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Weathering set payments on changing income tides
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Weathering set payments on changing income tides

News Desk
News Desk
January 31st, 2023
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When you’ve been earning the same income for a year or two, it’s all too easy to fall into complacency. Aside from the pleasant boost of the annual pay rise, you won’t have had to deal with significant fluctuations in a while.

So, you will have settled into a way of making your finances fit your life. Let’s be honest; in this pay packet culture, it’s the best most of us can hope for.

But, while things are tight, we manage. We spread our money over the month and make it last right up until the next payday. All our fixed payments – debt payments, subscriptions, etc., fit within that boundary.

Which can make it incredibly tricky when you suffer a sudden change in your situation. It may be that your hours are reduced at work, or that you lose your job altogether. Or, perhaps the company has taken a hit and needs to cut their pay rates. Whatever the reason, a sudden loss of income can be enough to shake the most stable of financial lives. The lucky among us can turn to savings, but those who survive from pay packet to pay packet have to think again.

It’s also important to note that this can be relevant for other payments you have to make each month. Take your bills, for example. If they all go out on different days, change your payment date so that you don’t have to juggle your money any longer. It’s also worth consolidating these as much as possible. Often, electric companies also offer gas and vice versa.

Doing so makes your life much easier, and could even save you with loyalty discounts. The same goes for your phone and internet. Instead of paying a separate phone bill, see if your internet provider offers cheaper phone contracts. You may not get a free phone with a deal like this, but the price change will be extreme. You can always use your old phone until your income is healthier.

Rid yourself of unnecessary expenses

It’s not until we turn a critical eye on our monthly outgoings that we realize some expenses just aren’t necessary. We very much live in a subscription culture. Services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, are commonplace for many families. In fact, it can often seem like not having these things would leave you off the radar altogether. How could you compare notes on the new series of Stranger Things without your Netflix subscription?

For the most part, these monthly payments are harmless enough. After all, they’re relatively small. But, when your incomes are tight already, these expenses could push you over the edge. Besides which, they’re not as little as you might think over the course of a year. That $9.99 monthly subscription will cost you $119.88 over the year. Not so small when you consider it that way, is it?

With that in mind, head to your online banking and cancel direct debits which aren’t related to bills or loan repayments. This will ease the monthly burden in a significant way and, over time, you’ll see just how unnecessary those expenses were.

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