Its not a binary yes/no condition, but instead different levels depending on how not-paycheck-to-paycheck you can get. It gives you the wonderful opportunity of thinking about tomorrow instead of today, next week instead of this week, next month instead of this month, and next year instead of this year.

Especially with today’s cost of living and the challenge of holding good employment this is simply out-of-reach of so many people. However, if its possible for someone to cut back enough to get to the state of having unspent money left over when the next paycheck arrives, its really good path to get on.

It sounds very counter intuitive, but life actually gets less expensive when you’re not constantly broke. It can be simple things like buying a 24 pack of toilet paper at a small fraction of the cost per roll compared to a 4 pack of toilet paper. It can also be as large as being able to afford to buy good tires for your car when your current ones are worn out. The worn out ones you’ve tried to “make due with” may leave you stranded on the side of the road with a flat paying for roadside service or a tow missing work or even worse, having good tires could mean being able to quickly stop the car in an emergency avoiding a collision costing thousands in auto repairs, medical bills, and possible legal costs.