Anonymous wrote:If you do everything based on the payday....schedule bills to be paid on payday...have no money the day before payday, that is paycheck to paycheck.

If you are in a position where missing a paycheck won't hurt you, you are not living paycheck to paycheck.

If you have a cushion, you are not living paycheck to paycheck.

Well I pay bills based on payday but that's because I don't want to dip into savings. Been going 4 months on one salary and haven't had to hit savings yet ...

If you do everything based on the payday....schedule bills to be paid on payday...have no money the day before payday, that is paycheck to paycheck.

If you are in a position where missing a paycheck won't hurt you, you are not living paycheck to paycheck.

If you have a cushion, you are not living paycheck to paycheck.

Anonymous wrote:If you are putting money into savings you are not living paycheck to paycheck.

If you have emergency funds available you are not living pay check to paycheck.

If you are living beyond your means then you are not living paycheck to paycheck.

Basically if you can access money by living and/or budgeting differently then you aren't living paycheck to paycheck.

If the total amount you bring home is barely enough to cover food, shelter and bills, and you are already living in the most affordable housing there is, buying food on sale and with coupons and have bills that are at a bare minimum - then you are living paycheck to paycheck.

This is the best definition of paycheck-to-paycheck I've seen. Too many people count lifestyle choices as necessities. Then, when they run through their paycheck, they put themselves in the same category as someone paying medical bills and having no money at the end of the month.

Anonymous wrote:Interested in your thoughts on this - we have a solid 12 months worth of liquid savings, max out retirement, save for college. Our take home pay after all savings have been accounted for just meets our expenses - we are able to pay off our credit card bill in full, but rarely have more than 200 bucks leftover after all f the bills are covered. We have been really careful about our expenses, but I feel like we are still cutting it too close, but my husband thinks we are doing a good job of living within our means. Any bonuses go into brokerage accounts or home repairs if we need them. Would you consider us as living paycheck to paycheck? HHI of 165k not including bonuses.

OP, I disagree with the grief you are getting here.

It sounds like, after you contribute to your savings, college, and retirement accounts, pay the bills, you have $200 discretionary income -- is that per month or per pay period?

If it is per month, that's not a lot of disposable income. For a 2 earner family in the DC area, especially those on this board, 165K isn't all that high; especially not if you are paying daycare for a couple kids.

If you are able to make all those contributions to your savings, pay the mortgage/rent, pay the bills and pay for food... and still have $200 extra to play with (vacations, etc.) I think you are doing really great. But there's a reason things feel tight!

If you are putting money into savings you are not living paycheck to paycheck.

If you have emergency funds available you are not living pay check to paycheck.

If you are living beyond your means then you are not living paycheck to paycheck.

Basically if you can access money by living and/or budgeting differently then you aren't living paycheck to paycheck.

If the total amount you bring home is barely enough to cover food, shelter and bills, and you are already living in the most affordable housing there is, buying food on sale and with coupons and have bills that are at a bare minimum - then you are living paycheck to paycheck.

People were annoyed at OP because it appears OP found a checklist from money.com called something like "ten signs you are finally financially stable," then wrote a board post saying she met all ten criteria and asking if she was living paycheck to paycheck. It's not that she has a bad definition, its that every single thing she claimed about herself was the opposite of the actual definition.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they earn as much as they do and live paycheck to paycheck, I wonder what it's called what I do every month making an annual salary of $50,000?

Living on a hope and a prayer?

It's called "As much as a I love teaching, I should've gone into a different profession."

It's very easy to live pay check to pay check under 300k, and you bought your first house after 2004 unless you do sacrificing on something.

Anonymous wrote:If they earn as much as they do and live paycheck to paycheck, I wonder what it's called what I do every month making an annual salary of $50,000?

Living on a hope and a prayer?

If they earn as much as they do and live paycheck to paycheck, I wonder what it's called what I do every month making an annual salary of $50,000?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, full of angry people with this forum.

If you do not understand why OP's question makes people angry, you are truly clueless.

That was her definition of paycheck to paycheck. If this is not applied to you, then defines you own definition. People don't have to angry at her. Is it DC area people like this or just a few angry people in this forum?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is either a troll or stupid.

I don't think OP is a troll. Trolls always come back at least once. A better title for her post wo

A better title for her post would have been is my monthly budget reasonable. We save x and spend y. Not sure why on earth she titled it living paycheck to paycheck.

Anonymous wrote:OP is either a troll or stupid.

I don't think OP is a troll. Trolls always come back at least once. A better title for her post wo