#2 Get on a budget
#3 Live below your means
#4 Increase your income
#5 Get out of debt
#6 Make saving money a habit

Saving money is possible, but just like anything else, it requires discipline and work. Have a plan for your money and create a unique budget every single month of the year. Also, how about you challenge yourself to spend less than you make? And, if you don’t make enough, maybe it is time to get a better paying job or make a side income.

Then, get rid of your car payment and commit to pursuing a debt-free lifestyle; you will be surprised by how much money you can save when your income is not used to pay bills. And finally, automate your savings. Make it easy on yourself and have your savings drafted automatically every month from your checking account to a separate one.

Are you ready to start saving some money? Share with me in the comments section below what are you willing to do starting today to save some cash. I respond to all the comments personally.

And as usual, if you enjoyed this blog, please share it on social or pin it to Pinterest. I want to help save money as many people as we can reach!

Related Articles To Saving Money

• How To Do A Monthly Expenses Snapshot
• Five Necessary Steps to Get Control of Your Finances
• The Budget Pad: Organize your Income, Track Expenses & Save Money
• Five Habits to Change to Get Out of Debt

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How to Save Money and Stop Living Paycheck-to-Paycheck