Here's the thing. Living paycheck to paycheck is not so unusual, especially when an estimated 75% of people are finding themselves in that situation. Even with the best laid plans like jumpstarting an emergency fund, dropping your gym membership, cutting down on internet and cable service, going out less with your friends, putting off those new shoes, that cool piece of jewelry or a larger TV, even hitting every sale around town, it just doesn't always work. Even trying to build a cushion to back you up can run into trouble. Nothing seems to change. Instead, the answer could just be developing a budget system that makes sense. Something that helps you regain control of your expenses, like an orderly way to keep track. A budget system helps you manage your money. It can also help you get a handle on your expenses, like where those dollars are going so you can get back on your feet. Budgetnistas actually think of it as a spending plan. It really means that you decide how much you can spend in each category. Categories can include food, clothing, rent, internet, phone and even eating out or just plain entertainment like going to a movie. Having a budget doesn't mean that you have to eliminate all of your spending. But what you have to do is to take into consideration how much you do spend from each paycheck. The best way to look at it is to look at your system as a way of categorizing your income. It's true that a low income or a high amount of debt may at first be discouraging (like whoa!!) because by writing it down and itemizing the items in your budget it's possible to see that your expenses are exceeding your income. One rule of thumb might be to aim for spending 90% or your income and putting 10% of it aside in case any emergency pops up.
One of the ways of budgeting yourself is to choose a budgeting system. Here's one of them that's worked for lots of people. That's because it's easy to do. It's the envelope system. It works by dividing the money you earmark for each category into a separate envelope each pay period. So, for example, when you go to the supermarket you can take that envelope with you and pay cash from your envelope. There's no way you can spend more than you have. A good thing to do is to put the receipts into the envelope because it will tell you just where your money went and how you spent it. A pen and pencil budget system is another way to tackle the problem of knowing where your money is going. With this method you have to write down the kind of transaction you made each time you spend some money. And then use a calculator to add up all of the transactions to see where you're at. Still, sometimes a bill comes in too high. One that you didn't figure on. It happens to everyone one time or the other. Like your landlord decided to give you a rent increase, a check you wrote and forgot to write it down, an unexpected emergency, bigger deductibles, even making an arithmetic mistake can make a difference in balancing your income and your expenses.
A bad alignment of due dates, paychecks that can't cover your unexpected expenses, and no way to restore your financial safety net, and then, wham! It's just so easy to fall on hard times. And living from paycheck to paycheck is a major drag (and most of us do it). So it's not uncommon to turn to some kind of alternative lending in order to make ends meet. That's because lots of times financial struggles just can't wait to be solved until your next paycheck. Many people have looked to auto title loans as a ticket to quick financial solutions that can help you get back on your feet. You just need a few pieces of paperwork and a clean Florida car title. Auto title loans are short term loans that are typically paid over an entire year making payments affordable for anyone. Your car serves as collateral so your loan doesn't depend on your credit history.You also get to keep your car to use like normal. Seriously. And soon enough you can look ahead to getting back on your budget system.