raspberrychucks

This. 100%. The best I could do before switching to Simple was putting about half my paycheck in a savings account in another bank that I had no other accounts with and using that to pay my rent and maybe a few other bills. I was still always overdrawing my checking account at my main bank. I would occasionally have to go to the other bank, withdraw cash and drive over to the main bank to deposit it. Luckily, that bank didn't have any branches near where I worked, so I either had to wait 3 days for an online transfer or do my "shame banking" as my SO called it on my work from home day or Saturday morning. Simple's "Safe-to-Spend" is really a game changer for people like me.

> I hope this isn't crass

Eh, a little bit. I know for me, I was always afraid of using autopay because I get paid biweekly, so even if all my bills had the same due dates every month, payday was always different every month. Being able to tuck that money away made it less tempting to overspend.

As for getting out of living paycheck-to-paycheck, again, easier said than done. You're basically making the opposing higher minimum wage argument: "Get a better job if you want to make more than $8 an hour." "Get a better job if you want to have better control of your finances."

Plus there have been several studies showing that for many people, as their income goes up, they still have trouble saving because they unconsciously think that since they make more money, they have more money to spend. "Financial restraint" is easier said than done for many people, myself included. Simple's "Safe-to-Spend" has made a world of difference in my life and I'm honestly really concerned about how I'm going to keep it up when that goes away.