How to live a week before paycheck if there is almost no money left

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

11 tips will help you not to suffer from hunger and boredom if you have only small change in your pocket.

1. Determine the budget

There is almost no money left, but there may be more than it seems. Check the surfaces you usually put the contents of your pockets on, look in your bags. In a word, think about where you could leave money in a comfortable period. At that time, 300 rubles seemed like a trifle to you, but now they can provide you with meals for the whole week.

Spend the collected amount on the essentials - food or travel.

2. Optimize transportation costs

Transportation costs are not easy to cut. You still have to get to work somehow, otherwise the week before the paycheck may stretch for an indefinite period. And yet there are several ways to optimize spending.

1. If the place of work is less than 5 km from the house and the street is not 30 degrees below zero, then you can completely abandon transport. This distance can be covered with an easy step in less than an hour, and such a walk in the fresh air will bring not only savings, but also health benefits.
2. If you use a car, consider whether it would be more profitable to switch to public transport for a week. Even if the costs, at first glance, are approximately equal, consider the additional risks. A car, for example, can be evacuated, and in order to pick it up, you will need money that you do not have now.
3. If a colleague lives next to you, you can ask him to give you a lift. At the same time, it is important to be a disciplined passenger who is not late and does not distract from the road. Otherwise, you will have to return to the first two points.

3. Check food supplies

For few people, the phrase "empty refrigerator" really means absolutely free shelves. Usually there will be three or four eggs, a small slice of cheese, half a lemon, cans of canned fish and peas, or something else suitable for eating. In the cabinet there will be half a pack of buckwheat, rice and pasta, in a basket under the sink - two onions and three potatoes.

If you manage your supplies wisely, it is quite possible to master a full-fledged menu of several dishes for the whole week with minimal or no additional expenses.

4. Switch to cheaper products

If you are used to buying milk from cows raised in alpine meadows and farm meat, it's time to find out what else is in the range of hypermarkets. Outside the luxury segment, there are many normal-formulated products. Even for those who are not usually chic, it makes sense to see what else is on the shelves. And, of course, pay attention to discounts.

5. Refuse catering

It is better to take lunch to work with you from home. Even if you have a rolling ball on your shelves and you still have to buy food for cooking, it will still be cheaper than giving money for a business lunch.

For example, for 300 rubles, you can contrive to buy 1 kg of chicken drumsticks or thighs, a pack of rice, some carrots, onions and potatoes. A not so gluttonous person will get soup and rice porridge like pilaf from these products for the whole week, and all for the price of one business lunch. Of course, such a diet cannot be called varied, but in the absence of finances, there are few options.

6. Choose free entertainment

During the week, it is easy to do without cinema, theaters, clubs and bowling. If you still want some kind of entertainment, at your service, for example, a walk in the park. And tea in a thermos will replace take-away coffee. In addition, you can find out on social networks if there are free exhibitions or film screenings held anywhere in your city.

7. Conduct an inventory of coupons and bonuses

In your wallet or on a shelf, coupons could well have been lying around, thanks to which you can get a discount at the supermarket. If your bank card is connected to the bonus program, but you don't use it much, it's time to figure out how it works and where you can pay with points. Use all the tools to help you save money.

8. Sell unnecessary

Surely you have something that constantly gets in the way and is not used in any way. It could be an old cell phone, a dress, an armchair - whatever. Try selling them through classifieds sites or social media. To get money quickly, the price will have to be set below the market price.

9. Find a part-time job

Think about what talents of yours you can quickly exchange for money. You can register on the freelance exchange and write a text or a piece of code, draw a logo. People who are uncreative, but with their hands should look for an order to repair a cabinet or sewing curtains. In your case, options that do not take much time are fine. It should be borne in mind that the pay is unlikely to be high if you have not previously developed a reputation in this area.

10. Borrow

If there is a person who is ready to give you some money for a while, take this opportunity. But take the minimum amount based on your most important needs. This money will have to be paid from future salaries. If you don't calculate, at the end of the next month you will again be figuring out how to get by for a week without money.

But borrowing from a microfinance organization is not worth it: a loan at huge interest, albeit small, will definitely aggravate your financial situation in the future.

11. Apply for a credit card

If there is absolutely no money left, you can apply for a credit card with a long interest-free period, especially since it does not take much time. There is only one caveat: you need to withdraw a small amount from your credit card for vital expenses. After the paycheck, it is worth paying off the debt and forgetting about the card until the next difficult situation.

By constantly withdrawing money from your credit card, you run the risk of building up debt that you cannot handle.

Outcome

These tips are suitable for those who occasionally find themselves in a difficult financial situation: a salary was delayed, an emergency happened. If you have to live a week without money on a monthly basis, it is worth solving the problem in a different way. Make a budget so that you can plan all expenses and not lose all salary immediately after receiving it, or think about how you can increase your income.