How I Live Below My Means At 31 years Old

(Please keep in mind that this video was pre recorded)

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[jamiedaller]

Kyra love you girl but that’s not what they meant when they say pay yourself first. They didn’t mean treat yourself on unnecessary things. You had it almost right though bec. they meant for you to “pay”(put money on) your savings and your debts first prior to spending it on unnecessary things. At least you’re doing it right though! Yay! ❤

[Kimmy-rhry]

I'm slowly working on these points you give us. I'm not watching YouTubers that are constantly telling us to buy, buy, buy. I'm trying to control my spending and recognizing my triggers.

[maimaivaj]

I have always seen 'pay yourself first' as saving and investing before anything else, not necessarily treating yourself. I get this done first, and then bills, and then extra is for anything else frivolous.

[dianvandevyver]

My prayers for Milo ❤️❤️. I always treat "savings" as a bill to pay. every month. Every time I got my salary, I save 10% to 15%. Every windfall I save 90%. I earn minimum wage, but I have savings and investment accounts. I know people who earn 3x my wage. And they have nothing in savings. They consume all of their income.

[sbaidoo]

I moved to a city with lower cost of living. It sounds a bit dramatic but I was transferred here by my company last year and I was a bit skeptical about it at first...but truth is it was actually a blessing in disguise because I have decreased my expenses significantly...like I'm actually spending less than 50% of my monthly income now. I recently learnt this is actually known as Geoarbitrage.. I didn't even know people were doing this intentionally and had a term for it 😂...another thing that has helped me is meal prepping to avoid or at least decrease consistently eating out and also buying essential household items like soap, toothpaste, deodorant, toilet paper etc in "bulk" (enough to last me the next 6-12 months)..this helps me skip months of the crazy volatile price increments going on in the world now...I know I'll eventually face it but at least I get to skip some.

[tasha.]

I’m pretty sure “pay yourself first” is referring to paying your savings account. I didn’t always think like that, until recently.

[SimplySmiley]

The term ‘pay yourself first’ actually refers to saving money for the future, not paying yourself to a mall trip. So by paying your bills first and putting the rest into savings, you are actually adhere to the pay yourself first wisdom

[laurabotts]

Kyra I totally agree with everything that you said in this video. Gift giving has gotten so out of control especially Christmas. So true that you may give a gift that ends up being donated or re-gifted and there's also the stress of spending money that you don't have on gift giving that you don't want to do anymore. People feel obligated to give. Kyra you are so disciplined with doing what you need to live and plan for that future home. I wish I had been as sensible as you when I were your age. Actually that's where I am now though - I only give what I can and if I can and I'm now 64 years young. So there you go - it took me all these years to do what's best for me.

[lisapitts]

Great video! For Valentine this year, I cooked our favorite meal. It was so much cheaper than going out. I told him I wanted a BIG heart full of candy, but I wanted to go get it on the 15th. It is the same candy for half price. We bought a house recently and we are focusing on paying it off in 5 years or less.

[eleniprovia]

Gifts have been a huge source of stress for me. I have a big family and getting gifts for everyone for every holiday and birthday is just too time consuming and draining my bank account. My mom feels the same way, fortunately, but I will follow your example Kyra and just come clean with everyone and tell them that I can’t possibly continue buying gifts that often. It is much better to spend quality time with a loved one, or offer an experience (maybe going to the movies or going for a nice walk followed by a cup of coffee etc.)
I always get very embarrassed if someone gets me a gift and I have nothing to give in return. Awkward!
Thank you Kyra for your top notch content ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Happylittlepup]

I always thought that paying yourself first meant putting it in savings. All those miscellaneous purchases are bills (credit card). Anyway, great video!

[izaebele]

I think I've heard you mention not buying gifts a few times, but it finally clicked for me when you said (I'm paraphrasing) "holidays are not a big deal, they're just made out to be."

I only ever see my boyfriend's family on Christmas; they're pretty brand/luxury-obsessed despite being relatively low-income, and with a language barrier between us, giving expensive gifts is literally the language of appreciation right now. last year I was at least able to split some things with my bf but oof I gotta figure out how to communicate love some other way. I always bake something for them as well but maybe I'll wrap those cakes up real nice this year lol. (and learn some more Spanish.)

[amoresalute]

I became debt free including my home at 29. I’ve started a side hustle during my debt free journey or buying things at the thrift store or yard sales and reselling them for profit. Now that I am debt free I don’t need this income but I still enjoy thrifting. I am also a minimalist so I don’t want a bunch of crap in my beautiful home. So, I go to yard sales, find items that bring me joy and take the same amount of items out of my home that no longer bring me joy and sell them online. I also buy gifts while out thrifting because I can find things like a pair of Lululemon leggings that my mom would love for $4 and gift them to her instead of paying $120 retail. I found a way to do the things I love and not end up with a home that is overwhelming to live in. I am also satisfying my need of saving money for retirement at the age of 35 because almost everything I own is second hand and not retail.

[naz-nazneen]

💁🏽‍♀️As a minimalist 😂 I have actually been watching those "Project Use It Up" vids. For one, I'm like, that's me EVERY day! Two, I get satisfaction out of seeing their empties, like it's some kind of ASMR video for me 🤪

[rosariosalido]

Money is definitely better spent on experiences rather than material objects 💕

[a.laz]

We regrow our romaine lettuce. You can put the stump that you cut off in water and it will regrow some. Super easy and it's enough to make a salad or for a few sandwiches. So we stretch out our lettuce as much as we can :)

[phiwesithole]

The "pay yourself method ' is meant to cultivate a savings culture, not necessarily to pay yourself money just so u can spend it. But I definitely see what you mean with the method you use personally. Thanks for the video

[howtoadultschool]

These points are all so true and SO great, but I have to point out that it looks like you and a number of people commenting are misunderstanding the financial concept of paying yourself first. 'Pay yourself first' doesn't mean giving yourself money first to go do fun things. What is does mean is getting a clear understanding of what your income vs expenses are so that you know your savings percentage in advance so you can set up an automatic transfer to your retirement investing accounts when you get paid. You should be automatically saving a percentage (even if it's just a few dollars) that still allows you to pay your bills and other life expenses. It just means that you're paying your future self (for your retirement) before you start paying unnecessary life expenses like clothing stores, movie theaters, subscription services, home decor stores etc.

[yangpangan]

Hi Kyra! Thank you for the tips! They are helpful. However, paying yourself first does not mean treating yourself first. See you in your next video! ❤️

[alicevarro]

Paying yourself first I don’t think it means spending on yourself first. I like to think that paying yourself first means paying your future self first (as saving a fixed amount of money every month for your future self first) to avoid forgetting each month about savings and realizing at the end of the year that you didn’t prioritize the saving money habbit.