Living Paycheck to Paycheck

Living paycheck to pay check is hard but in some households it’s the only things you can do. Whether you are trying to get out of debt or just have high bills you find yourself worrying about the what if’s in life. Sometimes life throws up a curve ball during unexpected times but there are some things in life that cannot be over looked. Especially when you are a parent. The responsibility is much higher when there are other people depending on you.

Hopefully one of the reasons you are living paycheck to paycheck is because you are paying for the proper insurances. Health, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance are some of those. This is normally the main reason our checks become much smaller before they reach our pockets.  In some cases you might be paying bills from health insurance claims that were part of your deductible (like us). Just remember that health providers have changed the rules about how you pay them. It used to be that if you paid them a little bit at a time each month you wouldn’t have it reported on your credit. However some health providers no longer give you this option and will send your debt to a collection agency if it was not paid in full. So make sure you check with them before you assume it will be alright to send payments.

Paying all those bills. It seems like a never ending stack that comes to your mailbox or inbox saying that you owe somebody something. Credit Cards, Water, Gas, Electric, Garbage, Phone, TV, Internet, Vehicle Payments, Car Insurance, Auto Repair, Student Loans, Mortgage, Rent. You get the picture. It’s a lot and it all adds up. Make a calendar of when your bills are due. Because they should be about the same every month. Then start averaging those bills together so that you can estimate about how much you will be paying out of each paycheck. Ex; If your water bills is $30, Car Payment $200, and Electric is around $300 and they are due around the 5th of the month, automatically take that money out of your paycheck and into your “bill budget” so it doesn’t get accidentally spent.

Creating an emergency plan is very important but not always easy. Sometimes it’s the change left in your pants pockets and others it was an extra $50 you were able to throw into the emergency fund but one day you will need it. Having insurance is great but sometimes it isn’t enough. You need tires because you ran over a curb (guilty!) or your pet got hurt. Random things happen and when you live paycheck to paycheck they can catch your off guard. Take littles steps and make little changes to make sure you are prepared.

Information contributed by Genworth Financial