9 Effective Ways To Make Your Paycheck Last Longer

Do you feel your paycheck consumed already the moment it hits your checking account? If that’s you, you surely need to learn this then!

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Breaking free from the cycle of worrying about paycheck receival every month seems very challenging and tough for most. Whenever a thought of making paychecks last longer crosses people’s minds, cutting down on miniature expenses contemplates first and foremost.

While it’s true that it is the minute little savings that transform to bigger savings over time, however, to make paychecks last longer there are few other effective ways that can help you in saving big time without cutting down on your daily latte or canceling your TV cable subscription.

Here are 9 simple, yet, effective ways that can help you save more on your paycheck balance, regardless of how much you earn.

1) Save a section of earnings from every paycheck

My mother used to do this not from the paycheck, but from the daily grocery money she received from my father. After grocery, whatever money that was left, she would set it aside safe.

Set aside using that money for herself, she never even used the left grocery money from the past day on a new day. The new day had its grocery done with the new grocery money received that day and the leftover was again added to the safe.

Some days the savings were more; someday they were less depending upon the grocery list. However, by the end of the month, she used to have quite a balance in savings, enough to compensate for some renovations and upgrades.

That’s how I figured out that if I set aside a section of my paycheck just like my mom did, even if it isn’t chunkier, it would add to my savings. So, here I am setting aside a section of my paycheck every time I receive one. Once I set it aside, I try my best to forget that I own that part of the money as well. Trust me this helps a lot in staying strictly on budget.

Setting aside the portion of my paycheck, then and only then comes the matter of expenses for me. I try my best to be careful of my expenses and stay strictly on budget. The more I try to be possessive with the matter of expenses, the more fun money gets left over for me.

I’ve found that this works best for me in building my savings account and making my paycheck last longer because otherwise, I often spend too much on fun activities. I have in fact set up an automatic transfer of a fixed section of my paycheck money every month that automatically sends the funds from my checking to my savings account.

You can do the same for yourself and trust me, you’ll start noticing the results immediately.

2. Practice giving charity

Now you might be wondering how could this one make your paycheck last longer?

Well, Jim Rohn, an American entrepreneur, and the motivational speaker had once said:

Only by giving are you able to receive more than what you already have. — Jim Rohn

Apart from this, different religions also pay significant heed to donate to charities as it helps in both personal development and financial stability.

The charity of those who expend their wealth in the Way of Allah may be likened to a grain of corn, which produces seven crops and each crop yields a hundred grains. Likewise, Allah develops manifold the charity of anyone He pleases, for He is All-Embracing, All-Wise. — Quran (2:261)

Charity donations are also tax-deductible which means that you can save a portion of your paycheck money when the percentage of your tax deductibles gets cut down upon charity donation. However, make sure to follow several steps to ensure your tax deductions.

What do you think about donating to charity for financial stability?

3. Avoid upward comparisons

Upward comparisons are so common especially in millennials who are mostly in the run of possessing things to impress. This results in them spending off-limits and in the worst case, become debted. Buying unnecessary or expensive things with the mere intention of keeping up with your friends won’t bring you any good. Yes, you might become happier for a few days, but then again comes a new ray of uncertainty and a sense of lackness following newer upward comparisons.

There won’t be an end to it and you’ll never feel contented with what you have unless and until you change your perspective and eliminate upward social comparisons completely.

Instead, try comparing yourself with people who own less than you, then you’d always feel contented with yourself and your possessions which will help cut down your expense on unnecessary or over expansive items thereby allowing your paycheck balance to relax a while longer than usual.

4. Use loyalty cards at checkouts

That’s relatively the best way to save on your grocery and daily necessities — the loyalty card. These loyalty cards have been built for a reason and it would be darn right ignorant not to use them especially when you are looking into the ways of making your paycheck last longer. Loyalty cards pay you back either in the form of cash directly or in terms of points that can, upon a certain threshold, later be redeemed as cash or some incentive gifts from the store.

The other day my local grocery store gave me a big incentive gift box of different types of tissue papers for all the points I had earned over few months using a loyalty card at the checkout. As a result, I had enough tissue papers for straight 2 months ahead, saving me some cash on my grocery listings.

There’s more of an encouragement and motivation one receives using loyalty cards at check out as you save money on every purchase you make.

Do you make use of loyalty cards in your daily grocery expense? Let me know how it helps you save on each purchase.

5. Try cutting down on your essential expenditures

Nowadays, the Internet is flooded with tips and tricks to cover the costs of almost everything while remaining strictly within the budget. That’s because the matter has become a need of every other person who is struggling with feeding his entire household.

Normally, we humans have the habit of just picking up things and dropping them in our trolleys for purchase. That’s something I disagree with because these retailers and shopkeepers often trick their customers with the price tag and the quantity of the product.

It’s 100% true! you should yourself compare prizes of the same product’s different size’s unit prices just like I did recently. For instance the other day I went grocery shopping at a local shop. While I came across the cooking oil section, there were so many brands to choose from.

Once I narrowed down the brand I was going to buy, then I had to choose among canola, sunflower, or cooking oil. Done that too, then there were different pouch sizes, one with the nozzle; the other without it, bottled packings were also there; once I chose all that I was okay with then I started to compare prices. And to my shock, there was a huge difference.

I observed that packaging with more quantity of product was less expensive than the product that held a tiny amount of actual product.

If we normally think about it, our mind perceives that more quantity would definitely cost more but here the game was completely different. I observed this not only in the oil section, but also in other sections like rice, sugar, pulses, and seasonings.

I mean to choose one single product you simply get lost in the variety available. So much so forth that you start feeling sick about getting into the details and so, without noticing the price tags you just pick one up (probably the smallest one around) and put it straight to your trolley.

So, there are huge sales marketing tactics going on behind all those packaging sizes and an immense variety of one single product. You’ve seriously got to dig a bit deeper into those price tag labels rather than skimming over them. It would surely help with your paychecks lasting longer.

Apart from comparing price tags within the same store, your should also look for the price tag of the same product in other stores. For instance, some other stores might be offering a discounted value for the very same product because of the store’s anniversary or grand opening. By doing so you can significantly cut down on your essential’s expenditure.

6. Look for other sources that can contribute to savings

For this, you need to set some rules for yourself so that you can contribute to your savings account whenever it appears feasible. For instance, say that you receive a coupon for purchasing certain items. Try moving that money into your savings account.

Similarly, if you get repaid by your friend or a family member via Venmo, stack that money into your savings account. This will help build your savings account gradually. You can use a portion of your savings in case of emergencies or buy renovations that are otherwise not bought on daily basis. This will help with your paycheck’s life expiry.

7. Ponder hard on throwing something out

It’s quite common in millennials that they simply throw out anything that appears somewhat broken. That’s gonna hurt your paycheck big time because what could have been repaired or fixed with a small investment will create a whole new expense on your paycheck when you set out to buy it anew.

So, try extending the life of everything you own to an extreme limit. Use resources wisely, be vigilant, reuse them, repair them when needed, and give a second thought to throwing something out altogether. That way you can accumulate a decent portion of savings over time which in turn benefits your paycheck’s life statement. Trust me, doing so you’re gonna save the environment too.

8. Give thought to making a non-essential purchase

This is somewhat related to point 3 where people buy things based on upward social comparisons just to satisfy their inner self. Even if it were not for upward social comparisons, some people are into the habit of buying non-essential items just because the items look phenomenal or seem like a good idea to own. Jason Hennesey, CEO of Hennesey Digital explains:

Spending money is a mindset. I like to think of each purchase in terms of the amount of time I had to work to earn the money to pay for that item. It gives me perspective on the value of my time and the cost of a purchase that I’m considering. — Jason Hennesey

Similarly, Misty Larkins, president of Relevance, says that:

I monitor my impulse purchases. If I see something I want to buy that I hadn’t budgeted for, I do one of two things based on the cost. If it’s less than $25, I usually allow myself to buy it, but I keep this to once a day. If it’s over $25, I wait until the next day to buy it. If I’m still thinking about the item and willing to go back to the store or enter my details online, I can get it. — Misty Larkins (retrieved from site)

So, taking some extra time to give a thought to making a purchase beforehand can help you:

• Avoid possessing the non-essential items which would otherwise use your time, space, or even money for maintenance.
• Save all the trouble of the above-mentioned factors and build your savings account.

9. Purchase essential items in bulk

This relates somewhat to my observations that I discussed here in point 5. Buy more, save more principal dominates here at large. Stephen Dalby, the founder of Gabb Wireless, states:

One thing my wife and I do to save money is buying in bulk. — Stephen Dalby

Also, it has become a necessity for most households to buy in bulk as families go through various things. Whether you save more or less, it all depends on how good you are at purchasing things in bulk. Research has also shown how buying in bulk saves money as it cuts down on utility expenses. However, keep in mind that stockpiling too much of the resources is also not a good statement especially from a financial perspective. If it’s something that falls in the category of everyday essentials that you know your family consumes on daily basis plus its price tag per unit is cheaper at a bulk store with an extended expiry date session, then by all means go for it.

These 9 simple, effective ways to extend the lifetime of your paycheck alongside building your savings account are all you need to create a larger savings account. Adapting with these, neither will it cost you your everyday cup of latte nor would there be a need of unsubscribing your TV cables. Instead, you can lead a healthier, stable, and prosperous life where your expenses, fun activities, and savings account building all go side by side.

Do you have your secret of making your paycheck last longer? Let me know in the comment section below, I'd love to hear from you.

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