How to Save When You Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck

Having a nest egg, or even a small emergency fund when you are living paycheck to paycheck is super tough.  It can get so frustrating when there is still a week or two of the month left and you see the balance in your account dwindling.  So, how do you save when there doesn’t seem to be enough money coming in?  Here’s a couple of tips I learned when times were leaner and the kids were younger:

Start with tracking your spending religiously.  Keep every receipt.  Jot every expenditure down {including the $.75 you feed a vending machine} for an entire month.  You really need to know where your money is going.  You might be really surprised.  You might not.  Only tracking will tell. We track all the money we spend in our Personal Capital Account. It’s totally free and we LOVE that we can see EXACTLY where every penny has been spent in real time.

Next, create a budget.  Start with the fixed expenses.  Take a hard look at those fixed expenses.  Are any of them some you could trim the fat from?  For example, maybe just have Amazon Prime, and cut Netflix and Hulu {or any other combination} for television?  Maybe you could shop around for auto insurance and reduce your rates?  Whatever savings you can find, immediately apply those to an auto-transfer into a savings account each month.  As you work your way through your budget, continue to decide where you can trim the fat.  “The fat” should immediately go into savings.  Don’t trim so much that you can’t stick to the budget–that is a recipe for failure.

If you have trimmed the fat {or weren’t able to find any}, it’s time to start thinking about ways to bring in a little extra income. That can be super hard if you are the primary caregiver to the kiddos or have other restrictions, so consider more passive income that you can do any time of day.  I personally like Swagbucks, because it allows you to earn a little extra.  You can trade your Swagbucks in for gift cards–use those gift cards for things like groceries, and take the saved cash and throw it toward savings.  Sure, it takes a little finagling, but so does the rest of life.  Creativity wins. I also sell things on my Etsy or Ebay pages and local facebook buy and sell groups for extra money.

Apply money-saving strategies to every aspect of your budget.  Shop around.  Eat seasonally and simply {and from scratch}.  Do with less. {I plan on offering lots of money saving tips on the blog this year, so stay tuned.}  All of those savings equal money you can be putting aside.

For those of you who don’t know, basically Ibotta is way to earn cash every time you shop. All you do is check the Ibotta app before you shop for product offers, bonuses, new store coupons. Then, simply upload a picture of the UPC code and your receipt and get paid {via paypal or gift cards} once your balance hits $20. Join Ibotta with this link {my referral code} and get $10! Trust me,  it’s easy.

Every time you get a raise or trim some fat, immediately apply that money to savings.  You’ll never miss it, if you never had it.  On that same note, try not to dip into your savings, unless there is an emergency.  Otherwise, it kind of defeats the whole purpose.

Intellectually, most of us know that we have to spend less than we make.  Putting that into practice is a totally different ball game, though.  If you are having a hard time getting started, set a goal with a time frame–kind of like a personal challenge.  Tell yourself you’ll stick to your budget for 3 months, and do it.  At the end of the three months, evaluate your savings.  Evaluate your budget.  Can you commit to another 3 months.  It’s a baby-step plan, What About Bob? style.

Here’s to a new year, full of money-saving possibilities!

~Mavis