How to start saving money when living paycheck to paycheck
The hardest part is simply knowing where to begin when money management was never modeled for you. This lack of foundational skills traps you in a cycle of feeling broke a week before payday, making it incredibly difficult to build savings even if you maintain a basic lifestyle.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
How to start saving money when living paycheck to paycheck
- 1Tracking spending day by day to see where money goesDid this help you?
- 2Using budgeting apps like Monarch, Rocket Money, or YNABDid this help you?
- 3Printing out bank statements from the past 3 months to group and categorize chargesDid this help you?
- 4Creating a budget with specific 'bills' dedicated to savings and funDid this help you?
- 5Setting up automatic investments into a 401k or index fundsDid this help you?
- 6Committing to saving a set percentage of every paycheck immediatelyDid this help you?
- 7Investing in education or learning a trade to increase future earning potentialDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“How do I start saving at the age of 17?”source ↗
“Are there any tips and advices can you give me so that I won't regret in the future?”source ↗
“I’m 31 (F), and I have terrible money management skills. It’s never been modelled to me how to save money so I don’t really know where to begin.”source ↗
“I honestly feel like I’m living pay check to paycheck. I’m often finding myself so poor a week before payday. But at the same time, I feel like I live a basic life and barely have anything to show for it.”source ↗
“Anyway, do you have any tips on how I should save money? It’s embarrassing that i only have £2500 in my savings account.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Why does my emergency fund keep getting drained?
- 6How do you actually start saving for a house?
- 5How to save money for a future nonprofit tax-free
- 10How to stick to a personal budget without feeling restricted
- 5How to get a teenager to start saving money
- 6Why can't I save any money despite a steady income?