Easy Financing Without the Big Word Jargon

Find out if you can you afford your bills, and options if you find out you can't
Ways to start and pay off debt faster, and build your credit whether you have any or not
Design savings accounts for emergencies, fun and retirement
Life hacks that save money in the home, entertaining kids, dating, and more

No, I'm not some financial expert like Ramit Sethi, "I Will Teach You To Be Rich", or Tiffany Aliche, "The One Week Budget", but these are the people that I look to for guidance. It's why I even have a blog and social media filled with affiliate links. They are the reason I started taking control of my finances and seeing improvement. I just wanted to make the formula a bit simpler for others, the way I created one that works for me. Hopefully, it works for you, too. To go straight to the formula, you'll have to scroll to the very bottom. Steps One, Two, and Three tell you how to create your own formula based on your type of income and expenses, with ideas of how to reduce them and make more money.

Detailed guide below.

Scroll to the very bottom for the mini summary without the numbers.

Step One

Step one is fairly basic but can be challenging for those who don't have a steady income, receive commission, and/or work odd days and hours. Don't worry, I've been there. I've had them all. I got you. You need to figure out what your least amount of monthly income is after taxes for a regular 4 week month, anything else is extra to play with and save. Don't forget to figure out how much your actual paychecks are after taxes are taken out at the bottom of the examples.

For my Full-Time Hourly People, you should already have an idea of what you bring in after taxes because it should say on your paycheck or direct deposit. Same with my Salary People, except you don't have to work out the exact hours to figure out your pay because salary means you will work how ever much or little is agreed upon during accepting the contract. Because everything can be direct deposited these days, you may need to ask your employer if there is a way to get an email that has the details of the check with the pay, hours, and taxes, similar to seeing a regular paper paystub like we used to see. It's still a good idea to do the math, so you know how it works and what it should look like, so you know you are getting paid right. It's OK to question your employer and their accountant. You multiply your hourly pay (example: $20) by 8 hours per day first, if you work a full 8 hours. Some companies schedule you for 8 hours, but have you clock out for lunch for 30 to 45 minutes, so you technically only worked for 7 hours and 15 or 30 minutes. Others will schedule you past 8 hours to make up for the lunch break, like 9 a.m. to 5:30, 5:45, 6:00 p.m, depending on how long they give you. You need to know what your exact hours are. I recommend underestimating if you are clocking out at quarterly time frames like 5:45 or 3:15. (example: I would count 9 to 5:45 as 7.5 hours as if it was actually 9 to 5:30) It's easier for math purposes, especially if you occasionally leave early. The formula example is below.

The Math:

$20 per hour multiplied by 8 hours worked per day = $160 income per day before taxes

$160 per day multiplied by 5 days worked per week = $800 income per week before taxes

$800 per week multiplied by 4 weeks worked per month = $3,200 income per month before taxes

For my Part-Time Hourly People, you have to be real with yourselves on how much you are scheduled to work. Unless you and the employer specifically said you will be working X amount of days and X amount of hours, your employer can schedule you for as little hours as they please unless you have a contract agreement. WARNING, if your employer starts scheduling you for less and less hours, they want you to quit so they don't have to pay unemployment fees to you for firing you. Start looking for a new job now and don't bother giving them a 2-week notice because they will let you go the second you tell them you plan to leave. Most part-time job post will say 10 to 20 hours or 12 to 30, which means you could be working on the lighter side sometimes, or the max agreed upon. Maybe your employer alternates your weeks, 3 days one week, 4 days the next. Maybe you usually work 6 hours, but occasionally work 4 hours. All of this matters, and if you just started at a new job and have no clue what it is going to look like, ask your boss "what will my minimum days and hours look like per week, so I can estimate my finances, please?" The process is basically the same as the full-timer person. You multiply your hourly pay (example $20) by the least amount of hours you will work in a day; let's say 4 hours. Then continue the math for a 4 week per month time frame below.

The Math:

$20 per hour multiplied by 4 hours worked per day = $80 income per day before taxes

$80 per day multiplied by 3 days worked per week = $240 income per week before taxes

$240 per week multiplied by 4 weeks worked per month = $960 income per month before taxes

For my Commission People. First of all, the majority of you also signed up for a minimum hourly pay for a base rate with whatever company, so you still get to go home with something if you don't make any sales. Your employer probably said something like "Your base pay will be $15, but everyone always makes more than that because of the commission." It's a lie. It's very rare that the new person makes more than their hourly pay for the first couple paychecks or so, and there are going to be times when you don't get the commission due to sales quotas not being met that they most likely did not explain to you either. So, it's very important to know what your hourly pay is and what your minimum hours per week worked are going to be. If you are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at $15 per hour, those are the numbers you should use because you need to make sure you are living within your means. The extra commission or tip money is exactly that, extra, extra money to play with, extra money to put into savings, extra money for clothes, etc. It's not to be counted as your base income because it's sporadic and unreliable. You can definitely use it when applying for an apartment or buying a car to prove you make more than that $15 per hour, but for budgeting purposes, focus on your minimum so you never feel like you are running short of money. You use the same process, multiply your hourly pay (example $15) by the least amount of hours worked in a day (example 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. is 7.5 hours), and continue the process below.

The Math:

$15 per hour multiplied by 7.5 hours per day = $112.50 income per day before taxes

$112.50 per day multiplied by 4 days worked per week = $450 income per week before taxes

$450 per week multiplied by 4 weeks worked per month = $1800 income per month before taxes

For my Entrepreneurs, Freelancers and Business Owners. Yours is a bit complicated since it's based on you bringing in the client and what you charge for your services, but it is possible. Similar to the part-timer, if you haven't just started your freelance career, you should have an idea of the minimum amount of work you do per day or week. Or, you have a minimum number of clients per day, week, or maybe month. For easy numbers sake, let's say you know you always have at least 3 clients per day and the lowest service charge you have is $75. You would multiply the minimum service fee of $75 by those 3 clients to get your minimum income per day before taxes. The formula is below. Keep in mind, most freelancers understand that they may still need a part-time job to have a stable income coming in, especially if they are just starting freelancing and are not getting a consistent clientele. This will mean that you need to start your calculations with your stable income and account for your freelance income as extra, similar to what I stated in the commission peoples' explanation. The freelance formula is below, but if you also need the part-time job or commission formulas, scroll up.

The Math:

$75 service fee multiplied by 3 clients per day = $225 income per day before taxes

$225 per day multiplied by 4 days worked per week = $900 income per week before taxes

$900 per week multiplied by 4 weeks worked per month = $3600 income per month before taxes

My poor, poor, poor Students... Yours could actually be the most complicated. Grants and scholarships only come 1 to 2 times per year. Some of you only work during breaks and the summer, if you even qualify and are awarded any. Some of you work full-time and go to school full-time (I don't know how you do it!). I'm back in college for another degree at the time of developing this website, and I feel like I rarely have time to do anything after all of the classes and homework. You may have to use a variety of these methods to figure out your finances. Scholarships and Grants put you in the Salary section, but you have to make them last throughout the semester. If you get a $5,000 Pell Grant, you have to extend that money for a 4 month time frame (a semester). So, $5,000 divided by 4 months means you have $1250 per month. Keep in mind, this Pell Grant goes straight to the school. The only way you get anything from it is if you managed to get extra scholarships or other forms of tuition payments and it exceeds the actual cost of the semester. So, if you don't get to take home any of that money, how are you going to pay for rent, utilities, gas, and groceries? I know everyone wants to get out of the house when they turn 18 and stop abiding by their parent's rules, but it might not be feasible. You may have to attend college part-time so you can maintain a full-time job for your expenses. The best advice I can give you is stay close to home, if possible, have roommates, if you can't, state colleges that you are a resident of will be cheaper, so are community and trade schools, apply for FAFSA (financial aid, especially if you don't live with your parents and they aren't paying for college) every year, most colleges have a list of scholarships you can apply for throughout the year online, find out everything your school offers for its students (I just found out I can dental work done by their dental students for less than any dental clinic charges), apply for disability assistance, if you qualify, for homework extensions, and being part of school organizations gives you access to more scholarships and a larger network for employment. Getting good grades actually does matter. My current college, UNT, offers a Merit Scholarship (3.2+ GPA students) every time I get a collective GPA rating for the semester of a 3.2 or higher.

After Taxes

You may already be able to see how much taxes are taken out of your paychecks, but not everyone really knows or understands it. You may see something called FICA Taxes. This pays for things like social security and medicare that will eventually be given to you once you retire. Some states have a State Income Tax that you pay. It's what the state needs from its residents to work on the roads and pay their government employees that keep your state operating. All together, these taxes can total anywhere from 15% of your paycheck to 35% of your total paycheck.

You can ask Google what the percentage rates are based on your state and county. Example of what to ask Google "what are the tax percentages taken out of a Burnsville Minnesota paycheck?"

Response:

Federal Income Tax is between 10% - 37%
Social Security is 6.2%
Medicare is 1.45%
State Income Tax ranges between 5.35% - 9.85%

Notice there are some that have a range. That's because the government can't take 37% of everyone's paycheck for the state income tax. You all don't make the same amount of money. They have to leave enough for you to be able to support yourself, hopefully. They take out a certain percentage based on what income bracket you are in, up to $25,000 per year, or over $100,000 per year, etc. So, the easiest way to figure this out is by looking at your personal pay stubs and doing the math. So, let's look at someone who makes $20 per hour and gets paid bi-weekly as an example.

The Math:

Gross Income Before Taxes for someone who makes $20 an hour = $1600 every 2 weeks

Bi-weekly paycheck only gives $1152 to employee

$1600 income before taxes subtracted by $1152 income after taxes = $448 total taxes are being taken out of paycheck

$448 total taxes divided by $1600 gross total income before taxes were taken out = .28 (28%) of your income is being taken out for taxes from every bi-weekly paycheck

You may make $3200 per month ($1600 paycheck one plus paycheck two $1600), but you will only get $2,304 in your bank account ($1152 paycheck one after taxes plus $1152 paycheck two after taxes)

For my Freelancers and Business Owners, remember you will need to take out taxes yourself and put them aside to pay the IRS on your own. They do not do this for you. As a business, you usually need to take out more than what an employee would see taken out of their paycheck. Most business gurus recommend taking a minimum 30% of your income out and setting it aside for taxes, and 40% is what they would prefer you set aside. Based on how much you bring in will determine if you have to pay the IRS quarterly or yearly. Most businesses pay quarterly, but it's important to check in with your state's and county's regulations so you know when they expect payments.

Step Two

Next, we have to look at all monthly bills and subscriptions. Some people do have weekly medical bills and therapies or weekly delivery type services, but they should be able to be added up as a monthly bill. We will go over what's necessary, what's not, what can be consolidated, what can be lowered, and options to reduce bills and get money back, even on gas.

Possible Monthly Bills

Rent

Mortgage

HOA

Property Taxes

Electricity

Water/Sewer

Gas

Pest Control

Trash/Recycling

Car Loan

Car Insurance

Student Loans

Phone

Internet

Microsoft

Pets

Kids

Credit Cards

Personal Loans

Health Insurance

Life Insurance

Groceries/Toiletries

Gas

Netflix

Hulu

Amazon Prime

Gym Membership

Cable

Bus/Public Transportation

Medical Bills

Savings

Retirement

Investments

Emergency Fund

Monthly Bills

This is just a list of possible monthly expenses. They are going to look differently for everyone and some of these may fluctuate, like utilities, or they may increase over time, like rent. The trick is always overestimating the bill. If your rent is $1062.73, round up the last dollar so it becomes $1063. This is how I calculate all of my bills and expenses. Every receipt I get, I round up the last dollar. If I go out for coffee and it costs me $6.53, I calculate it in my records as $7 spent. Rounding up gives you wiggle room in the event that you accidently overspend while becoming more money savvy. Rounding down your income ensures you aren't recording your income more than it really is. These two tactics help to balance out mistakes, changes in bills and expenses, and impulse spending.

Bills That Are More Than Once A Month

These can be a little tricky, but totally doable. If you know you need to purchase medications every couple of weeks, then you may already know how much you need every month to get them. However, there are a couple months out of the year that are slightly longer. This may cause you to need extra medication during this time. Luckily, this usually means most people will get a little extra money on their paychecks during these months, too, if they work hourly. These months are January, March, May, July, August, October, and December. To make this easier, we typically have 35 weeks out of a year. So, if you need medication or therapy, etc, every 2 weeks, dividing 35 weeks by 2 weeks will give you 17 and a half medications required for the year. 17 and a half times you will need to purchase this medication out of the year. Remember, we round our bills up. 17 and a half becomes 18 times you may need this medication or therapy throughout the year. Other than this, there aren't many bills that come more than once a month.

The Math:

18 multiplied by $45 (cost of medication, therapy, etc) = $810 per year

$810 total per year divided by 12 months = $67.50 per month (Round Up!)

Bills That Are Yearly

Some bills can also be yearly. Take Amazon Prime as an example. Most people have it. They pay X amount of money per year so they can watch movies, TV series, and get free shipping on products, and extra products. They even have a subscription option for products you know you get every month that ultimately saves you even more money, if you are very consistent with some of your purchases. I'm an Amazon Prime member because I would rather have as much things shipped to me than have to run around to multiple stores to get everything I need and want. Plus, the movies and TV shows is a bonus, especially if I want to watch a movie that is in theaters, but I don't want to go to the cinema. Mine is currently at $139 per year. With the formula below, I know that I need to save $12 per month so I can pay for my Amazon Prime every year, which is billed December of every year. Yes, they have a monthly option if you prefer.

The Math:

$139 per year divided by 12 months per year = $11.54 (Round Up!)

Loan and Credit Card Bills That Have Interest

This is probably where most people get confused or wonder why these types of bills aren't getting smaller even though they pay them every month. The problem is the interest. Most loan and credit bills give you the option to pay a minimum fee in order to avoid a penalty fee. This minimum fee is not how much you actually need to pay. If you are just now trying to figure out your finances, what you can afford, and how to pay off your debt, paying the minimum is totally fine to avoid penalties at the moment. Eventually, you will need to pay more if you ever want them to go away and stop stressing you.

Let's take a look at the worse one, the credit card bill. At this moment, I have one, and I racked up some debt over last summer due to unforeseen circumstances. This is also the beauty of having a credit card when an emergency pops up. So, we can use mine as the example. My current total debt on my credit card is $5,118.17. I have a couple small monthly business expenses that I linked to this card because it is a cash rewards card. When I use it, the credit card company gives me a little cash back. It's a very small amount, but that's because the business bills I have attached to it only total $68. So, I know I always have to put $68 away per month to pay off those bills.

Next, I live in a state that has toll tags. If you don't know what that is, there are tolls all over the highways in Texas. This is to make up for my state not taking state taxes out of our paychecks to help pay for all the road construction they are always doing. If you also have to pay tolls occasionally, I highly recommend opting in for their automatic renewal plan. It will save you money on tolls this way. Generally, I pay $40 in tolls per month, even though I try to avoid taking them as much as possible. Sometimes the roads just lead you to a toll even though you turned void button on on Google Maps. So, now I know I need to pay $68 plus at least $40 on my credit card every month.

Then, the credit card also charges me an interest fee every month for allowing me to use their credit card. This fee is a percentage based on how much I owe. If you have a credit card, you should be able to scroll through last month's charges and see how much they charged you. Last month, they charged me $91.16 (Round Up!). So, now, the real amount I have to pay is $68, plus $40, plus the $92 on that credit card.

The Math:

$68 linked business bills plus $40 in tolls plus $92 for the interest fee = $200 True Minimum Bill for Credit Card

More Is Necessary

Unfortunately, that $200 still isn't going to get me very far. That $200 just cover the actual amount spend and their fee. It does not include the extra amount needed to pay off the credit card. This is why so many people will feel like it is never going away. You can use this formula to figure out your true minimum, just know, that when possible, you will need to pay more. So, when you are able to, start paying more, even if it is only $10, DO IT!

What Are Your Most Important Monthly Bills?

Let's talk about these monthly bills a bit because you do not have to calculate all of these. You should definitely be aware of how much gas you need to get to work or school every week, but also understand that some weeks won't require you to spend as much money on gas, while other weeks you may spend more than usual if you go out to socialize or pick up a food delivery job. I have done the budget where I calculated every single thing, including knowing how much I spend on oil changes per year and dividing that up as a monthly expense I put away in a savings account to use when my vehicle is due. I highly recommend doing this first so you can see everything on paper and understand how much it really costs to make a decent living. Life changes though. Jobs change. Payments change. Eventually, it was too much to look at and I couldn't always afford to put money away for some of these expenses. It made me feel more like I had no money for myself other than bills and expenses.

My current apartment has me paying for trash, pest control, and an amenity fee. These never change. I lumped them all in one payment on my spreadsheet in my rent bill. Even their transaction fee stays the same. However, every month I need to adjust what this monthly rent bill is because they also include gas and water/sewer in the fees. These fluctuate. So, one month my total rent bill may be $1303 or it may be $1324 the next. Our water is also allocated, so when their are more residents, I also have to pay more for water usage. Because I get paid monthly, I update my spreadsheet monthly and add any extra income as it comes in on my excel phone app. Before I start spinning your head, it's best if I show you.

Personal Monthly Bills

Rent $1369 (Includes apartment fees, gas, water/ fluctuates)

Utilities $142 (Reliant electricity plan/has rewards/ fluctuates)

Verizon $98 (Includes unlimited data, home internet, and more)

Car Insurance $53 (Try Jerry App to choose what you pay for)

Renters Insurance $9 (found from Jerry App/has rewards)

Netflix $20

Monthly Personal Bills $1685 (fluctuates)

Yearly Personal Bills $20,220 (fluctuates)

I have had things like groceries and gas in personal bills calculated many times, but they change too often. I've tried various ready to eat meal programs and while back in college, the amount of gas I use depends on how often I need to go to class and when I can skip. I still know what minimum amount of money I need in my account every week for gas though. I keep that locked in the back of my mind. If you can't lock things like this away in your mind, write it down, or put it in your list of important bills. Keep in mind, gas will fluctuate based on the economy, too, and if you move. At the moment, the U.S. government decided to fight with Iran, so now my gas cost a whole extra $10 every time I go to fill up. That's an extra $40 I have to account for in my head or budget.

Business Monthly Bills Linked to Credit Card

Canva $13 (Social Media Content Program)

Microsoft $11 (Microsoft available yearly/has rewards)

Wix $21

Google $5 (Storage)

Amazon Prime $18 (Includes ad removal fee)

Monthly Business Bills $68

Yearly Business Bills $816

You may not have business expenses like me, but I wanted you to see what some of those may or could look like. It just depends on the business. Also, pay attention to how on both my Personal calculation and my Business calculations include how much they cost me for an entire year. I know I need to make a minimum $20,220 per year to pay my personal bills and a minimum of $816 to pay off my business bills. When I add these together, I get $21,036. This DOES NOT include all the expenses for groceries, gas, clothing, or even my pet expenses. This is why you should have a general understanding of how much all of your expenses costs every month so you know if you are even making enough income to support yourself and/or your family. I cannot accept a job that is only going to pay me $25,000 per year. Who the hell could live off of $25,000 - $21,036 = $3,964 (left for all expenses about outside of bills for the entire year)?

Monthly Savings and Retirement

Emergency Savings Account

Travel Savings Account

Market Saving Account

IRA Easy Start

IRA Extended Easy Start

IRA 7 Year Plan

Currently on hold

NO, you do not need to have this many savings accounts and retirement accounts. If you are a beginner and don't even have a savings account, just start with one. Originally, I just had one saving account that I used for "emergencies" or whenever I ran out of money, WHICH WAS OFTEN. Eventually, I wanted to be able to enjoy my vacation time (when I got any), so I added another regular savings account and named it my Travel account.

I started small. I put in $25 in my emergency savings account only once a month. Eventually, I added $25 per paycheck to the account. When I had decided to add the travel account, I lessened my contribution to $20, but I was putting $20 in each account. So, technically, I was putting $40 away in savings. Then I started to really enjoy how much money I was seeing in those accounts, not feeling so stressed when emergencies happened or I had a bad paycheck. I even was able to travel when I took PTO as an employee.

Also, notice how I do not have a set monthly amount listed in my list of savings and IRA's. At the bottom it says currently on hold. This is because I currently do not get regular paychecks as a student. I get paid monthly, but grants and scholarships only come in 1 to 2 times per year. I have time in between semesters when no money comes in for school, and I don't take classes during summer, I try to work. Because my income varies, I put different amounts into these accounts every month, and sometimes I only put money in some of them, not all.

An example would be the 7-Year IRA I have. In order to put money into that account, I have to put in a minimum of $500 at a time. However, I am only allowed to put in $7,000 in it per year. I just found this out while doing my taxes on TurboTax. I probably just don't remember when going over the details or wasn't informed by the agent.

My Easy Start IRA let me put in whatever amount I wanted into it, but it caps out at $3,000. I can longer add money to that account, so it just sits there gaining interest income every month off of that amount. It's a great option if you want to start a retirement account with your bank but can't afford to put in big chunks of money in it at a time. All banks are going to be different though. Some may not even offer retirement accounts.

All Monthly Bills and Savings/Retirement

Personal $1685

Business $68

Savings/Retirement On Hold

Total Bills/Saving/Retirement Per Month $1753

Notice I need to bring in $1753 per month just to pay all my regular bills. Remember, this does not include my groceries, gas, or anything fun, like going out to eat with a friend or Starbucks.

So, if you are starting to notice that you aren't making enough to cover all your bills, your basic necessities, or any fun expenses you will need to be ready to make some changes. This is where Step 3 comes into play to figure out how you can reduce your bills and still enjoy your money. Then we can look into other ways to increase income.

Step Three

This last step is to help you get a grip on your finances, find out where your money is going, keep track of it, find other reward programs, reduce your bills, and make more money. I know a lot of influencers want you to download apps that track your money for you and connect to your bank account. You can totally use those, but I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to my money. I don't even invest because I'm too scared of the risk, and I do not gamble. Those apps, and even just logging into your bank account every day to check, don't always show all payment and expenditures. Sometimes they don't appear in your bank statement for at least a week. So, you could be running around thinking you have X amount of money to spend just because the payment hasn't been processed yet. The only app you will ever need to keep track of your money is already included in your Microsoft program, Excel. Yes, Excel has an app for your phone so you can keep track of your money while you're on the go which allows you to input your expenses Rounded Up to the last dollar like I mentioned in Step Two at the exact time you spend the money. This way you don't have to save all your receipts either. The Excel app has a number of options to choose from to create your own spreadsheets and has money management options that calculate everything for you so all you have to do is plug in your numbers. My favorite is the Personal Budget in gray and blue. I create a new one every month and label it Jan 2026, then Feb 2026, etc.

It already lists income, rent, utilites, groceries, and savings. All you have to do is delete the numbers they inputted for a reference and plug in your own. Every time I receive extra income from my side business, I add them under income section and write what it was from. After calculating how much I need to put away for taxes on that income, I place it in the savings section. Whenever I go get gas, I immediately input the amount I spent on gas (Rounded Up) under the monthly expenses, and this goes for all expenses. It only takes a couple minutes, so you don't have to worry about saving receipts.

For those of you who found out you are spending more than what you make or you don't make enough, here is a list of options to help. Keep in mind, I also have other blogs on my site that can also help save money. Before I tell you to start getting rid of all of your subscriptions and fun expenses, I want to focus on ways you can make more money and save money.

Get a raise at your current job or get promoted (this I can't help you with, but I will say there are plenty of YouTube videos that can help). The key take away I always hear from them, is what have you done for the company to improve their business and make them more money to account for why you deserve a raise.

Apply for a better paying job with better benefits (also lots of help on YouTube). One of the things I hadn't ever thought of until I actually applied, was you can work part-time at certain places to gain free things or access. Working at a gym, gives you a free gym membership. Working at a pet store, gives you a discount on pet supplies if you have a lot of pets. Working at a daycare, gives you free daycare. The gym I worked at had a daycare for members and staff. I don't have kids, but how convenient is that to be able to get paid while your kid is in daycare, and you don't have to pay for that daycare. Some businesses actually have daycare to aid single parents in making working for them easier.

Get a second job (most people think they don't have the time for this, which may be true, but here are some options that allow you to work a second job based on your availability) 1. Uber 2. Door Dash 3. Pet Sitting or Boarding on Rover 4. Babysitting on Care or Sitter City 5. House Cleaning or Moving Help through Task Rabbit 6. Amazon or Walmart Affiliate and Influencer Programs. While in school, I haven't been able to get anyone to hire me due to the fluctuations in my availability from the school schedule. Luckily, I had enough followers that I qualified to be an Amazon Affiliate. I found out I really liked working with kids when I worked at the gym, but prefer one-on-one with a small handful. So, I started babysitting on Care and SitterCity. I've worked most of my life in the pet industry, so when I have breaks from school, I open up my availability to pet sit. Since, I haven't been able to get a job in the summer, I am lucky enough to have a good vehicle I take care off, so I will be trying out Uber Eats and Door Dash. Again, I highly recommend checking out a few YouTube videos on how to make any of these options work best for you, know how they work, and to maximize your income.

Create a side hustle or business (similar to getting a second job, but it will most likely cater to your personal skills and has the potential to replace your current job if it begins to make as much or more). Mine is writing, other than the Amazon Affiliate, childcare, and pet sitting.

Reward programs that save you money

Upside Gives you cash back on gas and food purchases, I usually cash out every time it hits $20, but you can whenever, they also reward you if you can get referrals, so send your friends your referral link once you have opted in
Food/restaurant reward apps like Starbucks
Pet store reward apps like Pet Supplies Plus usually give you a discount or some reward dollars after spending so much money with them
Jerry Lets you pick out what you want to pay for car insurance, rental insurance, and has rewards for safe driving, you can also get rewards when sharing your referral link, you can change your car insurance as often as you like
Utility Apps like Reliant have reward programs that give you points to use towards movie tickets or restaurants
I just used my Microsoft reward points to get a $5 Amazon gift card
Amazon Prime lets you choose when to have items delivered, there is usually an eco-friendly option that gives you promotional credits that you can use towards renting movies on prime video, they are basically giving you reward dollars, but you can only use them on movies, it's totally worth it to me
To Good To Go is set up specifically to find restaurants that are about to throw out perfectly good food just because of restaurant health regulations on food, like fresh baked bread, and simply because it's closing time, you get the same great food, but for a lot less

Mini Summaries and How-To's Without the Numbers

Key Steps

Underestimate your monthly income. What is the bare minimum you bring in after taxes that does not include commission sales, overtime, or tips because you never know when you may have a bad month of sales or tips. Underestimating makes sure you know during the hard times, you will always have at least X amount of money for the month. You will know how much you can truly afford for rent based on what you will have in your bank account after taxes, how much you will have left over after bills, and if there is anything left for groceries, gas, or anything fun to treat yourself with. You will also find out how much extra money you have to play with and put into saving based on good commission or tip months.
Overestimate your monthly bills. Always Round Up your bills and all expenses. When you always calculate everything slightly higher than what it truly is, you will always have a little extra money in the bank in case you overspend or you forget to account for something. It also keeps you from getting overdraft banking fees. Eventually, it adds up, creates security, and the extra can be put away into savings or for fun spending. Know what your extra expenses are, like gas, groceries, weekly Starbucks, the cost of two oil changes or more per year based on model, type, age, and mileage, and the cost of two dental cleanings per year, but it's up to you if you want to input them. I found it was easier for me to just be more mindful of my spending, setting certain days throughout the month when I'm allowed to splurge, and giving myself permission to treat myself once a week to a fancy coffee or a street taco. It was easier for me to focus more on putting as much as I can into my emergency and travel savings accounts, so it's there when I need it for things like teeth cleaning and oil changes.
Input your finances in your phone because you know you will always have your phone within arms distance. Be warry of money budgeting apps that connect to your bank. I'm sure they're safe, but sometimes payments/expenses may not officially go through for about a week, and those apps (including your bank) won't calculate it beforehand. Most people have the Microsoft program if they have a computer, it automatically comes with Excel, and Excel has an app with money budgeting templates that make it easy to input your numbers in the moment of spending whenever and whereever you are. You can also easily adjust bills that change, like utility usage. Check with your company or school to see if they offer Microsoft or similar programs through them (My school, UNT, offers access to Microsoft for their students for free). Yes, your Excel phone app can connect with your Excel program on your computer, so you can work on either form, and it will automatically save to the other source, so you always have access to your updates. I'm sure there are other free apps that let you input your numbers on the go, but this one already comes with the Microsoft program and is what has worked best for me. Maybe a different one works better for you.
You have to have a bank account. Sorry, but this is how the WORLD's finances work. You can't stash a bunch of cash around the house anymore, or under your mattress, or carry it in your wallet. I know lots of people, including financial coaches will tell you they think the best way to manage your finances is with cash, but it is one of the worst ways for anyone with bad money habits, like impulse buying. "It's burning a hole in your pocket" means the feeling of having the money makes you feel like you have to spend it, and the sensation is so strong you must spend it before it burns a hole in your pocket (or wallet). I also understand the complications of an impulse buyer spending money just because they see money in the bank. This is also why you need to have at least a checking account and a savings account. Allowing the companies you work for to direct deposit your income is the only way to make sure you have your paycheck in your account when you need it, instead of waiting for the company to send it to the specific building you work in, hoping that there will be the appropriate manager on duty when you show up who is allowed to pull that check out of the safe for you, and then take that somewhere else to cash it or put it in your bank (if they are open), and again have to wait until the money is approved to go into your bank. I won't tell you what bank to choose, but I will tell what key things to look for to make sure you are picking an institution that fits your needs without a bunch of hidden fees. It is ok to have more than one bank. In fact, it is recommended to have more than one for optimal security.

1. They have to have online banking, so you can check your account at any moment, anywhere.

2. They have to have the options for both checking and savings accounts.

3. BEWARE some banks have a minimum amount of money that is required to be in the bank at all times and will charge you if you spend that money. This is a big NO NO! There's a difference between needing to deposit money to open an account vs. them telling you to deposit money and never being allowed to touch it. The same goes for savings accounts, some will try to do the same thing. STAY AWAY! If possible, find a bank that will reward you for having money in your accounts (they call it giving you credit interest in some instances). They are literally giving you money for continuing to be a member with them and to put money in their bank.

4. BONUS if the bank you find also offers retirement accounts that you can open up later once you have put a decent amount of money away into savings, IRA, Roth, etc.

5. Not all credit cards are bad. Emergencies happen, and not everyone has enough money saved up to afford those emergencies. There are two credit cards that can be the most helpful. CASH Reward Credit cards will literally give you cash (reward money) every time you pay your credit card bill, especially when you pay it in full. Some of these also have a bonus that can be good and bad. They give you discounts/rewards on certain expenditures, like groceries, gas, or specific name brand business. The downside is it is trying to incentivise you to use this credit card for more than just emergencies. Don't be discouraged by this, just be aware of it so you don't end up spending more than you should just for rewards. The second is the card with flying miles. This is really only useful if you fly a lot, more than twice a year, and if you actually fly outside of the country.