According to a recent report, close to 60% of US earners are living paycheck to paycheck. Put simply, this means missing a single paycheck would be financially detrimental and missing more than one would be financially devastating.

This is particularly troubling as we head into a recession and possibly higher unemployment as clearly many families aren’t prepared for hard times.

This is a hard situation to correct for most people as they are likely highly leveraged with debt. However, it is possible to correct by simply adopting two philosophies that you’ve likely heard before.

• Live beneath your means: This is very simple. If every dime you make is going out the door the next day, you are living well above you means. Find ways to cut your budget to create a surplus each payday. For most people, there are a lot of ways to reduce expenses but there is simply a lack of desire to actually do it.

• Pay yourself first: Everyone should take a percentage of their check and put it into some type of savings and then live on what is left. It doesn’t even have to be a lot as $100 – $200 a payday will grow into a nice nest egg rather quickly. You can also fund this with a side job or rental (Airbnb).

Taking some simple steps now can get you out of that 60% and will almost certainly reduce stress, tension, and anxiety in your life.