How to survive until January payday

January. Urgh.

It’s horrible. There’s nothing very good about January once you’ve got past new year’s day and Sherlock has finished. Then everyone is dieting (why would you do that to yourself?), it’s cold and rainy and even if you could find someone to go to the pub with, you can’t afford more than one pint anyway. December payday was forever ago and you spent most of your money at Christmas. The rest has gone on stuff in the sales.

Payday is still two weeks away.

So how do you cope until payday? Here are three tips to make life a little easier this month.

1. Realise that you’ve actually got more money than you think

This is key. We have a comfort threshold. The figure that we get uneasy about if our bank balance dips under. Whether that’s £200 or £400, we need to take a look at that figure and be a little more honest with ourselves. We’ve actually got money. Quite a lot of it, in fact. Hopefully enough for and emergencies, enough for a fairly cheap night out or two and enough to feed yourself for the rest of the month. You’re fine. We might not be able to get a cab home from our night out, and maybe we don’t need to order the fancy starter, but we’re probably not totally skint right now.

2. Bulk cooking

Aaaah, the freelancer’s favourite. Leftovers in the freezer make work at home types very happy indeed. It’s likely that you’re going to be very skint three days before payday, but instead of beans on toast, you can look in your freezer and whip out an amazing beef curry that you made earlier in the month. Yep, you’re allowed to have a smug grin on your face while you eat it.

3. Look for freebies

I don’t want the ‘save money’ advice to be about staying in. Yes, that’s one option (and a very appealing one when it’s raining and blowing a gale), but it’s not very fun after a few nights of Eastenders. You can find fun and free stuff to do. Get 2-4-1 deals, go to a gallery, stay local rather than spending on travel, go to that museum you’ve been meaning to go to. There are so many things that we never get around to doing and they’re often free. January is the perfect time to do them.

The long payday in January isn’t the only time we have to deal with this (if you’re freelance, this is pretty normal). Five week months creep up on us and we’re not prepared. So make sure you are this time. We’ve got long months in March, June August and November. If we’re ready for them, we won’t even notice that they’re happening. Scrimp a little, save a little here and there and wait a month before the big purchases. Pop a little reminder in your diary that they’re long months and save a bit of your previous month’s wages. You’ll be so glad you did.

How are you holding out until January payday?