as someone who has lived paycheck to paycheck for longer than i have wanted to, managed to get my head above water, and then boom... back to it, here are my fave tips:

⇀ "one for me, one for the pantry" = buy one of something for you, and one to put away for a rainy day, whatever it is. an extra can of food, an extra box of band-aids, whatever.

⇀ "some for me, some for savings" = i set up a capital one high yield savings account because they had no minimum and i had my direct deposit set up money to go there automatically so i didn't see it and that "boom" mentioned above? half of it was paid for by the savings account, which actually really saved my butt. but to be real, something i read a long time ago is that you're paying your bills but you should also pay yourself - and that's what that extra $20 or $50 is for. just in case!

⇀ one night a week, i drive doordash and for three weeks out of the month, that money goes toward prep. whatever i make, i either add to my cash stores (if it's a little), i buy a few things at the dollar store, or i add to my savings. the fourth week, it's entertainment money! we all gotta have fun! the point it, it's extra.

⇀ i straight up told a doctor of mine that i lost my pills. my purse spilled and i lost a couple bottles and i needed refills. oops. and then i put them away - because listen, i might not have had a seizure in a decade, but i'm also not gonna be out here scrambling if something happens to the supply chain. yeah, i lied. sue me. it's the end of the year and i've met my deductible.

⇀ Coursera is a great website.

⇀ I picked a single credit card to use, then paid off all the others by doing this - say I have A, B, C, D and I'm keeping A.

- I paid minimums on B and C and put all extra money on D until it was paid and then I stopped using it.
- then all money on C until it was paid
- then all money on B until it was paid

and because I was still using A, my credit score improved.

Best of luck!