Tips to not live pay-to-pay

trailingspouse

Another tip is to not have direct debits, standing orders etc going out the day you get paid. Try to time them for +/- 5 days after pay day. That way, if you're pay is delayed for any reason (bank holiday, IT meltdown at the bank, employer incompetence) you're not in deep doo-dah immediately.

I remember a colleague of mine - in fact she was my line manager - being completely frazzled (and other words beginning with f...) because our pay was going to be a day late.

martinthebandit

After all direct debits, standing orders are paid out split the remainder into five, each week take one of the five out of the bank as cash and use only that for the week, do not use your bank card for anything else.

After three months you’ll have two weeks worth of money in the bank, after 12 months you’ll have two months wages in the bank.

WibblyGirly

When I lived alone and was really poor, I used to take money out in cash and put it in envelopes for each weeks bus fare to work and weekly food shop. Then just left my card at home and tried to take pack ups. I used to eat a lot of cheap foods like tins of spaghetti and those mugshot pasta things for 40p for lunches.
I only got out of that cycle by getting a better paid job (my previous one had cut my hours 2 months after getting a flat on my own). I also used to have £1 from Morrisons! It was the worst diet of my life but it was cheap, I could live off about £15 a week for food shop when done as £ per meal.

Oscartwiglet

There are some really good tips here, I also feel like I have got into a cycle of living pay check to pay check and need to stop wasting money on buying lunch and coffee out.

No_6

I think V..S has said it all in that LONG post !

Mr_Curious

What I find incredibly useful is this:

Pay yourself when you are paid, preferable into a Regular Saver for the benefit of interest. See it as another outgoing and stick to it. This could be anything from £25 - £300 a month depending on your circumstances. Its surprising how you soon get used to 'not having it' and when it matures start a new regular saver and move the matured amount into the best interest account you can find. Or if the temptation to spend is too much stick it into a 1 year savings band. When the regular saver matures, consolidate saving and start again...

Mr_C

ouraggie

At uni I had a good friend who was more than hopeless with money and had always spent every termly grant cheque way before the end of term, whilst marveling at my ability to never be overdrawn.. In the end i started frog marching him to the accommodation office on grant cheque day to give them a cheque for his terms rent, He still ran out of money but at least his rent was paid.
We then opened him a bank account in MY name. He paid his remaining grant into this. We divided the balance by 12 ((ten or eleven term weeks and an " emergency fund") and I withdrew the weekly amount for him to spend from the cash point. He had no cash point card. Any emergencies (such as the time he reversed his car over a mate's guitar!) were paid out from the emergency stash as needed. One time his emergency fund didn't cover it and he was about £50 short. This was "repaid" by giving him £5 less a week for 10 weeks, till it was recouped.
All above board, as I gave him the statements and he could ask me for a balance at any time from the cash point. It was helped by his dad agreeing to pay off his £182 overdraft (this was a lot of money in the early 80s) so he could start with a zero deficit. It worked, though. He became pretty much solven till we graduated.
Saw him a couple of years ago. He said he still does the emergency fund thing with his now huge salary (going by his car/watch).
Do you have a friend/relative who could do this with you? Or would you have the willpower to do it yourself?

trailingspouse

This may sound harsh (and, to be fair, when she said it, it was intended to be harsh...) - but my old mother always used to say 'Any fool can spend money'.

So - don't be a fool. Follow ValiantSon's advice.

longleggedhair

I have a relative who had built up a £2000 overdraft. It depressed her because when she was paid she was still overdrawn.

She did it by withdrawing £50 a week to live on for her food, transport etc. She then left her card at home. She said it helped her to focus on what she really needed. She had paid the OD off in a few months. She said that by physically handing over the cash it was more "painful" and helped her to focus.

Or you can be just like me and be a tight git!