POLL | How do you survive the last week before payday?

The last stretch to payday is the hardest part of the month for many citizens, with one survey revealing that most people's biggest money concern is running out of money before month end.

According to a DebtBusters' Money-stress Tracker survey, 51% of people said they dreaded running empty before payday, with struggles to pay off monthly debt and “inflation and living costs” following that.

The survey looked at 14,000 responses collected in June and early July.

Strategies some use for surviving the last week before payday include taking out a loan on your pay cheque and budgeting for likely expenses.

Record fuel prices and surging food costs have crippled most households.

Consumer inflation reached a 13-year high in June, registering 7.4%, up from 6.5% in May. 

Social media users shared their challenges with a cost of living crisis that has “taken the joy out of payday”. A few shared how they were “struggling from payday to payday”, while others suggested “hiding” money from yourself for the last week.

Trend analyst and founder of Flux Trends, Dion Chang, told TimesLIVE earlier this year there had been an increase in payday loans.

“The buy now, pay later model is growing and growing and growing. It does not solve the problem. In Australia, they found that 15% of buy now, pay later users take out another loan to pay off that loan.”

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