Welcome to the challenge! This 30-day course is all about helping you break the cycle of paycheck to paycheck living.
When you live paycheck to paycheck, you don’t have a one-month cushion in the bank to cover a full month’s worth of expenses.
Not having that cushion means your finances are always hanging in the balance, creating a never ending cycle of worry and fear. It means that if your paycheck comes late, you’re at risk of overdrafting your checking account to pay for rent or utilities. It means that if an unexpected bill appears, your normal spending may be thrown off to cover it. It might even mean that some weeks, you can’t buy all the groceries you need.
Living this way is exhausting and it creates unnecessary stress on you. But since you’re here, you probably already know that to be true. You may have even tried breaking the cycle before. But as you may know, once you’re caught in this loop, it’s incredibly hard to get out. And the reality is, some of the reasons you’re stuck in this cycle may be out of your control.
But even if the odds are stacked against you, there are ways to get out. And we believe that boosting savings to build a one-month cushion is a great way to do it.
When you do have a cushion, you can breathe a little easier. You’re able to pay bills without having to time those expenses with your paychecks. You can buy groceries whenever you need to — even before your paycheck arrives! And if you’re already budgeting with Goodbudget, a cushion makes it possible for you to fill your Envelopes to full at the start of the month rather than having to partially fill them multiple times. Dogeman said,
“[Before Goodbudget], we didn’t have a good way to track our spending. There were times we were down to less than $20 in the bank by the time payday came around.
Now, we stay on the same page and can track every dollar. We’ve only used the app for about 4 months and have an excess in the bank at all times. We just saved up our $1000 emergency fund and have been paying down debt. The peace of mind has been tremendous.”
It’s clear that having a cash buffer offers some stability and reassurance.
That sounds nice, right?
As you take this course over the next 30 days, you’ll challenge yourself to hustle hard to create a plan to boost your savings, with the goal of building a one-month cushion and breaking the cycle of paycheck to paycheck living.
What will that actually look like? At the beginning of the course, you’ll consider several options you can use to boost your savings — temporarily increasing income by taking on a side gig, taking on more hours at work, and/or by cutting back on spending — and you’ll set a goal for how much you’d like to have saved up by the end of the course. Next, you’ll learn how to track your savings using the Goodbudget app. Finally, you’ll learn tips and tools to help you maintain that cushion for as long as possible, but also how and when to use it if necessary.
Ready to get started?
Starting tomorrow, you’ll receive weekly assignments to help inform and motivate you through the challenge, so be sure to sign up to get the assignments sent straight to your inbox.
Until then, check out the assignment below.
Homework
Leave a comment and let us know what you’re most excited about when it comes to building your cushion and trying to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle. Are you excited about not having to time your bills with your paychecks?
- Let us know when you plan to work on your homework over the next 30 days.
Note for couples: If you’re budgeting with a partner, be sure to include them in this challenge. It will be really hard to build a cushion and break the paycheck to paycheck cycle if you aren’t both on the same page about boosting savings and setting money aside for that new cushion.
296 thoughts on “Get Ready to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck”
I plan on doing my homework every evening. I’m extremely excited about breaking this cycle that has tormented me for my entire adult life.
I plan on doing this course immediately so I can get started on this journey! I’m tired of living in constant fear
On my break @ work . Or 8 pm in evening on non work days
I’m excited about not having to borrow money of my sister ALL THE TIME, I’M 51!!!! I will be doing my homework as soon as I get up in the morning
I am extremely excited for this program I am hoping it helps me with my budgeting better
I will be doing my work in the morning with my coffee. I’m excited to learn how to get out of the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
I will do my homework for both courses at the same time, in the mornings. I look forward to being able to breathe.
I will be doing my homework at work on my lunch. I am so excited to have a cushion in the bank !!
I’d like to try to do my homework in the morning before I start my workday or in the evening before I go to bed.
I’m desperate to save money and fix my bad spending habits.
I am very happy to start this. I am over staying up wondering how the bills are going to get paid
I’m excited because our goal is to be able to afford a home, and we need savings to comfortably do that. I’ll work on assignments after work, in the afternoons.
I’m in a Savings challenge right now and having an online budgeting tools helps me stay on track. I want to stop living paycheck to paycheck and have a cushion for my monthly expenses.
I plan to do my homework daily.
I plan to work on this early in the morning
I will be doing my homework at work. I have wanted to set me a budget for years but didn’t know how to start.
I will be doing these assignments on my lunch at work
I’d like to try to do my homework in the morning before I start my workday or in the evening before I go to bed.
I’m desperate to save money and fix my bad spending habits.
I am excited about the Course to break the PayCheck to PayCheck Cycle and live the life on my own Terms. I will take me time in the evening to evaluate my data.
I am excited to finally start saving and working towards owning a home. I make decent income and there is no reason I should be struggling to make it to the next payday! I am ready to reign in my spending and actually be able to see where my money goes.
I look forward to having some breathing room and stop living paycheck to paycheck. I’ll be doing homework of an evening after kids are in bed
I am excited about ending the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.
I will do the assignments in the evening before bed.
I’m excited to learn because I’m a mother of 2 with no help, parents are older. I can’t breathe and no time for extra work. I’m doing challenges to save coins bills etc. don’t trust debit cards anymore. I’ll do assignments at lunch or before bedtime anytime I need the help
I usually set aside times for updating my account, so this time it will be used for the assignments. Costs are bumping up my budget, so I am hoping to learn how to counteract that
I just retired last year, and I’m excited about learning to live within my income.
I am excited about breaking a bad cycle and feeling lire control and success in this part of my life. I will do my homework in the morning when I get up and have coffee.
My husband is planning to retire in October and we’ve never had a budget. It will be very important for us to have and follow a budget before and during the transition to one salary.
I will be doing my homework in the morning with my coffee in hand.
I’m most excited about not having to borrow money anymore.
I plan to work on the assignments after dinner with a cup of coffee
I plan to work on the assignments after dinner
I’m ready to tame this beast : my finances. I’ve been avoiding it for too long. Time to get my hands back on the wheel.
I’ll be working on this every morning while eating breakfast.
I am excited about getting an understanding of my money and how to best be able to save. I will be doing this in the mornings when the house is quiet.
Every morning before getting ready for work
I am so happy for this opportunity to stop the cycle of worry, tears and “hoping” I can get an extension on bills. I will be completing assignments and lessons first thing in the morning while I enjoy my tea before the day really gets going.
Im most excited about not having to worry about being broke before the month ends. Im always spending my money in two weeks or less, its horrible. I plan to work on this in the mornings at my desk and make it a habit. Im excited to join this class and learn everything i can
i plan on looking for a job and i plan on doing my budget every morning at my computer desk