what's the best savings plan when you live paycheck to paycheck.?

Question

It's hard to put money away when you know it could HELP pay off bills. P.S. we have credit card debt, getting married in Aug. and are in are late twenties

Answer 1

As you can tell by the variety of suggestions here, there is no easy way to start a savings plan. Sacrifices need to be made to take dollars out of your paycheck and "lock them away" in a savings plan.

Consider this if you will: Every month you have expenses that you have to pay --- rent, utilities, food, recreation and debt repayment. Just as important as any of those though is your personal financial security. Formulate your personal budget that allows you to fund a consistant amount of every paycheck into some form of savings plan. Many in the financial area suggest that this amount should be 10% of your income. You may have to make sacrifices in your other expense catagories to acheive that level but a sound savings plan will reap many benefits when you are old and gray like I am.

Credit card debt is probably the tallest obstacle to get over. If you have multiple credit card balances, begin an aggressive plan that pays the minimum balance on those cards with the lowest interest rate and pay as much as you can on those with the highest rate to bring it to a zero balance as quickly as you can. When its done, close the account. When that one is done, go to the one with the next highest rate. In time you will acheive your goal of eliminating carrying credit card balances from one month to the next.

Equally as important as having a savings plan is to have a plan on under what conditions you will take money out of that savings. Most financial advisors will tell you that a savings equal to 6 months of income should be in some form of "liquid" investments - savings accounts, certificates of deposit, readily marketable securities (stocks/bonds) that you can access in an emergency situation. From there you can become more more aggressive with your investing.

Answer 2

This depends on many things, so I'll list some options.

1st- If you are in credit card debt meaning "collections", agencies don't like to tell you this because they want the money up front and now, but, they cannot refuse payment of any kind.Set up payments of $20 a month for each card, and stay on top of this as it will help you when getting a house down the road.

2nd- If you're not in collections, pay only $5 more than the minimum payment due, and put the cards away so you don't rely on them, even if this means cutting back on "fun". I'll give you some idea's for that in a minute. Paying a little more than minimum does wonders for your credit.

3rd- Depending on how much the wedding is and how much each paycheck is, save a little from each paycheck without stressing out. For example, say you both get a check of $600 every 2 weeks, each of you put aside $50-$100 each check...this would be about $200-$400 each month, it will help tremendously with the wedding and still leave enough for rent, food, utilities. If your in a situation where you got caught up living beyond your means, which many of us do, then one or both of you may need to take a second job for a few months till you're caught up.

4th-If you are planning a honeymoon somewhere, many travel agencies allow you to make payments on your trip as long as you have it paid off 3 weeks before you leave.

5th- Now for fun stuff to do while staying within budget. Rent movies-stay at home 2-3 days a week and watch a movie, make some popcorn, etc.

Play board games- Call over some friends, get involved, maybe chip in for a pizza to be delivered, it would only be about $2-$4 a person if you get enough people and that's cheap for everyone. Play card games, board games, or if you like being outside, the famous hide and go seek game or sports.

Once or twice a week, we all need OUT! So, in this case, many cities/towns have movie theaters that are only $4 a person, they have older movies. Also, coffee is a good cheap option. If you want to do a dinner, go somewhere within budget, remember to compromise as you are trying to get ahead, so when ordering, water is always free.

Go to a park and talk, picnic, etc.

and Lastly...car pool when possible or take a bus if possible. This saves so much on gas!

I know things can get expensive, so for restuarant coupons in your area, check out restuarant.com. A lot of coupons take $10-$25 off. Many places offer coupons online that you can print out for entertainment, and many times in the Sunday paper you can find some good coupons...especially for groceries. Believe it or not, a little money saved goes a long way.
Good Luck!

Answer 3

Many people that live paycheck to paycheck do a fine job raising kids, they might have to be a little more savvy with money, and have a budget, but it's still possible. And the amount of $10,000 in savings is considered somewhat subjective, don't ya think? I mean, $10K can be considered a lot to someone, and not very much to someone else. To say that you must have that amount in order to have kids is ridiculous. If your kids are healthy and happy, who cares what other people think.

Answer 4

go to the bank and consolidate your credit cards and any other bills that can be consolidated. When you do this also get up a savings account where the bank takes x amount of money out of your pay check every week or 2 weeks depending on your pay period. If you do not have direct deposit go to the bank every pay and put money in the account you can also ask you boss to take out an extra 20 or 50 dollars every pat check towards your taxes at the end of the year you will get back what ever you do not owe......

Answer 5

First, get rid of everything that you don't need. It's amazing how much you can put away in 6 mo to a year if you cut out cable, take the lowest phone plan available, cut out (or way down) on social events, and keep and eye on utility usage.

Write down your pay and then list all of your bills and see what's left over. This may help you choose what needs to be eliminated.

I used to live pay check to pay check and it takes discipline to change. You may be doing everything right, but if you sacrifice for at least 6 months, I think you'll see that you've put money aside.

Also, make your monthly savings deposit a bill. That way you keep in mind that you need to save X dollars when considering how cash rich or poor you are.

Answer 6

If it takes every dollar you have to get by there is no way you can save. If you DO have any spare money, your best investment would be to pay off the credit card debt since they probably charge an annualized rate of 18% which is more than you could get on any sort of investment that you are likely to make.
I avoid all debts other than the mortgage on my home--and even that is offset by a mortgage I collect on a former home I sold and owner-financed.

Answer 7

Ive been there and done that. Me and my wife were living paycheck to paycheck, $1,000 rent, behind in our bills, in serious debt, and planning for a wedding at the same time. What we did was tp make sure the rent was paid. That was the most important.You have to make a sacrifice somewhere. Im taking a wild guess that you are still paying for the wedding? My advice is to pay rent, finish paying for the wedding then your bills.
We saved $20 from each check, it wasn't much but it was savings.

Answer 8

Note down your spending habits. It is surprising when we find that we can live without many of those 'essential' things. Jot down the wasteful expenditure. Saving on a cup of coffee will also give you some amount at the end of month. Remember little things add up to make volumes. Save a bit here and there..and you will be able to save more within your paycheck to paychek lifestyle. It may sound tough.. but financial discipline will help you save and improve your credit history.

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Answer 9

Savings bonds. You can't touch them for a year and you can buy in small dollar amounts like 25. I bought one last year when I got my bonus and I'm going to need it this year cause I'm not working. So If you can put 25 on the side, buy a bond. Buy the EE not the other ones. You can cash the EE if things get hard after a year you can cash it. But the date month you buy it is the month you can cash it. If you do two a month, that's not bad. Don't go out to dinner a couple of times and there is the funds. Put both your names on it if it is to be joint.

I worked with brokers for years. You can get mutual funds too but it has to be set up on a monthly basis and if you are not doing it monthly, 500 minimum and you can put your hands on it, which I don't think you want to do.

Answer 10

I would pay off credit card bills first. Interest rates on credit cards are quite high and savings accounts yield 5% or less. Plus if you're getting married you want to get your credit rating in the best shape possible if you want to buy a house later on.