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re: Doing well financially, but still living paycheck to paycheck
Posted on 6/18/25 at 7:28 am to Gerry Laval
Posted on 6/18/25 at 7:28 am to Gerry Laval
No advice to you on the budget, but I use Monarch Money to track my spending.
Also, someone else mentioned YNAB and that is pretty good as well.
Also, someone else mentioned YNAB and that is pretty good as well.
This post was edited on 6/18/25 at 7:29 am
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Posted on 6/18/25 at 9:31 am to dagrippa
quote:
if you are automatically investing a portion you are not living paycheck to paycheck IMO
The OP’s version of paycheck to paycheck is real. The rising costs of insurance, food, etc is taking away extra income making decent earning Americans feel more poor.
Posted on 6/18/25 at 9:46 am to Gerry Laval
OP tough to give any advice without actual numbers
Posted on 6/18/25 at 10:22 am to Gerry Laval
1) You're fine.
2) You, like our household, struggles to nail down a realistic monthly budget. Its not bad problem, but we are working on being more accurate in tracking our spending.
2) You, like our household, struggles to nail down a realistic monthly budget. Its not bad problem, but we are working on being more accurate in tracking our spending.
Posted on 6/18/25 at 12:21 pm to Gerry Laval
envelopes are the easiest way to quickly and accurately track your budget and spending.
Posted on 6/18/25 at 12:35 pm to lil 7thward
quote:
The OP’s version of paycheck to paycheck is real. The rising costs of insurance, food, etc is taking away extra income making decent earning Americans feel more poor.
The OP is just adhering to the budget. That is the whole point of a budget. You get to do whatever you want with whatever is left over at the end of the month. If you dont want to spend that then just direct deposit the required amount out of each paycheck into a separate account that isn't regularly monitored so it is out of sight and out of mind.
Posted on 6/18/25 at 1:00 pm to lil 7thward
quote:
The OP’s version of paycheck to paycheck is real. The rising costs of insurance, food, etc is taking away extra income making decent earning Americans feel more poor.
Paycheck to paycheck means if you don’t get paid, you can’t pay your bills/survive. OP has savings etc.
Posted on 6/18/25 at 1:26 pm to Dawgfanman
quote:
Paycheck to paycheck means if you don’t get paid, you can’t pay your bills/survive. OP has savings etc.
We know what the definition means. We are telling you what it feels like mentally for the people who are supposed to be considered middle class.
Posted on 6/18/25 at 1:31 pm to lil 7thward
quote:
We know what the definition means. We are telling you what it feels like mentally for the people who are supposed to be considered middle class.
I’ve been both. I have been where if I didn’t get money that day, I couldn’t eat.
I’m currently where i always feel “broke” despite earning more than 85-90% of Americans. But the reality is I’m not broke, I just don’t want to touch my substantial savings so I act broke until next payday.
The truth is they aren’t the same, the first is truly a scary place to be..the second is the mindset that prevents actually living paycheck to paycheck
Posted on 6/18/25 at 3:13 pm to Gerry Laval
quote:
A good chunk of each paycheck is auto diverted to investments and savings. To date I’ve paid off about 4/5s of my nuisance debt. Only a little bit more to go before being debt free with exception of mortgage. I pay all my regular bills on time.
quote:
But I still find myself living paycheck to paycheck.
How much do you bring home each month (after taxes)?
How much is your mortgage each month? How much is left?
How much "nuisance debt" do you have and what is that payment per month?
After paying your debt(s), mortgage, food and utilities, how much do you have left?
What percent of your income are you diverting to investment and what percentage to savings?
Posted on 6/18/25 at 3:54 pm to Gerry Laval
quote:
I’m just wondering if there is a tool or some program I’m not aware of that can help me track my leftover money???
It’s called a ledger
Posted on 6/18/25 at 4:17 pm to Gerry Laval
Lmao Gerry you need a reality check if you think that’s paycheck to paycheck
Posted on 6/18/25 at 4:50 pm to dagrippa
quote:
if you are automatically investing a portion you are not living paycheck to paycheck IMO
This! OP, be encouraged that you're investing what you are capable of.
Posted on 6/18/25 at 6:28 pm to member12
I got a second job for a year with not one day off to pay all debts except mortgage. That put me in a good position. It’s was hard but I was in my thirties so couldn’t do it.
Posted on 6/18/25 at 6:44 pm to Gerry Laval
quote:
Mid forties. Began studying personal finance ten years ago with heavy reading and listening to audiobooks. I’ve done well. A good chunk of each paycheck is auto diverted to investments and savings. To date I’ve paid off about 4/5s of my nuisance debt. Only a little bit more to go before being debt free with exception of mortgage. I pay all my regular bills on time. My income has double since I was 35. But I still find myself living paycheck to paycheck. After all of the above are paid for in each pay period, I blow through what is leftover pretty quickly. I’ve been tracking how much I spend on groceries, gas, home improvement supplies, etc. unexpecteds come up then I find myself giving myself a pay day loan from a credit card or something. I always pay myself back but I’m just wondering if there is a tool or some program I’m not aware of that can help me track my leftover money??? None of the books I have read or listened to focus on this topic. Any suggestions are appreciated
I just paused my brokerage account auto buys to build up a little cash faster for some things I’m looking to buy for my house and build back my emergency fund faster. Will continue the auto investing once I have a little more in my HYSA.
Posted on 6/18/25 at 6:45 pm to Gerry Laval
Whats the rate on this "nuisance debt"? Your income doubled yet still letting debt linger. Unless it's very low interest you probably have a spending problem. Perhaps let your lifestyle increase along w paycheck before making up for past over spending.
This post was edited on 6/18/25 at 10:03 pm
Posted on 6/18/25 at 8:08 pm to lil 7thward
quote:
We know what the definition means. We are telling you what it feels like mentally for the people who are supposed to be considered middle class.
I’m struggling with this one. If it was posted on the OT I’d think he was trolling.
Doing well financially
To date I’ve paid off about 4/5s of my nuisance debt.
Only a little bit more to go before being debt free with exception of mortgage.
…but still living paycheck to paycheck.
This feels like a “fixed income” variant thread.
Posted on 6/19/25 at 8:33 am to lsuconnman
Our household income is pretty healthy - but we still have absolutely set amounts for personal spending and groceries/household. Sometimes near the end of the month, we have moments that we feel a little squeezed, but we are fully aware that we likely made an impulse decision somewhere along the way. Either way, we don't dip into savings. We don't use a credit card to get us by. I reckon that could feel a little 'paycheck to paycheck' for this context.
Posted on 6/19/25 at 8:40 am to Gerry Laval
By this thinking, I’m living paycheck to paycheck too.
I save more than I spend but I live on a budget to not exceed per month
I save more than I spend but I live on a budget to not exceed per month
Posted on 6/19/25 at 8:57 am to Gerry Laval
I’m slowly building up cash. I know I should allocate those funds to other things like debt or other type investments , but mentally I want to see my cash balance rise.
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