With everything going on in the World today, you may find yourself struggling financially with your situation. According to a survey by information technology company Highland Solutions, 63% of Americans have been living Paycheck to paycheck since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with 44% saying they are living beyond their mean before the pandemic even began. Here are some tips to help you try and take back control of your situation:
- Calculate your monthly income
It is important to know how much income you have coming in every month. This includes your gross pay (before taxes and deductions) and your net pay (after taxes and deductions.) You need to know how much money you have before paying all of your bills in order to see how everything breaks down. This also is useful for speaking with a tax professional to make sure you are withholding the correct amount of taxes out of your paycheck to make sure you do not end up with an IRS bill in April!
- List out all of your monthly expenses
The next step is to sort through all of your Expenses and write them down. You have the easy items like rent/mortgage, utilities, phone payment, groceries, etc. However, it is vital to write down the not so visible expenses like eating take out, subscription services, regular random purchases. These are things that we may not even really think about but rather just spend on. Once you have it all written down, you can visibly see where the money is going. This will help you decide where you can cut expenses.
- Calculate all of your debt
When you are living paycheck to paycheck, while also living beyond your means, credit cards and personal loans feel like an easy way to maintain that lifestyle. This can be a very dangerous path as it can lead to an outrageous sum of debt. Eventually, you may find yourself having to use more credit cards and personal loans just to make payments on other cards and loans. Not to mention car payments or other financed items. Be sure to write down what the monthly payment is for each of the obligations.
Once you have completed these steps, if the dollar figure leftover from subtracting the three areas is low or even negative, it may be time to consult with a Bankruptcy Attorney to see how bankruptcy can help you overcome this difficult situation.
Call Seth Hanson, your Yuba City Bankruptcy Attorney today at 530-797-4402
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