At the time of writing, Congressional Democrats and Republicans are still far apart on a funding deal that has kept the government in a partial shutdown for nearly 24 days. We’ll let you decide what side is to blame for the current shutdown, but amid the partial shutdown, we’ve seen numerous stories about the hundreds of thousands of furloughed workers (i.e., Coast Guard staff) and employees having to report to work for no pay (i.e., TSA workers, air traffic controllers).
This has brought a report from CareerBuilder back into the spotlight that casts even more dire light on the topic of any type of work stoppage – whether it’s via strike, contract disputes or shutdowns. Specifically, the report states that 78 percent of American workers say they live on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis.
Report Details
Per the CareerBuilder report, living paycheck-to-paycheck doesn’t discriminate by sex. It states that 81 percent of women surveyed report living in this manner, compared to 75 percent of men. What’s more is that this isn’t something that just applies to lower-class and middle-class workers. The report states that about 10 percent of workers with six-figure salaries live on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis as well.
Here’s a further look at what the CareerBuilder report revealed:
- About half of all survey respondents say they save $100 or less each month.
- More than half of all American workers say they wouldn’t have enough money to cover up to six months’ worth of expenses in an emergency.
- More than 70 percent of respondents carry some sort of debt, with about half stating they believe they’ll always be in debt.
- About 25 percent of surveyed workers say they didn’t earn enough to make ends meet at certain periods last year.
How to Live More Comfortably Financially
Obviously, one way to avoid living paycheck-to-paycheck is to secure a better paying job or get a second job. However, this may not come without further education or more time working your way up the seniority ladder in your company. That said, there are other ways to add more money to your savings account while still being able to pay your mortgage each month. Here’s a look at some ideas:
- Stick to a clearly set budget: Add up how much take-home pay you earn each month and then keep track of your expenditures for a full month and what – if any – money you have leftover. Now comes the hard part – trimming the fat. If you want to boost your savings account and prevent your situation from being a “money in, money out” operation, there are ways you can do it. But committing to these ways is the hard part. Certain apps, such as Mint, can help keep you on track.
- Give up certain luxuries: Per the CareerBuilder report, Internet, mobile devices, driving, pets, cable and going out to eat are the leading things that respondents would “absolutely not give up” amid financial concerns. However, financial difficulties require some hard decisions. Are you willing to make them in order to live more financially secure? Separate your fixed expenses from the luxuries and take a good, hard look at what you may be able to do without.
- Treat bonuses, refunds, commission checks as “fun money”: Another common mistake that people make financially is relying on the likes of expected bonuses, commission checks and tax refunds to make ends meet. That’s a major no-no, as it can lead people to fall into the trap of banking on something that may not always be a guarantee. So, don’t wait on your Christmas bonus to pay your water bill. What if your company had a bad year and isn’t issuing them? Don’t fall into this trap. Any bonus money should be treated as such and put toward savings, vacations, etc. – not toward expenses.
Are you among the 80 percent of the American workforce living paycheck-to-paycheck? If so, now’s the time to start making the tough decisions to break out of this funk. Or else you could be facing a financial nightmare should you ever be on strike, in a contract dispute or, like current matters, caught in a government shutdown.
Regards,
Ethan Warrick
Editor
Wealth Authority
