Surviving Until Your First Pay Day: How Do You Do It?

There’s nothing worse than getting a job in order to earn money, only to find out that you’ve started right after everyone else in the office had been paid. This situation could leave you out of pocket for up to a month in some cases and with travel expenses coming out of our potentially empty bank accounts on top of usual expenses, surviving until your very first payday could seem pretty much impossible. While payday loans online could be available in a financial emergency, knowing how to save and survive until payday is a skill you could benefit from in the future too. With that in mind, here is our guide to surviving until that very first paycheck is placed in your hand.

Work Out What You Do Have

First things first, you need to work out what money you do have, whether that’s the funds in your bank account or the cash down the back of the sofa. Having a better idea of what you have available to spend can help you build a better budget for the month or work out what you still need to pull together to be able to survive.

Try And Use Cash Rather Than Card

Once you’ve worked out what you have, draw out what you need for the month and use cash only where possible. This will not only help you keep better track of what you’re spending and where it’s going, but it can also make it easier to budget effectively. You could opt for the age-old ‘envelope’ budgeting method, in which you put cash into different envelopes for different outgoing costs. This way, you can’t take money from the ‘rent’ fund, for example, to use on entertainment etc.

Restrict Luxury Spending

We all need entertainment in our lives, but restricting how much of our money goes onto this is the best way to save a bit of money when times are tough. Instead of going to the movies, why not opt for a night at home in your pyjamas with your favourite DVD instead? You can pick up snacks for under half the cost of a movie ticket, or even make some of your own with what’s in your cupboards without having to spend a penny. Alternatively, why not head out for a picnic in the park with kids or your partner for an hour or two out of the house without spending any more than you would’ve on lunch anyway?

Ask For Help

If you’re really struggling for money before payday, you could ask your friends or family for help? While this method isn’t always possible for everyone, taking a ‘loan’ from your parents, for example, is probably going to come as ‘zero interest’ which will be much better for your bank account come payday. Asking for help from those closest to us is often the hardest method of getting the money we need, simply because we don’t like asking but there really is no shame in asking for help when you need it.

Consider Selling

We all have something in our homes that we haven’t so much as looked at since it was bought and it’s these items that prove to be the best money makers. Just because you haven’t found a use for your clutter, doesn’t mean nobody else will! There’s a buyer out there for pretty much everything, especially if your clutter has a use so why not consider listing a few things on eBay? Besides, it’s not only a great way of making a bit of money, but it’ll also help you declutter your home ready for this new stage in your life!

The first month until your first paycheck can be tough financially, especially when you’re paying out for new expenses like work clothes and travel. Hopefully, our guide can help you get through the month and remember – it’ll be worth it when that pay slip is in your hands!