Why Live Paycheck to Paycheck

Last week, I sold a couple of items.  More like half-sold.  They were only able to pay for one item, then decided to wait for the next paycheck to pay for the second.  I gave them the second item anyway because I trust them.

It baffles me that if one wanted to purchase two items but had suddenly, the following day, run into financial restraint that they suddenly cannot pay for the second item…

More than half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.  And yes, it sounds like this guy is on that half.

I have several months living expenses from Canada.   In Australia, I also have savings and I even have an extra surplus on my credit card.

I have both an RRSP (Canada) and superannuation (Australia) pension fund set up.

I have no further assets directly to my name though (maybe that is normal if you are in your 20s and have been travelling around since your early 20s..).  Which is a bit worrying (nonetheless!).  So right now, most of what I have is liquid.  I am working on building the assets part.  Once I am able to, I will continue to allocate as much as I can from my savings into some sort of investment account.  And I also want to allocate a portion of this into charity or a good cause (ie Joy of Tech).

Not having to live paycheck to paycheck gives one a lot of freedom. And, with a bit of work and discipline, you can get yourself out of this cycle.