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Money = Stress

Living paycheck to paycheck.

By Jasmine DavisPublished 7 years ago 4 min read
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Living paycheck to paycheck is no way for anyone to live. In fact, you won't be living. Instead, you will be like millions of other people, stressed about how you will make it from one week to the next. If you find yourself in this situation, be assured you are not the only one.

This is not an ideal place for anyone to be. Working 30+ hours a week, maybe you're in school as well, or have a family. Looking at a list of bills and deciding which ones will have to wait is not the life we want to live, better yet, it is not the life you should live. There are several "get rich quick" books and tutorials out there, along with articles about how to save better or "how to turn $5 into $5,000" but they never seem to fit the situation we find ourselves in when we are at our lowest. We need money NOW and these tutorials and books are saying it will take 30 days or less.

The reality is, we do not have 30 days, if we did we would not be searching for ways to make quick money nor would we be stressing. It seems as if there is no way to make our money stretch. We have a bill due on the first of every month, we have a bill due in the middle of the month and a bill due at the end of the month only to think about the first of the month. This is an ongoing cycle it seems to have us drowning in stress and worry. This can lead to anxiety and even depression. But there HAS to be a way to work a job, go to school and raise a family that does not break our banks.

The simple solution and the most often suggested is to save. To have a bank account or other way of placing money to the side (for those of you who do not trust banks) and watch it pile up as the days go by. Having an emergency fund or a miscellaneous stash of money can most definitely come in handy. You can put loose change in it, dollar bills and five dollar bills in it every time you have/find some. This is an easy way to start saving and having a little extra gas money if needed. You can also save but cutting off some expenses. Make a list of all the bills you have to pay (the ones that determine if you have a roof over your head and a car to drive). Then make a list of things you like to do from time to time (things that do not determine where you will lay your head or how you will get to class), compare both lists and decide which of the things that are not mandatory can be crossed off.

For instance, if you like to get your nails done, either stop getting them done or go longer than the two week (for acrylic nails) time period before getting them filled in. If you have a subscription to Apple Music, cancel that subscription and just download Spotify or Pandora and listen to music that way. There are more simple things that can be cut from our daily/monthly lives that can help us save our money to aid in our financial stability. We just have to do the hard part and look at the hard core facts, decide what we can go without and what we cannot go without and move from there. Maybe pick up a second job or maximize the current availability at the job you are at now?

Another way to make some extra change is to find a way to get paid for your hobby, like freelance writing, blogging. For those who like to make jewelry and clothes, you can buy clothes or the fabric and fix them up or create something new and sell them on eBay, the same option is available for those who like to make jewelry. There are options out there we just have to do the dirty work and search for them. If there has not been something offered for what you like to do, create an avenue, that will not only help you but others as well.

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About the Creator

Jasmine Davis

I am a current college student. I am a lover of writing poetry. I currently have a blog dedicated for my poetry (rosepetals.strikingly.com) and I also enjoy writing short essays and blog style entries.

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