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Original poster

wishing my life away until payday! - anyone else?

32 replies

headlikearobbersdog · 13/01/2025 09:26

Hi,

I have fallen foul of the early December pay trap. I get paid on Friday 24th and I have a grand total of £201. Looks like we'll be eating pasta and sauce for a couple of weeks!!

Is anyone else feeling the pain? When is your payday and what do you have left ( if you don't mind sharing, of course"). I am hoping that it will make me feel better about my own financial ineptitude!!

OP posts:
ItsBulkingSeason · 13/01/2025 13:26

I’m the same OP, paid on 24th and have £50 left, got enough food and fuel etc so we will cope.

Luckily the weather is rubbish so can get away with a weekend of films and PJs

PigInAHouse · 13/01/2025 13:27

LightCameraBitchSmile · 13/01/2025 13:25

But your income is fixed over dec and January. So if you're short it's because you've overspent in December not because your pay was early.

Either you get paid eg 100 in Nov, spend 150 on Christmas then get paid 100 Dec and only have 50 left till Jan pay

Or you get paid 100 in Nov, 100 in early Dec, spend 150 on Christmas and only have 50 left till January pay.

So really the culprit is the mad cost of Christmas/dec and the early pay date is a red herring for those on regular annualised wages. Isn't it? Or am I being dense

Show quote history

I think it’s just as simple as that if you get paid early in December, you spend money (in that period between your early pay date and what would be your usual pay date) that you wouldn’t have spent otherwise, because it’s there. Which then leaves a long time to make your money last until your next pay date, because you’ve spent more than you should. Nothing more complex than that.

ByQuaintAzureWasp · 13/01/2025 14:18

Nope. Always managed my money properly after getting in debt as a 16/18 year old. Mortgage free at 57, never had debt, good pension, lots of savings. Did have to work damned hard too though.

PigInAHouse · 13/01/2025 14:20

ByQuaintAzureWasp · 13/01/2025 14:18

Nope. Always managed my money properly after getting in debt as a 16/18 year old. Mortgage free at 57, never had debt, good pension, lots of savings. Did have to work damned hard too though.

Have your gold star! ⭐

Camembertcufflinks · 13/01/2025 14:21

I've been there in the past, and it's rubbish so you have my sympathies. But for next time if you can afford it, why not either take out some cash and put aside or have a January food fund in a savings account? That way if you overspend, you have a little set aside to help. Doesn't help now but helps next year. Or as others have said get some extra tins/bread/dry goods from August onwards to put aside so you have an emergency stash. I did the latter this time and it definitely helped even with sticking to the budget.

Amaranthasweetandfair · 13/01/2025 16:13

rockingbird · 13/01/2025 09:49

I'm waiting for my pay day for the first time in a long time.. (21st) not sure what's happened but I'm down to £450 🙈 this scares me immensely as I always like to have a £1k buffer and I've completely messed up somewhere this Christmas. I'm trying to have no spend days to keep on track with what I have left!!

So you have £450 for a week?!

Stressed199401 · 13/01/2025 16:27

Amaranthasweetandfair · 13/01/2025 16:13

So you have £450 for a week?!

Show quote history

That's nothing to some (not me) I had a friend who would say she was skint if she was down to £200 and that was in like 2012 when she was a young single girl living at home with her mum, if I say I'm skint I've got £1.29 and a half a kitkat

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