Breaking the living pay to pay cycle

[steelergal]

Does anyone have any tips on breaking the nasty cycle of living pay to pay that they would like to share?

We had a few major expenses that wiped out our savings and EF, during this time DH started having a decent percentage of money taken out to go towards his simple IRA. Although it's not a huge percentage- it is making a huge difference in our budget (he is going to lower it when he has that option again).

Any tips will greatly be appreciated!

[sunshine]

The only way I know - is to take a good , long, hard look at your expenses. . . and figure out places to cut.

When we were in desperate financial crisis times - we cut out all subscriptions, (yes, even the cable TV), cut out all extras on the phone (caller ID, voice mail, etc.) cut out all eating out, etc.

Then we cut back on clothing expenses (shopped only yard sales, thrift stores, etc.) . . . kept clothing items longer than we'd done in the past - kept them in good repair, and only used work clothes for work, church clothes for church, etc. We had clothing for outdoor work, and kept the nicer ones for work,etc.

Now - groceries. . . . yes, you have to eat. . . but you don't have to have so much, or so much meat, or even meat at every meal. You need enough to maintain health and nutrition. Watch portion sizes. . . plan your meals according to the sales, use coupons wisely. . .

AND bank your savings on all the above! It does no good to cut everything to the bone, only to have the money get frittered away, bit by bit.

[krbshappy71]

If you like, post your monthly budget and expenses on here and others will point out some areas that can possibly be lowered, with tips on how to lower them. It really helped me even after I had it down to "bare bones" there was still room for improvement that I wasn't seeing. Don't have to put down actual company names, just generic terms such as "credit card", "car payment" etc.

It really helped me.

[NikoSan999]

The only way I know - is to take a good , long, hard look at your expenses. . . and figure out places to cut.

When we were in desperate financial crisis times - we cut out all subscriptions, (yes, even the cable TV), cut out all extras on the phone (caller ID, voice mail, etc.) cut out all eating out, etc.

Then we cut back on clothing expenses (shopped only yard sales, thrift stores, etc.) . . . kept clothing items longer than we'd done in the past - kept them in good repair, and only used work clothes for work, church clothes for church, etc. We had clothing for outdoor work, and kept the nicer ones for work,etc.

Now - groceries. . . . yes, you have to eat. . . but you don't have to have so much, or so much meat, or even meat at every meal. You need enough to maintain health and nutrition. Watch portion sizes. . . plan your meals according to the sales, use coupons wisely. . .

AND bank your savings on all the above! It does no good to cut everything to the bone, only to have the money get frittered away, bit by bit.

Rinse and repeat. If there are any raises ( not meant to be a joke by the way ) on the horizon that will take a little of the ache off. But if you can continue to do what you're doing it will get easier. Not easy but easier.

Think honestly...is it like hard to pay the bills or can't just eat out as much. Did the electric bill come in and scrapping for a dollar to pay it or you'd like to turn the air conditioner down a degree or two since it's gotten hotter.

That money in retirement is so you can live in relative comfort when maybe he CAN'T work anymore. So you won't have to scrape for the last dollar to pay the electric which will be even higher at that point.

On the other side of the coin when I worked at county level and had a 401K you could change contributations several times a year. Not sure about IRA. Worth a double check if it's hard to pay bills.

[Contrary Housewife]

Get back on the wagon. Save *something* A dollar a week. $10 a month, anything.

[mombottoo]

The only way I know - is to take a good , long, hard look at your expenses. . . and figure out places to cut.

When we were in desperate financial crisis times - we cut out all subscriptions, (yes, even the cable TV), cut out all extras on the phone (caller ID, voice mail, etc.) cut out all eating out, etc.

Then we cut back on clothing expenses (shopped only yard sales, thrift stores, etc.) . . . kept clothing items longer than we'd done in the past - kept them in good repair, and only used work clothes for work, church clothes for church, etc. We had clothing for outdoor work, and kept the nicer ones for work,etc.

Now - groceries. . . . yes, you have to eat. . . but you don't have to have so much, or so much meat, or even meat at every meal. You need enough to maintain health and nutrition. Watch portion sizes. . . plan your meals according to the sales, use coupons wisely. . .

AND bank your savings on all the above! It does no good to cut everything to the bone, only to have the money get frittered away, bit by bit.

What she said, plus...put everything down on paper, track your spending to find areas where money may be going through the cracks.

I love getting a cappacuino from our station, if I fill up (8 gals or more) I get it free...if I don't it costs me $1.29 and those $1.29s do add up after awhile. I'm also a smoker, so I look for deals on cigarettes...if you smoke try cutting back. I used to smoke 2 packs a day now I'm down to 1 or try quitting all together (one of these days I just might).

One of my family members couldn't figure out where her money was going & I pointed out that she bought 15-2 liters of pop a week...cost over $30...times that by 4 & it's $120!!! If you look for the leaks I'm sure you'll find them...good luck!

[ohio47]

Hi Steelergal, I see you are from Western Pa. I was born and raised there. Are you anywhere near Kittanning?

[ladykemma2]

Does anyone have any tips on breaking the nasty cycle of living pay to pay that they would like to share?

i followed the direction in this thread What are your TOP TEN frugal tips?

take what you like and leave the rest.

the first thing i did was to reduce phantom load. i unplugged everything in the house. and put the computer area, tv area, and microwave on a power strip. if there are litle lights glowing or warmth, electricity is being used. cut the power strips off when not in use. i was diligent about only having the light on in the room i was in. i cleaned the refrigerator coils with a long brush thingie. i had the air conditioning guy come out and clean the coils with acid and do preventative maintenance. this resulted in an immediate savings of 100 a month.

i washed laundry in cold and hung to dry. half the detergent, unless really gross.

i stopped buying cleaning supplies. now all i use is a (little or a lot - concentrated or dilute) of dish soap in water. i buy "the works" for hard water deposits. baking soda for scrubbing.

i stopped buying paper products, such as paper towels and napkins. cloth only for me.

if i were to be home alone, i used rags for menstrual flow. saved the expensive tampons and pads for work or going out. a diva cup i would like to try.

i cut back on product usage, half the toothpaste instead of a whole glob, half the shampoo in the palm of my hand. half the oil of olay, etc.

i stopped recreational shopping.

i started to plan my meals and started biweekly shopping. freeze the bread and milk. no entering the store for any reason. cascading meals, roast chicken first day, chicken tacos second day, chicken soup third day...

i reduced meat to a condiment, instead of a main course. largely vegetarian. all meals done at home.

planned restaurant meals twice a month with friend.

water only. out of the tap.

i used up all the excess in this house, (why do i have 10 bottles of furniture polish?) and questioned any further purchase.

mend, repair, and dye clothing. inventory what you do have before buying anything else.

i keep a food pantry (LDS style) to avoid random trips to the store and in case of emergencies.

i am letting my pet population decline due to attrition. i tracked my pet spending and it amounted to 2000 each year for a sick elderly cat.

use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. i read every thing i could get my hands on on the great depression and world war II rationing. also 1950s housewife stuff. how did they do things?

i cut off cable and anything not necessary to support life.

this is enough to get started.

[craftypam]

I think figuring out the diffence between want and need changes alot. So many little things that people spend money on make it so they are living paycheck to paycheck. Have you checked to see if you can lower your car insurance by calling around? Raise your deductible. Make your menus for the week around the sales at the grocery store. Try off brand grocery items. I've been buying frozen vegetables at Aldi's and they are some off brand. $.99 for broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. My favorite. They also have corn, broccoli and green beans. Didn't check out if there is more. Try to buy only what is on sale.

[frugal is fun]

Great Great advice!

Its a nice reminder to see how far I've come...how far we've all come!

take this advice and implement as you can and your expenses WILL go down.

and the easiest way to save money is to have it automatically deposited into a savings account directly from your paycheck. No separate stops at the bank, no excuses on why you "need" that money this week. Out of site, out of mind.

[mek42]

Something that is helping me is to dedicate a portion of my weekly earning to be "left over" in the checking account in order to develop the descipline of not spending myself to 0 each pay period.

Then when I have a legitimate need that I failed to budget for (medical visits, prescriptions, lost time at work without pay due to illness) I can absorb the cost from my checking reserve - thus I'm no longer really living paycheck - to - paycheck. At least not as bad as before.

[alotofgooddeals]

So very true... the major thing is to figure out what is a need and what is a want....
This is someting i am working on and reading these post is a great start....

[mauimagic]

Great ideas even for those of us in the process - good to check off if I am really doing enough. Mahalo!!

[shoiji]

Definately make up a spreadsheet showing all bills and expenses each month. Cut anything down the bare minimum where possible. Fortunately it is summer time. Make it a game to see what types of activities you can go to for free. My area has many free festivals and activites. Grow a garden even if it is in planters. Keep track of all your spending to help figure out where the money is going.

Try to see how little you can spend on "extras" for a month. How many items you can get for free or for pennies by using coupons. After a while you controlling spending will just become habit.

[MomToTwoBoys]

I wish I could help, but even with two incomes we still live pay to pay. We've been working really hard on figuring things out for the last few years that I'm not even certain what works anymore.

I do agree on cutting back to as bare of a minimum as you can get by with. A lot of people don't need to have the maximum cable package and/or eat out to enjoy their spare time.

Look at what you're consuming and see if you really need to be eating that.

Lastly, look at your monthly bank statement. I'm certain if there's anything coming up that you're not sure where the money is going, you'll find it there.