[jccalhoun]

I'm in a small Midwestern city so my cost of living is very low compared to some places in the USA. I make less than some of my colleagues in larger cities but even with student loans and getting ready to buy a house, I am quite comfortable. Even still, I look at some of my coworkers who are making what I'm making and were freaking out when they changed our pay schedule so we would get paid a week later. What the hell are they spending their money on that one week is a huge deal for them but it isn't for me? Sure some of them have medical bills and children but I was still surprised that it was such a big deal to so many people.

[silversconfused]

My first job after moving out paid weekly, my second job paid monthly, my subsequent jobs have all paid twice monthly.

I learned a LOT about managing spending in that first year or two. Changing when you are paid changes everything when you are paycheck to paycheck, UNLESS you comfortably have a month of savings in the bank. (For anyone in this situation, I learned to first pay your bills, put some money in savings, THEN buy your food and gas and stuff you can technically do without or have the option to choose cheaper alternatives. You can always remove money from savings, but never do it for something that you don't need to survive.)