Raise your hand if you and your family are living paycheck to paycheck!
I can guarantee that you are 100% not alone friend! Did you know that in 2017 it’s estimated that roughly 78% of American workers live paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet and that 1 in 4 don’t set aside any savings each month (stats via prnnewswire.com)?
The reality is that for most people cost of living is expensive, we spend far more than we earn and we’ve accumulated enough debt that a good portion of our earnings are funneled towards debt repayment of some kind.
Saving money is hard work.
It takes willpower, creativity and a certain level of savvy when your income is barely or just enough to cover your bills, housing and other living expenses.
The good news is that it is actually possible to save money even if you’re living paycheck to paycheck.
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How to save money when you’re living paycheck to paycheck
Saving money when you’re living paycheck to paycheck is a question of changing your attitude about money folks. Clearly the first step would be to apply some frugal living principles to reduce your monthly cost of living. But, in many cases that’s already being done and you’re still living paycheck to paycheck am I right? What then?
Well, instead of simply trying to allocate and shift your income around why not try to supplement it (even just a little- because every little bit helps right?) with the commitment that any supplemental income goes straight into savings?
I look at it this way, saving even an extra 20$ per week accumulated by selling stuff you no longer need, offering tutoring or cutting lawns accumulates fast when you consider that $80 per month will pad your savings account by $960 per year.
That right there is the start of a pretty solid emergency fund right?
This idea just takes commitment, creativity and the desire to explore other money making options to supplement what you’re already bringing in because sometimes what’s coming in consistently is just not enough to put anything away at all.
If you’re interested in finding a side hustle that you can do online from home have a look at this post – 35 legitimate side hustles you can do online.
A sample savings plan to put away at least $1000 in 12 months
Month 1
Choose a bank that pays you to open an account. Here is a list of 25 Banks that give you money for opening an account.
Deposit 5$ per week into your account. Cut out soda, brown bag your lunch, make your own snacks, meal plan, skip 1 or 2 coffee runs and make at least $5 happen. If you can manage more great if not you’re well on your way to the $1000 goal anyway. All it takes is a minimum of 5$ per week to put away $260 per year which is over 25% of of your $1000 goal.
Month 2
Continue to add 5$ week to your savings.
Now, boost those savings by adding a little extra cash by picking up a side hustle. There are legitimately hundreds of ways you can make a little extra cash. Have a look at this post for some ideas that might work for you and your family: 50 side jobs that will pay off your debt.
* My main side hustle when we were in the process of debt repayment was tutoring because of my background in education. I tutored 3 kids per week at 25$ per hour which gave me 75$ per week to put directly into savings. In one year that accounted for an extra $3900. Crazy right?
Month 3
Continue to add 5$ week to your savings.
Continue that side hustling.
Round up any and all change you’ve got littered around your place and deposit it directly into your savings.
Month 4
Continue to add 5$ week to your savings.
Continue that side hustling.
Round up and accumulate change in a savings jar to be deposited later.
Start selling stuff you no longer need! You can accumulate a bunch of stuff in one shot and host an awesome garage sale where all the proceeds go straight into savings or you can sell them items off individually by joining local buy and sell groups on Facebook.
Month 5
Continue to add 5$ week to your savings.
Continue that side hustling.
Round up and accumulate change in a savings jar to be deposited later.
Continue to sell off items that you no longer need or your kids have outgrown.
Slash your grocery budget by meal planning and sticking to a fixed budget. Check out these posts for ideas about how we feed our family of 4 (3 adults and a hungry toddler) for under 100$ per week. Bonus printable shopping lists included. A weeks worth of meals for under $100 , A weeks worth of meals for under $100 Part 2. Whatever money you save on your grocery hauls should go directly into your savings account!
Month 6 – Month 12
Continue to add 5$ week to your savings.
Continue that side hustling.
Round up and accumulate change in a savings jar to be deposited later.
Continue to sell off items that you no longer need or your kids have outgrown.
Stick to a grocery budget and continue saving the money you’ve saved by sticking to a shopping list and meal plan.
Want to read even more frugal living posts? Have a look at these!
35 legitimate ways to make money online
10 Ways You Can Start Living A More Frugal Lifestyle Right Now
17 brilliant ways to use dawn dish soap
The hidden consequences of frugal parenting
How to build a stockpile and save thousands in the process
I want to hear from You!
What ways do you save a little extra cash every month?
These are great tips, Jenny! It can be super hard to save when life gets in the way, and cutting things out isn’t the most pleasant thing in the world, but totally worth it in the end! It’s awesome you tutored. I wish I could do that but don’t have the education background.
Good tips! ☺
I love this post. Such great ideas.
Thanks for reading Erin!
Great steps to become financially secure.