This might seem like a ridiculous question and you might think that there is a very obvious answer and you may even wonder why you are reading this! However, do read on as you may be surprised by the answer, as it is not a clear one.

Managing on less money

If you have a lower income then you have to learn to manage on less money. Some people will have already done this in the past and may think that they could easily do it again. However, as we get used to having more money, then we can find it increasingly harder to budget wisely and get used to spending less.

If you do not know how to budget then you will need to learn. You will need to find out what things you have to pay for and then calculate how much money you will have left to spend on variable costs with the remainder of your income. From this you might want to calculate how much you will have to spend per month, week or even per day depending on how often you spend money.

It may be that you will have to make some drastic changes to your spending in order to manage. It could be that you will have to spend less on leisure activities, eating out, clothing, holidays, take away foods, alcohol, gifts, charity donations and things like that. It can be difficult cutting back on these things, but you may find that you do not miss going without some of the things.

If you are forced to get into these habits then once your finances improve again, you could find that you will be much better off. You will be more aware of what you are spending, more used to checking prices and better at avoiding buying things that are not necessary for you to have.

Being less stressed

If you have a less stressful job, which can often (although not always) come along with lower pay this can help you to feel more relaxed. It means when you are not working you are in a better state of mind. You will have more energy and this will enable you to spend more time planning your spending and saving. You will have more energy for shopping so you will be able to spend the time comparing prices and being more careful with what you are buying. You may even have the energy to look for other ways to earn money in your spare time, which could help you even more with your finances.

Of course a lower paid job could be more physically exhausting. However, if you are using your mind less in work it will give you tie to think. You could ponder how you might be able to cut down on spending or how you could earn money in other ways while you are working.
Getting into good habits

So while you are on a lower income you will be forced to get into better spending habits. You will have to budget and manage your money well so that you do not get into debt. This will enable you to learn the benefits of spending less money and how to manage without spending so much. These habits are well worth learning. Even if you knew about them, having to put them into practice every so often can be really useful as it will be a reminder to us. It can be easy to slip back into old habits if we can afford to when actually being careful with money all of the time can be really useful. It can mean that we are able to build up some savings and then if we do go through a period of time when we are short of money, we will be able to manage more easily as we will have those savings to fall back on and will already be used to spending a smaller amount of money.

So although in the short term we could struggle if we had a lower paid job, it could lead to us being much more frugal and developing much better financial habits. If we keep those habits all of the time then we will be able to manage our money well all of the time and might be able to start building up some savings as our income starts to increase again. We might even continue to find additional ways to earn money as well so that we can start to make even more money. So the question as to whether a lowered paid job could improve our finances is not as silly as it seems. If we have got into a habit of spending more than we need, then it could be a reminder to rein that in and waste less money. It could also force us to be more creative with our leisure time and perhaps think of ways that we can use it to make extra money.