Think you're the only one who's living on a financial knife's edge? You are not alone. Recent data show most American workers live paycheck to paycheck.
The statistics seem accurate to Joseph Driscoll, 39, a San Diego resident on active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard. His coworkers began panicking before the first paycheck was missed during the recent partial government shutdown.
Driscoll is also a financial coach – yet his own finances were once far from healthy. He and his wife lived paycheck to paycheck until the day they had had enough. "We had campers, jet skis and $52,000 in debt — and this was after cleaning up debt previously," he said.
They learned to budget, cleared up the debt and within two years they were back on track.
So take heart. Others improved their finances and you can, too. And take note: Any combination of strategies can help, from Frugal February to picking up a side hustle.
If you have credit card debt, continue making payments. But you may need to drop payments down to the minimum. Consider transferring the balance to a zero-interest credit card. Not accumulating more interest could be a substantial win.
Save first
Track your spending. "People don't realize they spend a few hundred [dollars] a month eating out," said Lance Cothern, founder of The Money Manifesto. "Or on snacks at the gas station."
Emergency savings 
Through frugal living — the couple continued living like students after graduating — Cothern, 32, and his wife paid off $80,000 in student loans in three years.
Make saving a priority, Cothern says, not an afterthought. That way, it's no longer available for unplanned spending.
Low-cost alternatives
Becky Pfaffenbach Nova, 35, says it took her a long time to learn to manage money.
New York City is expensive, and Nova, now a medical operations specialist, was constantly squeezed. Sometimes she asked her fiance to pay her subway fare, pretending she didn't have her card handy. But the reality was, she didn't have $2.75.
The wakeup call came when her fiance confronted her. Nova boosted her income with a higher-paying position, and set spending and savings limits.
"I tried to make a game out of seeing how long I could go without spending money." -Becky Pfaffenbach Nova, medical operations specialist
Goals make it easier to stick to limits. Investing in her business meant Nova didn't mind skipping dinners out or walking instead of using Uber. "I tried to make a game out of seeing how long I could go without spending money," she said.
When friends suggest meeting for drinks, Nova counters with lower-cost or free alternatives, such as going to the park.
Nova earns extra cash checking people in at events or doing in-person market research, which pays far more than online surveys. "A little extra money here and there is helpful," she said.
