Living week to week?

[Kandy-Sugar]

I don't know if there is another thread like this, but I've looked all through Costa and unless my eyes skipped over said thread I can't see anything in relation to this. >.< Feel free to merge if there is! =D

I was just speaking to Steve again the other day about how I could never live week to week like a lot of people I know do.

They literally wait for the money to go into their account so that they can go and buy food. =/ It's quite sad and their circumstances can't be helped due to the fact that either they have kids and only one person is working or another family I know has a sick partner who can't work either.

So they have to rely on that one paycheck every week to pay for bills etc.

One of my old co-workers would always come out every Wednesday to the manager and urge her to make sure she didn't forget to do the payroll as he needed that money to pay bills so his power didn't get shut off etc. I don't know what kind of situation they were in, because I know that they don't just shut your electricity off for paying late by one day. 0_o

But anyway, I always ensure I have a fair bit in my account so I know that if something comes up I don't have to ask anyone to lend me money etc. I hate having to ask people for money.

Some people seriously have no problem with asking for money and most of these people don't know how to control it properly. It's not like they can't afford their bills, it's more they would rather spend it on other things. =/

I personally would feel like a bit of a slackass if I did this as I really have no excuse as to why I shouldn't be able to pay my bills. I earn enough to pay said bills plus save every week and I don't want people to think that I can't control my money properly, especially my parents, and they would be the number one people I would turn to if I did desperately need money.

So how about you guys?

Are you in a situation in which you have to live week to week, or are you financially able to pay all your bills plus save a bit every week?

These are personal questions so you don't have to answer if you really don't want to. =)

 

[Stoic Hero]

I live week to week. But I'm a college student juggling classes, work, etc and I have a huge loan I'm trying to pay off.

So...I have no problem asking for money. At all. And I always pay my debts.

Usually if I borrow money it's from my mom or dad.

I would like to work more, but my job doesn't give me the hours.

 

[Tom Badguy]

My financial situation has evolved over the years. I've gone from being homeless and sleeping in my friend's car for two months to saving money and getting adequate pay that is enough for bills and some material objects and then some. Pays to be a Manager. I know what it is like living paycheck to paycheck and it is not fun. The stress alone will kill you. But if you have patience, things tend to work out for the best.

 

[Ilyena]

I've experienced living week to week when I was still living at home. My mother raised us as a single mom and there were five of us. She worked at a daycare so the income wasn't great. She was constantly having to borrow money and pay bills late. At one point she ended up using my SS number to avoid her own bills which ended up screwing me over because she never paid them. The thing is, even after her financial situation got better and we grew up, she still has that mentality. She'll go blow her money on things and still be in dire straits when bills come around.

I've learned from those experiences that it's best to keep some money for a rainy day. Both me and my boyfriend are good with our money. We buy things we want, sure, but we don't go out and spend all of our money on things we don't need even if we can afford them. We like to keep money set aside for emergencies and future plans. I hope I'm never in a situation where I have to live week to week ever again; but right now, we have no issues with that.

 

[Valvalis]

I don't see anything wrong with living week to week if that's all a person can afford with their job, but what I've never understood is the people who make a decent amount of money, go blow all of it on luxury things as soon as they get it, and then ask their family for help. My brother in law has had decent jobs in the past, could get a job whenever he wants because of the trade he's in, and yet because he's not responsible with his money, his mom had to come out of retirement and get a job to pay for his college O_O As someone who is having to pay for every cent of my own 4-year degree, in one of the most expensive states in this country, and with a crappy job all these years, it makes me angry to see this sort of thing, because there's no excuse for it. If not everyone can get a free ride then nobody should, imho. It's both the lenders' fault for being too willing to do it, and the borrowers' fault for feeling that sense of entitlement where they feel like they should just be able to sail through life getting everything they ask for, because nobody stops them.

As far as personally, we have always been extremely good with our money and hardly ever buy luxury items, and still just barely get by most of the time because health insurance is so expensive. And though it is technically an optional expense, it's not disposable because we have realized over time that if we had none, we would be at least $20,000 in debt right now. So we can't get rid of it it would be nice to have more money at some point, because I' ve had most of my clothes since I was a teenager and they don't fit me right and I would like to get some new ones, as well as a PS3, but we can't just run out and buy that stuff whenever we want so maybe that counts as living week to week, I dunno? I guess it depends on one's definition of it, I'm not really sure It doesn't always feel like that, but during some times it does.

 

[Bambi]

i manage my money really well (Despite the splurges recently) Ive not not had any money in my account for the past few years now - I never let myself go short, i always made sure a hundred quid rolled over to the following month just incase summat popped up that i had to pay for. Im pretty lucky really, ive not debts, im not tied to any finance, credit cards (anymore) or anything so I pretty much just live comfortably within my means,. Ive never been an extravagent buyer though, so to some people what i come out with a month probably isnt a lot, but to me its more than enough, and to be 28 and not have racked any significant debt up over the years is pretty fgood going if you ask me

Sure I might not have a mortgage, but to be honest i dont think id ever want one

 

[Tyler Breeze]

We have to live this way. My Dad is the only one that works because I'm too young and my Mom is pretty sick. Luckily we don't have to worry about bills and the like. But it's still tough for my Dad.

We barely ever have enough gas in the car to even drive to the hospital in an emergency after we used it all to get groceries.

Add to this two other little kids he must take care of, and we hardly if ever have any money in our pockets after doing the groceries and gas money.