[bombcar]

The most common one is saying that someone is paycheck to paycheck but they're also funding their 401(k) up to company match, etc.

It's usually just the inverse of saying most people don't have ready cash savings laying around; because there's no need to when you have credit every which way all the time.

Much better to look at the debt load on people and how that changes over time. Someone who makes $5k a month and spends $3k on debt service and lives off $2k is going to feel much different from someone who makes the same $5k, lives on $2k, and spends $3k on candles or whatever (since they can stop buying candles anytime but you can't easily stop paying down debt).

[SoftTalker]

When I hear "living paycheck to paycheck" I think it means your recurring expenses (rent, utilities, food, etc.) consume all your income every month and you have nothing left to save. No savings. No investments. No 401K. If you don't get your next paycheck you can't pay the rent.

[bpt3]

That's what it's supposed to mean, but because so many people don't report it that way the resulting data is meaningless.

[jvanderbot]

What you think and what each individual reply to the survey indended are bound to be wildly different.

[spookie]

Sure. But it would be strange to assume _most_ think of it any other way.

[notJim]

I think your definition is completely reasonable, but it's not how people answer the question (again, based on reading the report, which has a lot more detail.)

[no_wizard]

> It's usually just the inverse of saying most people don't have ready cash savings laying around; because there's no need to when you have credit every which way all the time

This is quite a precarious situation to me. People should not need nor be encouraged to rely on debt to live life, especially month to month.

The default mode should be working people make enough to, if budgeted moderately well, can pay for everything plus save money away post tax[0]

Anything less and you’re only growing systemic issues over time

[0]: including tax exempt savings like 401Ks is ill-reflective of people’s ability to save money aside for emergencies and unexpected costs

[virtualwhys]

What planet are you on? Paycheck to paycheck means there's (nearly) nothing left at the end of every month.

Clearly you're not in that situation, and likely have never been anywhere near it with that privileged view of the world.

Many people in the States are living on the edge; i.e. paycheck to paycheck, not, "oh, well, I'll just dip into my equities if the need arises".