What to Do When You Are Not Making Enough Money

Do you often find yourself couch-diving trying to find some change? You’re definitely not alone – most of us have been short on the money now and then.

The paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle, where you have to spare each and every dollar can be a source of long-lasting stress. Not only is it bad for our mental health, but it can also be damaging to our wallets too: if you can’t save money you’re not likely to have an emergency fund, if you don’t have an emergency fund, you’re likely to bust your already fragile budget.

Luckily, there are a few tried and tested ways to both making the dollars stretch and maybe even saving some, even if you feel like you’re not making enough money.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Review Your Spending

Ask yourself an honest question: do you really need to spend as much when you are not making enough money?

How often does your food go bad in the fridge (you might be overspending on groceries)? How often do you cook (you might be overspending on takeout)? How often do you throw away clothes that could be mended and buy a new one? (you might be buying stuff you could avoid buying)?

2. Cut What You Can Live without

Learn to separate needs from wants is crucial when you’re not making enough money. Anything you need for your survival (like rent, utilities) are needs, the extras are your wants.

How many subscription services and memberships are you using? How often do you use them? If the answer is “rarely”, then most likely, you could spear your dollars on them.

Anything you can envision doing without or think of a cheaper alternative will work.

Bonus: if you’re a smoker or a heavy drinker, this would be a great opportunity to get help dropping the habit. A typical smoker spends hundreds of dollars on cigarettes a month – that’s the money that could be going to your savings.

3. Negotiate Your Monthly Payments

Not making enough money means learning to think out of the box. Learning to negotiate your monthly payments can be one of the ways to do it.

While some bills, like rent and utilities, cannot be negotiated, some others can. If you have piles of medical bills, contact the hospital billing department and ask if monthly payments can be negotiated. If you have car insurance – contact the insurance agency and re-negotiate.

There are even apps that will help you find out which bills can be negotiated – try Trim or Truebill.

As for what cannot be negotiated – try to find a way to cut down the bill. If you’re single, find another rental, preferably with a roommate for cheaper rent. If you cannot get out of your lease, try to manage your bills by using energy-efficient utilities, turning down the thermostat and turn off the lights when you’re not home.

Also, when you’re not making enough money, looking into debt consolidation may help. If monthly debt payments are what you’re having the biggest problem with, consolidation should allow you to put only one payment towards your debt.

Typically, that payment is lower than the combination of what you were paying before. Just make sure you’re not in too much haste. Before you go to consolidate your debt, do your research and compare as many options as you can to find the one that suits your needs best.

4. Increase Your Income

This feels like an obvious task to do, and many wish it was easier done than said. But again, when you’re not making enough money, your creative self should kick in and find a way to increase your income.

This can be anything, from simply asking for a raise at work or going for a promotion if an option opens at your company to just finding a side-hustle like freelance writing or graphic design. Apps like Upwork and Fiverr can help you find side-hustles within a short timeframe, and there are some great-paying non-degree jobs out there that you can apply for to improve your financial situation.

And Remember: Emergency Fund Should Be Your First Priority

You may have hundreds of reasons for saving money, yet, the emergency should be your priority. Being hit by a financial emergency that you cannot cover is the #1 reason for not being able to bust your budget.

If you’re still in the process of setting it up when you’re hit, you might need to take out a short-term loan (say a payday loan) – because postponing dealing with the problem will only increase the cost as time passes.

 

Related content: How To Find Emergency Financial Relief In Your Area

 

Why Payday Loans?

Payday loans are a quick and easy way to get a small amount of cash when you need to deal with an emergency.

Nevada Title and Payday Loans, Inc. is one of the best and most reputable loan centers in Las Vegas. We will do our best to accommodate any kind of income. Plus, we give a chance to people from all credit backgrounds to be approved. So, you can apply even if your credit is bad or nonexistent.

How Do I Get a Payday Loan?

• Go to our Home Page and fill out the short inquiry form.
• Wait for a store representative to contact you and set up a meeting.
• Get your documents ready. You’ll need a valid government-issued ID (you must be at least 18), a lien-free title to your vehicle, and your vehicle itself for inspection.
• Have the representative verify your documents at the meeting and complete the paperwork.
• Get your approval and the cash.

Note: The content provided in this article is only for informational purposes, and you should contact your financial advisor about your specific financial situation.