Inflation Have You Feeling Broke? 7 Financial Shifts To Stretch Your Paycheck
Anyone who’s been to Target, the gas pump or simply the grocery store lately knows one thing is certain: modern American living is expensive.
As AP News recently reported, despite the fact that inflation has cooled in recent months, prices are still high. For example, consumer prices were up 3.4% in July compared to prices in July 2025 (meanwhile, inflation is still higher than it was prior to the beginning of the Iran War in February).
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Those high costs can feel even higher when your paycheck isn’t regularly increasing with inflation, and you have to make every dollar count. With that in mind, MoneyLion recently spoke to a financial expert to learn the best ways to stretch your dollar against inflation.
1. Prioritize Essentials
“While a few people may be able to impact wages through obtaining a raise or securing a better-paying job, for most consumers, it’s about stretching the paycheck and looking for more ways to cut expenses or live a little differently,” said Austin Kilgore, consumer expert of the Achieve Center for Consumer Insights told MoneyLion.
The best way to do that? According to Kilgore, you should start by prioritizing necessities such as food, shelter and bills. In addition, always pay your minimums on secured debts like your mortgage payment or vehicle loan, as missing these payments comes with added risk of losing your home or car.
2. Anticipate and Plan Expenditures
To stretch your paycheck, you need to know how you spend, and what you spend it on. Whether it’s via an app, a spreadsheet or even a pencil and paper, spend time breaking down your expenses in order to help create a budget.
Kilgore laid out that such a budget should include monthly expenses and those paid less often like holiday expenses or insurance premiums). “You can do a month-by-month listing, and estimate as much as you can for the expenses that fluctuate from month to month (such as utilities and food),” he explained.
3. Review and Downsize Accordingly
Once you have laid out your budget and know where you stand financially, you have a foundation from which you can review and make any adjustments. Kilgore even suggested taking it a step beyond small budgetary cuts and considering cutbacks on expenses like costly gym memberships or streaming services, opting for outdoor exercise and your local library (or a high-definition broadcast antenna) in their place.
4. Don’t Forget an Emergency Fund
“Include an emergency fund in the budget as an expense item,” Kilgore suggested. “It’s OK to start small. Even a few hundred dollars saved will help to avoid racking up credit card debt.”
5. Don’t Forget Debt Repayment, Either
An essential part of stretching your paychecks still involves ensuring financial responsibilities like debt are covered. This is why Kilgore said to really focus on making a plan to pay off any credit card or other debts in full as soon as possible. If you aren't doing so, you are ultimately giving roughly another quarter of your original purchase cost to credit card issues when you consider interest rates hover around 22%.
Kilgore added that, for someone who is struggling to make minimum payments, “debt settlement could be an option. That is the process of negotiating with creditors to lower the principal balances due.”
6. Consider Home Equity
As Kilgore noted, if you’re a homeowner with substantial equity and good credit, you may be able to access that equity and use those funds to pay off debts and essential living expenses.
7. General Additional Income
This may not be possible for everyone, but consider that a side gig can add considerably to your income.
The Bottom Line
“Start by understanding you are not alone,” Kilgore said. “Today’s consumers are feeling a major financial squeeze. For context, in Achieve’s own research, we found that 55% of American consumers are carrying credit card balances even to cover the rising cost of essential expenses.”
Don’t tear yourself down if you feel you’re falling behind financially; instead, stretch your bottom dollar with the solutions above in order to build yourself back up.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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