“Pinch Cheeks Not Pennies!”

Are you living to work or working to live?

First, happy 5 year attorney anniversary to me!! As some may already know my journey, I graduated law school May 2015 but didn’t get sworn in as an official attorney until June 2, 2016. Wow! 5 years already?!

Second, let me just clear it up, in those 5 years I have not “made the big bucks.” I hear it all the time from various people: “you’re an attorney, you’re making the big bucks.” Nahhh. I am an attorney but I am a public defender. It is a known fact that even though public defenders as individuals differ in their work ethic and skills, we are all underpaid and overworked. Some of us know how to manage the huge workload better than others. Some of us also know how to make a living off of the little bit of pay we do receive.

Since I was 17 I have held some kind of employment, besides my first semester of law school (but those refund checks were glorious 😊). Until I started at the public defender office, all of my income was hourly. The more you work, the more you made. And some jobs had opportunities to receive tips. But even though I have a career now, I am now on a salary. A fixed income. If I work 40 hours or 60 hours in a week, my paycheck will be the same. Down to the very penny. I do get PTO and vacation time, so if I work 20 hours in a week, my paycheck will be the same. That’s the upside of a salary and a career with benefits and PTO. But, the downside of a salary, especially in a demanding field such as criminal defense, you have to learn how to live on a fixed income.

I think over the past 5 years I can say I am well-versed in living on a fixed income. So if you have a fixed income, this post is for you! Even if you don’t have a fixed income, but you need some guidance on how to make your paychecks stretch to the next payday, this post is also for you. If you are making the big bucks and have so much money you don’t even know what to do with it, good for you! And here is a free tip for you – save it. Invest it. Because the way this world is set up, you never know what your financial or employment status will be next year or even tomorrow.

Here are a few tips on how to strive off of a fixed income:

1. Know when your bills are due.

• Know when your bills are due. Keep track of how much they will be.
• Those that fluctuate monthly such as the water and energy bill, be mindful of the months when the usage was higher than usual. How can you reduce usage? Does the utility office have any programs to reduce monthly payments?
• Include in your bills those “necessary expenses.” Example – I have a short haircut. That requires me to get a haircut, and that’s usually twice a month. So I include the amount of that haircut in my expenses for each pay.
• I get paid twice a month. Both checks are the same amount. I have bills and expenses that are due throughout the entire month. Not all my bills that are due during the first half of the month equal the amount of my bills/expenses that are due during the second half of the month. So I write out all of my bills and their (expected) amounts and split the month in half. And to make sure that I am expending about the same amount towards bills with each check, I split my biggest expense in half. My rent.
  • Example, if your rent is $1,000 and is due on the 1st. You wouldn’t be able to afford your car payment, power bill, cellphone bill and groceries if you paid $1,000 out of one check. So, I would pay $500 in rent with one check, and then with the 2nd check I will pay the remaining $500. It helps keep my expenditures the same from each check so I will have about the same amount of money remaining to last me until the next check. And then any additional funds I get I try to place into savings (you know I stay with some side hustle lol!).

2. Write out travel plans/holidays in advance.

• We can usually afford our bills on our fixed income and have enough for groceries. But what about when it’s time to travel or to get those birthday and Mother’s Day gifts? You usually don’t do anything for your birthday, but for your 30th or 50th you want to treat yourself and go big. Be mindful of those dates. When you travel you know you have to board your dog. That’s an additional expense on top of the cost of booking a flight. Is there another way that is more cost-efficient to keep your dog while you’re away? Can a friend watch them? Can you schedule your flight so that your dog doesn’t have to stay that extra night?
• When we know a trip or a holiday is approaching, we should become heavier on our “No” to social events. This is hard for me. I love to socialize with my friends and grab dinner, but when a trip is approaching, and I know I’ll have more expenses that month than I normally would, I need to find the strength to decline invitations to events. I also have to be disciplined to reduce my personal spending and shopping (but how ironic is it that we always “need” a new outfit before taking a trip?!).

3. Set aside a specified amount of money for weekly fun/entertainment.

• This is something I am trying to get better with, but I know that it helps.
• With every pay you should place a certain amount in savings (even if it’s just $20) and then set aside a certain amount for fun/entertainment. But before you figure out what amount should be set aside, you gotta do this first. Cut back.
  • Look back over your past 3-6 months bank statements. They’re all online. Just scroll through and write down how many times you ate out, or bought a ticket to a show, or went shopping (including Amazon purchases!). Write down how much you spent over the past 3-6 months on those things and add them up. You’ll be surprised how those trips to TJ Maxx where you spent only $35 but did that 7 times in the past 3 months adds up! Those $20 lunch meals add up!
  • Then, because we want this to be realistic and sustainable, figure out a fixed amount you can afford to spend but is less than what you spent over the past 6 months to set aside whether in cash or in a different account as your fun/entertainment spending.
  • Example, if over the past 6 months you spent about $908 in fun, divided by 6 that’s about $151/month in fun. That is about $75 from each paycheck. Again, every month will be different, there will be that one time your old friend is in town and wants to grab dinner to catch up, but can you reduce the $75 to $50 from each paycheck? And then be heavier on your “No” so some months you won’t even spend the full $100 of your fun money and can have some extra cushion for when that old friend does come into town.
• Now you know in advance how much you can spend from each check on fun/entertainment/shopping. This will help you be more mindful of your spending and will leave you with more money for emergencies or unexpected events or savings!

The goal is to LIVE MORE — pinch more smiling cheeks, and do less penny pinching 🙂 !

Obviously, the tips in action will look different for everyone. Especially those with 2 income households or children. And sometimes some months we end up better off financially than others. Emergencies and unexpected misfortunes occur. We have to use what’s in our savings to get through those moments and then start all over again. And that’s okay, it’s going to be a journey. We are still striving because we still have an income. We are still striving because we got creative and moved money around and made it happen. It can get frustrating having to live like this, trust me I know. But we need to try to complain less and express more gratitude. God blesses those with kind hearts. When we pray in private, He blesses us in public.

Your dreams and financial aspirations to be prosperous and travel are attainable. It might take us a little longer to attain them, but don’t lose hope, apply these tips and keep working hard! “Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!”

“Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.” — Proverbs 13:11, NIV.

Moni Jay, Off the Record