How to break free from the paycheck to paycheck cycle

Hey zxcv, it’s Mark.

I know exactly how it feels to be trapped in the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.

When you’re barely keeping your head above water, counting down the days until your next paycheck hits.

It’s exhausting, but you don’t have to live that way forever.

Here’s three steps I used to break free of the paycheck to paycheck cycle:

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Step 1: Cut Unnecessary Expenses

Look, I know I bang on about not buying Starbucks, but that’s just a little joke, you of course still need to enjoy your life.

I’m all about cutting the monthly expenses you don’t really care about. These can seem small in the moment, but add them up over a year and they make a real difference.

I also highly suggest being smart about the larger expenses like rent, mortgages and car payments.

While these are usually essentials, they’re also the biggest silent wealth killers. They are huge drains on your finances every single month, so if you can reduce them then you’re laughing.

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Step 2: Start Building An Emergency Fund

To do this, you first need to list out your core expenses.

These are things like your groceries, rent, utilities, transportation, and any essential services. Not Netflix!

All of those things combined should give you a total. That number is called your monthly baseline.

Let’s say that adds up to $1,500 per month.

Now take that number and multiply it by 5 months. In this example, that would be $7,500.

So, each month when you get your paycheck, some of your wages should be going towards building up this figure.

You might be thinking that this is quite extreme, and I admit it is on the more cautious side.

However, I know from experience that when life hits, it usually comes all at once without warning.

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Step 3: Start a Side Hustle

There’s only so much you can save each month by cutting your monthly expenses.

But there isn’t a limit to the amount of money you can earn each month!

So, earning a bit extra on the side each month will ease the feeling of being trapped every month.

A small side hustle that brings in even an extra $50 a week will massively help with your bills.

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zxcv, Which step are you working on right now? I’d love to know how you’re getting on, so hit reply to this email.

All the best,

Mark Tilbury

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PS I’m running a free live event soon where I’ll be covering everything you need to know to build a profitable online side hustle in 2026. If you’re interested, click here.​