Identifying the scope of the problem
The first thing to do if you want to fix your problem is to identify the scope of the problem. There could be one or more main reasons why you struggle to live from paycheck to paycheck. Not everyone struggles due to lack of funds. Some people struggle due to lack of planning and simply overspending. When you discover your problem, you can correct it. Here are some common reasons to fight.
• Lack of income: In many cases, money problems do not come from overspending, but from lack of income. If you are underemployed, or simply not making enough money to live the way you need or want to live, you will need to come up with a plan to remedy that situation. You can get a part-time job, work part-time on your own, or sell some assets to pay the bills and fix this problem.
• Overspending: Some people have enough paper money, but because they don’t pay attention to a budget, they overspend. If you have credit card debt, you may fall into this category. Credit cards are great tools, but not if you have a long-term balance.
• Credit Card Debt – Most credit cards now carry standard double-digit interest rates, making them horrible deals. The worst thing is that some cards also have fees.
A family with an income of just $ 40K a year can often end up with thousands of dollars in credit card debt over the years, with no way to pay it off. $ 30K credit debt on multiple cards can easily add up to more than $ 1K a month in minimum payments if you’re not careful. Add it all up so you know where you are. Check your interest rates too.
• Too much house: did you buy more house than you can afford? This is not unusual in the US, where it is easy to buy a home with no down payment and interest rates remain reasonable. However, banks often approve you for much more than you can actually afford. They are so focused on the mortgage that they forget about other expenses like insurance, taxes, and maintenance.
• Lack of savings: not having savings is expensive. It can cause one to borrow money even from payday lenders, which is a trap best avoided. Lack of savings can cost you a lot of money. You will not be able to take advantage of the offers that are presented if you do not have savings, or deal with a minor unexpected expense, such as a vehicle breakdown.
• Illness: If you have a lot of medical expenses and this is the reason why you live from paycheck to paycheck, it is difficult. You can’t just magically improve or skip the doctor. For starters, it is one reason why people are in debt. In fact, most bankruptcies in the United States are due to medical bills among people with insurance. (Source: AARP)
• Bad credit: You can have bad credit even if you did nothing wrong. Having a low income, no credit cards, or a low income and high credit cards, even if you pay them religiously every month, can still result in low credit numbers. When you have poor credit, everything costs more, from rental deposits to interest on other loans.
• No plan – Many people struggling to get between paychecks often have no plans. The main reason for this is simply to overwhelm. It is emotional and difficult to put into words how emotionally damaging money problems can be. For this reason, you need a plan.
Once you realize what your problems are, you can establish a plan to combat those problems. Until you know, you can’t do anything. You will need complete and absolute honesty from yourself and anyone you trust to help you get through the situation. But you can get over it if you plan on doing it.
