How I Manage My Money on a Low Income (Budgeting + Saving)

A step by step guide on how to get out of the paycheck to paycheck life and create a sustainable plan with your finances.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
00:59 My Income Situation
02:20 How I Organize My Money
06:24 How I Budget My Money
10:17 What I Do When I Get Paid
13:17 How I Manage My Money On A Low Income

My Favorite Personal Finance Books

Currently I am on a low income; however, despite being on a low income, I am still able to make ends meet, save, and invest my money. In this video, I want to walk you through a detailed explanation on exactly how I manage my money on a low income.

1. My Income Situation

In this video, I want to be completely upfront with you on my personal financial situation. I am currently living on about $2500 a month after taxes. My income is extremely unpredictable, but over the last year I have managed to live off of an income of about $30,000 a year. Despite this, I am not living paycheck to paycheck, but I have a large amount of savings and investments in case of an emergency.

2. How I Organize My Money

Organizing your money is the first step in gaining control over your personal finances. My personal plan consists of the following: (1) I put all of my money in a no fee bank account; (2) I organize my money in a checking account (which is for spending), a savings account (which is for emergencies), and an investment account (for growing my money); and (3) I put all my expenses on a credit card that I pay off at the end of the month. I find it extremely important to have your money divided in between accounts so that each dollar has a home and a purpose.

3. How I Budget My Money

Regardless of your income (but especially on a low income), you need to create a budget so you are not spending more than you are making. My personal budget plan consists of the following: (1) Track all your expenses, so you know exactly where your money is going; (2) See if your spending is sustainable, which means to see if you are spending more or less than you are making; and (3) Examine all of your expenses one by one and see if they can be lowered or completely cut out.

Regardless of what your financial situation is, we all have areas of our finances that can be improved. Creating a budget that is sustainable where you are spending less than you are making is extremely important.

4. What I Do When I Get Paid

I believe in making my finances as simple as possible and so I have created a simple plan to pay all of my bills in full every month without taking on any debt or taking money from savings. I do the following when I get paid: (1) Pay myself first, which is to set aside a specific amount of money each paycheck in my savings account; (2) Pay off my credit card which I put the majority of my expenses on and make sure at the end of the month the balance is paid; and (3) pay my non credit card expenses by manually paying them or putting them on auto pay.

Whenever I get paid I follow this simple financial process.

5. How I Manage My Money On A Low Income

I manage my money by keeping my money organization simple, creating a sustainable budget, and keeping my finances simple. When I focus on developing a plan, I am able to make living on a low income more manageable. It is important to remember that regardless of your income, you should focus on creating a good relationship with your finances.

**This video is intended for entertainment purposes only, none of it should be interpreted as financial advice. Links above are affiliate links where if you click and order, I will receive a commission at no cost to you. **

[ElAgustin]

What are some other "how to" videos you are interested in seeing?

[DonaldMark-nese]

The thing to me is, if you invest and have other income outside of dividends then you will be able to live off dividends without selling. Which means you can pass that on to your kids which will give them a leg up in life. $52k dividends received in 2022.

[CB-dtfq]

My husband gets 2.600 $ in hand every month. I am a stay at home mom. I have no income. We live in Denmark. We have 4 kids and a cat. A cat. A small appartement. We live below the poverty line in Denmark. But we dont think we are poor. We are much hippier now. Have more freedom. We are minimalist and i make the most of our food. We are also saving 7.000 $ pr year. We are saving up to buy a house one day. We use 117 $ pr week for grocery and 15$ pr week for car diesel. In the beginning we think it was hard, but know its easy and fun to save money.

[chriswalter]

I learnt to manage my money through investments and it really works for me. They say money can't buy happiness but poverty can't buy anything.!

[SteveJim-pgfv]

I didn't become financially independent till I was in my mid 40s after having a major financial setback during the covid, Thank God i'm now on my feet . In addition to buying my second house, I'm also making money on a monthly basis through passive income, and I've also met some of my goals. I really hope this motivates someone to know that it doesn't matter if you don't have any of these things yet; no matter your age, you can start today. Investing can help you change your future!

[sharonfollis]

2500 a month for one person is not low income. But I know location determines that. My husband and I choose to live soley on 2700 a month SSI. We have retirement and savings for emergencies. We live very frugally, but well. And, this is coming from 6000+ per month income when we worked! Sold our house, paid cash for another one and have no debt. Life is good!

[katehorrell]

I'm on a "disability income" of $1100 a month n pretty much do the same thing as u do. My expenses, bills come to around $500 a month. I have no mortgage, no car payment or no credit card debt. I take $500 to pay "sinking funds n groceries, including savings account. So far in a yr I've managed to save almost $4000, so yes it can be done

[raisingwildflowers]

My family of 5 has been living on just $1500/mo for most of this year. I have been focusing on my YouTube channel and hope I can get up to $2500+ soon. That would be life-changing for us ❤ Thanks for the motivation 😊

[maryj]

I would love for you to extend on the idea of "don't use low income as an excuse to now create a plan" in a future video. I might not be gifted enough to know how to use the right words in order to make this statement come across to some people in my life and I believe you can.

[isvancabrera]

Love low income budget videos. Im making 1800$ a month right now i still save 200$ in the end.

[Sinful_Survivor]

We make about the same Austin lol except I make closer to 3k a month. This month I should be able to save 500$ after all the bills are paid. Thanks for the video Austin, really insightful 😊

[PriscillaJackson-tpuo]

I like the way you explain your information. You were elaborate and detailed. You gave me hope.

[oliviaralston]

Building wealth involves developing good habits like regularly putting money away in intervals for solid investments. Financial management is a crucial topic that most tend to shy away from, and ends up haunting them in the near future… I pray that anyone who is reading this will be successful in his or her life!!!, ., .,

[rhondalyn]

Excellent! Basic, thorough, inspirational! Thank you, Austin! 🙂

[CheyenneStecroix-yccv]

thank you so much for keeping it real austin!! you offer such a realistic window into living within your means

[reedjohnson]

thank you for everything you do. love your videos

[Joyfertilityllll]

Thanks for the video, really helpful and I look forward to watching more of your videos ❤

[dorisbenedith]

Love this video Agustin 🎉❤and would enjoy more of these. Thank you

[cata]

Moving money into my savings and keeping a minimal amout in checking account. To avoid unnecessary spending. Thanks for the tip implementing it right now!

[VKA]

Austin, you become genuine financial guru not by books but by personal valuable experience.Stay blessed